The Replacements Archives

The Best Cover Songs of April 2026

Posted by Ray Padgett at 12:00 pm No Responses »

May 012026

Arlo Parks — Yukon (Justin Bieber cover)

The talk of Coachella this year was Justin Bieber—specifically, his controversial headlining set that featured, in part, him singing along karaoke-style to videos of himself he pulled up on YouTube. Plus, Geese debuted their old “Baby” cover live (while Sabrina Carpenter watched sidestage no less). But maybe the best Bieber happening this month was this great lo-fi cover by Arlo Parks.

Jamey Johnson – Pretty When It’s New (Merle Haggard)

Merle Haggard’s birthday saw two new covers drop. One’s in the next section. This first one’s even better though. Country singer Jamey Johnson dug deep—and late—for this pick. The song comes off one of Haggard’s final albums, 2010’s I Am What I Am. This is the same album that included “Bad Actor,” which Bob Dylan covered in concert a couple years ago. The album’s seemingly on its way to be the country version of Blackstar or You Want It Darker, a late-in-life masterpiece for the true heads. Continue reading »

The 30 Best Michael Jackson Covers Ever

Posted by Staff at 12:00 pm No Responses »

Apr 242026

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

After a long and tortured production process, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael comes out in theaters today. Is the movie any good? Does it matter? It’s enough of an excuse for us to count down covers of his biggest songs!

The legacy of Michael Jackson the person is—to put it mildly—complicated. But the legacy of Jackson’s music is unimpeachable. Dozens of songs that are all-time classics, and that get covered frequently, in every genre imaginable. Here are our favorites:

The 30 Best Cher Covers Ever

Posted by Staff at 10:00 am 1 Response »

Oct 182024

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

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2024 was announced, we polled our Patreon supporters and asked, Who should get the big Best Covers Ever countdown treatment: Foreigner, Tribe, Frampton, Kool (with Gang), Mary J., Cher, Dave (with Band), or Ozzy? And the winner… well, you can probably guess from the photo an inch above this paragraph. Cher!

(We also did different covers features on the other seven though—find them all here.)

There’s big, there’s Big, and then there’s Cher Big. At the time of her ‘70s run of smashes—already a decade after she first scored all-time-classic hits with Sonny & Cher—she was the female solo artist with the most number-one singles in US history. She is currently is the only solo artist to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in seven consecutive decades, from the 1960s to the 2020s. Her most-covered song, “Believe,” came out a full 33 years into her professional career. That’s one hell of a run. What other pop star has released their biggest song in their 50s?

So today, we’re celebrating Cher with covers of all her hits, both with and without Sonny, and a few deep cuts. Though, let’s be honest, Cher is a hits machine, and not many artists cover her deep cuts. We easily could have done this whole 30-song list with just “Believe” covers (and, even paring them down, there’s still plenty of life after love here). Welcome to the Rock Hall, Cher!

Pert Near Sandstone Release Bluegrass Cover of The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait”

Posted by Riley Haas at 11:46 am No Responses »

Apr 292024

pert near sandstone cant hardly wait cover

“Can’t Hardly Wait” is The Replacement‘s third single from their first album without lead guitarist Bob Stinson, Pleased to Meet Me. The song sees the band adopting slightly different roles, with lead singer Paul Westberger playing bass and bassist Tommy Stinson playing guitar, joined by the legendary Alex Chilton also on guitar.

Fellow Minneapolis natives Pert Near Sandstone are a bluegrass band that have been putting out albums for 20 years. They’ve done covers throughout their career and an early tape features many covers of contemporary and older bands and artists. Their latest cover tackles “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Continue reading »

The 40 Best Prince Covers Ever

Posted by Staff at 10:00 am 9 Responses »

May 262023

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

In July of 1958, a Prince was created. That was the month Charles became Prince of Wales. Earlier this month he was officially crowned King.

In June of 1958, another Prince was created. He died seven years before Charles’ coronation, but he had long before passed beyond the arena of royalty into the field of the celestial.

Prince was, if not a god, a divine presence, more felt than understood. That he was a musical genius was almost taken for granted; his prolific recording, his tremendous work ethic, his mysterious appearances where you least expected him (On Muppets Tonight?? Making fun of Hee Haw???)–all served to make him more myth than man, and now he’s less man than legend.

Prince famously told George Lopez that “covering the music means your version doesn’t exist anymore,” but that’s not quite so. Prince may not (or may) be immortal, but his music definitely is, and the covers that continue to roll in are all the proof you need. This post offers some of the evidence. (Certainly not all of it – more nominations missed the cut than made it, and the great majority of them were very worthy.)

Before we begin: to qualify, a Prince song needed to have been officially released before the cover version. Sadly, this means the Bangles’ “Manic Monday,” Sheila E’s “The Belle of St. Mark,” Celine Dion’s “With This Tear,” and others didn’t get considered.

And now for our selections. And don’t worry, Charles–it’s good to be King. It’s just more magical to be Prince.

–Patrick Robbins

The Best Cover Songs of June 2022

Posted by Ray Padgett at 11:13 am No Responses »

Jun 302022

Angel Olsen – Greenville (Lucinda Williams cover)

Angel Olsen dropped two terrific covers this month. Her version of Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” recorded for the TV show Shining Girls, features haunting electronic textures underpinning her voice. It’s a surprisingly un-folky cover of one of Bob’s early folk songs. Her version of Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road standout “Greenville” is just as good, guitar echoing behind her mesmerizing double-tracked vocals. Continue reading »