First to Eleven is an alternative-rock cover band based out of Erie, Pennsylvania. They are known for putting interesting twists on popular tunes, from “Call Me Maybe” to “Dreams.” Their latest tackles Paramore’s new single “This Is Why,” and the funky, sassy song is in good hands with First to Eleven. Continue reading »
As if K-Pop superstars BLACKPINK don’t have enough going on at the moment, following their first album and upcoming film, one of their most popular members Rose, has started releasing solo material. As a part of the Korean reality show Sea of Hope, Rose performed a softer and more subtle version of the Paramore classic “The Only Exception.” Continue reading »
Clara Luciani is Nancy Sinatra and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos is Lee Hazlewood on this charming cover. Kapranos wrote, “When the lockdown started, we decided to record [‘Summer Wine’] — more for ourselves than anything else. We wanted to create the atmosphere of an imaginary world away from the confinement we were experiencing. Not that we were unhappy, but the imagination is the greatest medium for escape and adventure… After the lockdown eased off, we got together to film the video with our friends Adrien, Leo, Fiona and Hugo. I love the ideas they had, which suit the mood of the song and reflect our… well, our love of karaoke!” Continue reading »
It’s a strange circumstance: What has been awful for humanity at large has been pretty good for the world of cover songs. Even we would say that’s a terrible trade-off!
Nevertheless, we’ve been grateful that so many musicians have taken to Facebook, Instagram, etc to share their music and, in many cases, cover favorite songs that are helping get them through. So, for the fourth time and certainly not the last, we’re rounding up some of the best we’ve seen recently and encouraging you to add your own below.
One note: There are some obvious names you won’t see here. John Prine. Bill Withers. Adam Schlesinger. Kenny Rogers. So many wonderful covers are emerging to pay tribute to artists no longer with them that we’ll be rounding them up separately. We did the first set for Prine here. Continue reading »
‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.
For a band now in its fourth decade, The Cure has enjoyed a surprisingly big year in 2019. Most notably, after fifteen years of being eligible for but mostly ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Cure were finally inducted in April. Then May saw two big anniversaries: The band’s debut album Three Imaginary Boys turned 40 and their most-beloved album Disintegration turned 30. For a band firmly affixed in the classic-rock firmament at this point, they’ve suddenly found themselves back in the spotlight – even if, by all indications, they prefer the dark.
The Cure has never gone out of style in one area though: covers. Whether the band’s in the news or not, every year delivers dozens more versions of “Lovesong,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” and the rest. We whittled them down to the 30 best ever, dramatic reimaginings that veer from gorgeous orchestral ballads to dark post-rock drones. Listen below (and join our new Patreon for MP3 download and playlist versions of the full set).
Earlier this year we featured five of the best covers, so far, of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know”. Of course the first video that went uber-viral and helped ignite interest in this year-old song was the five-on-one guitar cover by Walk Off the Earth. Since then hundreds of covers, parodies and remixes of this hit have flooded the YouTubes. You are in luck, as I have spent far too much time listening to the already overexposed song to pull out a few covers that either rival or surpass the original. In no particular order, here are ten more versions for your enjoyment.
1) Karmin– a Cover Me regular from YouTube that has gone on to appear on Saturday Night Live. Watch Amy and Nick do their pop thing on SiriusXM Hits.
2) Kelly Clarkson – The original American Idol performs live at Jones Beach, NY on August 21, 2012.
3) Netherlands Radio Choir – The 74 person ensemble does the song to raise funds to help save the choir.
4) fun. featuring Hayley Williams – fun, performs live on BBC 1 Radio’s Live Lounge alongside a recording of the Paramore singer.
5) Rita Ora – The UK singer, songwriter and actress drops an R&B take on Radio 1’s Live Lounge
6) Cast of Glee – “They did such a faithful arrangement of the instruments but the vocals were that pop ‘Glee’ style, ultra dry, sounded pretty tuned and the rock has no real sense, like it’s playing to you from a cardboard box,” Gotye told the Sunday Mail of Darren Criss and Matt Bomer’s rendition of his song.
7) Noah featuring Christina Grimmie – The incredibly talented, deep voiced Noah Guthrie keeps the YouTube cover hits coming.
8) Old School Computer Remix – With an HP Scanjet 3C as the vocals. An Amiga 600 as Bass on left audio output and Guitar on right audio output. Harddrives as the drums and cymbal and a PIC16F84A microcontroller, this digital ditty is pretty amazing.
9) “The Star Wars That I Used To Know” – A Parody with new music and original lyrics. It’s a story of heartbreak to which Star Wars fans everywhere can relate. A shot at the movie remakes, new CGi effects and George Lucas. Easily the best video.
10) Two Kids in a Car – I know this isn’t a cover, but these two six year old friends who love this song are serious stars in the making. How can you not love this?
Check out more from Gotye on his website.