Bizarro covers: Grunge edition

The grunge era was not my favorite era for rock and roll but there definitely were bands that I liked and some of them made very interesting choices when it came to which songs they covered. Nineties rockers the Afghan Whigs were famous for their outlandish covers. They released a haunting version of the Supremes hit “My World Is Empty Without You” on a 1990 Sub Pop seven inch.

I’m not exactly sure how to describe the Michigan band Mule but they released an amazing version of the Bee Gee’s “To Love Somebody” on a seven inch in 1992.

Sub Pop punk band Seaweed went their own way with Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way.” I much prefer the original but…

Soundgarden did an interesting version of the Rolling Stones song “Stray Cat Blues,” which can be found on a bonus disc called SOMMS that came with limited edition copies of Badmotorfinger.

I always loved Nirvana’s cover of the Devo’s “Turnaround,” the original version of which only appears on the B-side of the “Whip It” single.

But my favorite Nirvana cover is their version of “Son of a Gun” by the Vaselines:

You have to check out the original to understand just how wonderful Nirvana’s version is:

Last but not least, Mudhoney’s brutal take on Austin, Texas punk band The Dicks’ “Hate the Police” is nothing less than awesome:

BONUS TRACK:

How many of you know that the Goo Goo Dolls used to be a great band? They were, check out “Up Yours” from 1989’s Jed if you don’t believe me. Seriously, please click that damn link. Anyways, their 1990 album Hold Me Up is a lost classic and features a killer version of the Prince song “Never Take the Place of Your Man” with the band’s eccentric neighbor The Incredible Lance Diamond on guest vocals.