Feb 032020
 

Some covers are more equal than others. Good, Better, Best looks at three covers and decides who takes home the gold, the silver, and the bronze.

come on let's go covers

A long, long time ago — well, sixty-one years ago, anyway – the direction and course of music was altered forever when Charles Hardin Holley, Jiles Perry Richardson, and Richard Steven Valenzuela were killed in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, in the early morning hours of February 3rd. Better known as Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, these early rock and rollers were taken before they reached levels of success that most people projected for them. How significant was this loss? Well, there’s a reason February 3, 1959 is called The Day the Music Died. The music, though, lives on. What really died that day was the opportunity for these artists to influence the direction of the music they loved, going forward.

Perhaps the most acute loss that day was that of Ritchie Valens. At the time of his death, Valens was a mere 17 years of age, had been performing for less than a year, and had only a couple of hits. But he was a true pioneer, and is widely considered the first musician of Mexican descent to achieve crossover success in mainstream popular music. Despite his tragically truncated output, his influence in the field of Latino-based rock can be felt through the years, in Hispanic artist like Selena and Los Lobos; even Jimi Hendrix cited him as an influence.

One of Valens’s best-known songs is the oft-covered “Come On Let’s Go.” The question here is, which of these covers comes out on top? There are many from which to choose, some by bigger names (editor’s note: Paley Brothers & Ramones for me!), but the three selected for inclusion here all have something interesting to offer.
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Jan 132016
 

Welcome to Cover Me Q&A, where we take your questions about cover songs and answer them to the best of our ability.

Here at Cover Me Q&A, we’ll be taking questions about cover songs and giving as many different answers as we can. This will give us a chance to hold forth on covers we might not otherwise get to talk about, to give Cover Me readers a chance to learn more about individual staffers’ tastes and writing styles, and to provide an opportunity for some back-and-forth, as we’ll be taking requests (learn how to do so at feature’s end).

Today’s question, about a man we’ve written of before and surely will again, but perhaps not with as much emotion as we do this week: What’s your David Bowie memory?
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Sep 032013
 

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

The Beatles is its official title, but everyone calls it the White Album, after its minimalist cover design – the group name embossed, a stamped serial number, and nothing else. Less than 18 months removed from Sgt. Pepper, the Beatles were an entirely different band, and the cracks in their base were multiplying too fast for anyone’s comfort. But the songs begun in Rishikesh kept coming, the boys kept playing, and the end result was a great big glorious mess – and that last word is one of the biggest keys to the White Album’s appeal.

The sheer diversity of the White Album makes it an ideal subject for an all-cover compilation. Phish famously covered it live in its entirety; many Beatles tribute bands have done the same. Here on Cover Me, we’ve put together thirty different artists coming at these songs thirty different ways, representing multiple countries and multiple genres. It’ll take four days to get through them all, one for each side of the original vinyl – but if you’re up for it, so are we. Let’s get on that BOAC flight from Miami Beach and see where it takes us…
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Sep 142011
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

Andy Warhol’s vision of the perfect rock band, The Velvet Underground wrote the book on cool. With Nico, their aloof European vocalist, and the dark lyrics of Lou Reed, they were fixtures in Warhol’s Factory scene. When Warhol suggested that Reed should write a song about fellow Factory scenestress Edie Sedgwick, youthquaker, socialite, and all-around trouble with a capital T, Reed asked what kind of song. Warhol said, “Oh, don’t you think she’s a femme fatale, Lou?” Of such conversations are deathless works of art made. Continue reading »

Nov 302010
 

As we pointed out last week, the season of Christmas covers is heavily upon us. So far, the standout entries come from modern-day girl groups (sorry, Susan Boyle). Girl in a Coma, The Puppini Sisters, and Sea of Bees have all delivered beautiful Christmas covers, sounding like indie updates on Andrews Sisters harmonies. Check ‘em out below.

Joan Jett-signees Girl in a Coma bring some Texas punk swagger to Elvis’ “Blue Christmas,” sounding not particularly distraught about their man leaving. It comes off the Blackheart Christmas compilation. The Puppini Sisters’ version of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” swings along more traditionally, with grand pop production that would sound dated in less capable hands. If you like that trio sound, check out Christmas with the Puppini Sisters. Sea of Bees is actually only one girl – Julie Ann Bee – but she layers her vocals plenty thick on “Feliz Navidad.” Proceeds from the single (which you can buy on iTunes) go to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group for LGBTQ youth. Continue reading »

Sep 212010
 

Just a couple weeks ago we introduced you to the cover stylings of Girl in a Coma. This Texas trio may fly under the radar for now, but they’ve got some big-time buddies by their side. Joan Jett signed the girls and Morrissey snagged them to open a tour. Now they have a new famous friend: director Robert Rodriguez. The Mariachi-violence movie man directed the girls’ latest video, for a cover of David Bowie’s “As the World Falls Down.”

Unfortunately, the Labyrinth cut doesn’t get the Sin City/Planet Terror/Machete treatment. It’s more jerky concert footage. The shots jump around like they’re renting each camera by the minute. Still, it’s a good cover, and hopefully the Rodriguez tie-in will give these gals another boost. Continue reading »