Apr 232020
 
live from home covers

Every week the names doing these covers from home just get bigger. This past week got a boost from Global Citizen’s all-star charity event, from which several of today’s set come, as well as one major appearance in last night’s Jersey for Jersey fundraiser (Fountains of Wayne’s heartbreaking “Hackensack” from that is worth watching too, though, except for guest bassist Sharon Van Etten, it’s not a cover).

But, amidst the all-stars, musicians at every level continue to take to the internet to perform covers. We’ve got some of the best we’ve seen below. As always, we make no claims to being comprehensive, so share any other favorites in the comments. Continue reading »

Mar 282019
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

best radiohead cover songs

All week we’ve been running features on every artist inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s unusually strong 2019 class. But the biggest tribute goes to the band least excited about the honor. And that’s maybe as it should be.

Their unenthusiastic reaction – as I write this, it’s not even clear if any of them will show up – reminds me of when Bob Dylan first played Obama’s White House. Bob didn’t come to his own rehearsal, or to the customary photo op with the president. He turned up at the last minute, played his songs, shook the President’s hand, and immediately left the building. And as Obama told Rolling Stone: “That’s how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don’t want him to be all cheesin’ and grinnin’ with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise.” Continue reading »

Nov 122012
 

For their latest single, ZZ Top draw on an unlikely inspiration: Houston rapper DJ DMD, who had a minor local hit in 1999 with “25 Lighters (ft. Lil’ Keke & Fat Pat).” The bearded trio have renamed it “I Gotsta Get Paid,” and fuzz-riffed it out with a classic chicks and hot rods video. Continue reading »

Nov 282011
 

Early hip-hop Pioneer Heavy D died earlier this month and, as tends to happen when an icon passes, the first awards show to come around featured a lavish tribute. Instead of getting a bunch of youngsters who barely know the music, though, the Soul Train Awards recruited a bunch of his ‘80s and ‘90s peers to cover a medley of Heavy D hits. Heavy D in fact won Best Rap Album back in 1990 with Big Tyme, so the tribute seemed especially apropos. Continue reading »

Nov 042011
 

In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!

Even though the site you’re currently reading focuses solely on cover music, we seldom turn our attention to actual cover acts. Today, though, we’re going to spotlight one that’s risen to a level of notoriety much higher than most of their bar-dwelling brethren — Steel Panther, the most rockin’ band in the land. This four-piece group, comprised of lead vocalist Michael Starr, guitarist Satchel, bassist Lexxi Foxxx and drummer Stix Zadinia (get it?!) expertly merge tremendous musical chops and keen comic sensibilities to both pay tribute to ’80s hair metal icons and lay bare all the ridiculousness inherent to the genre. Through a regular Monday residency on LA’s Sunset Strip, Panther (formerly Metal Skool, Metal Shop and Danger Kitty) has built an impressive following out of their celebratory shows. In fact, the group’s been embraced by LA’s indie comedy community just as much as the world of rock music; in a hilarious episode of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast, they joke with Human Giant and Children’s Hospital star Rob Huebel that he’s the fifth member of their band, and Sarah Silverman has appeared in their music video for “Death to All but Metal.” Continue reading »

Oct 102011
 

After months of controversy, the Michael Jackson tribute concert Michael Forever went on without a hitch Saturday night. Well, with only a few hitches. Jennifer Hudson and the Black Eyed Peas dropped out at the eleventh hour (one a bigger loss than the other) and a planned live stream on Facebook got nixed by the Jackson estate. Which is a shame, since we’d love to see professional footage from the event. Instead, we have some decent audience clips. Continue reading »