Six Extremely Weird Cover Songs, Featuring Bill Shatner, Dolly Parton, and ... Pat Boone?

Between Miley Cyrus covering Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and now Ben Folds covering "Sleazy" by (our guilty pleasure du jour) Ke$ha, we felt it was only appropriate this week, that we compile some other unexpected covers. Here are six of the weirdest we can think of.

6. Sonic Youth doing the Carpenters' "Superstar"
So, fine. Kim Gordon and Co. did do a song about Karen Carpenter and her struggle with anorexia on Goo. But holy fudge, when the distortion lovers covered this Carpenters song, it was still left-field, even by their standards. Taking pitch-perfect pop balladry and turning it into sullen, echo-y, whispering darkness was just ... well, genius actually. Who are we kidding? This song is amazing.

5. Far doing Ginuwine's "Pony"
The Sacramento post-hardcore legends got together and did this cover for a bit of fun three years after they'd split up. And it was one of the first indications to the world at large that Far wasn't just a band of miserable, overly earnest bastards. It was, therefore, rather popular, despite being incredibly strange. Hearing the usually ultrasensitive Jonah Matranga inviting us to "get on" his "saddle" and singing about "juices running down your thigh" just -- well, shucks, puts a big smile on our faces. Emo nerds get down 'n' dirty too! Who knew? 

4. Dolly Parton doing Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"
There's a scene in Wayne's World where Wayne wanders into a guitar store and begins playing this song, only to be shot down by the clerk, who points him in the direction of a "NO STAIRWAY" sign. That's how much of a raging cliché it is to cover this song. But when Dolly does it? Totally a W.T.F. moment. The woman is a musical goddess (obvs), but trying to picture her sitting at home with her big country hair and big fluffy pink slippers and big rhinestone-encrusted stereo, listening to Led Zeppelin IV, makes our brains hurt.