The Strokes Archives

The 50 Best Cover Songs of 2022

Posted by Staff at 9:00 am 4 Responses »

Dec 162022

Follow all our Best of 2022 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

The big story in 2022 covers came from a song that’s almost 40 years old: “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).” After Kate Bush’s classic had its Stranger Things moment, every week we got a half dozen new covers. It’s been six months since the show came out, and they’re still coming! This entire list could have been “Running Up That Hill” covers if we’d let it.

We didn’t, and it isn’t. The song makes one appearance, as do a number of other trendy 2022 items: Wet Leg, GAYLE, and Beabadoobee; the latest Cat Power covers project; posthumous releases (Dr. John, Levon Helm); songs that tie into coming out of pandemic isolation.

But, as always, a joy of our list is all the covers that tie into nothing, and that you won’t find anywhere else. Doom-metal Townes Van Zandt? Bluegrass Eminem? Ska Eddie Murphy? Folk Björk? Psych-rock Groucho Marx? Those are just five of the fifty killer covers on this year’s countdown. So run up that road, run up that hill, run up that building, and read on at the link below.

The Best Cover Songs of July 2022

Posted by Ray Padgett at 11:44 am No Responses »

Aug 012022

Brett Eldredge – Cold Heart (Elton John, Dua Lipa cover)

Against all odds for a rocker of his generation, Elton John had a genuine hit with a single he released just last year, at age 74: “Cold Heart.” It topped the chart in the UK – his first song to do so in 16 years. It did nearly as well in the States, reaching number 7 and topping a number of secondary charts. Having current pop hitmaker Dua Lipa on board no doubt helped, as did releasing it as a remix by Pnau (“Hot Dance/Electronic Songs” was one of those secondary U.S. charts). It also fairly shameless incorporates bits of earlier hit singles “Rocket Man” and “Sacrifice” as well as deeper Elton cuts “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” In country star Brett Eldridge’s live cover, though, it all blends together seamlessly. Continue reading »

Beabadoobee Covers a Strokes Track No One Covers

Posted by Aleah Fitzwater at 9:00 am No Responses »

Jul 212022

22-year-old buzzy indie singer Beabadoobee picked a real deep Strokes cut to cover: “The Adults are Talking.” The original comes from the band’s 2020 album The New Abnormal, and her cover from her Antitode live session and is included on her a deluxe version of her newest album Beatopia.

The way the fingerpicked guitar section is mixed in this one gives us acoustic Radiohead vibes. On the other hand, the plaintive vocals reveal the lyrics in a new, clear way. As a whole, this cover reminds us of a high school girl singing on her bed, contemplating life. While Beabadoobee doesn’t reinvent the wheel here with her arrangement or musical texture, maybe she doesn’t need to.

For more great Strokes covers, head here.

The Strokes Mix Clario and Harry Styles Covers Live

Posted by Aleah Fitzwater at 11:11 am No Responses »

Jul 122022

The Strokes surprised audiences with their live cover of Clario’s “Sofia” in their show at the NOS Alive festival, mixed in with a bit of Harry Styles’ “As It Was.” Many people have said that “Sofia” sounds like The Strokes (Clario has been a long-time fan of the band, so the Strokes cover was a sort of a nod back to Clario, who had to cancel their performance at the same festival.

But you might this cover to sound more, well, like The Strokes. Lead singer Julian Casablancas added a lot of autotune and reverb to this one. While the original “Sofia” has a good dose of vocal effects, they really took the FX to the next level. Arguably, far past the point of seriousness; we can’t even understand what he’s saying. The band starts off with an exposed drumkit and crazy vocal effects right off the bat in “Sofia”. They stay true to the bass line and running-eight-note guitar line. Halfway through the tune, they transition seamlessly into “As It Was.”

What do you think of the stylistic choice of this mashup? Let us know in the comments.

The 50 Best Cover Songs of 2021

Posted by Staff at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Dec 172021

Follow all our Best of 2021 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

To come up with our year-end list, we listened to thousands of covers.

That’s not an exaggeration, or loosely throwing around “thousands” for effect. My iTunes tells me I personally listened to and rated 1,120 new covers in 2021. And I’m just one of a dozen people here. Many of those thousands of covers were very good! But “very good” isn’t good enough for our annual year-end Best Cover Songs list. So when we say these 50 are the cream of the crop, we mean it.

They, as usual, have little in common with each other. A few tie into current events: Artists we lost, social justice concerns, live music’s fitful return. Most don’t. But does a doom metal cover of Donna Summer really need a reason to exist? How about African blues Bob Dylan, New Orleans bounce Lady Gaga, or organ ballad Fleetwood Mac? Nah. We’re just glad they’re here.

So dive into our countdown below – and, if you want us to send you a couple hundred Honorable Mentions culled from those thousands, join the Cover Me Patreon.

– Ray Padgett, Editor in Chief

The Best Cover Songs of August

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

Aug 312021

Brandi Carlile – We Belong (Pat Benatar cover)

Cheating a little as we missed this one in July, but if you too haven’t heard the acoustic “We Belong” Brandi’s been playing on tour with The Twins, it will be worth the wait. “We belong together” takes on a whole new meaning as we (try to) come out of quarantine. Continue reading »