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Last year, the first words on this article were “It was the year of Ken.” So leave it to GWAR and the revival of AV Undercover to mockingly keep the trend going.
There were broader, lighter trends this year we could dig into—Tom Petty, even beyond Apple TV’s BAD MONKEY soundtrack, was a popular artist to cover for some reason. But I think, as you’ll see in this list, the common denominator for much isn’t cultural, but rather political. There is a palpable necessity to support LGBTQ+ artists and communities in this moment; as hate groups are platformed and bigotry runs rampant online, and more and more frequently offline, you can sense music becoming one of the few spaces for safety. Various anti-trans laws, the scary trickle-down effects to come, and a second presidential term for Trump means that I don’t see this trend towards LGBTQ+-focused charity compilations going away—case in point, more than 10% of this list comes from Red Hot Organization’s TRAИƧA. Sure, there were a lot of Petty looks, but there were just as many trans, queer, and non-binary musicians recontextualizing music this year and that feels like a defining moment to investigate.
To quickly highlight my loose rules for this list, I don’t broadly include live recordings (unless “officially” released, professionally recorded in some way, or featuring genuine soundboard audio), and anything that isn’t overly accessible (re: Free) online isn’t considered—i.e. nothing behind a paywall (see: Amazon or that excellent Bandcamp release CARDINALS AT THE WINDOW, which I wrote about here). I do allow Spotify Singles because those can, technically, be streamed on the freemium tier of their platform. Anyway, happy holidays and as always, enjoy this insane list of covers!
50. “Josie” (blink-182 Cover) by Famous Friend
Look, I’d be remiss to not toot MGRM’s horn here and say Famous Friend debuted this cover during their live set at our ninth Anniversary Show at Permanent Records earlier this year, and it’s a fun one. With an appetite for gloomy, spacy, playful synthpop, Famous Friend’s version of blink-182’s best song (I said it) is surfy bedroom pop bliss. I should also speak my truth while we’re on the subject: If you do ever find yourself in San Diego, just know that Sombreros is only okay.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
49. “Genius of Love” (Tom Tom Club Cover) by Toro y Moi and Brijean
I think MOST of the covers on EVERYONE’S GETTING INVOLVED: A TRIBUTE TO TALKING HEADS’ STOP MAKING SENSE are… interesting swings. The whole thing is, by and large, a bukkake of random artists joylessly covering random songs for a big paycheck—Norah Jones and BADBADNOTGOOD doing “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” Lorde doing “Take Me To The River,” Kevin Abstract (?) doing “Once In A Lifetime,” each blander than the next (the less said about the Paramore one the better). Toro y Moi and Brijean’s chillwave take on “Genius of Love” isn’t, per se, the exception to the rule here, but it’s among the more listenable and varied takes offered on the record, a groovy version of Tom Tom Club’s immortal, squiggly hit. The tempo is just a touch slower, and while many of the cuts on this compilation seem to not understand the lovingly goofy energy featured in STOP MAKING SENSE, Toro y Moi and Brijean get it.
48. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (Bonnie Tyler Cover) by The Dirty Nil
The Dirty Nil have been highlighted on MGRM cover lists in the past, and the reason why is pretty simple: They bring big dick rock and roll to everything they do, and that includes each and every cover song. And they’ve done… a lot of covers, perhaps even too many. On the deluxe edition of their 2023 album, FREE REIN TO PASSIONS, they include a snarling arena rock take on “Total Eclipse of the Heart” which is half in jest and half impassioned; these Canadian lads can throw power chords and some thrown punk vocals on any ‘80s ballads they want as far as I’m concerned (and at this rate, they probably will).
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
47. “Accidentally In Love” (Counting Crows Cover) by LAKE
We should get this out of the way at the top: The packshot for this single is… horrible. Shockingly horrible, really—a garish, 2012 4chan-core fan image. This is notable only because it is odd for the Olympia, WA twee pop act LAKE, whose art is typically quite good. But regardless, we’re here for the music, and that I can confirm IS quite good. A buzzing twee pop take on the Counting Crows movie tie-in hit, Ashley Eriksson’s more subdued cooing is a perfect replacement for Adam Duritz’s big frontman energy; LAKE keep the whimsical spirit of the original but fittingly move it out of the Children’s Animated Fairy Tale section of the home video store and down the aisle to Adult Indie Comedy.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
46. “I’ve Got A Feeling” (The Beatles Cover) by Lucinda Williams
I had the honor of seeing Lucinda Williams earlier this year, and watching her at 71 years old command that stage was breathtaking. While she can’t play guitar anymore, she can still sing, and her signature rugged timbre is still a thing to behold. LUCINDA WILLIAMS SINGS THE BEATLES FROM ABBEY ROAD is, as the title implies, a pretty straightforward collection of country-twinged takes on the Fab Four, some more faithful than others. My favorite of the crop is LET IT BE cut “I’ve Got A Feeling,” already one of the more rambunctious entries in the Beatles’ immortal catalog; some buzzsaw guitar parts complement the layering of Williams’ vocals, and for my money it’s the best she sounds on the whole compilation, perhaps because it’s one of the most bombastic songs they could’ve chosen. We’re lucky to still have her, and you can sense listening to it that this was a special project for everyone involved.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
45. “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (The Beatles Cover) by Diners
Diners’ simplicity is something to cherish. Blue Broderick’s ear has always found the magic in simple-yet-glossy power pop and indie rock songs (you can read about the last few albums here and here), so it would make sense that a cover of one of the Beatles’ most earwormy and straightforward bops feels comfortable within her musical wheelhouse. Both Broderick’s vocals and the guitar playing give it an orange-hot zip and in doing so reveal how one song could be at the bedrock of the entire genre of power pop.
