Louisa Stancioff Covers Forgotten REM Single “Strange Currencies”

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May 132025
 
Louisa Stancioff

The fourth single from R.E.M.’s ninth album Monster, “Strange Currencies,” is a little bit “Everybody Hurts 2.” It’s an atypical ballad driven by an arpeggio guitar part – almost soul – the time signature is the same, and the band almost dropped it from the album because of how similar it was to “Everybody Hurts.” It’s grungy like the rest of the album, but it’s still so similar in vibe. Maybe that’s one reason “Strange Currencies” didn’t do as well on the charts (except in the UK for some reason): it’s just too similar to casual fans.

Louisa Stancioff is a singer-songwriter from Maine who has been releasing songs for a couple of years and who put out her debut album a year ago. Now she’s covered this less-covered R.E.M. tune. Continue reading »

Trumpeter Michael Sarian Covers “Glory Box” as Cool Jazz

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Apr 012025
 
Michael Sarian

Michael Sarian is a Canadian-Argentinian trumpeter who has been performing jazz in the US for over a decade. He is currently signed to famed trumpeter Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music. Though a jazz cover of a trip hop song might seem slightly weird to some, throughout the genre’s history jazz artists have made it a habit of pop covering hits. It’s become less common as jazz has gotten more and more avant garde and esoteric but it’s still a standard part of many jazz musicians’ repertoires to have at least one cover of a pop song. Due to its sound, Portishead‘s”Glory Box” lends itself to a cool jazz approach and that’s mostly Sarian’s approach on his new version. Continue reading »

Olivia Kaplan and Hand Habits Cover Neil Young’s “Birds” for Los Angeles Fire Relief

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Feb 032025
 
olivia kaplan hand habits birds cover

A deep cut from Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush, “Birds” is still one of his more frequently covered songs, with over 40 official covers. Perhaps its due to the popularity of that album that the song is known so well, or just the stark, heartbreaking beauty of the song. It’s a relatively unusual arrangement for Young, perhaps inspired by his experience recording with Crosby, Stills and Nash immediately beforehand. It’s just Young at the piano accompanied on background vocals by two members of Crazy Horse. Continue reading »

En Attendant Ana Release Very Different Version of “Fairytale of New York”

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Dec 192024
 
en attendant ana fairytale of new york cover

The Pogues‘ “Fairytale of New York” is now a Christmas classic. It has gone platinum many times in the UK, has featured in the UK Top 20 something like 20 times, presumably at Christmas, and it has won some polls as the UK’s favourite Christmas song. Though less commercially successful in the US, the song has still permeated enough that it has become a perennial favorite without charting.

En Attendant Ana (“Waiting for Ana” in English) are a French indie pop band who have put out three albums since 2018. They have a new Christmas single where they cover “Fairytale” and a medley of obscure Christmas songs by ’60s sunshine pop group The Free Design. Despite their twee pop-ish sound, their take on “Fairytale of New York” is pretty controversial. Continue reading »

Run! Rabbit Run! Release Alt Pop Cover of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog”

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Nov 272024
 
run rabbit run i wanna be your dog cover

For whatever reason, “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is The Stooges song that other bands love to cover most. It was a popular cover (at least for a band such as The Stooges) in the 1980s and in every decade since. Maybe it’s because of the relatively simple, repetitive riff. Maybe it’s because of it’s because of the piano on it. Whatever there reason, it’s far and away the band’s most popular song in terms of covers. Continue reading »

thèriot. and Francesca Blanchard Collaborate for Chamber Cover of “Fade Into You”

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Oct 222024
 
thèriot. fade into you cover
Photo by Luke Awtry

Mazzy Star will be forever known for “Fade Into You,” their one big hit across four albums. It’s been covered hundreds of times (only two other Mazzy Star songs have more than one known cover). Many of those covers try to capture something of the original’s mystique and dreamlike quality and most of them remain very much within the pop rock paradigm. Continue reading »

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