Jul 162022
 

Some covers are more equal than others. Good, Better, Best looks at three covers and decides who takes home the gold, the silver, and the bronze.

Thunderstruck

From 1990’s The Razors Edge, “Thunderstruck” has become one of AC/DC’s best and biggest hits. Their most played video on YouTube (last fall it racked up its billionth view), it has also become a magnet for unusual covers, from babies to Buddhist monks to bagpipes. We thought we’d take a look at the instrumental side of the “Thunderstruck” equation, to go with this week’s Q&A, and pick out the best vocal-free performances. It wasn’t easy, spoiled for choice as we were, but we’ll stand by our top three…

Continue reading »

Mar 312020
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with covers of his or her songs. Let someone else do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Everyone loves AC/DC. You love AC/DC. Maybe you haven’t yet realized that you love AC/DC, but don’t worry. It’s only a matter of time.

However you feel about the band, you’re probably at least partially familiar with Angus Young, the school uniform-clad lead guitarist who can generally be found soloing wildly while sprinting from one end of the stage to the other. Today is Angus’ 65th birthday, and we’re celebrating by gathering some of the finest AC/DC covers the internet has to offer.
Continue reading »

May 102012
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Paul David Hewson was born in Dublin on this day in 1960. It was in his teens, however, that he was given the moniker that would become an immediately recognizable name the world over, the name by which he would be known as for both his musical fame and his international influence – Bono. (The shades would come later.) Bono is many things, but it is important not to forget that, along with being a philanthropist and entrepreneur, he is (as U2 frontman) a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and 22-time Grammy winner. Continue reading »

Aug 192011
 

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

There may not be an mainstream artist out there as difficult to cover as Nine Inch Nails. By its very nature, Trent Reznor’s music doesn’t offer an easy way in. Johnny Cash did it beautifully of course, but let’s be honest, “Hurt” wasn’t exactly the most abrasive song in the band’s catalog to begin with. In keeping with the Nine Inch Nails spirit, then, many (though certainly not all) of the covers below show at least some industrial influence. It’s noisy, it’s loud, and it’s strangely cathartic. Just like the original. Continue reading »

Aug 122011
 

Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser are rock stars. This is not a statement we could have made a year ago, although they were certainly already rock stars of the international orchestral circuit. Now, though, with the recent release of their debut album and the live covers that have been circulating YouTube, they’ve solidified their rock and roll status. Continue reading »

Jul 202011
 

There are certain musicians and albums that simply hit the right tone at the right time. Perhaps it’s the right moment for genre comeback; perhaps it’s the right time for the music industry to push something genuinely new; perhaps the flow of art and beauty into the world is, sometimes, simply serendipitous. Whatever the case may be for Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, their rise to success has produced some of the most incredible, truly listenable music to ever emerge from a publicity stunt.

When the duo released their epic cello battle of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” in January, they were simply two esteemed cellists looking for a bit of commercial success. When they released their cover of Guns n’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” in June, under the new moniker of 2CELLOS, they were “those guys who did that insane ‘Smooth Criminal’ cover.” But now, with the release of their self-titled debut album, they are something else entirely: brilliant. Continue reading »