"Creep"

TLC
(La Face, 1994)

The Afghan Whigs' take on this superb cheatin' song may actually be superior to the original from T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye, because it replaces the silk-PJs production and elegant trumpet licks (horn-synched, in the video, by Tyson Beckford look-alikes) with Greg Dulli's guilty growl and keyboards as greasy as the rooms where illicit boot knockin' tends to take place. That said, TLC are endlessly wise about what makes playas play and fly girls stray, and a hot 'n' bothered T-Boz fanning herself with ohhh-ahhs is '90s R&B's sexiest sound.

-- Alex Pappademas