The Best Cover Songs of May 2024

 Posted by at 9:00 am  No Responses »
May 312024
 
Bat for Lashes
Bambie Thug – Zombie (The Cranberries cover)

This month, Bambie Thug represented Ireland in Eurovision, coming in sixth (the country’s highest placement since 2000). Shortly before the finals, they released this cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie”amidst criticism of their outspokenness about the devastation in Gaza. The top YouTube comment puts it well: “The significance of Bambie choosing to cover this song will not be lost on anyone in Ireland or the UK, or many places outside them. It’s just about the most impactful call for peace an Irish person can give, and they’ve done it as well as anyone ever has.” Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of March 2023

 Posted by at 9:00 am  No Responses »
Apr 032023
 
best cover songs of march 2023
Bria – When You Know Why You’re Happy (Mary Margaret O’Hara’ cover)

Bria’s “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” made our list of the Best Covers of 2022. The track was a sneak peak at her covers EP Cuntry Covers Vol. 2, and the full thing dropped a few weeks ago. It includes a wonderful version of this much more obscure song. Bria explains: “Mary Margaret O’Hara is a creative force and one of my favorite Canadian artists. I have been a huge fan of hers for quite some time and really wanted to try my hand at one of her songs for Vol. 2. She is a real queen of vocal improvisation. It’s a trait of hers that I’ve always admired, so I really wanted to explore that when recording this cover. The video for this track is special to us, a sort of collage of memory; fragmented footage of summer taken over the last two years is dispersed throughout shots of a vast winter scene, filmed while we finished the record up North with our live band.” Continue reading »

Sammy Rae Funks Up and Breaks Down Cher’s “Believe”

 Posted by at 1:56 pm  No Responses »
Dec 092022
 
sammy rae cher believe cover

At first, “Believe” was a joke. An older artist, aggressively using autotune (to cover up for her failing voice?) for her first #1 single in nearly a decade, it felt too weird to be real. And it was a little bit like the single equivalent of Hootie and the Blowfish’s Cracked Rear View a few years earlier – the music industry said this single was extremely popular but nobody would admit to liking it or buying it. I was in high school at the time and I can tell you there was nothing less cool than this Cher song and the people who secretly liked it.

But things have changed. Now “Believe” is a trailblazing use of Autotune that influenced numerous other artists. And a bunch of thoughtful, compelling covers have revealed that there really is a song under all that production. Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of July 2022

 Posted by at 11:44 am  No Responses »
Aug 012022
 
best cover songs of july 2022
Brett Eldredge – Cold Heart (Elton John, Dua Lipa cover)

Against all odds for a rocker of his generation, Elton John had a genuine hit with a single he released just last year, at age 74: “Cold Heart.” It topped the chart in the UK – his first song to do so in 16 years. It did nearly as well in the States, reaching number 7 and topping a number of secondary charts. Having current pop hitmaker Dua Lipa on board no doubt helped, as did releasing it as a remix by Pnau (“Hot Dance/Electronic Songs” was one of those secondary U.S. charts). It also fairly shameless incorporates bits of earlier hit singles “Rocket Man” and “Sacrifice” as well as deeper Elton cuts “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” In country star Brett Eldridge’s live cover, though, it all blends together seamlessly. Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of November

 Posted by at 12:00 pm  1 Response »
Nov 302021
 
The Best Cover Songs of November
Barbaro – Believe (Cher cover)


Progressive bluegrass quartet Barbaro takes on a few obvious inspirations on their new EP Under the Covers. Gillian Welch’s “Dark Turn of Mind,” makes sense. Wilco’s “Jesus Etc,” sure. But the other two tunes venture a little further afield. Sheryl Crow’s pop hit “If It Makes You Happy” makes for a jaunty fiddle and banjo number, as does, surprisingly, Cher’s “Believe.” Continue reading »

 Older Entries