Favorite Covers 2

What's Going On, Donny Hathaway.

The Marvin Gaye original is considered sacrosanct, which is why Hathaway's cover is so excellent. It's a live version, and it's a completely different soulful arrangement - completely Donny Hathaway style.

It's obviously a fairly contemporaneaouly version. It's not a "tribute," it's a peer performing a song he likes.

Love You Inside Out, Feist.

A studio version of a Bee Gees classic disco song. It sounds lounge-y and, well, Quebecois to my untrained ears.

This was among my most played songs in 2006.

Mad World, Gary Jules.

Jules absolutely owns this version of the Tears for Fears song. Known originally for its use on the Donnie Darko soundtrack, it regained popularity in 2006 for its use in commercials for the Gears of War video game.

It's haunting and oddly compelling.