Cover Song
Steve Earle Honors to Justin Townes Earle with “Harlem River Blues” Cover on Kimmel: Watch
Earlier this week, Steve Earle honored his late son, Justin Townes Earle, with the release of the covers album J.T. In what was surely an emotional moment for the country legend, the surviving Earle performed his rendition of “Harlem River Blues” on Thursday’s Kimmel. JTE passed away over the summer after an accidental drug overdose. As he mourned, his father decided to record J.T. because it was “the only way I knew to say goodbye.” Backed by his band The Dukes on Kimmel, Earle’s performance of “Harlem River Blues” was thus something of a public eulogy for his departed son. Watch the replay below. 100% of the artist advances and royalties earned from sales of J.T. will be donated to a trust Justin’s three-year-old daughter with Jenn Earle, Etta St. James. [embedded content] Rela...
David Bowie’s Covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan Unearthed for 74th Birthday: Stream
Today, January 8th, would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday. In honor of The Man Who Fell to Earth, previously unreleased covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan have been unearthed for the public for the first time. The first recording is Bowie’s reimagining of “Mother”, which Lennon put out in 1970. This cover was originally recorded by Bowie in 1998 with longtime producer Tony Visconti. It was supposed to appear on a Lennon tribute collection, but the release never came to fruition. The other cover is of “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven”, from Dylan’s 1997 Grammy-winning album Time Out of Mind. Bowie recorded this version in 1998 while working on his live album LiveAndWell.com that came out the following year. The new Bowie recordings are packaged as a limited-edition two-song 7-inch ...
Duran Duran Share Cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years”: Stream
Duran Duran will mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday by joining the star-studded tribute livestream “A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day”. In anticipation, the new wave legends have shared a new cover of Bowie’s 1972 classic “Five Years”. “Five Years” wasn’t chosen at random. As the opening track to Bowie’s iconic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it provided a formative moment for DD frontman Simon Le Bon. In a statement, he called it “our first taste of its perfection,” explaining, “My life as a teenager was all about David Bowie. He is the reason why I started writing songs. Part of me still can’t believe in his death five years ago, but maybe that’s because there’s a part of me where he’s still alive and always will be. When we got...
Steve Earle Shares New Justin Townes Earle Covers Album J.T.: Stream
Back in August, the world mourned the death of Americana songwriter Justin Townes Earle. Now, father and country legend Steve Earle has paid tribute to his late son with a new covers album called J.T., and it’s streaming below via Bandcamp. J.T. comes today (January 4th), on what would have been Justin’s 39th birthday. It consists of 11 covers, all pulled from throughout Justin’s discography. There are favorites such as “Harlem River Blues” (2010) “Champagne Corolla” (2017), and “The Saint of Lost Causes”, taken from Justin’s 2019 album of the same name, which proved to be his last. Other songs that appear on J.T. include “I Don’t Care”, “Turn Out My Lights”, and “Last Words”. In a statement, father Steve said the “record is called J.T. because Justin was never called anything else u...
Nandi Bushell Goes Britpop with Cover of Blur’s “Song 2”: Watch
Nandi Bushell, the self-declared “total metalhead” and vanquisher of Dave Grohl, has opened 2021 by expanding her rock horizons. The musical prodigy has started exploring the ’90s Britpop era, leading her to deliver a new cover of Blur’s classic “Song 2”. “This week I have been learning about #Britpop, the 90’s and about this awesome battle between 2 bands called @blurofficial and @oasis,” Bushell wrote in the YouTube video’s description. “The 90 seemed like a fun time for music. This is Song 2 by Blur its really fun to jam to! Wahoo!!! Loving this song.” Wearing a self-made Union Jack dress and a custom guitar strap from LK Straps, the young virtuoso jammed out the iconic riff while backing herself up on… well, on everything, because she’s incredible. She even layers her vocals four times...
Kevin Bacon Covers Radiohead’s “Creep” for His Baby Goats: Watch
Kevin Bacon has baby goats, and apparently the kids are big Radiohead fans. In a video posted to his Instagram, the 62-year-old actor busted out an acoustic cover of “Creep” while an adorable little goat chewed on his shirt. “The goats wanted me to play this, I don’t really think it’s appropriate,” the Footloose star said at the beginning of the clip. Still, “the goats were insisting,” so Bacon went ahead and played the first verse and hook until one of the babies got too curious about what was in his pocket and he had to stop. Thom Yorke probably can’t relate. Watch the impromptu barnyard jam session below. Maybe next time Bacon can serenade some pigs? As it turns out, this isn’t the first video that Bacon has posted with the hashtag “#GoatSongs”. Back in November he covered Fra...
