The Dollyrots Archives

The 25 Best Taylor Swift Covers Ever

Posted by Staff at 10:00 am 1 Response »

May 292026

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

A few weeks ago, a mysterious countdown appeared on Taylor Swift’s website. It got fans all aflutter, as tends to happen whenever Taylor Swift does anything. But then it disappeared, and nothing happened. A rare error, apparently. Whoops. How excited everyone got for those brief few hours, though, shows just how omnipresent Swift remains, twenty-plus years into her career (has it really been that long?).

A while ago, we at Cover Me were thinking of what current pop star have we not yet done a list for. Swift was the blindingly obvious answer. I was going to say we’ve done most of her peers already, but, after completing the biggest tour in history, does she even have any peers?

So, below, 25 covers of her some of greatest songs. By the time this list comes out, she’ll probably have more songs, and there will certainly more be more covers of them. Maybe we’ll have to go back and revisit it. The Best Taylor Swift Covers Ever (Taylor’s Version).

Photo by Paolo V

25. Sondre Lerche — Anti-Hero

The biggest hit from 2022’s Midnights, Swift’s sort-of return to more mainstream pop after her dalliances with folk, “Anti-Hero” had Swifties all over social media quoting the chorus lyrics as a meme. Norwegian musician Sondre Lerche decided to take it on for his annual Christmas cover. He begins the song with nearly horror-movie-esque strings, before the beat comes in. Lerche mostly speaks the lyrics, rather than sings them. To start, though, the backing is just electronic percussion and strings, which are behaving themselves a little more. But when it comes to meme-able chorus, initially he omits most of the oft-quoted lyrics, just repeating “It’s me.” (He also plays with the order of the verses.) Lerche goofs around with his string section, getting really avant-garde in the middle, and setting us up for a drop. When he finally does the full chorus, there’s almost an orchestra backing him, though he omits all of those instruments out at the end of the last verse, once again masterfully playing with dynamics are our expectations.

It’s an extremely creative arrangement that threatens to deprive fans of the most famous part of the song, but adds tension and a whole lot of punch when it finally arrives. — Riley Haas

24. The Maine — cruel summer

This dream-pop cover with just a touch of emo gives us the appropriate level of nostalgic yearning to take us back to Summer 2019. It’s unhurried and laid-back with its syncopated percussion and echoey vocals. However, the pace escalates enough to deliver the “he looks up grinning like the devil” line with the crucial little bit of snarl. — Sara Stoudt

23. black midi — Love Story

Taylor Swift was an odd choice for experimental rock-post-punk-free-jazz band Black Midi, which I’m sure was entirely the point. They surprise-dropped it on a vinyl-only (at first) covers EP, Cavalcovers. As you might guess from those genre tags, it sounds different from the original—but, more surprisingly, not as different as you’d expect. They give it a somewhat yacht-y rock gleam, with added distortion and a whole lotta sexy saxophone. — Ray Padgett

22. MUNA — August

Famously, Folklore brought about a change in Swift’s writing and sound, due to the isolation of the pandemic. “August” very much captures that new sound, with acoustic instruments mixed in with subtle electronic production, but still with an extremely hooky chorus. The album has been called “cinematic” because of its sound and the focus on characters, including the mini song cycle of which “August” is a part. Indie poppers MUNA lean into both the folk feel and the cinematic vibe. Though the cover is live, they create a massive wall-of-sound, widescreen feel on the chorus and the bridge that contrasts really effectively with the more folky verses. The result is appropriately epic for the middle third of Swift’s love triangle song cycle. — Riley Haas

21. Old Dirty Brasstards — Shake It Off

A pivot to pop might disappoint some country purists, but it does leave an artist’s catalogue open to inventive covers which can convey the meaning of the originals without losing as much of the meaning. Old Dirty Brasstards take the energy of New Orleans with some of the sensibility of UK Symphonic Wind Band tradition (you can have a tuba, which is more difficult to march with, and full drum kit) and have fun with it. They find foot tappers in unusual places were necessary but give them an already danceable pop hit and watch them go, go, go! — Mike Tobyn

The Best Cover Songs of October 2025

Posted by Ray Padgett at 11:00 am 1 Response »

Oct 312025

The Dollyrots — You Don’t Own Me (Lesley Gore cover)

“It’s My Party” was the bigger hit, but these days it feels like “You Don’t Own Me” gets covered more. It’s become something of a feminist anthem (probably an unlikely future for “It’s My Party”…). Dollyrots singer Kelly Ogden said, in sharing her band’s new revved-up cover, “The song is an anthem for female empowerment, about willing to be defiant in the face of something that’s just plain wrong. Sadly, it’s still just as timely as when Lesley sang it over 60 years ago.”

