We kid, of course. But for whatever reason, this year’s big trend in covers was: Tom Petty. At one point there were something like 20 Petty covers on our longlist. Many came from two all-star tribute albums that dropped, entirely coincidentally, the same year (they both made our Best Albums list). We narrowed it down, of course. Three Petty covers ended up in this Top 50, one not even from those albums. Then, just this week, another high-profile Petty cover dropped: Snoop and Jelly Roll reworking “Last Dance for Mary Jane”! Suffice to say that one wouldn’t have been a contender even if it hadn’t arrived too late.
That was the big surprise trend in 2024 covers. The less-surprising trend you could have called from a mile out: The new wave of young pop divas—Chappell, Sabrina, Charli—got covered a lot. We could have done an entire 50-song list of their covers, too (the “Good Luck Babe”s alone!). But, if we had, we would have missed out on gospel R.E.M. and country The Weeknd and electropop Mott the Hoople and soul Green Day and… you know what, just read the list.
(Moo-chas gracias and Deng-ke schoen to Hope Silverman for this year’s tiny-hippo art.)
Farmer’s Wife — Season of the Witch (Donovan cover)
Austin rockers Farmer’s Wife go full shoegaze-psych on this Donovan cover just in time for Halloween. They write: “Our cover of ‘Season of the Witch’ materialized out of a drum beat and pedal feedback two Halloweens ago. This creepy classic opened us to more experimentation and allowed us to dive into an eerier side of our sound.”
Fiona Apple — Lately (Don Heffington cover)
The late Don Heffington was an acclaimed drummer, so, naturally, his new tribute album includes drum greats like Jim Keltner. But he was also a singer-songwriter, so friends and collaborators like Jackson Browne, Victoria Williams, and Fiona Apple cover his songs. Apple selected “Lately,” the closing song on the final solo studio album of his lifetime, 2016’s Contemporary Abstractions in Folk Song and Dance.Continue reading »
It’s always fun to see how songs sound when run through the filter of a good surf band and, on their most recent LP, the Toronto-based Surfrajettes tackle a Spice Girls classic. On their second album, Easy as Pie, released in early October, the instrumental surf band takes on the Spice Girls’ classic “Spice Up Your Life” among a group of new songs.Continue reading »
In the winter of 1998, the Spice Girls were the biggest pop act in the universe. Their movie Spice World, released on Boxing Day ‘97 in the U.K. and in late January in the U.S, brought in more than $100 million worldwide. On February 24, 25 years ago last week, the group launched its first-ever world tour in Dublin, Ireland.
It was both the best of times and the beginning of the end. Just a few months later, on the eve of their American tour, Geri Halliwell (aka Ginger Spice) would depart the group. Though they continued as a quartet and released Forever in 2000, they would never rule the pop cultural zeitgeist in the same way.
Still, in their short run at the top of the charts, they made a colossal impact on music history. In the U.S., the Spice Girls cut a wedge right through the heart of ‘90s music. Before they hit, pop music was serious business for long-haired dudes with guitars and rappers who felt they were too cool to be parodied by “Weird Al.” But the Spice Girls gave us what we wanted, what we really really wanted, whether we knew it or not. They made it okay for pop music to be brash, fun and unapologetically commercial again. The group opened the door for the countless pop acts who led music into the new millennium, such as Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls were never highly regarded by critics or music snobs, who tend to scoff anything that appeals to young girls. Though they’re now eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I can’t imagine they’ll ever get nominated. Yet the Spice Girls’ music, image and legacy have endured surprisingly well in the ensuing decades. The group performed at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics in London and just the mention of a possible reunion tour is enough to set the press into a frenzy. Not convinced? Try listening to Spice or Spiceworld. From the hits to the deep cuts, the albums are consistent listens throughout, as they both feature brilliantly crafted pop tunes that are catchy and easy to sing along to.
Despite being the best-selling female pop group of all time, the Spice Girls haven’t been covered that extensively. One has to go deeper than the usual suspects to find great covers. Whether it’s an acoustic rendition of “Stop,” a jazzy cover of “Wannabe” or countless takes on their deep cuts, the music has lived on through many different voices, just not in the voices that were used to seeing and hearing. Perhaps it takes an artist with less to lose to take a chance and deliver an original take on such pop classics. More than 25 years after their world dominance, “Girl Power” in all its awesomeness shows no signs of letting up. One just has to know where to look.
