Ray Padgett

Based in New York City, Ray Padgett is a freelance writer focusing on music and technology. His writing has appeared in SPIN, Mashable, Consequence of Sound, and an upcoming Bob Dylan anthology. Ray founded Cover Me as a college radio show in 2006 before turning it into a blog one year later. To preempt the oft-asked question, he doesn't think cover songs are better than originals; he just believes they're undervalued. Without covers, the world wouldn't have Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, or maybe even the Beatles.

If you haven’t yet heard ANR’s cover of Kelis’ “Millionaire,” you really should – it’s one of the best covers of the year to date. Now the Miami duo draw from the same R&B well in Usher’s “Climax,” a soaring electropop dance jam. Continue reading »

Quickies rounds up new can’t-miss covers. Download ‘em below.

Norwegian folkie Ane Brun releases It All Starts with One this week and she’s giving away a bonus track for free: a solo guitar Arcade Fire cover that shows her lilting Scandinavian accent hitting full force.
MP3: Ane Brun – Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) (Arcade Fire cover) Continue reading »

Los Angeles singer LP has a voice that would make Adele blush. She hasn’t yet recorded an album, but her slow-burn indie rock cover of Beyoncé’s “Halo” indicates you’ll be hearing a lot more about her when she does. Though a skinny white girl who looks like Jim Morrison, LP has pipes B. herself would kill for. Continue reading »

Make fun of Tom Jones’ panty-throwing appeal all you want, but the man has an ear for a cover. We still spin his brilliant “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” on the regular (why did that never get a studio version?), and now he’s back with a Tom Waits tune: “Bad As Me,” the title track to Waits’ 2011 LP. Continue reading »

French duo Housse de Racket have many clear influences – Brian Eno, Chic, Justice – but for their first-ever cover, they veered in a less obvious direction. Though the Beach Boys‘ smooth summer sound might not immediately come to mind amidst the band’s drum pads and synths, their version of “Til I Die,” premiering here, keeps all Brian Wilson’s whistful melancholy while adding a glossy electropop sheen. We asked them a little about the cover. Continue reading »

Quickies rounds up new can’t-miss covers. Download ‘em below.

Last month, the Rosebuds covered the Talking Heads. The choice was a natural – both groups deliver poppy, off-kilter melodies that worm into your head for days. Salt-n-Pepa, on the other hand, haven’t influenced Ivan and Kelly Rosebud one iota. They just re-released it for free on their new Bandcamp.
MP3: The Rosebuds – Push It (Salt-n-Pepa cover) Continue reading »

Last we checked in with Portland Cello Project, they were getting their hip-hop on with Kanye West’s “All of the Lights.” They’ve now continued the trend, but mixed a little Jigga into the mix with their new cover of Jay-Z and Kanye’s collab “H.A.M.” It adds flutes, brass, and crashing percussion to the classical-gone-crunk blend. Continue reading »

Michael Pomranz, who records with a rotating cast as World Blanket, based his upcoming record 2012 on the writings of psychedelic drug guru Terence McKenna. It comes as no surprise, then, that the man is a Syd Barrett fan. (Fun fact: he’s also the Tosh.0 writer who first discovered Rebecca Black’s “Friday” – but try not to hold that against him). Continue reading »

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