Ah, its a slow day and I'm currently cursing Uber for planting this idea in my head ... so without much ado, here's the list of 15 of my favorite cover tunes, in no particular order. What do you think I am, Casey freakin Kasem?

1. People Get Ready (Jeff Beck w/ Rod Stewart) - OK, I know I said these were in no particular order, but in reality, this song really is #1 for me. To begin with, its a killer tune that has its roots in Mississippi Delta blues & spirituals. While normally that's not a big deal for me, there's an inordinate amount of pride I take in knowing that for a brief moment in time, I was once in that same vast wasteland of cotton and rice fields. Its about the only thing to really hold your head up about that area. No, that wasn't intended to be a Trent Lott slam, but ... ah what the hell.

2. You Really Got Me (Van Halen) - and with this song, as well as its instrumental harbinger, an era was born. And God said: Let there be metal. A generation of 6-string slingers later (myself among them), this era still had its moments. Hell, I miss guitar solos!

3. Dock of the Bay (Michael Bolton) - OK, hold your fire. Yes, I'm fully aware that this is Michael Bolton we're discussing. I'm also aware that with this hit song, Mike changed course on his musical career and became the desirous object to the Oprah crowd that he is today. Still ... its a hell of a cover. When you've got Otis Redding's widow saying that he does it better than Otis, that says a lot.

4. Ain't That A Shame (Cheap Trick) - And thus, a generation of 80s AOR rock was born. Not much you can say about this simple song covered by a simple band out of Chicago. It just fit so well with Robin Zander's raspy voice.

5. Absolutely Sweet Marie (Jason & the Scorchers) - It wouldn't very well be my list if I didn't find a spot for J.A.T.S. This is a band that basically earned their bread and butter on taking country classics and adding a hard rock tinge to them in some way or another. In this case, the songs are fairly unrecognizable. I swear I'll limit myself to one official entry of this, one of my favorite bands. But anyone really looking to learn more should give a listen to the Gram Parsons cover: Drugstore Truckdriving Man. While I prefer that song more since its heavier, ASM is more indicative of the bands' work over time and one hell of a rocker in its own right. [MP3 Clip]

6. What A Wonderful World (Joey Ramone) - Listening to this song in and of itself is enough of a thrill. Listening to it knowing that Joey knew he was making a CD to be released after his all but certain death from lymphatic cancer adds a million other elements to the listening experience. Personally, I'm a big fan of songs covered in a cross genre way. This one really hits the new version of the park with a hard driving rhythm, but I'm more than a little biased every since I saw Rock & Roll High School a hundred times on cable.

7. Goodbye to Romance (Lisa Loeb/Dweezil Zappa) - A rather eclectic pick here. The song is off of Ozzy Osbourne's first solo release. Its the one slow song, not quite a true ballad, but close enough if it helps categorize it. The Loeb/Zappa version is full tilt ballad, but with Lisa's far superior voice, and an oh-so perfect little electric solo on top of the minimalist acoustic backing, I can crank this song to help amplify almost any mood. I just cannot say enough great things about Dweezil Zappa, too. [MP3 Clip]

8. Anything by Me First & the Gimme Gimmes - the band only exists as a cover band. I first stumbled onto them during a Warped Tour in which I heard a rollicking cover of Science Fiction Double Feature (the Rocky Horror intro tune). I rushed the stage and caught the rest of their cover tunes done over punk stylings, and could not believe my ears. While I'm partial to SFDF, I think if I were forced to pick some favorites, I'd go with You've Got A Friend (done to the beat of The Ramones' Blizkrieg Bop), or My Boyfriend's Back which is along the lines of a comedic version of the original.

9. Wild World (Mr Big) - Back when Mr Big was realizing the amount of cold hard cash to be made in the business of doing puff tunes, they stumbled onto this Cat Stevens tune and almost clawed their way back out of obscurity after previously earning a #1 hit with an original ballad. In my mind, this one is far superior to the Stevens version. The only shame is that it doesn't highlight them as a band, just the singer. Guess that's why they broke up.

10. Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Martina McBride) - Only saw this live, but I'll be damned if this isn't the single best version of this song in the world. To be fair, I've heard Trisha Yearwood's version too & love it. But Martina, who is ironically, a belter, vocally, does a much softer & sweeter rendition of this song. I mean if I had to rank both on a scale of 1-10, I'd give Trish a 10, but Martina an 11.

11. Two Become One (Paul Gilbert) - Never heard of Paul Gilbert? Well, he's gone indie since leaving the aforementioned Mr Big. He was the guitar hero component of that band and now prefers to be a guitar hero to the few who buy his solo releases. This Spice Girls tune gets a really melodic makeover with a really soulful solo from the shredder himself. The song itself is an homage to a few musical components that Gilbert introduces: one riff from a Sabbath tune, and a little Zep in there as well. How's that for a celebration of British music? The live track also have a little dialogue that Paul covers some of the chords in the song. He's genuinely impressed that a Spice Girls song can have such intricate chording. I'm genuinely impressed he can add a guitar solo to the tune. [MP3 Clip]

12. Various (The Ramones) - No, they did not do a song called Various. I'd like to limit this a little more than I did for Me First .... The Ramones actually did a lot of originals, but a few of their covers stand out to me over the course of my musical evolution: Do You Wanna Dance, Questioningly, and Needles & Pins in particular. Besides, this is The Ramones. They deserve a few extra slots on this list.

13. 2000 Man (KISS) - Basically, this one was the obligatory Ace Frehley song off of the Dynasty album. The Rolling Stones version is rather weak ... this one actually fits into the context of the song since its sung by Ace.

14. My Way (Sex Pistols) - I'll admit, the first few times I heard this version, I couldn't stand it. But it grew on me ... and kept growing. As it stands, this is one of those songs that when I'm clicking my player for the next song, I'll stop on this one every time no matter what. Johnny Rotten sure couldn't sing, but he absolutely could evoke a feeling.

15. Here I Go Again (Whitesnake) - Techincally, this one qualifies as they covered their own song and the original had different musicians ... and the cover rocked a lot harder. Anyone wants to experience the musical growth of Whitesnake over time, you need not go any further than listening to the original version of this song, the remake, and then the '87 radio remake. Kinda sums up the band in a nutshell right there. Whitesnake also made a habit for a while of taking one of their old songs, snazzing it up, and making it better. It was one of the things I really admired about the band. [MP3 Clip]

Theoretically, I should have an honorary Elvis and Beatles tune in there as well. But since both basically just ripped off Chuck Berry for the longest time and made more money off his music then Chuck himself likely did, I'll pass.