Adia Victoria recorded this powerful Badu cover for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. She said of the time she discovered the song, “I was looking for something that was bigger and deeper and felt more warm than the idea of a Christian God. And I dove into my imagination. And the first time I heard ‘on and on’ it felt like Erykah Badu was waiting for me to be her there.” Continue reading »
Every year, I do a big anniversary post tackling the best covers of a year before Cover Me was born. So far we’ve done 1969 (in 2019), 1978 (in 2018), 1987 (in 2017), and 1996 (in 2016). And in 2020 we circle back to the not-so-distant past with the most recent year yet: 2000.
Cover Me began in 2007 and we did our first year-end list in 2008, so 2000 isn’t that long before we were following this stuff in real time. But, in music eras, 2007 and 2000 seem eons apart. 2000 was nü-metal and Napster, Smash Mouth and the ska revival. Beyoncé was in the quartet Destiny’s Child; Justin Timberlake only had a one-in-five chance of being your favorite member of N’Sync (or maybe one-in-four…sorry Joey). By the time this site started seven years later, all this seemed like ancient history.
There were a lot of extremely prominent covers in 2000. “Prominent,” of course, doesn’t necessarily meaning “good.” This was the year that Madonna covered “American Pie” (not to be outdone, Britney Spears then took a stab at “Satisfaction”). It was the year a Jim Carrey movie soundtrack inexplicably asked bands like Smash Mouth and Brian Setzer Orchestra to cover Steely Dan. It was the year of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” Bet you didn’t even know that one was a cover (unless you’re a faithful Cover Me reader).
None of those are on this list (though, if you want more dated trainwrecks like those, stay tuned Monday for a bonus list I’m calling the “The Most Extremely ‘2000’ Covers of the Year 2000”). But 2000 offered a wealth of wonderful covers, often flying just under the mainstream radar. Some of them still seem of the time – anything ska, basically – but most could have come out decades earlier. Or yesterday.
YouTube was still a few years away, as was streaming more generally, so covers still mostly came out through “traditional” avenues: on albums, as the b-sides to singles, etc. As I wrote in my new book, tribute albums were big business by this time too, which means that many 2000 covers emerged through that format. Even narrowing this list down to 50 was hard, which is why Cover Me’s Patreon supporters will get a batch of 150 Honorable Mentions.
Check out the list starting on Page 2, and stay tuned for the best covers of this year coming in December.
The list begins on Page 2.
Erykah Badu is considered to be one of the pioneers of the ‘90s musical genre known as neo soul. Her music fused elements of different eras of soul, hip hop and jazz. Her 1997 debut album Baduizm was considered groundbreaking. These days, because of streaming, we take it for granted when an artist blends together musical styles from across different eras. Back then, displaying such a cross-section of musical influences required not only a tremendous talent but access to a deep music collection. Continue reading »
Under the Radar shines a light on lesser-known cover artists. If you’re not listening to these folks, you should. Catch up on past installments here.
Anna Moss and Joel Ludford make up Handmade Moments, a jazz folk duo formed in 2014 after the break up of their original band Don’t Stop Please. Moss and Ludford developed a following in Arkansas and started to travel across the country performing. Unfortunately, in 2016 they hit a major setback when they were both involved in a serious bus accident, requiring time off from touring to recover. However, this recuperation period spawned their album Paw Paw Tree, released in 2018.
This duo has chemistry and a myriad of instrument capabilities; throughout their repertoire of covers, you’ll see them play saxophone, ukulele, guitar, upright bass, even beatbox. Whether it’s soul, funk, or hip-hop, Handmade Moments have the talent to tackle both classic covers and unexpected ones. Here are some of their best.
For Record Store Day this year, Erykah Badu and The Roots keyboard player James Poyser quietly dropped a new 7″ cover of Squeeze’s oft-covered “Tempted.” For those who weren’t lucky enough to snag it that day, they’ve just posted it online. Continue reading »
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!
My Morning Jacket made a name for themselves through epic live shows. Stretching on for up to three hours, the band’s sets don’t skimp on the covers. Their Bonnaroo sets are particularly legendary; their 2008 late night set explored funk with songs by Sly & the Family Stone, Funkadelic, James Brown, Kool & the Gang, Bobby Womack, The Velvet Underground, and Mötley Crüe. More recently they covered John Prine for a new tribute album (download it here).
“We’re trying to find amazing songs that people don’t really listen to anymore, who would hear them and go, ‘Oh, my god — why haven’t I listened to this forever?” drummer Patrick Hallahan told Spinner about what songs they select to cover. “They have to be out of rotation for a little while before we pick them up.”
In this installment of In the Spotlight we look at five of their best. The range spans from Americana to new wave, obvious choices like The Band mixed in with more surprising ones like Berlin. Some get performed for years while others only come out once or twice. The band plays a monster New York City stand in October, performing each of their albums for charity. Hopefully they’ll find time for a cover or two. Continue reading »