How about Travis covering "Hit Me Baby One More Time?"

I bet that's hilarious. Another good one I thought of is Eddie Vedder's cover of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away."

Some personal favorites:

The White Stripes, "Jolene" (Dolly Parton)
Everything But the Girl, "The Only Living Boy in New York" (Simon and Garfunkel)
Jeff Buckley, "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen)
Uncle Tupelo, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (The Stooges)
Johnny Cash, "I See a Darkness" (Bonnie "Prince" Billie)

I love Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" -- it's absolutely perfect.

Have you seen the movie that Stay was in? It's a bit bizarre, but good I think, from memory. The trick is that it's got to be well known, but not hated.

How about a Bob Marley tune?

I haven't seen the movie "Stay" was in -- not yet, at least. It's something of a sequel to Wings of Desire which is supposed to be excellent. I'd like to watch them both sometime.

"Well known but not hated" -- that's pretty much what I was thinking except I would add "and not too loved." For instance, you probably wouldn't try to cover "With or Without You" because it's so much of a classic that people might not respond well unless it is a completely brilliant cover.

"Far Away So Close" is a very good film, although I think "Wings of Desire" is better. "Wings" also has Nick Cave, which is way cool.

Mesh, just out of curiousity, what did you think of Million Dollar Hotel?

I wasn't a big fan. I like Bono, but I thought his screenplay overemphasized eccentricity over humanity. I did like the soundtrack, and the last few shots had a urban epic feel that I appreciated. But what the heck was Jeremy Davies doing with his monkey-boy shitck? Wim Wenders has been in something of a slump since "Far Away So Close" (He peaked, in my mind, with "Paris, Texas" and "Wings".)

As the only Wenders film I've seen, there was a good bit to like about it. I only saw it once, so I can't comment too deeply, but I did feel like the characters were very "real" -- but I can see what you mean about the eccentricity being emphasized heavily. I particularly loved the first scene of the film, it was just simple and moving.

other decent cover songs...

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Voodoo Chile
The Ataris - The Boys of Summer
Radiohead - Sunday Bloody Sunday (Live)
Pennywise - Wipeout
No Doubt - I Want You to Want Me
Metallica - Tuesdays Gone
Metallica - Turn the Page
Metallica - Astronomy
Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams
U2 - Sweet Jane
Lenny Kravitz & Eric Clapton - All Along The Watch Tower
Guns & Roses - Every Rose Has It's Thorn
Eric Clapton - Red House
Charge - Always With Me, Always With You
Charge - Little Wing
Metallica - Die, Die, Die My Darling

Also if you like cover songs, look at Sampleaccurate.com, the cover band Charge does several covers for that website, and they are also quite talented.

this topic came up on the raido today and i started to make a list of my favorite cover songs. here goes:
Smashing Pumpkins/my blue heaven,landslide,rock on ( a song done so badly that it grows on you)
Tori Amos/smells like teen spirit, angie
They Might Be Giants/jessica,
Great Big Sea/ its the end of the world...
Mike Flowers pops/wonderwall
Pearl Jam/crazy mary
G n R/knockin on heavens door
Simpsons TV/in a godadvida(in the garden of eden)
Israel Kamamakawiawoole/somewhere over the rainbow,wind beneath my wings
Blind Melon/3 is a magic number
Velvet Revolver/ money

these are just songs that i enjoy, other covers that are good:
Tori Amos/the strange little girls album
Encominia/led zeplin tribute
School House Rock tribute

comment away...

"The beat" cover of "tears of a clown" gotta be the best cover of all time, and if you havent heard it, you are very, very, very sad indeed.