Listen: Bandcamp
44. “The Takeover” (Poppy Jean Crawford Cover) by Angel Olsen
Poppy Jean Crawford’s “The Takeover” is a dazzling pop song; a massive, melancholic chorus, huge, pulsing drum machines and synths, Crawford’s soaring voice—if it had any fuzz or reverb on it, it would be one of Alvvays’ best songs. Everything Angel Olsen taps to cover becomes a uniquely different siren song just by the nature of how enchanting her vocals are, and that’s perhaps more true on her latest record, COSMIC WAVES VOLUME 1, where she’s cherry-picking a handful of lesser-known songs to cover. The melancholy of her “The Takeover” becomes viscerally devastating, the faraway yearning out of reach in ways that Olsen hasn’t tapped into properly since the early days of STRANGE CACTI.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
43. “I Wanna Be Sedated” (Ramones Cover) by Lunar Vacation
Lunar Vacation jump-started the album rollout for the chilled-out EVERYTHING MATTERS, EVERYTHING’S FIRE with this cover of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Gone is the power pop pitter-patter of the original, as Lunar Vacation send it floating purposely through the cosmos with a weightless buzz on the production. There’s a kind of widescreen cinematic view to the whole thing that offers an entirely new vision of a four-chord classic.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
42. “You Don’t Know Me” (Caetano Veloso Cover) by Devendra Banhart, Blake Mills, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso released an album entitled TRANSA in 1972. Written during a period of exile from Brazil in London, and partially at the behest of the government’s military when he was granted a brief period of return to his home country, it is defined by immense feelings of isolation. The original is delivered in a fevery blend of Brazilian and English and comes in at a tight 3:48, but Devandra Banhart and Blake Mills extract an enveloping atmospheric odyssey out of it, with big, glacially paced guitar moments and rhythmic vocal loops; add in backing harmonies and a wonderful spoken word close from the legend Beverly Glenn-Copeland, and it becomes a dazzlingly introspective six-minute journey that captures the isolating sentiment of the original, but in a uniquely bold and modern way.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
41. “I Wanna” (Jordana Cover) by TOLEDO
The great indie label Grand Jury turns 10 this year, and so to honor that they’ve been having current artists on the roster cover past releases; the best of the bunch is folksy rock outfit TOLEDO taking on the underrated Jordana single “I Wanna.” The original is about as stripped-down a song as Jordana has ever released, but those quieting drum pads and cooing, wistful pleas are fully flipped by TOLEDO’s fuller rock version — one that still quietly hums along with a buzzing, DIY, garage rock tone, but by comparison to the original feels more defiant. If TOLEDO set out to make a wonderful Yo La Tengo song, they succeeded wholeheartedly.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
40. “December” (Neck Deep Cover) by illuminati hotties
Neck Deep have been a staple of Hopeless Records for over a decade. My sense of them—and I hope this doesn’t come across as reductive to their whole “thing”—is that their commitment to a seemingly bygone era of straightforward, sad boi emo music is almost commendably unique. And I know there are like 100 of these bands still ignoring emo’s various new waves, but I guess I don’t read about or hear about those acts as much as I do Neck Deep, who reliably keep churning out Dashboard Confessional and the Get Up Kids riffs. One of their big songs is one of these ambiguous holiday songs (see also: Jack’s Mannequin’s “Lights And Buzz”), and labelmates illuminati hotties bring a bit more uptempo, jangly, indie rock energy to it. Sarah Tudzin, fresh off some Grammy love for her work with boygenius, brings her pioneering tenderpunk sweetness to an otherwise all-consuming black hole of a song—the kind of heartbreaker built for angsty Hot Topic teens that feels bigger in Tudzin’s capable hands.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
39. “Blackbird” (The Beatles Cover) by Beyoncé
Some… insane things, to say the least, have been said about this cover—mostly by signature Rolling Stone blowhard Rob Sheffield, but I’m sure by other mentally unwell people online. But I’m not here to address any of that. I’m simply here to say that if one of the signature voices in all of pop music history wants to cover one of the best-written lullabies of all time, by all means we should rightfully be excited by that. It was always going to deliver, and its striking simplicity ensures that it does.
