THOUGHT: A toughie - What is a good song?

A very, very interesting thought I have for you today…
It’s on the true value of songwriting. Effectively, how many songs can you think of that are rubbish? True - you may not like them in their current studio incarnation, but have you ever thought what that song would be like if it were done… differently?

A golden example of this in my head is the famous (or notorious) track Umbrella. Formerly performed by Rihanna, we all know the hook ‘under my umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh’ blasting out of passing chav-piloted cars, inside greasy nightclubs and on the radio twenty-four-allthefuckingtime. I suppose most who read this article hate it thoroughly.
Yet, read on.

Now, I do not like Rihanna’s version all that much: the main problems I have with it are her voice and the pointless Jay-Z intro. I do like the drumloop and synths, having said that. And that was that: I didn’t like Umbrella. Then I heard Biffy Clyro’s acoustic version soon after, and was vastly impressed. The dumb hook ‘ella-ella’ intact, and yet it was truly great. Hmm… how bizarre. Over the months up to now, many other cover versions have popped up somewhere or other (including a sparse piano take by Linkin Park). Very recently, Wale’s finest Manic Street Preachers have covered and released their own version of the song to coincide with something the NME have done (I shan’t research exactly what, because I fucking hate the NME). While everything else was a different perspective on Umbrella, this one in particular is very close to the original. The drumbeat is unchanged, and the guitars chiefly mimic the synth line. However, I absolutely love this cover even though it is simply a rocked-up clone. And that can mean only one thing, readers: the actual song is innately good! Gasp!

This brings up some quite dodgy, reasonably philosophical questions. Number one: do I like the Manic’s version because to my ears, it captures the song better than Rihanna’s studio effort? Number two: do I like it more because I prefer the rock element they put into it over the Rn’B of the original? Number three: do I like it more, purely because I’m a fan of the Manic Street Preachers?

I don’t think I can really answer this one myself. If you would be so kind, let me know your own ideas. Comment on the post and discuss! Or else I will rain down upon you like Great Odin's raven.