31 December 2023 - Slothrust - Pony

Why did we end 2023 on this blog with an unknown band covering a 90's R&B classic that isn't about horses?

Because we can.  And also, because it's incredible.  

18 December 2023 - Rolling Quartz x AleXa - Pink Drop

I'm not going to lie.  Today's feature was SUPPOSED to be the other blog.

As part of my process, I look for live performances of the featured song.  And, I found one.  I was looking for a second and I found a full performace by the band.... which I decided to watch.

This mashup cover of "Pink Venom" by BLACKPINK and "MIC Drop" by BTS was featured in that performance.   It blew me away.  

So, I started looking for the cover individually.... and I found it.... not realizing that it was not just a live thing, but something the band ACTUALLY did, with AleXa coming in to share vocals with Jayoung.  AleXa is a Korean-based performer from (checks notes) Oklahoma, and is best known as the winner of the NBC competition series American Song Contest.

Of course, AleXa has her own career and can't tour with Rolling Quartz all the time, despite being unofficially called the band's 6th member.  Jayoung, however, is perfectly capable of shouldering the vocals herself.

14 December 2023 - CSS - Madonna Dos Infernos

Actually, this is why.

This is why we posted this.   And it's a confusing one.

Brazilian remixers CSS actually rerecorded "Hollywood".

It's not high art.  It's screechy, and features a very excited Lovefoxxx on both vocals and in the video.  It is quite clear that they redid the song.

But they did something remarkable after that. They took Madonna's song and mashed it up with their own, titling it "Madonna Dos Infenos".  

Is it original?  Is it a cover?  Is it a remix?  Yes.

11 December 2023. - Weezer - Brain Stew

Weezer brought us the Green Day power ballad we didn't know we needed.   They took what I consider to be their greatest song, and turned it into.... well, a sadder song.  Wild ride, but worth taking.   The piano takes the place of the guitar in this version.

Enjoy it.

8 December 2023 - RAC ft. Pink Feathers - Dangerous / Big Data ft. Lizy Ryan - Let Go

Lately, I've been buying more vinyl records than I used to - which prompted Courtney to ask me why.  I blamed the bad influence of Scott Colvin.

Anyway, the latest purchase was a double-A side split single by Big Data and RAC, where they cover each other's songs.  So, yes, this song was originally done by Big Data (with Rochester, NY band Joywave as guests).  RAC brought Boston-based performer Liz Derstein, who goes by Pink Feathers when performing non-classical music, along for the vocals.  

I put this first because 1) the original is one of my favorite songs of the moment 2) I liked it better than the other side.  

The other side is Big Data covering the best-known song by RAC, with Lizy Ryan - who is a frequent live stand-in for Daniel Armbruster on "Dangerous" already - stands in for MNDR and Kele on the vocals.

I liked the other side better, but this is still really good.  And yes, the original is also one of my favorite songs.  

1 December 2023 - The Linda Lindas - Rebel Girl

We've been sitting on this fantastic Bikini Kill cover by The Linda Lindas for quite some time.  Performed in the movie Moxie! (like this song was), this band really seems to understand the riot grrl sound.

I'm frankly blown away.   

27 November 2023 - Three Dog Night - Shambala

And so this is the main blog post today.  That's right.  Totally Covered rises again, with a song that was originally meant to be our Wicked Guilty Pleasure. 

The song was originally written and performed by Daniel Moore, and previously - like a WEEK previously - covered by country-rock artist B.J. Stevenson.  It was this version, however, that went to the upper stratosphere.  

Ten albums into their catalog, this would end up being one of the band's biggest hits, by far.  From the Cyan album, the song, although rooted in Eastern religion, really fits in with the Christian/gospel feel of the album as a whole.  

You are also going to have this song stuck in your head all day.

 

30 October 2023 - Suzanne Vega - All Apologies

I found this great cover by Suzanne Vega when I was looking for posts for the other blog.  Of course, this was originally done by Nirvana.

You see, there was a benefit remembering Sinead O'Connor, who did a great cover of this song, in New York City.  Suzanne Vega was one of the performers.

It was last night.

LAST NIGHT.

I was the 11th view of this, and I want us to at least triple that, because it's THAT good.

2 October 2023 - The Muffs - Kids In America

If you had the soundtrack to the 1995 movie Clueless, you know that the opening track is a Kim Wilde cover by The Muffs.  It is probably the best known song by The Muffs, and got the band a lot of exposure.

If you've seen the movie, you know the song is the first :45 seconds of the movie.

If you were lucky enough to see The Muffs live, you know they rocked the hell out of the song.

29 September 2023 - Reba McEntire - Fancy (with a Kelly Clarkson bonus)

You didn't know Reba's biggest hit was a cover, did you?