38. “Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac Cover) by Justin Townes Earle
The odds and ends collection ALL IN isn’t to be missed. The late, great Justin Townes Earle left behind a treasure trove of covers, B-sides, and live sessions, all compiled earlier this year in a nice, 19-track compilation that details out the New West years. Beyond the stripped-down take on Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and a heartbreaking take on “Graceland,” there’s this retroactively devastating take on Fleetwood Mac’s eternal “Dreams,” a song that could be covered a million times more and still find new ways to wreck you. Earle’s voice is pristine, an alt-country laureate with a mix of quiet strength and emotional wisdom playing over a pretty stirring and bare rendition of the song. It’s a stunner.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
37. “Angel Baby” (Rosie and The Originals Cover) by Suzie True
There’s really only one thing you need to get right about a cover of Rosie and the Original’s “Angel Baby,” and that’s the sheer amount of space and reverberation that the recording has. The band’s material was recorded in a goddamn airplane hangar and when you listen to it, it sounds like it. Suzie True have been purveyors of quick-hitting, spunky, garage rock tunes for half a decade now, with a pair of excellent albums out via the great label Get Better Records you should go check out now. Their cover of “Angel Baby” was not likely recorded in an airplane hangar (can’t even imagine how that would work for a band 60-something years later), but it has the distant fuzz and beautiful harmonies of the original, a romantic update fitting enough for 2024.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
36. “Take A Picture” (Filter Cover) by Lucius
A December 13th release date in the music industry is tricky for just about anyone outside of the true A-List talent, as the release of EOTY lists like this one are in full swing and people are generally checking out for the holidays. So let this be a quick PSA to check out EVERY POSSIBLE WAY, a charity compilation compiled by label 3Sirens and benefitting Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund, which features some excellent ‘90s covers in the tracklist like JOSEPH doing Jimmy Eat World’s “Table For Glasses,” new Sub Pop signees Deep Sea Diver doing Yo La Tengo’s “Stockholm Syndrome,” Liz Cooper doing The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony,” and this excellent “Take A Picture” cover from Lucius. It’s hard to get a read on Filter’s original—is it a corny, overly sentimental, turn-of-the-millennium radio staple, or a soaring and evergreen sign of the times? In Lucius’ hands, it’s a vibey, dreary, pop number that somehow showcases both things. The whole comp is great and filled with big hits you’ll find immediately recognizable, but start with Lucius’ huge-sounding take on a radio staple you likely haven’t thought about in a minute.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
35. “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” (Belle and Sebastian Cover) by Julien Baker, Calvin Lauber, SOAK, and Quinn Christopherson
“Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” is perhaps the quintessential Belle and Sebastian song, not just because of its springy, folksy bounce, a sound few other artists have ever quite perfected, but because the lyrics are of a sweet melancholy that makes you feel lonesome and content all at once. That mix of emotions isn’t unique to the TRAИƧA compilation, and it certainly is the focus for the cover featured on it, one that features Julien Baker’s cathartic voice immediately, as well as verses and backing vocals from SOAK, Quinn Christopherson, and producer Calvin Lauber. They correctly don’t try to emulate the original’s distinctive, toe-tapping production, instead going for a driving, mechanical pop sound that lets the aforementioned catharsis of everyone’s voices compound across the song. It’s a standout on an album filled with them.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
34. “Dominion” (Sisters of Mercy Cover) by Heartworms
While it’s been a quiet year for post-punk phenom Heartworms, they’ve released a few off-pitch singles this year in the lead-up to their excellent debut GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT, which is out in February of next year. If you’ve heard any of those excellent singles (listen to “Jacked”), you don’t have to squint much to see how they would crush a cover of Sisters of Mercy’s “Dominion.” Those big, gated drums and possessed vocals are tweaked only slightly with this cover (done for The Line of Best Fit back in January). Jojo Orme brings a kind of muted desperation to the performance that transforms the song’s sinister ‘80s qualities; the sound remains intense and focused — an animal in a cage fighting to get out. This interpretation is less controlled and as a result, bursting at the seams with wild, youthful passion.
Listen: YouTube
33. “I Fought The Law” (The Crickets Cover) by Steve Earle
This isn’t a cover that needs to be overthought—plenty of noted country musicians have taken on this Buddy Holly staple, but few have the wizened energy of Steve Earle. It’s a pretty maximalist take on the song, with big drums and cutting pedal steel parts, and his defiant, weathered vocals are as commanding as ever; if the man says he fought the law and the law won, I’ll take him at his word, but I’m dubious that anyone could actually ever beat THE Steve Earle.
32. “Wolf Like Me” (TV on the Radio Cover) by Bartees Strange, Anjimile, and Kara Jackson
You can hear in the vocals of this “Wolf Like Me” cover that being asked to perform this cover meant a lot to each artist involved—in a wonderful twist of fate, just days after the TRAИƧA compilation was released, Bartees Strange actually opened for TV on the Radio in New York, saying, “I opened for a band that changed my life tonight.” The primalness of TV on the Radio’s original shifts in the hands of Strange, Anjimile, and Kara Jackson. No longer an intensely ramshackled rock song, it opens with uptempo, twitchy, indietronica production and quietly transitions to become a slow and steady ballad. The raw performance element of the song remains a highlight in Strange’s extremely capable hands, but the actual musicianship nicely shifts to highlight Tunde Adebimpe’s remarkable lyricism. It’s a proper send-up for a song that has become one of the most important rock hits in the time since its release.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
31. “Season of the Witch” (Donovan Cover) by Farmer’s Wife
Farmer’s Wife, the dreamy Austin, TX grunge act, are one of the more compelling emergent rock acts right now—I’d describe the set I caught while they were opening for Cloud Nothings this fall as somewhere between Deftones and Marissa Nadler (though frankly, plenty of Sacred Bones artists could fit the mold). This recorded cover of “Season of the Witch” does right by that sonic description—perfect for the Roadhouse in TWIN PEAKS, just lost, wandering souls finding solace in the dark cries of Donovan. Singer Molly Masson channels her inner Courtney Love throughout, moving from glorious crooning to full-throated, red-eyed madness. A band to keep tabs on, for sure.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
30. “Everybody Hurts” (R.E.M. Cover) by Al Green
Periodically, Al Green offers up a proof-of-life cover—a few years ago he gave his spin on “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” for Amazon, and last year he turned “Perfect Day” on its head. This year he’s here with “Everybody Hurts,” a song that for many years was being voted the #1 song that made grown men cry. Even if you’ve never personally cried to the song, I think in Al Green’s hands you can easily understand why people would have that reaction to Michael Stipe’s generation-defining lyrics. As feels true with so much of R.E.M.’s work, in the hands of others there can be a total change in authorship—that’s a testament to both Stipe’s often-universal lyricism and the band’s understanding of pop melodies. With Green, the song becomes more grandiose, a product of studio grandeur in the best ways. His still-excellent and worldly voice guides us to the inevitable and resounding conclusion that yes, everybody does hurt. Let’s hope we never stop getting these random dispatches from him.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
