Follow all our Best of 2023 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.
I like to think that badass lady in the artwork up there (done by our own Hope Silverman!) embodies the spirit of this year’s list. Not that they’re all CBGB-style punk songs—though there are a couple—but in her devil-may-care attitude. “Who says I shouldn’t do a hardcore cover of the Cranberries? A post-punk cover of Nick Drake? A hip-hop cover of The Highwaymen? Screw that!”
As with most good covers, the 50 covers we pulled out among the thousands we listened to bring a healthy blend of reverence and irreverence. Reverence because the artists love the source material. Irreverence because they’re not afraid to warp it, bend it, mold it in their own image. A few of the songs below are fairly obscure, but most you probably already know. Just not like this.
I’m always leery of any year-end lists, but I look forward to the CoverMe Best every year. Always fun to find new covers to enjoy. Heading for the top 10, I assumed they missed the best cover of the year – but there it was, exactly where it should be – at #1. Ride the Pony indeed.
Great job team! Confirmation bias for the win.
My #2 at your #1 (and really it’s my #1B). As we have determined over at Cover Lover, the best compliment we can give to Slothrust’s version, is “this song fucks.”
What a lot of crap covers in this list . . . and not even a mention of Lenny Kaye’s all-star band covering the Nuggets album?? That’s just for starters . . . what a depressing end-of-year list.
April 2023: “This is the BEST of the month??? Ouch, what an awful month then. . .”
December 2022: “Not exactly what you’d call a banner year for covers . . .”
September 2022: “Wow, an awful month for covers.”
Looking forward to bringing you down in 2024 and beyond, DW!
Thanks for that!
Single best predictor of future behavior?
Past behavior.
Or . . . looking forward to some really good covers. They’re out there.
So share.
“Fast Car” a song of hope?
Yeesh.
I suppose you also think “The Future’s So Bright (I Got to Wear Shades)” is a song praising ambitious young MBAs too.
Love the covers by Slothrust and Sunny War!