Play it Again, Sam #24b - "Smooth Criminal"

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As I mentioned before in the "original" portion of today's Play it Again, Sam, I wanted to have a little bit of fun this morning. We are at #24b, the "cover," and it doesn't get much more fun than this: Alien Ant Farm's cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal." There are two ways to do a cover song: a note for note remake (which, while it sometimes works, is more often than not, well, BORING!,) or, totally owning the tune and making it your own by doing something fresh and original with it. That's exactly what Riverside, California's Alien Ant Farm did in 2001 when they covered "Smooth Criminal." The roots of Alien Ant Farm's version of "Smooth Criminal" can be traced back to their early live performances, when the band would play a few riffs from the song as they warmed up, which resulted in audience members requesting (demanding?) that they play the tune in it's entirety. The nu-metal band obliged, recording the song for their 2001 album, Anthology. It paid off rather handsomely. The Ant Farm version reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #1 on that magazine's Modern Rock Tracks chart.) As was the case with Jackson's original, the cover was an international hit as well, charting in a total of 20 countries, reaching Top 10 status in 16 of them! And, it's an absolute blast! (If it were allowed, I totally would have dropped an F-Bomb in there!) (Oh, "Smooth Criminal" was also covered by the cast of Glee. I'm writing this in my van while I wait for my girlfriend to get off work. Excuse me while I vomit out the driver's side window...) (Info verified by Wikipedia)