29. “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You” (John Prine Cover) by Tyler Childers
You can hear the entirety of alt-country’s modern sound, from Old Crow Medicine Show to Zach Bryan to, sure, MJ Lenderman, in “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You.” It’s a signature John Prine song, in that it’s a perfect blend of hopeless curiosity, focused character study, and endearing humor. Both Tyler Childers’ vocal range and overall demeanor is more dramatic than Prine’s, even if they’re cut from very similar songwriting clothes. As such, Childers’ cover is less a ragtag, singer-songwriter jag and instead this downtrodden, cinematic take that perfectly matches Childers’ upscaled sound.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
28. “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” (Yo La Tengo Cover) by Quivers
If you’re a Yo La Tengo stan like me, the first thing you probably did when you saw Quivers were covering “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” was look at the length of the song—not to spoil it for you, but it’s not even close to the original’s roaring, 11-minute runtime. But that’s okay!! Given the best moments on their solid 2024 record OYSTER CUTS are reserved, in-the-pocket rock grooves, far from the relentless, downhill sprint that is “Pass The Hatchet,” this shorter version is preferred, even! Their four-and-a-half-minute cover distills the essence of YLT’s original in an admittedly more easily accessible package—quieter, more focused, and heavier on the whimsy.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
27. “You Wreck Me” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Cover) by The War On Drugs
Until The War On Drugs finally release the version of Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind” they were touring with a few years ago, we’ll have to just accept this excellent cover of a different classic rock radio staple. While it’s not quite the best of the BAD MONKEY soundtrack (see #20), it is certainly the cover that makes the most sense on paper and the one you could hear in your mind’s eye; it is pure, uncut wish-fulfillment to hear Adam Granduciel do Petty, and as you’d expect, the band somehow make the stadium rocker even bigger and louder. The War On Drugs aren’t here to do much new with this, but they don’t need to.
26. “Love At First Sight” (Kylie Minogue Cover) by Vacations
Melbourne’s Princess of Pop seems to be having a moment these days; some of that is due to the viral success of her recent single “Padam Padam,” which has led to a cultural celebration of Kylie Minogue’s career, and some of this is, I think, a broader reappreciation of ‘90s dance music. Regardless of why fellow Aussies’ Vacations picked “Love At First Sight” for their Spotify Singles selection, it’s a treat for the ears. The band’s signature sprightly guitar tone emboldens one of FEVER’s best singles into a proper pop radio tune, taking Minogue out of the club and into a rock show. On the heels of their solid 2024 album NO PLACE LIKE HOME, this “Love At First Sight” cover feels like a heat check, and they still have the juice.
Listen: Spotify
25. “County Jail Blues” (Eric Clapton Cover) by The War and Treaty
Look, I’ve spent most of my adult life making fun of Eric Clapton from just about every angle, so I’m not going to pretend I was really at all familiar with the song “County Jail Blues” prior to Michiganers The War and Treaty covering it for the compilation BETTER THAN JAIL earlier this year. And the original, I will say, is great, with menacing slide guitars and a sneering vocal performance from Clapton—a joyful discovery for those of us who mostly associate Clapton as being the third-best guitarist to be involved in the Yardbirds, a vaguely right-wing anti-masker, the guy who wrote “Tears of Heaven,” and the subject of various early internet jokes I won’t publish here. The War and Treaty, fortunately, carry none of that baggage (I saw them open for Old Crow Medicine Show at the Ryman on New Year’s Eve back in 2019 and have been a fan ever since). Husband-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter have insane chemistry, and their vocals just add a depth that isn’t there with only one vocalist. Their cover is smoky and bluesy—there is a degree of danger to the guitar soloing, but that reserved, laid-back groove is infectious.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
24. “Sick Of Myself” (Matthew Sweet Cover) by Trace Mountains
You’d have thought there would’ve been a rise in Matthew Sweet covers after he suffered a debilitating stroke on tour in November, but somehow one of the only ones of note arrived before that tragic event ever happened courtesy of Trace Mountains back in June. The opener to the 1995 power pop classic 100% FUN features recklessly crunchy guitars and Sweet’s gripping frontman presence, ultimately introducing you to what is another 37-plus minutes of genuinely genius musicianship (if someone ever covers “Get Older,” it would probably instantly make a future iteration of this list). I firmly believe that, perhaps with his other on-again-off-again project LVL UP, Dave Benton could deliver something that is more faithfully trying to capture the pure, sugary rock energy of the original, but recording as Trace Mountains, he beautifully finds the soul and humanity of Sweet’s actual lyricism — perhaps an under-discussed brilliance in his artistry. Few musicians could write a chorus as hopelessly endearing as “But I’m sick of myself when I look at you / Something is beautiful and true / In a world that’s ugly and a lie / It’s hard to even want to try / And I’m beginning to think / Baby you don’t know,” and in Benton’s capable hands he delivers a slowed-down, bendy Americana rendition that wonderfully highlights that fact.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
23. “Telepathic Love” (Wipers Cover) by Lifeguard
This whole cover is kind of a wonderful clusterfuck. If you’ve heard Lifeguard, a group of Chicago kids who recently signed to Matador, you can tell that the Wipers are a seminal influence on them—they make very vintage-sounding post-punk music, and “Telepathic Love” is as good a template for the American emergence of that sound as any. And yet, you listen to Lifeguard’s version and their goal was seemingly to make it a wiry, fuzzed-out, SST song—there’s as much Black Flag and Minutemen (with a dash of DEVO or Dead Kennedys) as there is Wipers in the DNA. It’s refreshing to know these guys could have taken the easy way out and instead chose to zig where we expected them to zag.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
22. “Coyote, My Little Brother” (Pete Seeger Cover) by Mitski
Reading the comments from Gen Zers who think this is a Mitski original is both entertaining and kind of infuriating—an incurious assumption by a generation that feels hopelessly lost, but such is media literacy in this country now I suppose (insert *old man yells at cloud* meme here, maybe). This is a signature Pete Seeger vocal performance, his voice being thrown about in riveting fashion. Mitski, a credit to her as a performer, is really one of the few singer-songwriters today who I think with just a guitar and her voice could quiet the masses the moment she begins singing—this cover is proof that she, too, could’ve captured the hearts and minds of Seeger’s Greenwich Village scene half-a-century ago. Given the horrors we’ve all heard about the way her fanbase act at shows, I’m not sure her stans would be able to shut up long enough to listen to Seeger’s enthralling message about a changing world, but we can certainly dream—and this recorded cover is overwhelming nonetheless.
