Cover Song
Paul McCartney and Beck Share New Version of “Find My Way”: Stream
Paul McCartney and Beck have released “Find My Way”, a new single from McCartney’s upcoming McCartney III Imagined album. Stream the visualizer video below. The cover transforms the whimsical classic rock song into a disco-funk tune and finds Beck having a bit of fun with a vocoder. “You never used to be afraid of days like these / But now you’re overwhelmed by your anxieties,” he sings on the chorus. “Let me help you out, let me be your guide / I can help you reach the love you feel inside.” “Find My Way” is the opening track from McCartney’s new album, which features artists like St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Anderson .Paak, Damon Albarn, and Blood Orange covering and/or reimagining a particular track from McCartney III, which The Beatles bassist originally released in December 2020...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Deal Out Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades”: Watch
It’s your lucky day, as Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox deal out the Motörhead classic “Ace of Spades” for their latest “Sunday Lunch” performance. The married couple once again deliver a frisky take on a legendary rock tune, with Toyah making a deck of cards rain as she sings and dances in a French maid’s outfit — all as a high-powered fan blows her hair back. King Crimson founder Fripp, meanwhile, remains steady as ever, as he delivers the iconic “Ace of Spades” riff. Fripp rose up the ranks of the UK music scene around the same time as late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. Fripp formed King Crimson in 1968, while Lemmy played in the band The Rockin’ Vickers in the mid to late 60s before becoming a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and eventually joining Hawkwind in 1971. Meanwhil...
Warpaint Cover “Paralysed” for Gang of Four Tribute Album: Stream
As previously announced, Gang of Four co-founder Andy Gill was working on a retrospective of the band’s album Entertainment! before he tragically passed away last year. To carry on his work, Gill’s widow Catherine Mayer organized an impressive tribute album in his honor featuring cover songs by a wide range of artists. Today, she’s sharing one of her favorite cuts: “Paralysed” as played by Warpaint. For their contribution to The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four, Warpaint use their trademark take on atmospheric pop to give “Paralysed” a haunting vocal performance, speckled guitar work, and one slinky bass line. Warpaint’s bassist, Jenny Lee, produced the track, which may explain why it has a similar feel to her solo album right on!. In a press release, L...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Serve Up Mötley Crüe’s “Girls Girls Girls”: Watch
Tennis, anyone? Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox are back at it with another “Sunday Lunch” performance, this time taking on the Mötley Crüe hit “Girls Girls Girls” as Toyah practices her forehand. After taking a detour from tackling rock classics with a version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” last week, the King Crimson founder and his singer wife are back on the rock train this week. As she sings and dances along to Fripp’s guitar work on the Mötley Crüe song, Toyah fires off foam tennis balls with a red racquet. Toyah is once again wearing the revealing white shirt that helped propel their cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” to more than 5 million views, only this time she’s sporting some strategically placed tape underneath. Did she get a note from the powers that be at YouTube? If you combi...
Future Islands Cover Tina Turner’s Hit “We Don’t Need Another Hero”: Stream
Future Islands have shared a new cover of Tina Turner’s classic 1985 hit “We Don’t Need Another Hero”. Stream it below. The track was recorded as part of Future Island’s new live session on SiriusXMU. While the majority of the set saw the band stripping down material from their new album As Long as You Are for an intimate radio performance, it was the cover song that stole the show — in part because their ’80s-inspired sound was born from classics like this Golden Globes-nominated single from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. As is to be expected, Future Islands glam up the Turner classic with a lot of bouncy ’80s synthpop. Leader singer Samuel T. Herring takes a smoother approach to his vocals, giving each word proper enunciation and gusto without ever overdoing it. Meanwhile, there’s some spar...
IDLES Cover Sharon Van Etten’s “Peace Signs”: Stream
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of her 2010 album Epic, Sharon Van Etten is reissuing it as a double LP featuring a front-to-back covers album. Dubbed Epic Ten, our first sample of the reimagined tracks came from Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine’s take on “A Crime”. Today, the second single has arrived, as SVE has shared IDLES’ cover of “Peace Signs”. The British outfit keeps things as close to the original as their post-punk sensibilities will allow them, with all the familiar progressions still in place. In IDLES’ hands, however, they’re riddled with anxieties and the searing tension of shredding guitars. Certainly the screaming repetition of “Peace signs” hits different coming from Joe Talbot’s growl rather than Sharon Van Etten’s voice. Take a listen to the cov...
