The 5 Best Song Covers I've Ever Heard
Excluding the obvious bops. Everyone knows Whitney's "I Will Always Love You" slaps. A new, non-repetitive list.
Ever since Elon decided to blow half his net worth on a website he’s too stupid to run, Twitter has been abuzz with really basic and annoying questions from the geniuses who pay him $8 a month to post (when posting for free is still an option).
The reason that so many of these smooth-brained people are asking basic ass questions is because Elon has made it possible to make money off of engagement on Twitter. In theory, this would be very cool. Except his advertisers have been jumping ship like they got a heads up on the iceberg that night Rose did her tippy toe dance in the bowels of the Titanic (I just rewatched it so very fresh metaphor). So there’s basically no money in the pool for these “creators” and also there’s no oversight on if the “work” they’re posting is plagiarized. But one thing is for sure, if you ask a really basic question, millions of people who also pay Elon will use Chat GPT to figure out
Which side of the bed they sleep on
How a dog would wear pants, and
The best covers of a song.
I wanted to supply you with a few song covers (in no way exhaustive, and the title may be misleading, since I probably have 50 but I know you’re not going to listen all the way through unless I…yep I’m making you a playlist…) that I think are just so good.
Janileigh Cohen, “Blues Run the Game”
Last week, late on Friday night I was doing (what else) watching through stories on Instagram. My former boss at Fusion, Alexis Madrigal, had a killer story. And in it he detailed how the show would open, what it would be about, and then the credits song for his imaginary workplace comedy in his mind. The song he shared was “Blues Run the Game” by Jackson Frank
The cliffsnotes on his sad story are that he only released one studio album, produced by Paul Simon (!!!), but shortly after that release he had a slew of personal issues, including a battle with schizophrenia and depression. He died penniless and unhoused in 1999 from a combination of pneumonia and cardiac arrest. He’s been dubbed one of the best forgotten songwriters of his era (like, the Bob Dylan era). Deeply sad way to start, so sorry. But the song came to me randomly one day on Spotify by way of the above cover. And I just love it.
Magnet, “Lay Lady Lay”
Speaking of our friend Bob Dylan, this cover of his very romantic song was first introduced to me on the soundtrack to Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005). Back then you would just buy the CD soundtrack to movies you enjoyed and fresh out of high school I bought it for my Chevy Cavalier that I totaled in the mall parking lot. I couldn’t get the car to relinquish it once I visited it at the impound lot, but I still fondly remember listening to the song. Apparently lots of people knew the Bob Dylan version, but I’m different. Anyway, here’s that.
Rihanna, “Same Ol’ Mistakes”
I do pride myself on knowing Tame Impala’s catalogue pretty well. Their music is incredible. It’s the perfect choice for laying on the floor of your house, or on the side of a mountain taking deep breaths through your shroom trip. But what’s so funny is that when I heard Rih’s take on ANTI, I just completely forgot it was a cover. And it’s so excellent. I hoped she would perform it at the Super Bowl in 2023, but it’s okay she gave us a lot. Opening with BBHMM was iconic.
Clementine Duo “Human”
Okay so obviously I’m in the midst of some depression because I’m choosing sad songs. But this cover is so haunting. If I were to die tomorrow (knock on wood…THAT I DON’T!), I would maybe want this song played at my funeral. Have you given any thought to your funeral playlist? I think a live marching band version of “Coming Home” by the now canceled P. Diddy would be cool, but maybe I’ll save that for when I die at a very old age after he’s dead too. What is this substack even about anymore?
Beyonce, “Before I Let Go”
Okay I def knew this was a cover too. I’m Black, have been to many a cookout, and have been known to do the electric slide whenever the opportunity presents itself. But this is a great song to end on generally. Way less sad than the previous 4. In my favorite concert doc, Homecoming (I love Renaissance but I’ve only seen it once. In contrast I watch Homecoming on pretty much every cross-country flight), the end credits reveal this cover over footage of all the young dancers and singers and band members rehearsing for her historic Coachella headlining set. I get chills even thinking about it. When I was at Coachella with Fortnite last year (I live millions of lives), I couldn’t believe we were standing in the same field where she performed it, but instead of seeing Beyoncé we were being abducted by Björk.
Anywho, this email is late, but this was a lot of fun to put together. I’ll definitely be doing this again. In the meantime, here’s the playlist. I’ll keep updating it as more songs occur to me.
Have a great week <3
A