Jul 102025
 
HAIM Addison Rae

This week on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, Haim delivered a curveball cover that pulled from three corners of the pop universe. The rock trio blended Addison Rae’s sleek single “Headphones On” with the laid-back instrumental groove of Janet Jackson’s “Got ’Til It’s Gone” (which famously samples Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”) Haim pulled the bold multi-layered homage into a cool and cohesive cover. Their version stripped Rae’s futuristic synth-pop back to focus on more organic, percussive instrumentals. The Haim sisters speak extensively on their background as drummers, so this reinterpretation fits right alongside the band’s trademark sounds.

For the “Headphones On” cover, they let the rhythm and texture of Jackson’s 1997 hit carry the mood. Danielle Haim’s smoky vocals took center stage, softening the sharper edges of Rae’s original delivery. The harmonies nodded subtly to Joni Mitchell’s presence in the sample lineage, giving the performance a depth expanding beyond Rae’s pop hit. The mashup is a map through the timeline of music history, while still capturing the hook and shoulder-swinging effect from “Headphones On.” As a band, Haim has a knack for acknowledging music giants, letting it influence their west coast surf rock sound. With this cover, they once again prove they’re one of the most inventive cover artists out there today.

In the Live Lounge, Haim also performed their single “Down To Be Wrong.” It comes from their new album, I Quit, released last month. Their fourth album blends classic rock influences with pop hooks and stories of relationships past. Produced by Danielle Haim and Rostam Batmanglij, the album has been praised for its mix of swagger, vulnerability, and sonic variety.

May 212025
 

Indie rock artist Blondshell (Sabrina Teitelbaum) covered Addison Rae’s pop single “Diet Pepsi” during a live session on SiriusXMU. Addison Rae’s signature sound is glossy pop full of flirty vocals. But Blondshell brings her raw, guitar-driven sound and introspective lyrics to this cover. Continue reading »

Oct 312024
 
best covers of october 2024
Farmer’s Wife — Season of the Witch (Donovan cover)

Austin rockers Farmer’s Wife go full shoegaze-psych on this Donovan cover just in time for Halloween. They write: “Our cover of ‘Season of the Witch’ materialized out of a drum beat and pedal feedback two Halloweens ago. This creepy classic opened us to more experimentation and allowed us to dive into an eerier side of our sound.”

Fiona Apple — Lately (Don Heffington cover)

The late Don Heffington was an acclaimed drummer, so, naturally, his new tribute album includes drum greats like Jim Keltner. But he was also a singer-songwriter, so friends and collaborators like Jackson Browne, Victoria Williams, and Fiona Apple cover his songs. Apple selected “Lately,” the closing song on the final solo studio album of his lifetime, 2016’s Contemporary Abstractions in Folk Song and Dance. Continue reading »