Feb 142023
 
new beach boys covers

Four days after the Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy returns to the Dolby Theatre in LA to stage an all-star tribute to The Beach Boys. All surviving bandmembers were present to watch a host of A-list artists tackle their hits and, occasionally, deeper cuts. The proceedings were filmed for A Grammy Salute To The Beach Boys, which will air later this year, but for now you can preview it with audience footage that landed on YouTube.

Below, find videos of Beach Boys covers from Mumford & Sons, St. Vincent, Beck, My Morning Jacket, Weezer, LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Carlile, Fall Out Boy, Little Big Town, Charlie Puth, Norah Jones, Pentatonix, and Hanson, along with a couple cool duets among the artists performing: Beck and Jim James of My Morning Jacket doing “Good Vibrations,” Carlile and Legend doing “God Only Knows” (pictured above), and Luke Spiller of The Struts & Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless doing a medley of “Surfin’ USA” and “Fun Fun Fun.”

It’s a little hard to compare them all since sound quality is inconsistent, but three performances that stand out here at Mumford & Sons collaborating with Sam Gendel on a strange jazzy “I Know There’s an Answer,” St. Vincent crooning “You Still Believe in Me,” and LeAnn Rimes singing the hell out of “Caroline No.” And Weezer, of course, who were made to do crunchy power-pop covers of Beach Boys hits. (I couldn’t find any video of three performers from this show: Andy Grammer, Lady A, and Take 6).

Mumford & Sons – I Know There’s an Answer

St. Vincent – You Still Believe in Me

Beck – Sloop John B

My Morning Jacket – I Get Around

Beck & Jim James – Good Vibrations

Weezer – California Girls

LeAnn Rimes – Caroline No

Brandi Carlile – In My Room

John Legend – Sail On Sailor

Brandi Carlile & John Legend – God Only Knows

Fall Out Boy – Do You Wanna Dance [5th slide]

Little Big Town – Help Me Rhonda

Charlie Puth – Wouldn’t It Be Nice

Foster the People – Do It Again

Norah Jones – Warmth of the Sun

Pentatonix – Heroes and Villains

Luke Spiller & Taylor Momsen – Surfin’ USA / Fun Fun Fun

Hanson – Barbara Ann [4th slide]

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 302022
 
best covers of june 2022
Angel Olsen – Greenville (Lucinda Williams cover)


Angel Olsen dropped two terrific covers this month. Her version of Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” recorded for the TV show Shining Girls, features haunting electronic textures underpinning her voice. It’s a surprisingly un-folky cover of one of Bob’s early folk songs. Her version of Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road standout “Greenville” is just as good, guitar echoing behind her mesmerizing double-tracked vocals. Continue reading »

Jan 312012
 

Best (So Far) finds the finest first-round covers of the latest pop hits.

In light of all the success Katy Perry has garnered in the last several years with the help of hits like “Last Friday Night” and “California Gurls,” it’s not much of a surprise that “The One That Got Away” — the latest single off her third and most popular album, Teenage Dream — is currently blowing up the airwaves. In fact, when the song finally climbed to the top of the charts in December (it was originally released back in September 2011), Teenage Dream clinched the title of first album to release seven number one singles on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play Songs chart. Continue reading »