This month, Austin City Limits held its eighth annual ACL Hall of Fame ceremony. The inductees were Joe Ely and Sheryl Crow. The latter was covered by, among others, Brandi Carlile, who also delivered Crow’s induction speech. It will surprise no one who’s ever seen Carlile perform on an award show before that she crushes it. (Find another Crow cover from the ceremony, by Jason Isbell, in the Best of the Rest below.) Continue reading »
Every Christmas for well over a decade now, Sondre Lerche releases a new cover of his favourite pop song of the year. He doesn’t always follow the rules exactly – last year he covered both Lady Gaga and Bob Dylan – but, normally, he releases a distinct cover of a recent pop hit. This year, he’s taking on the biggest hit of autumn 2022, Taylor Swift‘s latest #1, “Anti-Hero.” (Apparently it’s huge on TikTok too.) Continue reading »
Bob Dylan doesn’t change his setlists much anymore. In fact, on his recent UK and European tour, he played the exact same setlist every single night…except one. The day it was announced Jerry Lee Lewis passed away, Dylan returned to the stage after his usual finale “Every Grain of Sand.” As anyone who’s read his new book knows, Bob knows his music history. So he skipped the obvious picks and tackled the quite obscure Sun Records-era outtake “I Can’t Seem to Say Goodbye.” Continue reading »
Ryan Scott Graham is a vocalist and bassist for the pop-punk band State Champs. Speak Low is the title reserved for his creative solo projects, such as this cover of Taylor Swift’s new Midnights standout “Anti-Hero.”
In this cover, Graham makes “Anti-Hero” feel singer-songwritery with his acoustic guitar, but also manages to harken back to the original with the simple yet satisfying electronic drums that permeate through the background. The artist truly owned the self-critical and overly honest lyrics of “Anti-Hero”. My ears perked up immediately as the vocalist took small yet poignant melodic liberties even beyond completely changing the instrumentation of the tune. Continue reading »
MUNA is a three-piece indie pop band based in LA. So far, they have released two studio albums and a Live at Electric Lady EP, which just came out on October 12th. The EP includes a new cover of Taylor Swift’s Folklore standout “August.”
The band stated that the way this cover of “August” came out surprised them. The recording was much softer and lighter than anticipated. The group was looking for contrast for the rest of their energetic EP, which lead them to decide on Swift’s heartbreak-themed track.
This version of “August” is acoustic and strummy, breathy and mellow. This bittersweet soundscape the trio has created would make the perfect song for a flashback in a high school love movie. The tasteful hand percussion, panned ah’s, delicately stacked vocal harmonies, and understated instrumentations blossom into a slow build giving us all the feels.
Listen below.
For more great T Swift covers, head over here!
Against all odds for a rocker of his generation, Elton John had a genuine hit with a single he released just last year, at age 74: “Cold Heart.” It topped the chart in the UK – his first song to do so in 16 years. It did nearly as well in the States, reaching number 7 and topping a number of secondary charts. Having current pop hitmaker Dua Lipa on board no doubt helped, as did releasing it as a remix by Pnau (“Hot Dance/Electronic Songs” was one of those secondary U.S. charts). It also fairly shameless incorporates bits of earlier hit singles “Rocket Man” and “Sacrifice” as well as deeper Elton cuts “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” In country star Brett Eldridge’s live cover, though, it all blends together seamlessly. Continue reading »