Watch New Beach Boys Covers by Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Beck, Mumford & Sons, Weezer, and More

 Posted by at 1:25 pm  1 Response »
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]

The Best Boy Band Covers Ever

 Posted by at 6:00 am  1 Response »
Jan 242020
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

best boy band covers

2020 marks a number of twenty-year anniversaries in music, but perhaps nothing as much as the extremely turn-of-the-millenium phenomenon of the boy band. At the start of the year, NSYNC set a first-week sales record with No Strings Attached. At the end of it, Backstreet Boys set their own sales record with Black & Blue. No one before or since sold CDs like boy bands sold CDs. Even the year’s other huge artists seemed defined in reaction to boy bands; Eminem dissed boy bands in seemingly half of his songs, while Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst was constantly starting feuds with them. It was that kind of year.

Because boy bands had their detractors. Boy oh boy, did they have their detractors. I was a 13-year old in 2000, and I remember the arguments dominating middle school hallways. But whether you were a fanatic or a skeptic, it’s hard to argue that, stripped of the love-it-or-hate-it presentation, the songs were rock solid (melodically, if not always lyrically). I imagine every one of us has gotten some of these stuck in our head – even if we didn’t want them there.

So rather than picking just one artist, we decided to pay tribute to the entire genre. We didn’t limit it to songs from the year 2000, but we did limit it to the phenomenon that 2000 represents. Though you can make a fair argument that The Beatles and Jackson 5 were boy bands, including groups like that would render this list pretty meaningless. Every artist here fits a pretty strict definition of a boy band, even if they came just before the genre’s cultural peak (New Edition) or after it (One Direction).

So everybody, rock your body with the 25 best boy band covers ever.

– Ray Padgett

The list starts on Page 2.

Hanson Covers Taylor Swift’s Newest Mega-Hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

 Posted by at 10:00 am  No Responses »
Sep 242012
 

If you grew up in the 90s you’ll remember Hanson as the blonde brothers topping the charts and winning the hearts of young women all over the world, and they sure aren’t ready to call it quits anytime soon. The boys stopped by the Fifi and Jules radio show in Australia last week to play some of their hits, (old and new), and they surprised listeners with an awesome Taylor Swift cover. The guys did an acoustic cover of Swift’s mega-hit “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” that reminds us all why they stole our hearts so many years ago. Continue reading »

In the Spotlight: Boy Bands

 Posted by at 5:00 pm  Comments Off on In the Spotlight: Boy Bands
Feb 252011
 

Call me old fashioned, but I am still a sucker for Joey Fatone, Brian Latrell, and the other Lachey Brother from their boy band glory days. The success of their songs didn’t come from legendary lyricism or face-melting guitar solos, but from their pop-perfect voices and sweet dance moves. Their boyish good looks didn’t hurt either. So join me in some late-’90s nostalgic looking with covers of all those dirty-pop hits. Though a biased fan, I will attempt to objectively scrutinize these covers and determine whether they’d be teen-idol approved. Continue reading »

Song of the Day: Project RNL, “MMMBop”

 Posted by at 9:00 am  2 Responses »
Jul 132010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

By all rights Hanson should be in the Where-Are-They-Now file, but they never entirely vanished. A couple weeks back their latest album debuted at #30 which, while nowhere near their previous levels, still means a whole lot of people paid real money for a Hanson album in 2010. Real money that could have been spent for so many other causes. Here are some better uses of $15: Donate it to the Glenn Beck 2012 fund. Buy some gas to throw into the ocean. Shred it to line your cat’s litter box. What else?

“MMMBop” is widely (and rightly) considered a joke now, but at the time it was not only wildly popular, but critically acclaimed. It’s true. Rolling Stone, Spin, and VH1 called it one of the best songs of 1997. The Village Voice’s annual Pazz and Jop critic poll called it the best song of 1997. Wow.
Continue reading »

Full Albums: Radiohead’s Kid A

 Posted by at 4:00 pm  2 Responses »
Oct 052009
 

The first post of the month always features a look at songs covering every track on a famous album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!


There was never really any question which album Pitchfork would pick as its #1 of the 2000s. However, a predictable conclusion to their countdown shouldn’t distract from the merits of the winner, Radiohead’s Kid A. As the follow-up to their massively successful OK Computer, Kid A’s glitchy electro beats and spacey reverb washes elicited mixed reaction at best. Suffice to say, fans and critics have come around in the ensuing nine years, these ten artists in particular.<

Sonos – Everything In Its Right Place


I’m sure a cappella Radiohead has been tried many, many times. I’m sure it has failed just about every one of them. This is the rare exception. If Thom Yorke produced a cappella himself, it would probably sound like this. [Buy]

John Mayer – Kid A


The guy responsible for “Your Body Is a Wonderland” taking on the man who gave us “Karma Police”? Surely a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that it isn’t furthers my theory that Mayer may actually be a talented musician hiding it well. [Buy]

paradigm – The National Anthem

[audio: https://ia802205.us.archive.org/2/items/paradigm2006-10-27.sbd.flac16/paradigm2006-10-27d2t02.mp3]
The Louisville four-piece did an almost exclusively Radiohead covers set in ’06, all instrumental, all ass-kicking. This one comes out of a lengthier medley with the Beatles’ “Come Together” (hence the abrupt ending). Click the link to get the whole show: [Buy]

Eliza Lumley – How to Disappear Completely


Many Radiohead fans claim this as their favorite song. It’s one of my least favorites. Eliza’s quiet piano lament may make me reconsider though. [Buy]

Vitamin String Quartet – Treefingers


I’ll be honest here: I tried hard to find a cover of this not churned out by the ubiquitous string quartet. I failed. This anonymous group has literally hundreds of tribute albums out (here’s a partial list), so their street cred in the cover community is below even Richard Cheese’s. Still, the original here is instrumental, so their approach works. They cover the whole album. [Buy]

Hanson – Optimistic


Going from the Vitamin String Quartet to Hanson? If this is my last blog post, it’s because I was chased off the internet. I won’t push my luck by saying the “MMMBop” boys do a good job here. But I’m not saying they don’t either… [Buy]

Sa-Ra – In Limbo


Techno, dance, crunk. Sa-Ra combines just about every genre Radiohead isn’t and inexcusably makes it work. [Buy]

We Versus the Shark – Idioteque

[audio: http://www.quoteunquoterecords.com/qur017/010.mp3]
The slow grind of We separates this from the many folksy covers out there, giving it a hefty call-and-response churn that ably substitutes for the schizo drum pattern of the original. [Buy]

Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble – Amnesiac / Morning Bell


Technically this pairing is off the Amnesiac album, but the “Morning Bell” portion first appeared on Kid A. This twee-folk ditty from the Decemberists’ Chris Funk may make you forget that either album exists. [Buy]

Christopher O’Riley – Motion Picture Soundtrack


It seems fitting to close out with O’Riley, the solo piano cover artist extraordinaire. He’s got two discs of Radiohead covers out, both worth getting. [Buy]

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