Cover Song
Phoebe Bridgers Releases Proper Studio Recording of John Prine’s “Summer’s End”: Stream
Back in April, legendary songwriter John Prine passed away after a battle with COVID-19. Dozens of artists covered his songs to pay tribute to his life and long-lasting influence. One of those musicians was Phoebe Bridgers, who performed his late single “Summer’s End” on Instagram earlier this spring. Now, months later, she’s unveiled a more polished up version for SiriusXM. Listen below (via Stereogum). In her original cover of “Summer’s End”, Bridgers could be seen in her house playing the song live to a computer camera while dressed in pajamas. The setting may have been extremely casual, but her vocals — however poorly mic’d they were, if at all — sounded gorgeous and empathetic. It seems like she was quite moved by Prine’s track, because this new touched-up take sounds much fuller and ...
James Blake Covers Nirvana Classic “Come As You Are” from Quarantine: Watch
James Blake fans have been treated to a number of special covers during this quarantine season. Over the course of just the last few months, the UK crooner has tackled originals by Radiohead, Billie Eilish, Frank Ocean, and Joni Mitchell. For his newest reimagining, Blake ambitiously rolled out his take on the Nirvana classic “Come As You Are”. The performance was part of an hour-long “piano improv concert” streamed on Instagram Live on Saturday. As requested by a fan, Blake’s rendition of the Nevermind single was “soft” in tone. However, though it was without the angst and volume of the 1992 original, Blake’s cover was still urgent in its own fragile, ivory-tinged way. Watch video of the Nirvana cover below, followed by the full concert (come for the tunes, stay for a glimpse of Blake’s a...
Miley Cyrus Covers The Beatles’ “Help!” in Empty Rose Bowl Stadium: Watch
On Saturday, a number of big-name musicians, actors, and other celebrities teamed up for the “Global Goal: Unite for Our Future”, a benefit concert raising money for the coordination and development of COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines, and to ensure equitable access to citizens across the globe. Among the participating musicians was Miley Cyrus, who performed a cover of The Beatles’ “Help!” from an empty Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles. Cyrus dedicated her performance to “those who are tirelessly working on testing, treatment, and vaccines so all of us can come together in places like empty stadiums again.” Watch Cyrus’ full performance below. Cyrus, who recently celebrated her sixth month of sobriety, has delivered a number of compelling covers as of late. She sang Pink Floyd...
Sevendust Return with Cover of Soundgarden’s “The Day I Tried to Live”: Stream
Sevendust are back with a cover of Soundgarden’s “The Day I Tried to Live”, their first new recording since their acclaimed 2018 album, All I See Is War. Singer Lajon Witherspoon pointed to the song’s timeless lyrics as one of the main reasons the band decided to cover the Soundgarden track, which originally appeared on the 1994 album Superunknown. “Soundgarden is such an important band to all of us in Sevendust and this love for them goes all the way back to when we were starting,” said Witherspoon in a press release. “We discussed trying to do one of their songs and our producer Elvis [Baskette] suggested ‘The Day I Tried To Live’.” The frontman continued, “When I first heard it, I thought the lyrics were timeless. The lyrics are about trying to experience new things and c...
Kesha Delivers Roaring Cover of T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution”: Stream
T. Rex’s Marc Bolan (photo via Ian Dickson/Wikipedia) and Kesha Later this summer, Marc Bolan and T. Rex will be celebrated with a massive tribute album called AngelHeaded Hipster. Produced by the beloved Hal Willner prior to his death, it features Bolan classics covered by prominent acts like U2, Father John Misty, Elton John, and Joan Jett, among others. Following Nick Cave’s rendition of “Cosmc Dancer” comes a second preview of the release, 1972’s “Children of the Revolution” as reimagined by Kesha. While known for her catchy pop hits, the High Road star also possesses incredibly powerful pipes, which she showcases on today’s cover. Whether the note’s high or low, the singer punches each one with fierce passion — the kind that would make Bolan proud. Check out the c...
Cat Power Pays Tribute to Cassius’ Philippe Zdar with Cover of “Toop Toop”: Stream
Cat Power (photo by Inez & Vinoodh) and Cassius’ Philippe Zdar (photo via Dyane de Serigny) Today marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Cassius’ Philippe Zdar. To honor the late French producer, his friend and collaborator Cat Power has shared a cover of Cassius’ 2006 hit “Toop Toop”. Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) and Zdar worked together numerous times over the years, with the former appearing on a handful of tracks on Cassius’ 2016 LP Ibifornia. Zdar even worked pro-bono on Cat Power’s classic 2012 album Sun. Their close relationship led Marshall to pay homage to Zdar at his funeral, where she teamed with -M- (French rocker Matthieu Chedid) for a performance of “Toop Toop”. Zdar’s widow, Dyane de Serigny, recalled in a press release how she joined the duo at Cas...