Mike Patton Sings Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme Song for Shredder’s Revenge Video Game: Stream
What’s cooler than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song? Mike Patton singing that theme song in the trailer for the new video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. That’s right, the lead singer of such bands as Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Dead Cross, and Fantômas lends his vocals to the infectious song that so many of us still have in our heads since it first debuted in 1987 as part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show. Oddly enough, the original theme was co-written and co-recorded by Chuck Lorre, who would go on to famously produce such TV shows as Two and a Half Man, The Big Bang Theory, and others. Patton, whose six octave ranged once earned him the title of greatest singer of all time, offers a rocking take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles&nb...
CHIKA Covers Billie Eilish’s “my future”, Reimagines “U SHOULD”: Stream
All this week, the Spotify Singles series is highlighting the nominees for the 2021 Best New Artist Grammy. But the contribution from CHIKA comes as a double celebration, as today happens to be the Alabama MC’s 24th birthday. As a gift for your ears, she’s delivered a new rendition of her single “U SHOULD” as well as a cover of Billie Eiilish’s “my future”. Plenty of artists have put their own spin on Eilish’s single from last summer, including Artist of the Month Arlo Parks and Miley Cyrus. CHIKA takes it into a new realm, however, taking ownership of the luscious, jazzy ode to self worth with a whole new verse of her own. “Ain’t no stopping shooting stars/ They got their own mind, and that’s the gold mine,” she raps. “The whole grind is nuts, so hold mine/ I promise you I’m set for go ti...
Matt and Kim Cover Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”: Stream
There’s perhaps no more classic anthem for International Women’s Day than the late Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”. So to celebrate today’s festivities, Matt and Kim have flipped their name to Kim and Matt for a cover of the 1963 hit. Out via FADER, the duo’s cover of “You Don’t Own Me” sees drummer Kim Schifino providing lead vocals (natch). The home recording updates the song’s instantly recognizable R&B balladry with electronic drums and fuzzy synths. It captures all the norm-defying independence of the original for a modern audience that feels like it’s finally beginning to change those norms. “This song has always resonated with me lyrically, ever since I was a kid,” Kim said in a statement. “My dad raised me to not take shit from anyone and live the life I want to live. It break...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Cover Britney Spears’ “Toxic”: Watch
King Crimson co-founder Robert Fripp and his wife Toyah Willcox are using the latest installment of their “Sunday Lunch” performance series to pay homage to Britney Spears. The couple described their quarantine cover of Spears’ 2004 single “Toxic” as a “love letter” to the pop singer amid her ongoing conservatorship battle with her father. To that point, the hashtag #freebritney appeared in the upper right corner of the video, and Fripp and Willcox closed their performance by holding up signs that read, “Britney We C You”. Watch the footage below. Since launching their “Sunday Launch” series last year, Robert and Toyah have covered a wide array of artists, including Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”, Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”, the Joan Jett ...
Iggy Pop and Jazz Icon Dr. Lonnie Smith Cover Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman”: Stream
Iggy Pop and Dr. Lonnie Smith, photo by Don Was Iggy Pop and jazz icon Dr. Lonnie Smith have teamed up for a cover of Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman”. The track is taken from Smith’s new album Breathe, which is out later this month. It might seem like an odd pairing for rough-and-tough proto-punk legend and a Hammond B3 organist to join forces for a cover of a classic psych-rock tune — and it is, but it also comes together shockingly well. Smith and his bandmates give the song a loungey, tropical makeover while Pop offers an uncommonly sweet and sultry vocal performance for a man of his gritty stature. The way Smith tells it in a statement, the whole process seemed like a quick and organic happy accident. “I was playing with my trio at Arts Garage in Delray Beach in Florida,” Smith said. “Ig...
Robert Fripp, Toyah, and a Real-Live Snake Take on Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”: Watch
Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox are joined by a member of the animal kingdom in their latest “Sunday Lunch” performance video. The married couple tackle Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” as Toyah handles as real-live slithering snake. Fripp, the founding guitarist for prog pioneers King Crimson, and Toyah, a new wave singer with a series of UK hits in the ’80s, have taken on the role of rock’s most entertaining couple during the lockdown. Their “Sunday Lunch” series sees the pair offering quirky takes on rock classics. Their new performance features Fripp playing the unmistakable guitar riff from Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”, with Toyah singing the song with a good-sized snake slithering in her hands. At the very end, as if on cue, the snake turns around and makes face-to-face contact with Toyah. D...