Listen: Spotify
21. “Deeper Understanding” (Kate Bush Cover) by Hand Habits and Bill Callahan
“Deeper Understanding” is a track that even Kate Bush herself has covered. Released originally in 1989 on THE SENSUAL WORLD, it was then re-recorded and re-released with a short film for 2011’s DIRECTOR’S CUT, an album comprised of older material that Bush wanted to update (in the case of “Deeper Understanding,” by turning over the vocals, making it longer and adding a harmonica solo, just regular ‘ol Kate Bush stuff). Nevertheless, it’s kind of an odd one of hers to cover—ostensibly a deep cut until Bush herself retroactively made it the lead single on the album. Regardless of how they came to it, Bill Callahan and Hand Habits make the exploratory nature of the material exhilarating; a song about human connection and our relationship with technology would’ve been almost novel in 1989, the work of science fiction writers and dystopian filmmakers. Even in 2011 that relationship was hardly solidified. Callahan and Meg Duffy let their very organic, free-flowing vocals intertwine in a beautiful dance, Duffy taking lead with Callahan’s comforting, bassy tone adding a level of optimism and comfort to the cacophony of wiring guitars and sporadic pianos. Both of Bush’s versions are uniquely powerful, but I deeply appreciate both the duality of calm and anxiety on display here.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
20. “Don’t Do Me Like That” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Cover) by flipturn
Given the who’s who of big artists featured, I’m as shocked as anyone that the best Tom Petty cover on the BAD MONKEY soundtrack came from flipturn. A spindly pop outfit on Dualtone whose rise within music over the last seven-or-eight years has made sense in a landscape dominated by acts like girl in red, Del Water Gap, and Briston Maroney, their sped-up tempo and smoothed-out edges do wonders for one of Petty’s most famous songs. As a Florida act themselves, it’s almost fitting that amidst acts who saw clearer inspiration musically from the legend (see: #27), it was the band birthed by the same coastal air that would make a wonderfully spirited take on a rock radio staple.
19. “Snow Is Falling In Manhattan” (Purple Mountains Cover) by Dean and Britta and Sonic Boom
I have to say, this song is being positioned as a holiday cover, and I’m kind of obsessed with the idea that one of the saddest songs David Berman ever wrote is being fittingly recontextualized for one of our saddest seasons. Luna members Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips join Sonic Boom for a dizzying, spritely take on the original that certainly has a smidge more joy to it than Berman’s original—it doesn’t quite fully have a holiday song makeover, but we’re a couple of jingle bells away from it not feeling totally out of place. Wareham, Phillips, and Peter Kember have a whole album of Christmas tunes out this year called A PEACE OF US, and “Snow Is Falling In Manhattan” is just one of a handful of songs perfect for your ever-growing playlist of non-shitty holiday music.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
18. “Daniel” (Elton John Cover) by Real Estate
As far as Elton John staples go, “Daniel” sits somewhere in the middle of the pack—refreshing in that it’s not one you’re beat over the head with, but still prominent on a greatest hits album and thus not a true diamond in the rough. Still, it’s got the kind of laid-back production that would make it an obvious candidate to be covered by Real Estate even if it wasn’t cheekily sharing a name with the band’s solid, workmanlike sixth album. Martin Courtney matches Elton’s island time energy, and the band let their signature relaxed jangle pop bring a new, groovy sheen to a classic.
