Cover Song
Superchunk Share Halloween Single “There’s a Ghost”, Cover Sisters of Mercy: Stream
Superchunk have returned with “There’s a Ghost”, their first new music in two years. As an extra Halloween treat, the single is paired with a cover of The Sisters of Mercy’s “Alice”. The band’s first original song since 2018’s “Our Work Is Done” and that same year’s What a Time to Be Alive, “There’s a Ghost” is a bopping punk track built on mirrored acoustic and crunchy electric guitar riffs. It taps into the paranoia of 2020 perfectly, as frontman Mac McCaughan wrestles with being trapped inside alone for far too long. “Now its the end of the season and the last of our supplies/So check your fingernails/ Burning through the calendars and E strings/ Oh yeah, we’re breaking all the scales,” he sings. “I didn’t write a song for probably the first six months of the lockdown,” said McCaughan i...
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Release Cover of “Shallow”: Stream
In an answer to the prayers of classic country music fans everywhere, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have released a studio version of their “Shallow” cover. The husband-and-wife country duo first performed the A Star Is Born hit during a Facebook livestream early in the pandemic. They reprised their rendition as part of their Garth and Trish Live! special on CBS back in April. Now, they’ve finally taken the track into the studio, recording it for Brooks’ forthcoming new album, FUN. Oddly, the track is officially credited as “‘Shallow’ (the duet with Trisha Yearwood)”, as if the female vocal parts are a “featured” aspect and not the main attraction. Either way, Yearwood knocks Lady Gaga’s high notes out of the stadium in this faithful recreation of the blockbuster 2018 single. “From the ...
Marika Hackman Covers Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars”, Beyoncé’s “All Night”: Stream
Next month, English indie rocker Marika Hackman will release a new covers album featuring takes on Radiohead, Grimes, Sharon Van Etten, and more. As a preview of the simply titled Covers, Hackman is now sharing her version of the 1997 Elliott Smith song “Between the Bars” and Beyoncé highlight “All Night”. “When it comes to covers, I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while,” the 28-year-old Londoner noted in a statement. “It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” Hackman just might be underselling herself with the word “innovative”, as her reworks of Smith and Queen Bey are quite remarkable. And not just for their unique arrangements, but also the fact that such contrasting covers somehow exi...
Members of Refused, Mastodon, Korn, Run-DMC, Anthrax, and More Cover Faith No More’s “We Care a Lot”: Watch
There has been a plethora of impressive all-star quarantine performances during the pandemic, but this latest one is especially ambitious. Thirteen musicians from bands such as Refused, Mastodon, Korn, Run-DMC, Anthrax, Filter, and more have joined forces to cover the Faith No More song “We Care a Lot”. The collaboration was organized by Slaves on Dope members Jason Rockman and Kevin Jardine, who contribute vocals and guitar to the performance, respectively. Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén handles the first verse, while other vocalists include Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC; Richard Patrick of Filter; Walter Schreifels of Quicksand; Kevin Sharp of Brutal Truth; rapper Escoteric of Czarface; and Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace. In addition to Jardine, the core instrumental band is made up o...
Miley Cyrus Covers The Cure and The Cranberries at #SOSFest: Watch
No one loves a cover quite like Miley Cyrus. A trend that started with her singing Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like a Hole” at Glastonbury last summer has since manifested in her covering Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and “Wish You Were Here”, Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog”, The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues”, The Beatles’ “Help!”, Billie Eilish’s “my future”, and Hall & Oates’ “Maneater”. For her appearance at this weekend’s #SOSFest, Cyrus added two more songs to her repertoire. As part of her three-song performance from Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, Cyrus turned in spirited covers of The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry” and The Cranberries’ “Zombie”. She also performed her own new single, “Midnight Sky”. Watch it all down below. Organized by the National Independent Venue Association, this weekend’s ...
M. Ward Announces Billie Holiday Tribute Album Think of Spring, Shares “For Heaven’s Sake”: Stream
M. Ward, photo by Holly Andres M. Ward released his latest album, Migration Stories, back in April of this year. Now, he’s already set to return with more new music — well, new takes on old music, at least. Ward has announced a Billie Holiday tribute album called Think of Spring, due out December 11th via ANTI-. The collection is a reimagining of the majority of Holiday’s 1958 record Lady in Satin, along with the classic “All the Way”. Ward previously performed all the Lady in Satin tracks during a Los Angeles show in 2018. That concert was done with a quartet, but for Think of Spring, he deconstructed the songs for acoustic guitar using alternative tunings and recorded mostly to an analog Tascom four-track. “I first heard Lady in Satin in a mega-shopping mall somewhere in San Francisco,” ...
