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.

Jan 242012
 

There is a definite safety in covering top 40 pop songs these days, and it becomes pretty obvious when scanning through the endless Gaga, Britney and Rihanna covers. However, this doesn’t always mean that the cover artist has to play it safe. In the case of singer-songwriter Sarah WintersFind Restless Cover EP, audiences are lucky enough to get some refreshing covers of Kanye West‘s endlessly covered hit “Runaway,” Rihanna‘s risque “S&M,” as well as covers of Usher and Frank Ocean. Continue reading »

Nov 292010
 

We’ve heard plenty of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” this year. First a pair of schoolteachers sassed it up. Then Alex Goot shoved a little extra electropop in. McFly stripped the production back for an acoustic radio rendition. Most recently (and most absurdly), Matt Lauer and Al Roker took a stab at the song a cappella!

After all that, what’s the point of posting another “Dynamite”? While all those were fun, this one may be the first that’s legitimately “good.” Minneapolis songwriter Sarah Winters layers the harmonies over some stately piano chords. A dumb ode to partying becomes a celebration of life itself. Download it below. Continue reading »