3 Covers That Everyone Hates (But I Happen To Love)

Everyone has at least one cover song that they absolutely hate. Sometimes, fans can get a little bit overprotective of their favorite musician or band’s work. That being said, I think some of the vitriol that “famously bad” covers get isn’t entirely fair, and yet, everyone hates (or at least, a lot of people hated) those songs. Let’s look at a few famously “bad” covers that I’ve found some delight in. You might just come around and like these covers, too.

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“Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Fall Out Boy

There was no other post-punk band out there quite like Joy Division. It’s hard to really be satisfied with any cover of their music; Ian Curtis was just that good, and not one to be imitated easily. 

I know a lot of diehard Joy Division fans found pop-punk outfit Fall Out Boy’s cover of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” to be derivative, but I think it’s kind of charming. Bands like Fall Out Boy were part of the natural evolution of rock music, just as bands like Joy Division were before them. This song really feels like a homage, whether or not you like FOB’s particular sound.

“My Generation” by Hilary Duff

I’m not going to lie. Part of why I love this cover so much is that it’s quite literally the weirdest pairing I’ve ever come across in my entire life. Disney star turned pop singer Hilary Duff could have covered GG Allin back in 2004, and it would have been less odd than the choice to have her cover a song by 1960s prog-rock outfit The Who. Especially “My Generation”, with its somewhat dark subject matter and proto-punk sound.

I love this cover because it’s weird, and I also love it because it’s an absolute trainwreck of a cover. The phrase “it’s so bad, it’s good” comes to mind when I think of this Duff release. They made this poor girl change the iconic lyric “I hope I die before I get old” to “I hope I don’t die before I get old,” effectively changing the whole meaning of the song. It’s like a little piece of bad music history. I adore it.

“Dancing In The Street” by David Bowie and Mick Jagger

I know what you’re thinking. How is this worthy of a spot on a list of covers that everyone hates? Isn’t this song, like, iconic? Yes, it is! But back in the day, a lot of people didn’t love David Bowie and Mick Jagger’s delightful collaboration. 

“Dancing In The Street” was originally recorded by Martha And The Vandellas back in 1964. David Bowie and The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger covered the song in 1985, and it made it all the way to No. 1 in the UK. Despite the charting success, some critics of the song would call it embarrassing and cheesy, especially when it came to that famous music video. But what era was cheesier and, in turn, more freeing than the 1980s? This cover is a bop, no way around it.

Photo by Brian Cooke/Redferns