Rosie Carney Announces Radiohead Covers Album, Shares Her Version of “Bones”: Stream
Like many of us, Rosie Carney was forced to change her plans when the pandemic hit earlier this year. Instead of entering the studio for recording sessions, the folk artist retreated to her parent’s house in Ireland to be close to family and seek proper treatment for her mental health, which was suffering on account of the global crisis. But her musical brain never stopped turning. While quarantining in Ireland, Carney decided to cover Radiohead classic “Fake Plastic Trees”. However, when she saw how many people had already done so, she pivoted to a more ambitious undertaking: tackling The Bends in its glorious entirety. The resulting covers album is due for arrival on December 11th, but Carney is offering a peek today with her version of “Bones”. “I recorded ‘Bones’ the day before I flew ...
Mannequin Pussy Cover Rilo Kiley’s “The Execution of All Things”: Stream
Mannequin Pussy (photo by Marcus Maddox) and Rilo Kiley (photo courtesy of the band) A handful of indie and punk artists have come together to cover Rilo Kiley’s 2002 album, The Execution of All Things, in its entirety. The new project — officially dubbed No Bad Words for the Coast Today: The Execution of All Things — is due out next month, but is being previewed now with Mannequin Pussy’s take on the title track. Like Rilo Kiley, Mannequin Pussy are a band with a diverse stylistic palette. Just as The Execution of All Things shifts between peppy, fuzzy indie rock and twee, piano-driven indie pop, Mannequin Pussy’s 2019 album Patience swung between shoegaze, power-pop, hardcore punk, and more. For their cover today, Mannequin Pussy continue to channel that ve...
Tame Impala Covers John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” : Watch
Today, October 9th, would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. As a tribute to the late Beatles legend, Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker has shared a bedroom cover of the iconic Imagine song “Jealous Guy”. When we say bedroom cover we mean it quite literally. In a video posted to the Tame Impala Instagram account, Parker is seen singing and strumming along to the 1971 tune while lounging in his big comfy bed. In the original version of the song, Lennon’s vocals are bolstered by a full band’s worth of instruments, but Parker manages to translate the track’s timeless beauty with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Props to him for having a bedroom with surprisingly great natural reverb, because even though this was probably shot on an iPhone the sound quality is pretty great. Watch d...
Clairo Covers The Strokes’ “I’ll Try Anything Once”: Stream
Clairo has shared a cover of The Strokes’ 2006 B-side “I’ll Try Anything Once”. For her lo-fi rendition, the bedroom pop artist is joined by Jake Passmore of the London-based indie band SCORS. “I’ll Try Anything Once” is technically a demo version of “You Only Live Once”, a Strokes standout from their 2005 album First Impressions of Earth. Both songs are fan-favorites for different reasons: “You Only Live Once” is an upbeat anthem and a long-time live staple, whereas its acoustic predecessor is beloved for being a Strokes song that’s actually vulnerable and pretty. Clairo and Passmore both fully lean into the melancholy characteristics of “I’ll Try Anything Once”, while also giving it their own unique touch. The production quality is extremely muddy and raw, but their voices — Clairo’s hig...
Christine and the Queens Cover Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” on Piano: Watch
Christine and the Queens (photo via Instagram) and Bruce Springsteen (photo by Ben Kaye) Christine and the Queens has shared an intimate piano cover of Bruce Springsteen’s classic single “I’m on Fire”. In the caption accompanying the clip, Christine said the 1984 ballad from Born in the U.S.A. is one of the tracks she holds closest to her heart. “This is one of my favorite songs,” she wrote. “@bastien__d has a killer studio, so I went to spend a few hours there. I needed music as much as I need and miss you all. ♥️” Her cover of “I’m on Fire” is a pretty, stripped-back version where piano chords are used only when necessary, opting to let the melody notes ring out uninterrupted instead of recreating the strumming motion of the guitar. Between the minimalist instrumentati...
Chris Cornell’s Cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience” Hits No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Chart
More than three years after his tragic death, Chris Cornell’s soaring voice continues to resonate with music fans. His posthumously released cover of the Guns N’ Roses classic “Patience” has just reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart. Cornell’s take on the GN’R ballad was released by his family on July 20th, in commemoration of what would have been the late rocker’s 56th birthday. The Soundgarden frontman recorded the song prior to his death in 2017 but it was never released. “His birthday seemed the perfect time to share this and celebrate Chris, his voice, music, stories and art,” his family stated at the time of the song’s release. “It is true a man is not dead while his name is still spoken… and, through his art, an artist’s soul still burns just as bright as ever up...
