Seriously, what is it about this song that makes shitty goth bands want to record their own horrible remakes of it? Isn't that what karaoke is for? I mean, sure, I love NIN's "Discipline", but you won't find me in a studio, recording my own "re-interpretation" of it, and why? Because 1) it's unnecessary, as I could never hope to capture the brilliance of the original, and 2) I'm pretty sure TR would hunt me down and threaten to rip my cunt off if I tried to. (Though maybe not, since Maroon 5 still hasn't been punished for their "acoustic" performance of "Closer".)
Perhaps it's the lack of consequences that makes crappy bands so bold about putting their inane takes on "Enjoy the Silence" out there-- after all, when was the last time you ever heard Martin Gore threaten to rip somebody's cunt off? At any rate, the crappy covers are out in full force. Behold, the guilty:
- BREAKING BENJAMIN is responsible for this atrocity; keep in mind that this group has a history of ruining great songs (Tool's "Sober" and NIN's "Hurt") and therefore deserve no mercy.
- Euro cheese-metal outfit LACUNA COIL covered the song for their 2006 album Karmacode. The fact that Cristina Scabbia is totally hot still doesn't excuse how cheesy and ridiculous their version is.
- As if I didn't already hate HIM enough, they offer THIS version of the song. The accompanying fan-made slide-show doesn't make me like it any more. As a matter of fact, I managed to listen through all the way to the other two covers (to make sure they entirely sucked, of course) but only made it through til the 1:35 mark on this one.
- At this point, you might be asking yourself, "So, how would one go about stripping a song like 'Enjoy the Silence' of all its inherent sexiness and making it suitable for play in, oh, elevators and supermarkets?" The answer to that would be to let KEANE (aka, the British precursors to The Fray) loose with a tambourine and keyboard.
- IT DIES TODAY (the name and the lead singer's Danzig hair both scream OMG WE'RE SO GOFFIK!, but they're actually just more cheap pseudo-metal) offer their take on the classic. As the band name would suggest, yes, it sucks.
Of all of these, I think I'm most offended by Keane's version, since they've managed to water down a great song and make it into what is essentially mall muzak. Of course, it's my opinion that both Keane and the Fray should be put onto a space shuttle and blasted into orbit around Jupiter, but I think their cover actually justifies that sentiment.
By the way, I did finally find the video for "Wrong", but not on YouTube. Here's a link if you want to see it; with its use of the rewind-narrative and multiple car crashes, the creepy clip reminds me slightly of NIN's video for "Deep"-- except better and without a stupid plot that attempts to tie-in with a movie, TR's dubious acting "skills" ("I'mma make a withdrawal!"), and inexplicable green goo.
Also, if you're looking for a really good Depeche Mode remake, Modwheelmood covered "Home" at a gig in 2006, and I know there's a soundboard recording of it floating around on YouTube somewhere.
I'm going to go take more cold medicine now, so this will be all for today!
