21. "Imagine"
Imagine a world in which only those who truly understand and embrace the message of John Lennon's "Imagine"—that religion, nationalism, and capitalism are all essentially insane—bother to cover it. Unitarian churches go nuts with it, and that's fine, but Avril Lavigne, the physical embodiment of crass consumerism? That's just painful. Even A Perfect Circle mangles it, turning something hopeful and beautiful into something foreboding and scary. Too bad Lennon wrote such a beautiful melody—it lends itself to empty renditions.
22. "Hallellujah"
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" passed into the realm of pop standard long ago, so often has it been committed to record and covered live in performances ranging from heart-stopping to merely histrionic. To be fair, two of those cover versions were arguably better than the original: John Cale's mournful take (only slightly marred by its appearance in Shrek and Scrubs) and Jeff Buckley's gorgeous rendition. But apparently no one can settle on a "definitive" edition and just let it be, because Bono, Imogen Heap, k.d. lang, Bon Jovi, and too many others have tried, with increasingly sterile results. Recently, actor Anthony Michael Hall (yes, that Anthony Michael Hall) growled his way through his own version; can William Shatner's take be far behind?
23. "What A Wonderful World"
Considering that an aged Louis Armstrong sang the original, it's hard to believe this song is a scant 40 years old—it sounds far more old-timey in both sentiment and performance. Maybe that's because the world has endured countless renditions over the years by a who's who of the enemies of good taste: Celine Dion, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Rod Stewart, and John Tesh. Even Joe Pesci felt compelled to share in 1998. But when a ventriloquist sings it through a stuffed turtle who's doing an impression of Kermit The Frog covering Louis Armstrong, we as a society must finally say enough.
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