Dec 212012
 

Adele dominated the cover song landscape in 2011, but Two-Aught-Twelve saw no similar galvanizing figure. Yes Lana Del Rey got covered a lot, but Leonard Cohen and Arcade Fire also seemed to garner an unexpected landslide of great covers (and speaking of landslides, so did Fleetwood Mac). “Call Me Maybe” was a huge hit that didn’t lead to much in the way of classic covers, and few seem to have even bothered attempting the Korean raps on “Gangnam Style.”

Which means that cover songs in 2012 were more diverse, ambitious, and left-field than ever before. A given YouTube search or Hype Machine browse would be as likely to turn up forgotten hits or underappreciated songwriters as it would the latest Top 40 smash. Find a sampling of all the diversity in Cover Me’s official Best Cover Songs of 2012 countdown. Start with #40-31 on the next page, and check back daily as we’ll be adding more til we hit #1.

Aug 162012
 

If you are like the millions of people who obsessively watching the Olympics, you are probably having a little bit of a withdrawal. If there is one thing we can thank NBC’s shoddy coverage for, it is that fact that gems like Ellen and the Escapades covering R. Kelly will slowly but surely surface, giving us Olympic Fever moments weeks after the games are over.

While most Americans were probably watching Ryan Seacrest talk to Ryan Lochte about his obnoxious collection of shoes, viewers in Great Britain were privy to this subtle rendition of “The World’s Greatest” during coverage on boxing. Even if the United States did come home with the most gold medals, Ellen Smith’s gorgeous vocals make a pretty convincing argument otherwise.

 Listen to more of Ellen and the Escapades over on their official website.

May 182012
 

The thought of being invited into a crypt may not come off as the most appealing proposal. When Hope And Social invited Ellen and the Escapades into their ‘crypt’ to produce a cover in a day, the Leeds-based group accepted the challenge. The result? A folky twist on Robert Palmer‘s “Addicted To Love.” Continue reading »