Items22The creator’s order
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All Along the WatchtowerHendrix keeps Bob Dylan's cryptic verses and the descending chord cycle. The guitar fills the gaps left by Dylan's folk arrangement, to the point where the solos feel like another voice in the story.0 - 2
(I Can’t Get No) SatisfactionDevo trades the Rolling Stones' famous guitar riff for tight, offbeat drums and prickly bits of guitar. The repeated line still sounds exasperated, though the clipped delivery makes Mick Jagger's complaint feel more like a nervous tic.0 - 3
Personal JesusCash takes Depeche Mode's synth-rock hit back to the blues shape of its riff. The strum keeps that phrase within reach while Cash's dry low voice makes the familiar invitation sound very personal.0 - 4
In BloomSimpson sings Nirvana's grunge melody as a country-soul ballad. The brass builds where the distorted guitars used to surge. You can follow the same broad lift into the chorus even as the performance grows tender.0 - 5
I Will SurviveCAKE puts the chords of Gloria Gaynor's disco hit under a dry, almost conversational vocal. The bass sets a new pace, but the melody still rises into the declaration that gives the song its name.0 - 6
GloriaPatti Smith folds her own spoken lines into Van Morrison's garage-rock song. The riff gathers force underneath her, and the spelled-out name eventually lets you hear where Them's single fits inside the new performance.0 - 7
Walk On ByIsaac Hayes gives the Bacharach and David song Dionne Warwick recorded an extended psychedelic soul arrangement. The title melody arrives after a long introduction and keeps returning as a point of recognition amid the guitar and orchestral swells.0 - 8
Killing Me Softly With His SongLauryn Hill carries the vocal shape familiar from Roberta Flack's version over a hip-hop beat. The little answering interjections make the refrain feel shared, even as Hill holds on to the intimacy of one person singing about another.0 - 9
Rock El CasbahRachid Taha sings the Clash song in Arabic and brings its bounce into his raï-rock sound. Listen for the familiar shape of the title refrain. It carries you through a change in language as well as a change in rhythmic feel.0 - 10
Love Will Tear Us ApartThe Joy Division song becomes a light bossa nova arrangement, with quiet acoustic strums replacing the driving post-punk beat. The title melody keeps its melancholy shape, which makes the softness of the new performance feel a little uneasy.0