Sep 142023
 
stick figure boulevard

California reggae band Stick Figure went to Great Stone Studios to reinvent Green Day’s 2004 track “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” As the tune phases in with the traditional tremolo pedal, we hear a slow pleasant swell. The band doesn’t just “start the song” they blossom into it. Stick Figure’s version of this melancholy tune is lackadaisical in diction (which is extremely satisfying given the genre’s context), and heavy on the backbeat, with a countermelody on a percussive steel pan, crisp timbales, and clean guitar hits. 

This cover will be a part of Nathan Aurora’s Pop Punk Goes Reggae collection (volume 1) and will feature other big-name reggae bands such as SOJA, Ballyhoo! And more. 

Head here for more Green Day covers

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 »

Jan 302023
 
best cover songs january 2023
Brandi Carlile – If It Makes You Happy (Sheryl Crow cover)

This month, Austin City Limits held its eighth annual ACL Hall of Fame ceremony. The inductees were Joe Ely and Sheryl Crow. The latter was covered by, among others, Brandi Carlile, who also delivered Crow’s induction speech. It will surprise no one who’s ever seen Carlile perform on an award show before that she crushes it. (Find another Crow cover from the ceremony, by Jason Isbell, in the Best of the Rest below.) Continue reading »

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 »

Jul 142022
 
Amythyst Kiah

“Hitchin’ a Ride” is the forgotten single from Green Day‘s 1997 album, Nimrod. Though it was a pretty big hit at the time, it was absolutely dwarfed by their next single, “Good Riddance,” a song which never topped the charts but outsold all their other singles. Sort of rockabilly by way of alternative rock, rather than their usual pop punk, “Hitchin’ a Ride” is one of their heavier hits and stands out in their singles catalogue. Continue reading »

May 312021
 
best cover songs may 2021
Amy Speace – Don’t Let Us Get Sick (Warren Zevon cover)

“Don’t Let Us Get Sick” was a moving song even before Warren Zevon got sick, didn’t see a doctor soon enough, and died. After that, the context makes it even more poignant. The canonical cover is Judee Sill’s, but on her new album, Amy Speace gives it a run for its money. Continue reading »