Weezer Covers Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” at Coachella

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Apr 162025
 
weezer covers metallica

Weezer played Coachella this past weekend and, on top of playing a bevy of their hits, they also threw in one of their more popular covers, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

The group has performed this live in the past and, recorded a version of the song on the 2021 tribute album, Blacklist, which featured covers of every song on Metallica’s “Black Album.” Their version hews pretty closely to the original, with most of the joy of the performance coming from seeing lead singer Rivers Cuomo try to ape James Hetfield’s vocals. Though they did toss in a “Buddy Holly” reference into the song, ending the song’s solo with the popular nine-note ending riff. (They then closed their set with the song.)

Cuomo has said Metallica was his favorite band when he was in high school.

Metallica Bring BTO’s “Away From Home” to Homecoming Gig

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Dec 182024
 
metallica bto

Metallica held their annual “Helping Hands Concert and Auction” in Los Angeles last Friday, December 13th. In addition to playing some of their best known songs with specials guests, the band debuted a new cover of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Away From Home.” The song featured musicians Avi Vincour from Goodnight, Texas and Henry Salvia from The Flying Salvias. The band split their set into acoustic and electric segments and debuted the cover during the opening acoustic set. (The set also featured a cover of Diamond Head’s “Helpless.”) Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of April 2024

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Apr 302024
 
best cover songs
The Dirty Nil — Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler cover)

I’m honestly surprised there weren’t more “Total Eclipse” covers during this month’s total eclipse. Perhaps because our total eclipse was of the sun, rather than the heart. Or, more likely, because this song is hard as hell to sing. Best of the bunch came this garage-rocking version from Ontario trio The Dirty Nil. Gritty and raw, and singer Luke Bentham sells the hell out of it. Continue reading »

Metallica Covers “Love Lies Bleeding” for Televised Elton John Tribute

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Apr 192024
 
metallica funeral for friend love lies bleeding cover

Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin were honored with the Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress at the beginning of April. As part of the award ceremony, a number of big names performed covers of some of their most classic songs. Metallica might not be the most obvious band to perform at a tribute to Elton, but the progressive nature of his most epic songs, such as the 11 minute “Funeral for a Friend/Loves Lies Bleeding” which opens Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, makes some sense for metal bands. Continue reading »

The 50 Best Cover Songs of 2023

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Dec 152023
 

Follow all our Best of 2023 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

I like to think that badass lady in the artwork up there (done by our own Hope Silverman!) embodies the spirit of this year’s list. Not that they’re all CBGB-style punk songs—though there are a couple—but in her devil-may-care attitude. “Who says I shouldn’t do a hardcore cover of the Cranberries? A post-punk cover of Nick Drake? A hip-hop cover of The Highwaymen? Screw that!”

As with most good covers, the 50 covers we pulled out among the thousands we listened to bring a healthy blend of reverence and irreverence. Reverence because the artists love the source material. Irreverence because they’re not afraid to warp it, bend it, mold it in their own image. A few of the songs below are fairly obscure, but most you probably already know. Just not like this.

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The Best Cover Songs of October 2023

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Oct 312023
 
Deer Tick – Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover)

“For me, ‘Dancing in the Dark’ isn’t a song about romance, but instead a desperate plea to break out of some degraded, stagnant situation. The narrator is filled with angst, self doubt, and the only way out is to the sheer force of unwavering will power,” says Deer Tick guitarist/vocalist Ian O’Neil. “Bruce really shows us who he is on this one and it looks an awful lot like the rest of us.”

Die Sauerkrauts Polka Band — Now That’s What I Call Polka! (Weird Al cover)

There are a lot of Weird Al covers out there (okay, maybe not a lot, but more than you might think). This is new though. This band didn’t cover one of Weird Al’s parodies. They didn’t even cover a Weird Al original, like “Dare to Be Stupid.” They covered one of his polka medleys (a subject I interviewed Al about in Cover Me the book—excerpt at The AV Club). Meaning, they covered polka versions of hits by Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Gotye, and many more, all in a brisk medley. A very silly music video brings it home. Continue reading »

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