– Curtis Zimmermann
25. Zebrahead – Wannabe
Pop-punk covers in the early 2000s were unavoidable. Napster (or Limewire or Kazaa) ballooned music libraries and saturated the market with power chords and nasally vocals. It was glorious. There’s something about this cover that calls back to that time of downloading yet another song to the library; it didn’t matter if it was labeled wrong or it wasn’t the version you expected. It was catchy and would work great on your next burned CD. In their power-punk version of “Wannabe,” Zebrahead find the right mix of goofy and uplifting, just like the original. – Mike Misch
24. Shakey Graves & Begonia – Too Much
This song makes a perhaps surprisingly great duet, and this pair really sells it. Hearing the song played live can also help you really appreciate the soulful guitar lines. The soulfulness continues as they trade off lines, eye to eye, bar for bar. Around the 4:30 mark, they really take the “give it a try” line literally, repeating the refrain over and over in different ways: from monster-mash depths to falsetto heights. As much as they are having fun with this nostalgic cover, they bring back the more somber mood for the closing. – Sara Stoudt
23. The Moon Loungers – Say You’ll Be There
The Moon Loungers specialize in performing acoustic covers of songs from across the pop spectrum. The band has an extensive discography of “unplugged” recordings of tracks ranging from Taylor Swift to Jefferson Starship. The group transformed the Spice Girls’ iconic dance track into a mellow acoustic tune. The track features some heavy guitar strumming and harmonies reminiscent of ‘70s mellow rockers America and Seals & Crofts. No boomerangs or karate kicks are required for this cover. The group lets their voices and guitars do all the work. – Curtis Zimmermann
22. Sitti – 2 Become 1
“2 Become 1” was the Spice Girls’ third straight UK number 1, a romantic ballad that took the time to advocate safe sex (“Be a little bit wiser, baby / Put it on, put it on”). Philippine bossa nova singer Sitti covered it on her 2007 album My Bossa Nova, but you’ll be hard pressed to blame it on that genre. Instead, it’s a jazz sound with none of the original’s flash. That’s not a knock – when you’re in a room with quiet and candlelight, sometimes a soft warm glow is exactly what you need to hear and feel. – Patrick Robbins
21. My Sun and Stars – Wannabe
The opening ukulele might make you think that this cover is all sugar and no spice, but even with the angelic high vocals and that cheery ukulele strum, this “Wannabe” cover still has a little kick. The lyrics are doled out patiently, unrushed, matter-of-factly telling the listener how it is. That snap of the hand on the body of the ukulele and the more clipped strumming changes the tone a bit, signaling some seriousness. There’s no “here’s the story” and no bodies winding all around, but friendship remains never-ending. – Sara Stoudt
Black Country, New Road – Time to Pretend (MGMT cover)
If you’re expecting the “Time to Pretend” you knew and loved a decade ago, think again. UK post-punkers Black Country, New Road, one of the buzziest bands of the new year, deconstruct the song entirely. It starts pretty sane, then gradually veers off the tracks into chaos. By the end there’s a free-jazz sax solo leading a wall of noise only barely identifiable as this, or any, song.Continue reading »
“Stop” has always been one of my favorite tracks from the Spice Girls’ classic period. Originally appearing on the group’s 1997 sophomore album Spiceworld, the song was a throwback to the early Motown sounds of the Supremes. As one whose tastes always skewed retro, I liked how “Stop” highlighted the connection between the ‘90s and ‘60s girl groups. Though it wasn’t their biggest hit at the time, “Stop” has endured; it’s currently the Spice Girls’ second-most-streamed track on Spotify.
The song recently got a rock n’ roll overhaul courtesy of the Struts. The British group released a power-pop cover of the track that would have been a good fit for The Ed Sullivan Show. The band kept the song’s original pounding backbeat in place. They then infused it with hard-rockin’ guitar and lead vocalist Luke Spiller’s Mick Jagger-style vocals. With the cover, they channelled another popular ‘60s tradition: male rock bands covering girl group songs. Think the Beatles’ version of the Marvelettes “Please Mr. Postman,” the Beach Boys’ reworking of the Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me,” or Vanilla Fudge’s take on the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”
The Struts released a social-distancing friendly video “Live from the Living Room.” It featured members of the group singing, playing and dancing along to the song either alone or with one of their dogs. Sure, these are serious times, but it’s still good to “Stop” and have a little fun as well.
