Aug 162018
 

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

madonna covers

Today is Madonna’s birthday, when the Material Girl herself turns – well, one isn’t supposed to talk of such things, so let’s just say it’s a nice round number. Round enough for us to devote this month’s Best Covers countdown to her many hits and, in a few cases, underexposed deep cuts.

A very few cases, to be honest. More than anyone we’ve done these lists about before, Madonna remains best known as a singles artist (even Beyoncé now gets thought of as an album artist). As a result, it’s the singles a cover artist tends to focus on – f’rinstance, the song “Like a Prayer” has been covered more than every other track on the album Like a Prayer combined. The repeated dipping into the same dozen or so songs sets the bar pretty high. You can’t just tweak a tune here and adjust it there. To stand out amidst the million other “La Isla Bonita” covers, an artist needs to attempt something radical.

Many have taken up the challenge. Not one cover on our list would you confuse with Madonna’s version for a second. These artists translate her dance-pop smashes into garage-punk, gypsy-jazz, reggae-soul, and a few genres that no amount of hyphenates will do justice (just wait ’til you reach that Sonic Youth side project).

So get into the groove below. And, if you have any favorite covers we missed, express yourself in the comments! Continue reading »

May 202011
 

Download This scours the web’s dark corners for cool cover freebies. View past installments.

Toronto-based indie label Paper Bag Records boasts an impressive roster of bands, featuring both Canadian and international artists. SXSW breakthrough band P.S. I Love You, The Rural Alberta Advantage and Born Ruffians all call the label home. You Say Party! also worked with the label before breaking up last month. Continue reading »

Apr 182011
 

Last week, Paper Bag Records released PS I Love You’s squalling cover of Madonna’s “Where’s the Party?” on Soundcloud. The included cover art gave us an inkling something was up, and, intrigued, we tweeted asking them if a True Blue tribute album was in the works. We never heard back…but we were right! Three days later, the label is releasing the full set as a free download to celebrate the launch of their new website. Celebration indeed (whoops, wrong album). Continue reading »

Oct 252010
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Whether it’s her wedding to Russell Brand this past weekend (it’ll last forever, I’m sure), her eye-candy videos (“California Gurls,” anyone?), or her collaborations with the likes of Snoop Dogg and 3Oh!3, Katy Perry seems to be everywhere these days. You may think she’s a pop genius or the reason why the television gods invented the mute button, but either way she’s managed to find her way into the public consciousness for yet another year.

Oh, and today happens to be her 26th, so happy birthday! We’ve featured a ton of covers of her songs in the past (catch up here), but here are five more. They range from the sublime (Weed and Foxes In Fiction’s “Teenage Dream”) to the ridiculous (Woodhands’ space-funk scream through “I Kissed a Girl”) to the super ridiculous (the polka version of “Hot n Cold”). Continue reading »