under-covers: Tommy James & The Shondells / Joan Jett & The Black Hearts

Perhaps, one of the greatest guilty pleasures in my life: the perverse enjoyment I get listening to musicians covering other artist's songs. The weirder the cover, the better! It doesn't matter how awkward or horrible the quality (shitty cell phone video, I'm looking at you), I'm an absolute sucker for this stuff. Here's the latest installment of "under-covers."

Today we head back to the 1960's and feature one of the greatest pop songs ever written with Tommy James & The Shondells' classic tune, "Crimson and Clover."

How could you not love that song? It's so ethereal and spacey, almost trance inducing. The guitars echo in your mind while Tommy James' voice haunts you till the end of days. The whole package is so sweet and saccharine I swear I get a tooth ache every time I hear it yet cannot stop pushing replay.

Now we come to the sexiest woman in the history of music (period), the one and only, Joan Jett. She and her merry men of black-hearted musicians add some serious UMPH to this song. Beefing up the guitars and injecting Joan's snarly attitude all over it's DNA. Still, her voice remains pleasant and dare I say soft throughout, well as soft as Joan Jett can get I suppose. Here it is: 

*SWOONS*
I don't care if she's in her 50's and could kick my ass. Joan Jett...you had me at hello.
Don't you love how Tommy James sounds more feminine than Joan does?

I honestly can't choose between these two versions. Let's just play it safe and assume that any version of "Crimson and Clover," hell...even any reference to it (hello there Jimmy Eat World's "A Praise Chorus") is going to rule.

What do you kids think?