Jun 292018
 

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

beyonce covers

We all know the reason everyone’s talking about Beyoncé this month: It’s the fifteenth anniversary of her debut solo album Dangerously in Love!

Okay, maybe that’s not the only Beyoncé news setting the internet aflutter these days – but it is the reason we initially decided to do this list. So it was extra nice of her to drop a surprise album with her husband, what’s-his-name, to give us something else to tie this into. In tribute, we’re writing this entire post from the Louvre.

There aren’t any Everything Is Love songs covered here, but we can’t imagine the first great “Apeshit” cover is far off. And every other facet of her career is represented, from the Destiny’s Child radio hits to her early solo pop jams to the more recent political tracks from Lemonade and beyond. Appropriately enough, the artists doing the covering represent an equally wide spectrum. I challenge you to find another list on the internet containing both serpentwithfeet and Reba McEntire.

So let’s start the countdown (heh) of the best B covers ever. All hail the Queen! Continue reading »

Dec 162011
 

When people look back in 2011 in music a decade from now, one name will come to mind: Adele. In our little world of cover songs, she dominated. Everyone covered Adele this year. It’s not just that we saw more covers of “Rolling in the Deep” than any other song; they beat out second place (probably “Pumped Up Kicks”) by like a factor of five! We generally try to look for larger cover trends in these annual wrap-ups, but it’s hard to remember anything else from this year except the year-long onslaught of Adele covers hitting our mailbox.

There’s only one “Rolling in the Deep” cover in this year’s list though. The rest are all over the place. Some of the artists listed built their covers with lush soundscapes, thick beats, and intricate string work. Others just took guitars or pianos and bowled us over with the emotion in their voices. There may not be much of an overarching “Year in Covers” narrative, but that means there’s a cover or two for everyone. From feel-good takes on rap songs to kill-yourself versions of pop songs, this year’s list features flips, flops, and genre switcheroos of all sorts. A good cover should be informed by the source material but stand on its own, and we’ll be unrolling the 50 finest examples of songs doing just that all week. Start with #50-41 on the next page and check back daily as we count down to the best cover of 2011.

Nov 282011
 

English five-piece The Horrors have come a long way since their Gothic garage punk beginnings. They’ve overhauled their sound with a dose of psychedelica and produced a number of solid covers, including a standout take on Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had.” Fellow Brits We Have Band recently turned the cover tables on them with their take on “Still Life.” Continue reading »

Nov 102011
 

Last year, we named A Place to Bury Strangers’ raging “Suffragette City” one of the Best Covers of 2010. Now the Horrors have taken a stab at the David Bowie classic, and while we don’t think it’ll make any “best of” lists – their Beyoncé cover is better – the beloved British boys deliver as always. Continue reading »

Oct 132011
 

Last time the Horrors hit the BBC, they performed an obscure 1971 film theme. Today they returned to the station with a more mainstream cover choice: Beyoncé’s recent hit “Best Thing I Never Had.” The quintet turn the summer smash good and Horrors-ey, with a gothic darkness that belies the song’s pop origins. If you didn’t know better, you might think they were actually enjoying themselves. Continue reading »