17. “Song to the Siren” (Tim Buckley Cover) by Rachika Nayar, Julianna Barwick, and Cassandra Croft
Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” is ostensibly a modern standard at this point—Liz Fraser already did the song justice back in ‘83, but everyone from Robert Plant to Sinead O’Connor has done a cover over the last 15-or-so years, certainly proving the timelessness of his steadfast songwriting. This year saw not one, but two high-profile covers, an interesting one from, of all pairings, Courtney Love and 070 Shake, and this blissful, utopian dream from Rachika Nayar, Julianna Barwick, and Cassandra Croft. At six minutes, it expands and contracts the space that Buckley leaves in the original; as the vocals get stretched bigger and bigger, the dreamy, urgent, cinematic build becomes overwhelming. The instrumental is obstructed by the trio’s desire to climb to the heavens, while its sense of tranquility remains fully indebted to Buckley’s distant original.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
16. “Cortez the Killer” (Neil Young & Crazy Horse Cover) by Squirrel Flower and Friends
Death. Taxes. “Cortez The Killer.” I’m not sure there’s ever been a bad version of the song, and Squirrel Flower continues to prove that. With a little help from her friends, including Alex Peterson (alexalone), Greg Freeman, Dimitri Giannopolous (Horse Jumper of Love), Travis Harrington (Truth Club), Michael Cantella, and Kai Wilde (Teethe), it’s as big, crunchy, and chaotic as you could imagine with that murderers’ row of musicians. Words to live by: If you get the chance to blow out a fuzzy version of “Cortez The Killer” with your friends, you should do it.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
15. “For Sure” (American Football Cover) by Ethel Cain
Hearing a crop of non-Midwest emo artists take on American Football’s self-titled debut yields interesting results—even I, an Iron & Wine skeptic, can’t deny the power of their “Never Meant” cover. But the crown jewel of the project is most assuredly Ethel Cain’s 10-minute slowcore journey through “For Sure,” one of the more stark, off-kilter offerings on the album. It is a jaw-droppingly beautiful rendition—every aching string part and glacial drum pattern feels as though it is in service of resolving the original uncertainty that plagues American Football’s original. But there is no resolving that; “Imagine us together / Relatively stable (Tentatively able) / To say for certain / Whether this uncertainty is / For sure.” If the euphoria found throughout Cain’s version doesn’t lead to some kind of peace, nothing will.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
14. “The Kiss” (Judee Sill Cover) by Fleet Foxes
Live, handheld footage of this Judee Sill cover has floated around online for a few years, as it comes from an August 10th, 2022 performance on the Boston Harbor. This year, Fleet Foxes released that performance officially on both a deluxe vinyl package and on their YouTube, where you can watch a beautifully shot set right on the water. Robin Pecknold has voiced his love for ‘70s singer-songwriters plenty in the past (he was a member of Joni Mitchell’s live band this summer), and his silky vocals on one of Judee Sill’s most spirited and haunting songs is just something to behold. With Pecknold on piano and a lone horn behind him, it’s a special rendition of a special song.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
13. “360” (Charli XCX Cover) by Blossoms & Rick Astley
I have no idea what the Rick Astley / Blossoms connection is, and frankly I like living in the mystery of it—their The Smiths cover sets are becoming the stuff of legend (watch this 2023 Glastonbury rendition of “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” if you don’t believe me). They stopped by the BBC Radio 1 lounge to do that thing artists grasping for relevance frequently do, which is to cover the “it” song of the moment, in this case tapping into a BRAT summer. But here’s the thing: I don’t think Blossoms or Rick Astley care about grasping for relevance, and the result is a pretty blasé indie pop version of the song that sounds like a latter-day Cut Copy song. Astley comes in at the end and is so good it will make you wonder why people haven’t been trying to make him a staple of club songs for the last decade.
Listen: YouTube
12. “bad idea, right?” (Olivia Rodrigo Cover) by Thao
This thrilling cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “bad idea, right?” arrives via a compilation put together by NOISE FOR NOW entitled SONGS FOR SEX, where 90% of the album proceeds will go to the National Women’s Health Network. That compilation is mostly demos and live cuts from acts like Jason Isbell, CAKE, The Album Leaf, and others. But it kicks off with a pair of covers, including this one from Thao (sans the Get Down Stay Down). A defining and perhaps underrated characteristic of her music is often how fucking cool she sounds, and you better believe that she cranks that blasé detachment up to 11 here. Sonically it’s a wigged-out cover with fried synth tones that would be fitting for a runway walk; given how succinct the pop punk undertones of the original are, I think most artists have been scared to try and alter it, but Thao unsurprisingly nails it.
11. “True Love Waits” (Radiohead Cover) by Caroline Polachek
Ah, to be Caroline Polachek, unencumbered, running around the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, singing one of Radiohead’s most heartbreaking songs amongst Monet’s Water Lilies. As she points out on Instagram about the performance, “‘True Love Waits,’ like the Water Lilies, went through decades of versions and distillations… through time and loss and perseverance.” And the performance is indeed quite stark and stunning. The minimalist instrumental feels like it’s being played in reverse, the notes quickly being sucked back up to their original time as Polacheck absorbs Monet’s muted beauty. It would be notable for the presentation and location alone: that it sticks the emotional landing is a remarkable feat.
Listen: YouTube
10. “White Dress” (Lana Del Rey Cover) by Drop Nineteens
Drop Nineteens have had themselves quite the year (and change), from their first new music and touring in roughly three decades, to the now-reissuing of a lost 1991 album aptly titled 1991. Within all of that was a singular cover of Lana Del Rey’s “White Dress,” a bold, whirring, and loud interpretation of the CHEMTRAILS OVER THE COUNTRY CLUB ballad. This year’s list doesn’t have a lot of recordings that feel fully turned over—in that way, this one feels unique. The way Drop Nineteens kicks into the chorus is overwhelming, a slurry of hefty guitars and an urgency that are unrecognizable next to the original’s weary, crawling whispers. It’s a cover that is so good it’s made me reconsider the original.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
9. “Motorcycle Drive By” (Third Eye Blind Cover) by Water From Your Eyes
More artist-led cover projects should be like Water From Your Eyes’ MP3 PLAYER 1, or similarly the aforementioned Angel Olsen release COSMIC WAVES VOLUME 1. I think one of the conceits for both projects was that there is a very real possibility that the fans of each respective artist simply won’t know about some of these songs outside of this context—and good! You probably know the Al Green and Adele cuts that exist on MP3 PLAYER 1 and, if you’re cool, you hopefully know “Motorcycle Drive By,” the highlight of the collection that finds great satisfaction in Third Eye Blind’s rising and falling chorus. But I’ve said it in past iterations of this round up, part of the joy of a great cover is to learn about the original. Case in point, had you genuinely heard Chumbawamba’s “The Good Ship Lifestyle” before this? Sure, sure, there are music fans yelling about how underrated Chumbawamba are (and good for you, I guess), but for most of us they’re an act we think about when flipping through the karaoke booklet and seeing “Tubthumping.” Same would apply for Olsen’s cherry-picked tracks. So all of this is simply a long winded way of saying: If this absolute banging “Motorcycle Drive By” is the reason you now know a second Chumbawamba song, that’s a good thing, in my humble opinion!
8. “Is It Cold In The Water” (SOPHIE Cover) by Moses Sumney and ANOHNI
It’s literally impossible to go back and listen to “Is It Cold In The Water” off of SOPHIE’s OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES and not marvel at how it could come from someone’s mind; it is the kind of high-stakes, life-or-death ballad that comes along—if you’re lucky—once in a career. SOPHIE was somehow responsible for a handful of these kinds of moments, which says a lot about her pedigree and legacy as an artist. But it also makes you pause when you find out someone is going to try and cover her. That? You heard “Is It Cold In The Water” and thought to yourself, what the fuck, let’s attempt this?? It’s impossible to consider. And yet for the TRAИƧA compilation, Moses Sumney and ANOHNI contemplated exactly that, and while the nuclear neon blast of the original is quieter and darker, the fire is still there—the burning world she once described continues to smolder years later. It is a remarkable fusion of two important modern musical voices taming the rapture, both finding beauty in the chaos of SOPHIE’s original work.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
7. “Hanging By A Moment” (Lifehouse Cover) by Slow Pulp
Originally released on last year’s FADER AND FRIENDS VOL. 1, perhaps one of the finest cover compilations released in the last several years that was ineligible for this list, I’m over the moon that one of its crown jewels, Slow Pulp’s clamorous noise rock take on post-grunge staple “Hanging By A Moment,” is finally available for all to hear. When I was eight I remember hearing this song on the radio driving home from a soccer game, face smashed up against the window and experiencing a level of heartbroken yearning inappropriate for someone so young. To hear it in my 30s by one of indie rock’s most exciting artists and be transported back is a treat that’s hard to put into words.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
6. “Let’s Get Lost” (Chet Baker Cover) by Fontaines D.C.
Though this standard was technically written by musician Jimmy McHugh and lyricist Frank Loesser, Chet Baker’s 1955 version is perhaps the most well known. How and why Fontaines D.C. chose to cover it for the BBC is beyond me, but it’s an enrapturing version—perhaps one of the truest testament’s to Grian Chatten’s frontman abilities to date. Chatten’s voice couldn’t be further away from Baker’s, the plodding, Irish drawl of the former a beautiful foil to the latter’s smoky, controlled, light tenor. And that’s to say nothing of the music, which naturally removes the signature trumpet part and replaces it with a quiet, gravely rock build. Its existence is a marvel—while many reading this will likely wonder where their serviceable cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Say Yes to Heaven” is, it simply doesn’t match the sincerity of this Baker one.
Listen: YouTube
5. “Our House” (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Cover) by Coco & Clair Clair
On its face, Coco & Clair Clair’s cover of “Our House” is kind of goofy. It’s not a joke, of course, but even in the sonic context of their latest GIRL, it at first reads as cheeky and playfully irreverent in ways that other songs on the record aren’t. But the more you sit with it, the more Graham Nash’s defining CSNY song feels shockingly warm in C&CC’s hands—there’s a tangible sincerity to it, a clear artistic vision with its blitzing electronic production and bubbling, blown-out pop bedlam. This kind of cover could easily live as some kind of radio session novelty, but it becoming a focal point of GIRL feels like an important step in their broader move from the cheeky and irreverent into something more heartening.
4. “Rock the Boat” (Aaliyah Cover) by John Early and the Lemon Squares
When we inevitably talk about Biden-era art and its role in the context of the last four years, there will be some obvious selections brought up—ZONE OF INTEREST and OPPENHEIMER (and perhaps within it the BARBENHEIMER faux-duality), naturally; but you could make a case that most anything being boiled down to “coworker” fare post-pandemic is eligible, from hollow monoculture fugazis like ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING or ABBOT ELEMENTARY, to the musical monopoly of Taylor Swift’s musical flop era, to even the rise of BookTok. This era will have a few (mostly empty) touch points to discuss.
If we’re pleading a case, I’d like to put forth John Early and the Lemon Squares’ cover of Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat.” Early’s detached, sneering, and often subversive comedic stylings feel birthed in post-Obama cynicism, with his rise coming at the start of the Trump years in alt-comedy circles, the word-of-mouth sleeper mystery show SEARCH PARTY, and then the Netflix showcase THE CHARACTERS. His skills have only sharpened over that time, leading all the way up to NOW MORE THAN EVER in 2023, a stand-up special that fuses the bright lights of Broadway performance with dazzling musical numbers and sweaty storytelling. That rollout has led to “Rock the Boat,” a half self-serious, half irony-poisoned take on the early 2000s R&B smash. Early’s band is remarkably tight on the track, and his performance is keyed-in—unflinching in the commitment to play this through earnestly. Live comedy has spent the last four years being swallowed up by crowd work hacks and alt-right podcasters; Early’s entire shtick is a rejection of most current trends in comedy, but here he’s delivered a post-modern piece of music fitting for 2009 in the year 2024. Making something that is so good it’s undeniable is the only way to win at this point—in comedy, in music, in art—and that’s the Lemon Squares’ “Rock the Boat.”
3. “The Way We Use To Roll” (Jesse Malin Cover) by Spoon
New York rock idol Jesse Malin has friends in high places. Released a year after the musician suffered a spinal stroke, SILVER PATRON SAINTS: THE SONGS OF JESSE MALIN featured takes on Malin’s solo work, as well as music from his previous bands D Generation and Heart Attack, from artists including Bruce Springsteen, Dinosaur Jr., Counting Crows, Bleachers, The Hold Steady, Billie Joe Armstrong, and The Wallflowers, to name just a few. I’ll admit, I had no familiarity with Malin beyond the name alone prior to this compilation—his reputation in the New York rock scene obviously precedes him, but getting to explore his musical legacy next to plenty of familiar names and sounds was a real treat, and perhaps the platonic ideal of a single artist covers compilation.
The track that sticks with me is Spoon’s red-eyed “The Way We Use To Roll,” a crescendoing dance with the devil that continues something of a multi-year hot streak for Britt Daniel and Co. on this list. While Malin’s original is the platonic ideal of a bluesy bar rock cut, Spoon deliver something far more wicked, anchored by Daniel’s crooked vocal performance. The 27-song compilation is fully worth your time, if for no other reason than to experience someone else’s entire musical life through the friend’s that know him best. But start with this one and move on from there.
2. “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” (Broken Social Scene Cover) by yeule
Even if we separated the emotional intensity and the subsequent virality that came with yeule’s “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” cover, it would still be this high on the list because the song is just that good. It taps into a glitchy, unrecognizable dark area of the mind that, especially in the broad context of I SAW THE TV GLOW, is devastating. Like the next song on this list, I think what that song sonically represents on one of the buzziest OSTs of the year is much larger than the sum of its parts; there are plenty of exciting queer artists lending voices to Jane Schoenbrun’s coming-of-age trans allegory (“Riding Around In The Dark” by Florist is one of the best songs of the year), but really, conversations about the music in the film begin and end with this cover—one that arguably defines the soundtrack as a whole. That it literally caused a windfall of renewed excitement over Broken Social Scene and countless online memes from its memorable chorus 21 years after its release is almost negligible given how great this specific take on the song is, but it commanding a new set of eyeballs to Schoenbrun’s film and breathing life into an indie rock classic is worth noting and extremely exciting.
1. “I Would Die 4 U” (Prince Cover) by Lauren Auder and Wendy & Lisa
The finest cover on the TRAИƧA compilation is perhaps its most familiar pop hit: Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U.” Lauren Auder’s all-encompassing baritone is a singular thing of beauty—every word shrinking and swelling with pain, tragedy, fear, and ultimately hope, every breath powerfully carrying out the mission statement of amplifying trans voices. With an assist from Prince collaborators and former members of The Revolution, Wendy & Lisa, it’s one of the final things you hear on the three-hour-and-50-minute compilation, followed only by a pair of statements from the guiding elder statesman of the project, Beverly Glenn-Copeland (including a phenomenal Sam Smith rework of the KEYBOARD FANTASIES standout “Ever New”). Those two songs, as has been the case with Copeland’s work since the start, are rooted both in the past and the future, a conversation of sorts that acts as a hopeful epilogue to TRAИƧA’s lengthy and ambitious goal to “create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society.” But it’s in “I Would Die 4 U” that we hear a unique and heartbreaking selflessness—the cover isn’t simply the most altruistic piece of music released all year, it might be the most altruistic piece of mainstream art released this decade; there is a genuine sense that Auder, and in turn Red Hot Organization’s broader aim to explore gender and “a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing,” will be rooted in the unique strength of trans people everywhere. The words “I would die for you” have never carried more weight.
Listen: Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify
Honorable Mentions:
“Drop“Hold On Hope” (Guided By Voices Cover) by Glen Campbell and Eric Church
“Cream of Gold” (Pavement Cover) by DIIV
“Owari No Kisetsu” (Haruomi Hosono Cover) by Rei Harakami
“Halloween” (Misfits Cover) by Cloud Nothings
“Driver 8” (R.E.M. Cover) by Toad the Wet Sprocket, Gin Blossoms, and Vertical Horizon
“Seven Nation Army” (The White Stripes Cover) by Aloe Blacc
“Vasoline” (Stone Temple Pilots Cover) by Kate Hudson
“Room at the Top” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Cover) by Eddie Vedder
“Stockholm Syndrome” (Yo La Tengo Cover) by Deep Sea Diver
“Never Meant” (American Football Cover) by Iron & Wine
“Aaron” (Palehound Cover) by Cassandra Jenkins, Bloomsday, and Babehoven
“Point Of Disgust” (Low Cover) by Perfume Genius and Alan Sparhawk
“You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (Sylvester Cover) by Moses Sumney, Lyra Pramuk, and Sam Smith
“TM“ (Charles Lloyd Cover) by Fleet Foxes, Cole Pulice, and Lynn Avery
“Down Where the Valleys Are Low” (Judee Sill Cover) by Asher White, Eli Winter, and Caroline Rose
“Gates of Steel” (DEVO Cover) by Extra Arms
“Something About What Happens When We Talk” (Lucinda Williams Cover) by Careful
“Feel So Different” (Sinéad O’Connor Cover) by Sharon Van Etten and Ezra Furman
“Table For Glasses” (Jimmy Eat World Cover) by JOSEPH
“Brooklyn Baby” (Lana Del Rey Cover) by Clairo
“Better Off Alone” (Alice Deejay Cover) by Midwife
“They’ll Need a Crane” (They Might Be Giants Cover) by Ducks Ltd.
“Cowboy Song” (Thin Lizzy Cover) by Chris Shiflett
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