It is.  Of a Bobbie Gentry classic..... but Reba made it an even bigger hit.

Reba was finally able to record the song in 1990, six years after she first proposed to her producer that she do so..... but her producer was too afraid of being overshadowed by the ghost of Bobbie Gentry.  Well, she changed producers, and finally got her wish.  She was right, by the way.  

This version of the song was a top 10 country hit - one of Reba's biggest and certainly her most enduring hit song to this day - and a dance remix even made a small splash in the clubs.  

It was a rare modern country song that I enjoyed - and at the time of its release, I didn't know it was a cover, either.  Actually, that explains a lot.  

Plus, the video tells a story.

So, what does Bobbie Gentry think of Reba McEntire's version?

No one knows.  Gentry completely disappeared after the 1982 ACM awards - just prior to Reba's rise.  They never crossed paths.  They've never met.  They've never spoken.  Reba's tried.  Bobbie's cashed the royalty checks, so she can't be too upset.... but it's strange.  Gentry owes Reba nothing.... but wouldn't it be nice?

Reba HAS performed the song with Kelly Clarkson, though.  And it was damn good.

Of course, Kelly Clarkson is perfectly capable of performing the song herself....

21 September 2023 - Kerry Livgren/AD - Portrait II

Kerry Livgren left Kansas in 1983 after his conversion to Christianity.  

He then entered the Christian Rock world wth his new band, AD.  

He rewrote the lyrics of "Portrait (He Knew)", and some of the music as well, to reflect Jesus Christ, rather than that heathen Albert Einstein.  

It's actually not bad.  

19 September 2023 - St. Vincent - Funkytown

We swear that Annie Clark makes the BEST covers. 

She did THIS Metallica cover.

She covered "Lithium" WITH Nirvana.

And now she's got a really funky cover of the best known Lipps Inc. song.  

We're a fan.   And so is your kid.

21 August 2023 - Lukas Rossi - Hello

Lukas Rossi is a Canadian musician and game show contestant was the lead vocalist of rock supergroup Supernova.  He won the latter by winning, deservedly, a competetion show called Rock Star: Supernova.  

Nowadays, he's a solo artist and this Adele cover is amazing.  

28 July 2023 - Mac Davis - In The Ghetto

I did mention that Mac Davis would eventually cover his own song - and it's this song, which was really his first big hit, that probably allowed him to move forward with a music career.  This is the version I grew up with.

It's more than a heartbreaking story, though.  It's a call to action.  And I think Mac Davis makes that more clear than Elvis Presley could.  

27 July 2023 - The Cranberries - In The Ghetto

The Cranberries covering the Mac Davis-penned Elvis Presley classic song is something to behold.  It's almost as if they understand the poverty and cycle of violence that led to this song.  

26 July 2023 - Reba McEntire & Darius Rucker - In The Ghetto

After Mac Davis, who wrote this song (made famous by Elvis Presley), passed away in 2020, it was appropriate to honor such a prolific songwriter who had a pretty solid recording career in his own right.

On November 11, 2020, at the County Music Association Awards, Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker did exactly that - and they did so beautifully.  They would immediate release this as a single.  

18 July 2023 - Bongwater - Porpoise Song

This Monkees cover was the b-side to "You Don't Love Me Yet".  How this gem was hidden on a b-side is beyond me.  Ann Magnuson is no Mickey Dolenz, but she clearly understands the spirit of the original.  

17 July 2023 - Bongwater - You Don't Love Me Yet

This song was my first exposure to Bongwater AND to the music of Roky Erickson.  

Originally released as a non-album single in 1988 and then rereleased as part of a tribute compilation called Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye,   On its surface, it's a beautifully performed song by the band, with Ann Magnuson bringing a vulnerability to the song that even Roky Erickson didn't in the original. 

If you watch this video - which includes what seems like a non-sequetor intro by Screamin' Jay Hawkins - you see that Bongwater was far more than a simple band, but were just as much about performance art as they were about the music. The band - which was Magnuson and the mononymous Kramer - are also joined by Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead for this performance.

14 July 2023 - The Linda Lindas - Big Mouth

The Linda Lindas are a band that was started on kind a whim in a backyard, and grew into a pretty solid punk band.

This performance, recorded as a benefit, occured in 2021.  The band members ranged from ages 11 to 17 at the time.  To hear The Muffs played so credibly and with such passion by such a young band is impressive. This performance came soon after the release of the Amy Poehler movie Moxie!, in which the band appears and performs a couple of songs, including this one.  

So, I was impressed with their age until I found this performance of the same song from two years earlier - in 2019, a little more than a year into the band.  Do the math (band members were aged 8 to 14 at its inception). Their parents are raising them right.  

13 July 2023 - The Muffs & The Bangles - Rain

There's a project out of LA called the Wild Honey Orchestra, which features a lot of Los Angelas-based musicians.  Unusual collaborations aren't... well, unusual.  

