Amanda Dissinger

I'm a sophomore at NYU and I've always kind of had a thing for cover songs at concerts and on albums. My current favorite covers are "Wicked Game" by Grooms and the "Rolling in the Deep" cover by Young the Giant!

Jul 122011
 

As a rapper, Nicki Minaj has many voices and characters she uses to tell her stories. There’s “Roman Zolanski;” Nicki’s twin sister that emerges when she’s angry; “Martha Zolanski;” Roman’s British mother; and her Spanish alter ego Rosa, just to name a few. However, her many characters do not include an Iowa singer-songwriter named Jason. But after Jason Reeves’ inspired video take on Nicki’s Drake-featuring hit “Moment for Life,” maybe she should consider emulating him on her next album. Continue reading »

Jul 112011
 

Ever since its 1971 release, the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” has proven a consistent favorite for musicians to cover. Everyone from Natasha Bedingfield to the Sundays have tried their hand at the beautiful tune, but most attempts add a bit too much treacle to the country-folk. California singer-songwriter J. Irvin Dally, formerly of the Sacramento band Brother, takes the song in a refreshingly different direction. His unique voice suits the simple lyrics of Mick and the gang, but infuses a jazz sensibility into the song. Continue reading »

Jul 072011
 

If you’re going to cover Kurt Cobain, you better do it right. And that’s exactly what Malaysian import Yuna did with her version of “Come as You Are,” one of the loveliest Nirvana covers in a very long time (though Horse Feathers’ cover of “Drain You” a few months ago came pretty close to being perfect). Yuna released the song to celebrate her recent signing to New York city label FADER Label, and accompanied it with an equally dreamy video. Continue reading »

Jul 052011
 

Since the release of Adele‘s album 21 in February, hundreds, if not thousands, of covers have been released. While most of them haven’t come close to capturing the raw emotion of Adele’s tracks, there have been some interesting takes on her tracks of heartbreak and betrayal (one of my favorites has been Jamie Woon’s “Someone Like You”). Now Jackson Harris has released his take of a lover scorned by releasing a video of Adele’s smash ‘Rolling in the Deep’. Continue reading »

Jun 282011
 

In the past few weeks, Bon Iver has stunned the world with his new self-titled album, and released a b-side of the much-loved heartbreak anthem “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt. While Bon Iver’s new music is amazing, London singer-songwriter James Mathe reminds us of the beauty of Vernon and crew’s widely praised first album, 2007’s For Emma, Forever Ago with a cover of the song “Re: Stacks” for his new EP Memory Laps. Continue reading »

Jun 272011
 

CocknBullKid and Eliza Doolittle are two British songstresses who sing under false monikers and who love mid-90’s hip hop songs. Even as both UK singers are trying to take the U.S. by storm, they’ve found the time to release a simple piano cover of platinum selling 90’s girl group Destiny’s Child‘s 1999 hit “Bills Bills Bills.” Following Doolittle’s sweet and dreamy covers of songs like Kanye West’s “Runaway” and and Cee-Lo Green’s “Fuck You” (which you can find here), it shouldn’t be any surprise that she lends herself to another great cover that would make Beyoncé proud. Continue reading »