What’s scarier, alleged Illuminati puppet Lady Gaga sung by Daughtry or sung by Cartman? Covers can be scary things. Occasionally a cover is completely unexpected, but still works. Sometimes they are simply inspired, and the cover artist seems to own the song as much as the original.
One of my absolute favorite covers is Joe Jackson‘s “Got the Time” sung by Anthrax. There’s nothing scary about it (other than it’s sung by Anthrax). However much I like Jackson’s original, the song fits Anthrax perfectly — so much so that many Anthrax fans don’t realize it’s a cover of the British New Wave pioneer.
Here’s how the lyrics begin:
Wake up, got another day to get through now
Got another man to see
Got to call him on the telephone
Got to find a piece of paperSit down, got another letter to write
Think I’ll got to get the letter just right
There’s a ringing on the telephone
Oh no, got to write a little later
No such day as tomorrow, only one two three go!Time – got the time tick-tick-tickin’ in my head (repeat)
Here’s a live version of the original and the Anthrax cover video. The full lyrics can be found here.