Knowing the 'wrong' version

[DrGreggles]

I know that Katy Perry did a song called 'Hot & Cold' because of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1upZz3a-7iM

And I know that One Direction did a song called 'Story of my Life'* because of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD6rKhzV_m0

*still the only thing of theirs I've heard

[Dead Soon]

I knew the He-Man version of the execrable What's Up by 4 Non Blondes first. I was gutted to find out it was a real song, rather than a made up bit of fucking nonsense. It suits being a knowing piece of shitty, stupid music, rather than an earnest effort.

[Chriddof]

I don't think I agree with that. For me, I already knew about the 4 Non Blondes version, so when I saw the He Man thing it made me laugh at how much disrespect the makers of the parody were treating that godawful pile of crap with, by turning some ultra-earnest corporate grunge into a silly dance song. ("Cringe" is a massively overused word nowadays, but I really, really cringe myself practically inside out on the rare occasion I hear the song and it gets to the "I pray every single day / for REV-OH-LUUUUSHHUUU-HUUUUN" bit.)

When there was that bit in Family Guy where Peter played an acoustic version of "Rock Lobster" to Quagmire (I think?), loads of Youtube uploads of the B-52s original were inundated with comments like "The Family Guy version is better!!!!!". And a lot of people only know of "Surfin' Bird" because of that one Family Guy episode where Peter keeps playing it, which I have to admit ruined the song for me.

I also once read of an anecdote on some forum somewhere (possibly I Love Music) where a woman recounted how she was at a nightclub in the mid-2000s and they began to play Blue Monday. Some younger gothy girls near this lady apparently sneered, "Oh my god - this is such a shitty cover of that Orgy song".

[Twed]

I knew the He-Man version of the execrable What's Up by 4 Non Blondes first. I was gutted to find out it was a real song, rather than a made up bit of fucking nonsense. It suits being a knowing piece of shitty, stupid music, rather than an earnest effort.

Same song, but my 'original' version was the DJ Miko one.

[Billy]

I was about thirteen when Britney Spears released 'I Love Rock & Roll'. I thought it was a brilliant - a well-written, nicely-hooked song, moving her into a credible new direction. Saw it as a possible future classic of its era, a 'Baby One More Time' for the noughties.

I couldn't understand why everyone hated it.

[Jockice]

I can't understand why everyone hates What's Up? Well, I can actually but I still like it.

[Mr Brightside]

I can't understand why everyone hates What's Up? Well, I can actually but I still like it.

I also like it.

[DrunkCountry]

Number of years ago I was playing some Joy Division & my father, who was staying with us at the time, popped his head around the door & asked "Who's that murdering Paul Young?" He also thought Mr. Young had penned Tom Waits' Soldier's Things &, amazingly, most of the other 'popular' tunes he'd littered his career with.

[Brundle-Fly]

Slight tangent. An old friend of mine grew up in Tunisia during the seventies and his first exposure to Star Wars (1977) was the execrable Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). Apparently, it was shown on a regular basis on El Wataniya 1. By the time he moved to the UK in the early eighties, he was astonished one could collect action figures from said special. Particularly astonished because the set didn't include a figurine of Bea Arthur

[momatt]

Slight tangent. An old friend of mine grew up in Tunisia during the seventies and his first exposure to Star Wars (1977) was the execrable Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). Apparently, it was shown on a regular basis on El Wataniya 1. By the time he moved to the UK in the early eighties, he was astonished one could collect action figures from said special. Particularly astonished because the set didn't include a figurine of Bea Arthur

That is bloody amazing and hilarious.  He must have thought the world was going mad to be so obsessed with some of the worst/strangest TV ever made!

A bit ironic that he was living in the country where loads of the first film was made too.

[Jockice]

My mention of The Dickies on the coloured vinyl thread reminds me that I heard their version of Nights In White Satin long before I had (knowingly) heard the Moody Blues original. I still prefer the Dickies version.

[Twed]

Just discovered that Cotton Eyed Joe is traditional, and not a Rednex concoction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK2sbpzF0w0

[thecuriousorange]

Similar story with Mambo no. 5.

[Glebe]

[tag]Stop getting versions wrong![/tag]

[JesusAndYourBush]

I also like it.

I also like it, plus it's the first mp3 I ever downloaded.

[bim sherman shirts]

Ashamed to admit when I first heard the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love" I thought it was someone taking the piss out of the Fine Young Cannibals' 'original'. In my defence, the over-slickness of mid-late 80s pop music tended to make anything that came before sound incredibly rough and ready if that's all you'd grown up with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMERPNrprkk

[Icehaven]

I'm in a fairly mild metal band, and we do a few covers, and our guitarist (who often suggests ones to do) tends to know covers of covers. So we do Thunder's version of 'Gimme Shelter', Jorn's version of Hotel California etc. I don't think he even knows the originals much, as when I was trying to explain that there's all kinds of (frankly unnecessary) chord changes in the Jorn version that aren't in the Eagles', he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. How can anyone not know the original Hotel California better than their own name?