On Bloomsday! I wonder if I can get a cheap last-minute ticket to NYC.

So, has anybody else heard the Giant Drag cover of Wicked Game? It's the cover being used for one of the ads for a new FX show. It's pretty awesome.

Tangentially what are people's favorite covers of favorite songs? Or even an instance where you liked the cover of a beloved song better? Or where a cover of a song you hated turned out to be fantastic?

I love Shawn Colvin's cover of "This Must Be the Place" and do not at all like the original Talking Heads version. Which is probably Not Allowed. But Colvin's is quiet and acoustic, and I find it much easier to appreciate the beautiful lyrics and melody.

Oh, not a new FX show - it's for Nip/Tuck.

I thought it sounded good and I heard it - saw the ad and guessed it was for Nip/Tuck before the title card came up. (It really suits the show.)

Television will be playing at Central Park Summerstage in a couple weeks.

ah shoot. I'll be in town the following weekend.

Ah! I wondered if it might be Nip/Tuck.

The cover of Wicked Game is stunning. It's a sort of raw, hard edge punk cover of the song, with minimal drums, a very crunchy, dirty guitar, and a female lead singer who can wail like a banshee. That version of it gives me chillls.

Serial:

Nope, I lied. There's also a very minimal bass in the song, but everything but the singer and the dirty guitar seems to fade away under the languid, dream/nightmare qualities of this cover. It's by turns wistful, then sorrowful.

Or where a cover of a song you hated turned out to be fantastic?

"The Sign" by Ace of Base - a song I never really cared for is wonderful when done by The Mountain Goats. I like putting it on mixes because it always surprises people.

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Tommyrot, I saw the sad news in Beep Me. I am so sorry for your loss. I had to put down my 12-year-old cat, Sophia, on April 02. The first three weeks were really tough - and I still miss her terribly - but it does get easier, and I am starting to just feel happy about the good life she had when I think of her - and not feel traumatized and guilty by how tough it was for her at the end. I hope it gets better for you soon.

You have my sympathy, too, Tommy. I had to put down my beloved 12-yr-old dog Molly in late 2004 and I miss her all the time. Tina's right; it does get easier. But losing pets is a different sort of hurt than losing people.

I feel I ought to have a pat answer for the favorite cover that improves the original question, but my brain isn't responding as well as it should. For the acoustic versions of unlikely cover songs, I like Richard Thompson's "Oops I Did It Again," Mark Kozelek's take on AC/DC songs, especially "Rock & Roll Singer," and Robbie Fulks's cover of "Believe." But I actually like the early AC/DC stuff, too, so maybe Kozelek shouldn't be included. Also, that reminds me that the all-too-brief Macha & Bedhead collaboration featured their own excellent cover of "Believe." The Minutemen covered "Ain't Talking About Love" in less than 30 seconds, getting everything you need from the song. I'll have to think on this some more.