Music

I don't know if I've ever seen an online discussion on this particular subject before.

Back in the 90s, there were a number of "Tribute Albums", compilation albums where a record label would reach out to a bunch of bands, usually lesser known bands, to each record a cover of a song by some popular and influential band. The two albums I had back in the day were Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M., and Virus 100: A Tribute to Dead Kennedys, both released in 1992.

I really liked them for two reasons. One, it was fun to hear covers of already familiar songs being done in creative ways, as many of the bands sort of interpreted their chosen song a bit. Like King Missile's cover of "Get Up" being performed with a very prominent electronic keyboard and an additional verse being added, or Nomeansno performing "Forward to Death" a cappella. And two, it introduced me to more obscure bands that I likely wouldn't have otherwise discovered in those days, like Steel Pole Bath Tub (who had a song on both albums, their rendition of "Chemical Warfare" is amazing but their version of "We Walk" was a, uh, interesting choice).

Flash forward several years and the Internet now has Wikipedia and Discogs and several means of obtaining music, and I revisited these albums and came to discover that there were several such albums released. Like, I wouldn't have a complete list of all of these albums I've since discovered, because there were a lot and the trend continued into the 2000s and (as far as I know) this is still a thing that happens.

I will mention one other that I discovered very recently: it's called Another Damned Seattle Compilation, it's from 1991, and it's a bunch of Seattle bands covering songs by The Damned. And, although the whole thing isn't made up of grunge bands, there are a lot of grunge bands on it. I think the most famous grunge band here is Mudhoney ("Stab Your Back") and there's Skin Yard ("Machine Gun Etiquette"), Coffin Break ("Love Song"), Love Battery ("I Just Can't Be Happy Today"), Hammerbox ("New Rose"), and Gruntruck ("Nasty"). I know most people have never heard of any of those bands but for those of you who fall into the incredibly niche category of fans of both The Damned and the early grunge (and Seattle music) scene, it's an amazing find.

Anyway, I'm open to other recommendations, including albums that aren't from the 90s. There are also compilation albums like the Before You Were Punk series, where a bunch of punk bands would cover 80s pop songs, similar concept.