The Best Cover Songs of September 2022

 Posted by at 10:34 am  1 Response »
Oct 032022
 
best cover songs september 2022
Confidence Man – Heaven (Bryan Adams cover)

For their recent Like a Version performance, Confidence Man, a duo of Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, covered Bryan Adam’s “Heaven.” Well, sort of. They really took their cues from the hit club cover of “Heaven” by DJ Sammy. “We didn’t actually know [it was a cover],” said Planet. “Stu, our manager – who’s old – told us that. We listened to [the original], and it’s not that good.” Ouch! But their cover is a blast to watch, all charisma, choreography, and energy from the two of them in front of an ominously veiled band. As NME points out, Confidence Man are the third act a a cover of a cover on the show. In 2017, Alex Lahey covered Natalie Imbruglia’s hit cover of Ednaswap’s non-hit “Torn” (we wrote a feature explaining the backstory there). And in 2018, garage-rock septet West Thebarton covered Florence + The Machine‘s cover of The Source and Candi Staton’s “You’ve Got the Love.” Continue reading »

Off the Beaten Path: The Blue Nile

 Posted by at 10:00 am  11 Responses »
Oct 122020
 

Off the Beaten Path looks at covers of songs from a less popular era in an artist’s career.

Blue Nile

It takes a certain amount of bravery to give yourself over to The Blue Nile. Listening to their songs of wistful rainswept regret and longing, outside the confines of home or a solitary space, suggests that you are 100% okay with crying in public. That you are fine with subjecting yourself to sounds that may cause you to seek temporary solitary shelter in a random doorway or bathroom stall, or slide down the wall of an elevator until you can pull yourself together. But as the bands devoted fanbase will tell you, it’s absolutely worth it.

The fact is, within the history of pop, there are very few bands capable of holding your hand as tightly and accompanying you down, down, down with as much beautiful empathy as The Blue Nile. I saw the band play at The Bottom Line in NYC in 1990 and have a vivid memory of crying as the band were performing their solemn ballad “Let’s Go Out Tonight.” It was silly and slightly embarrassing, but mostly, it was magical.
Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of June

 Posted by at 7:00 am  1 Response »
Jul 022018
 
cover songs june
Andrew Combs – Reptila (The Strokes cover)


The Strokes’ Is This It songs have been covered to death, so musicians are digging deeper. We heard a killer Angles cover in April from Billie Eilish (more on her in a minute), and now singer-songwriter Andrew Combs takes on this Room on Fire track. His own music leans Nashville Americana, but from the crazy horns here, sounds like he’s been spending time in New Orleans. Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of 2017: Honorable Mentions

 Posted by at 2:00 pm  6 Responses »
Dec 042017
 
2017 cover songs

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 »

Pure Bathing Culture Find the Emotion in Elton John’s “Sacrifice”

 Posted by at 11:13 am  1 Response »
Mar 132017
 
pure bathing culture

One of our favorite bands at last year’s Northside fest, Pure Bathing Culture are currently opening for a little band called Death Cab For Cutie. The kindred Pacific Northwest spirits are perfectly matched- Sarah Versprille’s voice is as distinctive and captivating as Ben Gibbard’s and Pure Bathing Culture as a whole possesses the same catchy, synth heavy, darkly optimistic stylings of their counterpart. It’s these qualities that provide for an effective cover in Elton John’s “Sacrifice.” Continue reading »

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