Riley Haas, Author at Cover Me

Riley Haas

Riley is a digital marketing trainer and strategist in Toronto. He obsessively writes and talks about music and once had a classic rock radio show in university. His favourite cover of all time is Uncle Tupelo's version of the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog." He's also a movie fan, having seen approximately 4,400 films. You can follow him on Twitter @riley_haas.

Gigi Perez Reimagines Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”

Posted by Riley Haas at 11:00 am 1 Response »

Apr 102026

What’s Green Day’s biggest hit of the ’90s? At least in terms of total sales, not chart position, it’s probably the least Green Day-like of all their hits, “Good Riddance.” Nearly three decades later, it is one of their top five most-streamed songs too, no matter how unlike the rest of their (’90s) oeuvre it is.

Gigi Perez is a Cuban-American singer-songwriter based in Florida who has been releasing singles for about half a decade. Her song “Sailor Song” blew up on TikTok in 2024. Hollister enlisted her for their new ad campaign and she’s done a cool thing with it: she’s covered “Good Riddance” as country rock. Continue reading »

Low Cut Connie Performs Slow Piano Cover of “Little Red Corvette”

Posted by Riley Haas at 12:00 pm No Responses »

Apr 092026

It feels like every hit song must have a slow piano cover at this point. There are so many out there. Not all hit songs are suited to the style yet it feels like every hit song gets one. But, despite the proliferation of this very specific cover style, there is still the odd new version that pokes through, that works so well it’s almost like hearing the slow piano cover for the first time. Sometimes, that’s an easy song for the style – a song whose lyrics befit a change of pace and arrangement. But other times – perhaps more often – the successful slow piano cover is one that shouldn’t work on paper. Continue reading »

Sean Taylor Brings “All Along the Watchtower” Back to Its Roots

Posted by Riley Haas at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Mar 272026

“All Along the Watchtower” is one of the most famous covers ever. Infamously transformed from its original harmonica- and acoustic guitar-driven story-song from Bob Dylan‘s pivot to country, to one of the iconic psychedelic rock songs of the era. So many people who cover “All Along the Watchtower” are in thrall to the Experience version. Even Dylan. Continue reading »

Sammy Kay Release’s Folk Cover of Van Halen’s “Jump”

Posted by Riley Haas at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Mar 202026

Van Halen’s biggest ever hit is, of course, more known for its famous synthesizer part than it is for its eponymous band leader’s guitar playing. That is ironic, I guess. It’s one of those songs where the lead melodic part is so central to our conception of the song, it’s sort of hard to think about it without it.

Sammy Kay is a singer-songwriter and former touring musician from New Jersey. He describes his sound as “folk punk” but that’s just to explain his raspy voice. His sound is classic folk complete with tape hiss. Continue reading »

Liquids Record Noise-Punk Cover of Queen’s “I Want to Break Free”

Posted by Riley Haas at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Mar 192026

Part of their flirtation with New Wave, Queen‘s “I Want to Break Free” was initially reviled by UK critics and criticized in America for its video. But it ended up as their biggest hit from its album and one of their biggest hits of the ’80s. It remains a Top 10 song in popularity based on streams. Among Queen songs, it’s instantly recognizable for its synthesizer opening, not a common trope for Queen. (Though that intro is missing on the album version.) Continue reading »

Barns Courtney Performs Stomping, Soaring Cover of ’50s Hit “Green Door”

Posted by Riley Haas at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Mar 162026

“Green Door,” a #1 hit in the US and UK in 1956, is now 70 years old so it’s no surprise if you don’t know it. (I grew up listening to oldies radio and I barely remember the original.) If you do know it, you likely know it from Shakin’ Stevens, which was also somehow a UK #1 during that brief period where rockabilly was popular again. Or, if you’re like me, you know it from The Cramps‘ cover. Both Stevens’ cover and The Cramps’ cover are pretty faithful, if filtered through their respective revivalist miens.

English singer-songwriter Barns Courtney has been putting out music for about 10 years. Not only was he not born when Shakin’ Stevens and The Cramps covered “Green Door,” his parents might not even have met yet. He is reaching back with this one. Continue reading »