Dec 152023
 

Follow all our Best of 2023 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

I like to think that badass lady in the artwork up there (done by our own Hope Silverman!) embodies the spirit of this year’s list. Not that they’re all CBGB-style punk songs—though there are a couple—but in her devil-may-care attitude. “Who says I shouldn’t do a hardcore cover of the Cranberries? A post-punk cover of Nick Drake? A hip-hop cover of The Highwaymen? Screw that!”

As with most good covers, the 50 covers we pulled out among the thousands we listened to bring a healthy blend of reverence and irreverence. Reverence because the artists love the source material. Irreverence because they’re not afraid to warp it, bend it, mold it in their own image. A few of the songs below are fairly obscure, but most you probably already know. Just not like this.

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May 302023
 
the winnie blues dammit

The Winnie Blues is a dynamic Americana/country duo from Australia, currently based in Nashville, comprised of members Alice Beatty (vocals, songwriting) and Cameron Potts (guitar, songwriting, music production). Their latest release is a cover of Blink-182’s “Dammit.” While Blink-182 plus country might sound like an odd combination, slowed-down covers always make lyrics hit harder, and this song is no exception. Beatty and Potts came with harmonies right away and kept them throughout the tune, a sonic treat that’s rare.

The steel slide and gentle snare combine with the backdrop of the running eighth notes. The artists have created such a sorrowful yet placid soundscape. The hairpin crescendos and decrescendos emulate the emotional sensation of getting your hopes up just to be let down again.

The Winnie Blues’ symbolic music video is as interesting as their cover, depicting a black and white split-screen style as Potts slowly has his head shaved. This version of “Dammit” is to be released on the duo’s EP Sad Songs for Happy People this September.

Be sure to also check out these other awesome Blink-182 covers

Feb 282023
 
adam lambert
Adam Lambert – Getting Older (Billie Eilish cover)

On his new covers album High Drama, Adam Lambert didn’t pick one of the obvious Billie Eilish songs to cover (“Bad Guy,” “Everything I Wanted,” etc). He goes for relative deep cut “Getting Older,” off her 2021 album Happier Than Ever. Eilish’s original was fairly minimalist. Lambert doesn’t do “minimalist.” His “glam” version, as he describes it, makes the song sound like a much bigger hit than it was. Continue reading »

Dec 162022
 

Follow all our Best of 2022 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

best cover songs 2022

The big story in 2022 covers came from a song that’s almost 40 years old: “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).” After Kate Bush’s classic had its Stranger Things moment, every week we got a half dozen new covers. It’s been six months since the show came out, and they’re still coming! This entire list could have been “Running Up That Hill” covers if we’d let it.

We didn’t, and it isn’t. The song makes one appearance, as do a number of other trendy 2022 items: Wet Leg, GAYLE, and Beabadoobee; the latest Cat Power covers project; posthumous releases (Dr. John, Levon Helm); songs that tie into coming out of pandemic isolation.

But, as always, a joy of our list is all the covers that tie into nothing, and that you won’t find anywhere else. Doom-metal Townes Van Zandt? Bluegrass Eminem? Ska Eddie Murphy? Folk Björk? Psych-rock Groucho Marx? Those are just five of the fifty killer covers on this year’s countdown. So run up that road, run up that hill, run up that building, and read on at the link below.

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Oct 312022
 
avril lavigne
Avril Lavigne & All Time Low – All the Small Things (Blink 182 cover)

One way you can tell millennials are getting old: There are now nostalgia-bait festivals catering to the music of their (our) youth. Such was the case with When We Were Young, the emo and pop-punk fest in Vegas a couple weeks ago with Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Bright Eyes, and dozens more. A video high point is this extremely fun and infectious cover of “All the Small Things” by All Time Low and Avril Lavigne, performed right after Blink 182 announced they were getting back together. Best part: When the entire crowd hollers alone to “Work sucks / I know”! Continue reading »

Jun 072022
 
katie toupin dammit

In a new music video, indie artist Katie Toupin, formerly of the group Houndmouth, puts a somber twist on the Blink-182 song “Dammit”. Far from the pop-punk original, her cover manages to be down-tempo without being sleepy. Toupin’s vocals are almost ‘singing in cursive’ while she maintains a pleasant, bright tone. Continue reading »