These three satirical covers poked fun at popular songs. Or maybe the artists poked fun at themselves? Whatever the intention, these covers are delightfully unexpected, entertaining, and a testament to the musicians’ sense of humor. You can’t help but laugh at the bold, deeply funny choices they made.
[RELATED: 3 Country Covers That Capture Completely Different Emotions Compared to the Originals]
Videos by American Songwriter
“My Humps” — Alanis Morissette
This is likely the last song anyone would’ve pictured Alanis Morissette covering. She delivered the perfect tongue-in-cheek version of this Black Eyed Peas staple, imbuing the curt, suggestive lyrics with some trademark melancholia.
It makes you smile to hear Morissette do a dramatic reading of the line, “I drive these brothers crazy / I do it on the daily / They treat me really nicely / They buy me all these iceys.” Conceived as an April Fool’s Day prank, this cover is endlessly entertaining and, arguably, kind of effective.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” — Devo
Perhaps the opposite of The Rolling Stones’ swaggering, bluesy sound is Devo’s robotic, sterile one. The band delivered a subversive version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, turning every note, lyric, and riff on its head. If The Stones’ original was an outpouring of frustration, Devo’s is a restrained retelling via binary code.
Devo knew what they were doing with this cover. It might not have been as winky as Morissette’s cover, but the irony is there. It takes some brave musicians to cover a classic, not to mention completely reconstruct it.
“Gin And Juice” — The Gourds
Alternative country band The Gourds threw the conventions of their genre out the window when they delivered a cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin And Juice”. It was obvious that this cover was going to get a few laughs. It’s not every day that you hear a country accent sing, “With so much drama in the L-B-C / It’s kind of hard bein’ Snoop D-O-double-G.” But, there is also an earnestness in this cover, choosing to bend genre lines for the benefit of experimentation.
Many country purists think the genre can only be one thing. Alternative country artists have done the hard work of breaking that norm. But if you’re going to toe the line, might as well jump over it. That’s what The Gourds did here, jumping headfirst into a song that no one saw coming.
(Photo by Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images)