Dead Cross (Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo) Cover Black Flag’s “Rise Above” in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter: Stream
The hardcore supergroup Dead Cross, featuring living legends Mike Patton on vocals and Dave Lombardo on drums, have covered the Black Flag classic “Rise Above” in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) and Lombardo (Misfits, ex-Slayer) are joined by Dead Cross bandmates Michael Crain (guitar) and Justin Pearson (bass) on the socially distant performance. The song is preceded by an audio recording of a resident’s profanity-laced tirade against the LAPD as he called in to an actual police commission meeting on Zoom. In posting the video on Facebook and YouTube, the band stated that the performance was “created in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and staunchly opposing police brutality and systemic racism.” Dead Cross hit the studio ...
Inter Arma Unveil Cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “March of the Pigs”: Stream
Inter Arma recently announced a covers EP titled Garbers Days Revisited, and now they’ve unveiled the second single from the forthcoming release: a metallic version of the Nine Inch Nails classic “March of the Pigs”. In a press release, Inter Arma acknowledged that it could be construed that the timing of the single is tied to the current unrest across the nation, where protests have broken out following the death of George Floyd in police custody. In fact, the band actually quietly released the song last week, but didn’t announce it until today. “We released our cover of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘March of the Pigs’ this past Tuesday, but felt it would have been inappropriate to latch onto the outrage we’re all experiencing to promote a cover album, even if by happenstance,” stated the band. ...
Mr. Bungle Unveil Cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, First New Recording Since 1999: Stream
Mr. Bungle have just released their first new recording in more than 20 years. It comes in the form of a cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, with all proceeds going to COVID-19 relief efforts. Mike Patton joined fellow original members Trevor Dunn (bass) and Trey Spruance (guitar) for a series of reunion shows in February of this year, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo rounding out the touring lineup. The shows focused on the group’s hardcore roots, as they performed their early 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, along with a number of cover songs. Then in March, news came that the very same touring lineup had convened in a studio shortly after those shows to re-record the 1986 demo, and lay down studio versions of the cover songs ...
10-Year-Old Girl Rocks Rage Against the Machine in Support of Black Lives Matter: Watch
The very talented Nandi Bushell has offered her support of Black Lives Matter and the fight against racism with a multi-instrumental cover of the Rage Against the Machine classic “Guerrilla Radio.” The 10-year-old musician rocked the drums, bass, and guitar for the performance. This is certainly not the first we’ve seen of Bushell. The UK pre-teen previously wowed us with a drum cover of Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows”, which received an endorsement from QOTSA themselves. And her YouTube channel features dozens of more impressive performances. Her Rage Against the Machine cover comes with a poignant message during these tumultuous times, with protests raging across America and the world following the death of George Floyd while in police custody. A description of the performance o...
Switchfoot Cover Frank Ocean, Vampire Weekend, Harry Styles, and More on New EP
In addition to writing new music, artists have been spending plenty of their quarantine time covering songs they hold dear. We’ve seen James Blake take on Joni Mitchell, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo put his spin on Nirvana, and Incubus’ Brandon Boyd take a crack at Beach House. Switchfoot, the alt-rock outfit best known for that one 2004 Christian chart-topper, are also following suit with a new covers EP, though it features some very unexpected selections. Simply titled Covers, the upcoming effort sees Switchfoot branching out beyond their religious rock to reimagine originals by Frank Ocean (“Swim Good”), Vampire Weekend (“Harmony Hall”), and Harry Styles (“Lights Up”). There are also renditions of “Lucky Man” by The Verve and “Sick Boy” by The Chainsmokers. In a statement about the EP’s v...
Ben Gibbard Shares New Single “Proxima B”, Covers Minor Threats” Filler”: Stream
Ben Gibbard may be having one of the busiest lockdowns in music. In addition to covering everyone from Radiohead to Phoebe Bridgers to The Beatles during his weekly livestreams, the Death Cab for Cutie frontman has released the charity single “Life in Quarantine”, performed the song on Colbert, and taken part in a number of charity concerts. Today, he’s back with another new track, “Proxima B”. The mid-tempo strummer was originally debuted live when Gibbard performed at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum’s virtual concert Space Songs: Through the Distance. He later played it during his from-home livestream. While both those renditions were acoustic, the studio version of “Proxima B” features complete instrumentation, contemplative synth sounds blowing gently beneath opt...