Folk Bitch Trio — Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon cover)

Remember “Sex on Fire”? Gotta be one of the dumbest singles of the 21st century. Folk Bitch Trio covered it for Like a Version, and they, against all odds, manage to redeem it. “It’s an underrated song,” they said. “It rocks. It’s filthy without you really knowing. The Folk Bitch Trio twist is kind of easy: We just sing it in three-part harmony, lock in, look at each other and we’re there.” Continue reading »

The Dollyrots Cover Billy Bragg—and Kirsty MacColl

Posted by Mike Tobyn at 12:00 pm 1 Response »

Apr 022024

Childhood sweethearts Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas are nearly a quarter of a century into their band The Dollyrots and even further into their relationship as a couple. They now bring their kids on tour when they take their infectious punk-pop on the road. They have a neat line in covers, as we have noted before. Clearly happy with each other, they are willing to tackle different types of scenarios (which might be unfamiliar with them), such as “A New England” which was a hit for Kirsty MacColl based on folk-punk-rocker Billy Bragg’s original. Continue reading »

The Best ’60s Girl Group Covers Ever

Posted by Staff at 9:00 am 4 Responses »

Jul 022021

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

The matching outfits. The perfectly coiffed hair. The synchronized finger-snapping. The beautiful faces. And, of course, the angelic voices. Just saying the phrase “Girl Groups” conjures images of these well-styled ladies from the past singing their hearts out, dreaming of those young boys they hoped to marry.

Many of the group names are legendary. The Supremes, The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Shirelles, and Martha and the Vandellas have been fixtures of “oldies” format radio for decades. Leading these groups were great frontwomen like Diana Ross, Ronnie Spector, and Martha Reeves, as well as Darlene Love, who sang for multiple groups unbeknownst to the record buying public. There were also countless ladies who did not become household names, such as Arlene Smith, lead singer of the Chantels, who belted out the group’s classic “Maybe.”

For the purposes of this list, we decided to focus on the period known as the “Golden Age of Girl Groups.” Though we’re calling it ’60s in the headline, it really spanned from roughly 1955 to 1970. In this era, the music was transported from the street corners and dance halls to the radio, which broadcast it into living rooms across the country. The songs blended elements of doo-wop, early rock ‘n’ roll, pop, gospel, and rhythm & blues. When melded together, it created a sound as fresh and new as the 45s and transistor radios that blasted out the music.

Most of the best-known girl groups were women of color (with a few notable exceptions, such as the Shangri-Las). These women not only topped the charts, they broke down barriers as they helped to integrate segregated audiences across the country, including the Deep South.

Behind the scenes were equally legendary songwriters, musicians and producers. You know their names, too: tunesmiths such as Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and the Motown song and production trio Holland/Dozier/Holland (Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland).

Such a shiny veneer had a dark side, though, in the form of the notorious Phil Spector. He was a brilliant producer who presided over many of the era’s biggest hits, but he was also a truly terrible human being who physically and emotionally abused his charges, including his ex-wife Ronnie Spector. He would eventually be convicted of murder and died in prison earlier this year.

The music has continued to inspire covers by both male and female artists – or boys and girls, in the parlance of the genre. Our list features covers by everyone from Aerosmith to Amy Winehouse, the Beatles to Bananarama (a girl group of another era), as well as ska bands, punk bands, indie bands, and countless Rock and Roll Hall of Famers who have covered tracks from the era.

That’s probably because the songs were so darn powerful. Love songs that captured the ecstasy and agony of teenage emotions like “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Please Mr. Postman” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Party favorites such as “Dancing in the Streets” and “Heat Wave.” And songs that dealt with more complex social issues such as “Love Child,” and the disturbing “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss).” Such great songs inspire great artists to record fantastic covers. Here’s a selection of our favorites.

– Curtis Zimmermann

The list begins on Page 2.

Under the Radar: The Dollyrots

Posted by Sara Stoudt at 2:00 pm No Responses »

May 172019

Under the Radar shines a light on lesser-known cover artists. If you’re not listening to these folks, you should. Catch up on past installments here.

Power couple Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas formed the Dollyrots, a pop punk band, in 2000. The oft-quoted origin story sets the scene for their musical style:

“We were watching the 2000 presidential election results, and at four o’clock in the morning, when we found out that George W. Bush had won, Luis and I were like, ‘The world’s probably gonna end anyway, and I don’t want to go to med school,’ so we thought, ‘Let’s just do the band.'”

Honestly, who hasn’t felt the same urge recently?

If you are “fashionably socialized” you may have at least heard of The Dollyrots’ biggest hit, “Because I’m Awesome,” in one of the variety of television shows, movies, and commercials that featured it. Along with releasing original music consistently over the years, The Dollyrots have covered a wide range of songs that span genres and decades of origin. Here is just taste of what they have to offer cover-wise.