The Best Cover of All Time (The Original, Redux)

by Scott H. Payne on December 14, 2009

Just realized that I posted the wrong version of Rocking in the Free World when I bumped the Swell Season doing Into the Mystic as my candidate. The version I posted is good with Pearl Jam and Neil Young, but I’m not sure a song that involves the original writer/performer can be considered a cover. Check out the ’92 Pink Pop Festival version below the fold. In the words of Barney Stinson, it is legen – wait for it – dary!



Scott is a sometimes blogger and social media consultant/principal at East Side Media. In addition to writing at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Scott is also a founding member of Beams and Struts and a fellow at the Canadian Council for Democracy's blog the Commons. You can reach Scott via email and follow him on Twiter.

{ 3 comments }

1 Will December 14, 2009 at 3:26 pm

We don’t accept anti-American submissions, Payne.

2 Scott H. Payne December 14, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Bah, most of the best rock songs have been anti-American in some fashion or another. Learn to live with it.

3 Jaybird December 15, 2009 at 9:01 am

This deserves its own thread, I think.

I see it as completely (COMPLETELY) opposite. I see the songs that you probably see as “anti-American” as “quintessentially American”. Well, the ones that aren’t “Canadian Content”, anyway. (Notable exception: Rage against the Machine. Those guys were anti- a lot of things, though. Whenever I see Zack de la Rocha, I point out to him that more suit-wearing former frat boys bought his albums than sovereign citizen militia types.)

It’s the difference between “we need an Obama instead of a chowderhead like Bush” and “we need to tear the edifice down!”

Even Green Day’s “American Idiot” was much more the former than the latter with their whole “love needs to be more important than anger” theme that, let’s face it, wasn’t as good as Tommy’s.

The undercurrent of idealism changes the dynamic. (Notable exception: Rage Against the Machine)

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