Miley Cyrus covering Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Yesterday on the Kevin & Bean show, some rules were stated for artists covering songs by other artists..

“The rule is, equal or greater, go ahead and cover. Equal or less, you’re a mess.” – Ralph Garman

This topic came up after footage of a Miley Cyrus concert surfaced, where the singer(?) covered the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Nirvana[/lastfm] song “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Her justification was that it was a song she grew up singing with her brother, and that Nevermind was an inspirational album to her. I’m so glad her music reflects her inspiration. Disney approves.

Here’s the songs that were mentioned as questionable covers. What do you think?

• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Duran Duran[/lastfm] covering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Public Enemy[/lastfm]‘s “911 Is A Joke“
• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]311[/lastfm] covering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]The Cure[/lastfm]‘s “Love Song“
• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Big & Rich[/lastfm] covering the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Beastie Boys[/lastfm]‘ “Fight For Your Right“
• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Limp Bizkit[/lastfm] covering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]The Who[/lastfm]‘s “Behind Blue Eyes“
• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Biz Markie[/lastfm] covering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Elton John[/lastfm]‘s “Benny & the Jets“
• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Faith Hill[/lastfm] covering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Janis Joplin[/lastfm]‘s “Piece of My Heart” (though Ralph had no problem with this cover despite his disdain for country music)
• [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]No Doubt[/lastfm] covering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Talk Talk[/lastfm]‘s “It’s My Life“

What are some other covers by popular artists covering other popular artists that should not have been done?

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And just for good measure, here’s the Miley Cyrus vs. Elaine Benes (Seinfeld) video mashup that Ralph was talking about.