Hip-hop oldies become jazz instrumentals. Cult folk songs become grand spaghetti-western soundscapes. Blink-182 hits become DIY bedroom jams. We’ve got ’90s hardcore bangers shredded on acoustic guitar, Spanglish Latin-pop takes on Air Supply and Elvis, and, maybe most outrageously of all, a wild experiment in turning everyone from Chappell Roan to Smash Mouth into emo/screamo.
It’s an especially unruly set this year, but a rewarding one. Enough preamble. Dive in.
Chewy Rodriguez — Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift cover)
This beautiful performance aired on South Dakota Public Broadcasting and, as of this writing, has 81 views, half of which are mine. (To be fair, presumably more people saw it when it aired on actual TV). But this Sioux Falls singer-songwriters beautiful Taylor Swift cover deserves a far bigger audience. It’s simply done, no frills or gimmicks, but he sells the hell out of it.Continue reading »
Two of indie pop’s brightest names, Maggie Rogers and Sylvan Esso, have teamed up to deliver a mystical new cover of Broken Social Scene’s classic “Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl.” Their version arrives as part of the announcement for You Forgot It In People: A Tribute, a covers album celebrating the 20th anniversary of Broken Social Scene’s seminal 2002 record.
On an Instagram announcement post for the single release, Rogers wrote, “‘Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl’ is one of those songs that changed my life. Found me and ripped me apart and showed up for me crying alone in a car or dancing in many living rooms over many years with friends. It showed me the power of repetition in music when it can become a kind of meditative mantra.”
She added, “When I got the call to cover it a few years ago, it seemed like a completely insurmountable task, but creating something new with two of my best friends … was more fun than I could have possibly imagined.”
As for the cover, Rogers’ signature breathy vocals pair beautifully with Sylvan Esso’s minimalist electronic production, giving the wistful track a fresh, dreamlike quality while preserving the aching nostalgia of the original. Their collaboration captures the spirit of teenage longing and transformation that made the song so beloved, while adding a new, intimate sonic texture that feels uniquely their own.
Sylvan Esso wrote on their Instagram, “It was such a terrifying honor to be asked to cover this with Maggie, as it’s one of our favorite songs of all time. We hope we’ve done it justice and that you like it.”
The You Forgot It In People tribute project will feature a lineup of acclaimed artists, each covering tracks from the landmark album, a record that helped define indie rock’s early 2000s soundscape. If this first release is any indication, the tribute promises to be a heartfelt and innovative celebration of Broken Social Scene’s enduring legacy. The full album is released June 6th, and the track list is as follows:
1. Ouri — “Capture The Flag”
2. Hovvdy — “KC Accidental”
3. Toro y Moi — “Stars And Sons”
4. Miya Folick and Hand Habits — “Almost Crimes”
5. The Weather Station — “Looks Just Like The Sun”
6. Mdou Moctar and Mikey Coltun — “Pacific Theme”
7. Maggie Rogers & Sylvan Esso — “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl”
8. Middle Kids — “Cause = Time”
9. Benny Sings — “Late Nineties Bedroom Rock For The Missionaries”
10. Spirit Of The Beehive — “Shampoo Suicide”
11. Serpentwithfeet — “Lover’s Spit”
12. Sessa — “Ainda Sou Seu Moleque”
13. Babygirl — “Pitter Patter Goes My Heart”
We kid, of course. But for whatever reason, this year’s big trend in covers was: Tom Petty. At one point there were something like 20 Petty covers on our longlist. Many came from two all-star tribute albums that dropped, entirely coincidentally, the same year (they both made our Best Albums list). We narrowed it down, of course. Three Petty covers ended up in this Top 50, one not even from those albums. Then, just this week, another high-profile Petty cover dropped: Snoop and Jelly Roll reworking “Last Dance for Mary Jane”! Suffice to say that one wouldn’t have been a contender even if it hadn’t arrived too late.
That was the big surprise trend in 2024 covers. The less-surprising trend you could have called from a mile out: The new wave of young pop divas—Chappell, Sabrina, Charli—got covered a lot. We could have done an entire 50-song list of their covers, too (the “Good Luck Babe”s alone!). But, if we had, we would have missed out on gospel R.E.M. and country The Weeknd and electropop Mott the Hoople and soul Green Day and… you know what, just read the list.
(Moo-chas gracias and Deng-ke schoen to Hope Silverman for this year’s tiny-hippo art.)
Brains behind alt-folk act Former Belle and guitarist of Philadelphia-based indie-pop quartet CRUISR, Bruno Catrambone treats us to a hauntingly serene rendition of Broken Social Scene‘s “Lover’s Spit,” taken from their critically acclaimed You Forgot It In People (2002).
Operating under the alter ego Spirit Haus, a side project the Pennsylvanian musician started in 2014, Catrambone tackles the Canadian collective’s tune, delivering a delicate and mellow take on the song.Continue reading »
