1. You can't live in the past ALL the time. As great as those songs were, if I have to hear the original version of some of them again, I'm going to puke.
2. Tribute value- when someone takes the time to resurrect the spirit of a twenty or thirty year old song, it means that the song still has value and is still culturally relevant- at least to someone other than an old, New Wave addict like me.
3. A great cover is an opportunity for a new generation to enjoy the song and increases the chance that they may discover the original.
4. Done well, it is a chance for a great song to be exposed to a larger audience and get the recognition it deserves. Many Punk and New Wave songs didn't get the advantage of mainstream airplay and people missed out on them.
5. Once in a great while a cover song actually surpasses the original.
Take Green Day & U2's cover of "The Saints Are Coming" at The Superbowl, for instance. I know a bit about music but probably would have never known about that song had they not dusted it off, performed it with such energy and put it in such a bright spotlight. That was a transcendent experience that lifted the song, the performers, the listeners.. and probably the band that originally wrote and performed it.
Click here for a list of great 80's cover songs: DJ Craig's Best 80's Covers
-Los Angeles DJ
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