1. "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinead O'Connor
Original by: Prince and The Family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0 Many of my friends know I love me some Prince (I own four movie soundtracks by him, two of which are from movies I've never even seen), but that Irish iconoclast Sinead belted his standard into the stratosphere with this early '90s gemso early '90s in fact that I remember it being the first major radio hit of that decade. She's now more known for tearing a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, a move which undoubtedly killed her career but one she still stubbornly claims was "brilliant." Oh well. At least we have one stellar song in her catalog to fondly look back on. Honorable Mention: "Hallelujah" - John Cale
Original by: Leonard Cohen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEOZLQ3d1FI It's true I first heard this song in the kiddy movie Shrek (during the obligatory sad ending of the second act), but it's still no less powerful. After watching the movie in a Baltimore theater over a decade ago, I searched for "Hallelujah" online and found a version by Rufus Wainwright (whiney and annoying) and the original by the "songwriter's songwriter" Leonard Cohen (dark and heavy), but to me, John Cale's version remains the most authoritative, dare I say heavenly version of the song. Oh yes, I dared. So what other remakes did you think outshone the originals? Let me know in the comments below.
Michael Perone
Michael Perone has written for The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, The Island Ear (now titled Long Island Press), and The Long Island Voice, a short-lived spinoff of The Village Voice. He currently works as an Editor in Manhattan. And he still thinks Michael Keaton was the best Batman.
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