10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Declares She’s a “Total Metalhead”, Rocks Slipknot’s “Unsainted”: Watch
Nandi Bushell was already our favorite kid musician of 2020, but she just gave us one more “wow” moment before the year ends. The 10-year-old prodigy rocked an impressive drum cover of Slipknot’s “Unsainted”, declaring herself a “total metal head.” It’s been an amazing year for Nandi, who found herself in the midst of a viral multi-round drum battle with the one and only Dave Grohl for several weeks. The drum-off culminated in each musician writing a theme song for one another, as well as a face-to-face video chat. Grohl eventually conceded defeat, but they even made plans to write a song together. While Nandi has proven herself to be a strong guitarist and bassist in recent months, her cover of Slipknot’s “Unsainted” shows off her mastery of the drums, the instrument that first made her a...
Chino Moreno’s ✞✞✞ (Crosses) Cover “The Beginning of the End”, First New Track in Six Years: Stream
Deftones singer Chino Moreno has resurrected ✞✞✞ (Crosses) and released the first new track from the project in six years. It comes in the form of a cover of Cause & Effect’s “The Beginning of the End”. Crosses unleashed their self-titled debut album in 2014, but hasn’t released any new music or performed any shows since that year. The band’s lineup is comprised of Moreno, guitarist Shaun Lopez, and bassist Chuck Doom, although a press release for the new single only mentions Moreno and Lopez. For Crosses’ return, Moreno turned to a song by fellow Sacramento act Cause & Effect, an electropop band who released their self-titled debut album in 1990. “The Beginning of the End” is a track from that first LP, and it gives off some very strong Depeche Mode vibes. Crosses’ version do...
Eddie Vedder Announces Matter of Time EP, Due Out on Christmas
Eddie Vedder released the two-song single “Matter of Time” b/w “Say Hi” back in November. Now, the Pearl Jam frontman has expanded the bundle into what’s essentially a brand new EP, featuring a quartet of acoustic at-home performances, all of which were recorded throughout 2020. Highlighting the collection is a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. classic “Growin’ Up”. Also present is Vedder’s rendition of “Future Days” recorded for the 2020 Game Awards. (The Lightning Bolt cut soundtracks a particularly powerful moment in The Last of Us Part II.) Rounding out the tracklist are solo versions of “Porch” and “Just Breathe”, both captured for an online Amazon corporate event back in October. Vedder debuted “Matter of Time” and “Say Hi” during the Ventur...
Jenny Lewis and Bill Murray Share Cover of Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later”: Watch
Well, here’s the strangest gift to ever pop out of an advent calendar. Jenny Lewis and Bill Murray have shared a live-from-home cover of Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later”. Seemingly delivered to capture the quarantine vibes of Christmas 2020, Lewis and Murray’s rendition of the Lil Durk-featuring track is downtempo dirge. The former sings as she plucks a heavy bass line, while the On the Rocks actor shuffles out a sloppy drum phrase. “It’s almost christmas!” Lewis wrote in the Instagram post sharing the video. “laugh now cry later.” Check out the duo’s Drake cover below. The Xmas treat is something of a reunion for the pair, who last got in the holiday spirit together for 2015’s A Very Murray Christmas special. Editors’ Picks Lewis also recently reunited with The Postal Service for a fun...
Mac DeMarco Shares Mellow Cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Stream
Christmas is just four days away, which means Mac DeMarco is back to fulfill his annual tradition of covering holiday songs. This year, the Canadian jizz jazzer has shared his take on Judy Garland’s classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, which you can stream below. The original version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a wistful, tender track about holding on to hope despite being stuck in a tragic place. It always hits home, but this year it feels especially relevant during the pandemic. In DeMarco’s hands, though, the song takes a more laid-back approach, stretching Garland’s original words into a hazy, mellow rumination over a stringy trip-hop-like trance. DeMarco shared his cover alongside a lo-fi music video. In the clip, the Here Comes the Cowboy singer c...
U2’s Bono and The Edge Perform “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” On Irish TV: Watch
During a normal Christmas season, Glen Hansard and a gaggle of other Irish musicians would busk in the street to raise money for Ireland’s homeless population. This year, in order to abide by social distancing guidelines, the fundraiser was turned into an indoor livestream affair, and U2‘s Bono and The Edge showed up to keep the Christmas spirit intact. The duo performed a beautiful acoustic rendition of the Darlene Love staple “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on Ireland’s Late Late Show. The U2 bandmates were joined on stage by Hansard, Philip Powell, violinist Vivienne Long and the Heyday Choir (via the IIrish Times). U2 released a recorded version of the cover way back in 1987, but seeing it performed in front of shimmering lights and ornate Christmas trees gives it a...
