Cover bands are and always have been a necessary part of the music scene. On those nights when you're out for a few drinks with friends and want to hear some familiar tunes, they're a welcome upgrade from a typical jukebox.

Now I don't want to get off on a rant here, but earlier this week I visited a local pub with a 90's grunge cover band. It's a typical sound for this part of town on a weeknight, and as many pub crawlers grew up with the soundscapes of the 80's and 90's, it was a good fit. After a nice "throwback" medley of "Margaritaville" and "Voodoo Child," I heard the guitarist tune to drop-D and I knew what was coming.

I became suddenly nauseous. Where's the originality anymore? I've literally heard this song in 4 different cover bands' sets in the past six weeks or so. Granted, a lot of songs are done in drop-D, but I knew it was coming.

I announced to my friends, "If these guys play 'Killing In The Name,' I'm leaving." About 2 minutes of silence from the band passed, the drummer played a four-count on the hi-hat, and at the first open strum of the guitar, I threw my chair back and stormed out.

There are so many things wrong with playing this song at a bar. First, if you're going to cover Rage, pick a song that's a challenge! This is the easiest song you can pick from a band who had a huge catalog of hits to choose from. Second, if you're going to play the easiest song, YOU HAVE TO PLAY IT RIGHT! I didn't hear an accurate version in the five different accounts; The words were wrong, the timing was off, or the guitar wasn't playing the riff quite right. We're not talking about taking creative liberties, we're talking about not knowing what the right way is.

You hear that, cover bands? Use a little creativity when you chose your set lists. We come see you play because we're sick of hearing the same old songs on the jukeboxes at our local joints. We don't want to hear you play them. If you're going to make your own version of a song, it should be drastically different from the original.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong...