I am a cover freak. There’s just something about the sheer weirdness of Andre 3000 revamping the Beatles’ “All Together Now,” or the delicious oddity of a folk band covering “Billie Jean” – covers are a sonic playground for musicians to interrupt the norm. Altering tempo, substituting or adding in different instruments, and changing the melody of an original not your own is an art for unto itself. Since I typically gravitate towards cover songs that I might be able to play myself, I end up getting hooked on a lot of soft, stringy little numbers. Here are the covers I can’t get out of my head lately, and why.
Drain You (Nirvana cover) – Horse Feathers
For years I’ve straddled the two disparate worlds of raunchy, rowdy punk/grunge jams and precious little acoustic ditties. I love them both, but can never really reconcile their basic differences. So when I found this Horse Feathers cover of the eighth track from Nirvana’s infamous Nevermind, I was downright ecstatic. Its soft tone and the brilliant addition of violins make the song sound fresh and clean, but the contrast between its sweet sound and the dark original lyrics casts an eerie, perfectly calibrated cloud over its sunny strings and vocals. Obsessed!
I Can’t Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt cover) – Bon Iver
At this point, Justin Vernon (the one-man superpower behind the sleepy falsetto genius of Bon Iver), can do no wrong. And this cover is proof – it’s gorgeous, and like many good covers, unexpected. He originally introduced his version of the Bonnie Raitt classic during a live performance on Jimmy Fallon, but I prefer the clarity of his subsequently released studio recording. Honestly, Vernon could sing Rebecca Black’s “Friday” and I would probably slobber all over it and throw it on my bedtime playlist, I’m that in love with his voice. But give this a listen and try not to get chills when he hits the chorus. I dare ya.
Billy Jean (Michael Jackson cover) – The Civil Wars
My favorite type of cover dares to make a total departure from the sound of the original, and this one nails it, switching Michael Jackson’s classic baby-daddy groove from funky to folky. The harmonies rule, and the male-female duet adds a layer of sexy conversational tension. The Civil Wars, a duo who linked up randomly at a songwriting session in Nashville, score bonus points for rocking this one live and sounding flawless straight through.
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (Carole King cover) – Amy Winehouse
The media frenzy swirling around Amy’s death has generated plenty of controversy, with many questioning societal values and priorities as toxicology reports and celeb interviews eclipsed coverage of bombings in Norway and other worthy news. But with all of the hype aside, a woman with a beautiful voice passed away. And perhaps because I watched my dad buy artists’ entire discographies following their demise, from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra, and play them on loop like a drawn-out eulogy, I felt compelled to pay my respects by pausing to appreciate Amy’s talent. I’ve always loved her voice, and she shines on this Carole King cover.
White Blank Page (Mumford & Sons cover) – Keirsten Holine
I can’t do a cover playlist without giving a shout-out to this amazing singer. My friends tease me for haunting her YouTube stream, but her voice is so gloriously beautiful and she brings so much life and personality to every song she sings – I can’t stay away! Singing this Mumford & Sons tune, already one of my favorites, she brings in a few extra layers of harmony and a smoothness that she seems to infuse into every cover I’ve heard her do.
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Emily Jensen is a folk-singin’, camera-totin’, word-lovin’ Portland girl who fell hard for New Orleans years ago and never really left.
