Our official list of the Best Cover Songs of 2017 comes next week. But first, we’re continuing the tradition we started last year by rounding up some of the songs it most killed us to cut in a grab-bag post. No ranking, no writing, just a bunch of knockout covers. Continue reading »
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.
Today we conclude our look at six decades of “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me,” the timeless Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic. Click here to read about the ’60s, here for the ’70s, here for the ’80s, here for the ’90s, and here for the ’00s. Then keep reading for the big finish…
Part VI: The ’10s
Two and a half years shy of the end, we’re about to surpass the total number of “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” covers produced in any decade, including the ‘60s! Like MTV before it, YouTube is helping to drive this output. To be clear, we’re also not considering every bad amateur effort out there. There’s some carryover of the jazz-influenced versions from the ’00s, but the real story up to now is the sophistication and maturity that’s developed. In general, it’s as if the song, to no one’s surprise, is aging like an exceptional cabernet. So far this decade…
Back in November we presented our ten favorite lesser-known Britney Spears covers. Early-aughts nostalgia reigned with radically altered takes on classic hits like “Oops…I Did It Again!” and “Toxic.” Well, Britney’s back, and so are we. “Hold It Against Me” turns one terrible pickup line into four minutes of guilty-pleasure pop. The single only dropped two weeks ago, but, it being Britney and all, artists have hopped on the cover bandwagon with a speed we haven’t seen since “F*** You.” Continue reading »
It was only a matter of time. Ever since Cee-Lo Green took over the internet with his bouncing-lyrics “Fuck You” video a week ago, the world has wanted – nay, needed a great cover of the tune. Well, good news world: they’re pouring in. No big-name artist has tackled the tune yet, but you know it’s only a matter of time before the first Live Lounge version surfaces.
Until then, here are the best five covers on the net. For a song that’s only been out eleven days, it’s rounded up some terrific interpretations. Miami artist Tristan Clopet jams it out with a three-piece combo. West coast hippies Weasels exist. go bluegrass, violin, banjo, and all. L.A. songwriter Chester See rocks the solo piano pop. Montana punk Dub delivers the definitive solo guitar screamer. Violin prodigy Eric Stanley busts out an instrumental over some a cappella oohs and aahs. Five very different approaches, all must-hears. Now ain’t that some shit? Continue reading »