Shimmy Shimmy Ya (reggae style)

Another day, another great cover! I've been a Wu-Tang and ODB fan since the first time I heard them sometime in my teens. Aside from Baby I Got Your Money, Shimmy Shimmy Ya is probably my favorite Big Baby Jesus tune. So imagine my pure elation when I heard this amazing cover on one of my favorite shows, Breaking Bad. Put this shit on and I dare you not to dance your ass off like Jesse Pinkman on a meth binge.

EXTRA BONUS TRIVIA: Aaron Paul also played a lapsed Mormon who devirginized Bill Paxton's daughter on Big Love. During a scene when she flips through his record collection, the iconic artwork of Killers is clearly visible. Does this guy play characters with great taste or what?

Iron Maiden - Cross Eyed Mary

I have a special appreciation for cover versions. There's something about hearing an old song in a new light or seeing how one of your favorite bands re-interperets another. Here, Iron Maiden pays tribute to one of their forebears, Jethro Tull. The song was a B-side from the Piece of Mind era and got significant radio airplay. In fact, it was many Americans' first exposure to Maiden. It was popular enough that promoters begged the band to release it as a single, but they declined, not wanting to give the wrong impression of the band just for some quick success. This was probably the smart move as Maiden would go on to be well respected without much radio support and better known for their own compositions like The Trooper and Two Minutes to Midnight. A quarter-centurty on, most people don't even know about this cover.