This is from a 2014 autism benefit concert, and you can see three Bangles on the microphone on the side - but this Beatles cover is the Kim Shattuck show (although Debbi Peterson and Susanna Hoffs both provide audible tambourine as well).

12 July 2023 - The Muffs - Manta Ray

Kim Shattuck would go on to tour with the Pixies (which I said here) but before that, her band The Muffs would cover them in live shows. 

"Manta Ray" was a B-side to "Monkey Gone To Heaven".   I've looked.  This song wasn't on the setlist when Kim was touring with them.  Objectively, this is one of favorite Pixies songs, and The Muffs do it a little better.  

11 July 2023 - Carpenters - Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft

This might be the biggest WTF song the Carpenters ever did.  A cover of a Klaatu... uh, classic,   It was a minor hit for Klaatu in 1976, and a slightly less minor hit for the Carpenters in 1977.   

Also, it's The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day.  No, seriously, the Carpenters used that tagline.  They were then repeatedly asked when World Contact Day was, not realizing that it was a direct reference to a lyric in the song, apparently.  

10 July 2023 - Berlin - She Sells Santuary

I expect synth-pop-rock from Berlin during the 1980s.

I don't expect Berlin to come out with a hard-rocking kick-ass cover of a Cult classic.  No, not that kind of cult classic.  The Cult.  The band.  

Anyway, this 2022 live cover really did not fail to take my breath away.

That's the end of my post.  I have no more words.  

7 July 2023 - Gabrielle Aplin - Space Oddity

Gabrielle Aplin is a British singer-songwriter who has earned some success and accalaim in Europe. 

We're probably going to have to feature her on Wicked Guilty Pleasures soon, because she's incredible on her own, but she knocks this David Bowie cover out of the park.  

6 July 2023 - Shiny Toy Guns - Major Tom

Yes, it is live.   And yes, it is the OFFICIAL video.  Shiny Toy Guns brings a modern feel to the Peter Schilling classic.  This version was recorded as part of a Lincoln commercial - but ended up being a pretty popular single in its own right.

The song peaked at #97 on the charts in 2009 - which constitutes their biggest hit.  

5 July 2023 - Cœur de Pirate - Tous les Garçons et les Filles

I felt like a blogging challenge today, and by challenge, I mean keeping the œ in my clipboard for as long as possible.

Well, I have a bigger challenge with this next sentence because I don't have a ç on my keyboard either.

You see, Cœur de Pirate covered this classic French song, originally sung by Françoise Hardy, so beautifully, that, despite the non-English characters, I couldn't not post it.  It's faithful, and yet brings a modern feel to the 1962 classic. 

4 July 2023 - Olivia Rodrigo - Seether

Happy 4th of July!  We're celebrating here at Totally Covered with a Veruca Salt classic.

Of course, it's not Veruca Salt singing it.  It's Olivia Rodrigo, and we really hope she releases this as a single, because she gets mid-90's grunge like no one else in her generation we've heard.  

3 July 2023 - Flower Face - Ain't No Sunshine

I'm trying to be better about posting here.  I know a lot of you really enjoy this blog, and posts here actually seem to do a little better than the ones on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.

I don't know.  It's a lot.  I've thought about combining the two blogs. But at the end of the day, I love having the two, because I can do some surprising "I didn't know that was a cover" stuff way more obviously.

That, of course, does not apply here.   This is a song written and originally performed by Bill Withers, but given an ethereal take by Flower Face (probably recorded in her bedroom).  I've been listening to a lot of Flower Face lately, having discovered her earlier this year, 

Anyway, this is a quiet and beautiful cover, and you should listen to it.

1 July 2023 - Olivia Rodrigo & Avril Lavigne - Complicated

Happy Canada Day! We're celebrating here at Totally Covered with an Avril Lavigne classic.

Of course, it's not Avril Lavigne singing it alone.  It's Olivia Rodrigo singing it with her, and we really hope she releases this as a single, because she gets the music of the inventor of punk like no one else in her generation we've heard.  

30 June 2023 - Miley Cyrus - Like a Prayer

It's been quite the Miley week here on Totally Covered.  I think we may need a Hall of Fame here like we have on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.  If we do, Miley Cyrus will be our first inductee.

Here she is performing a Madonna classic, live.

29 June 2023 - Miley Cyrus - Zombie

Today on Totally Miley-ed, we feature Ms. Cyrus doing a live version of the best known song by The Cranberries and doing Dolores O'Riordan (we knew how to spell that without looking) proud.  This song was performed at the world famous Whisky-A-Go-Go in Los Angelas, as part of the Save Our Stages festival, which was aiming to save independent music venues like the Whisky.

28 June 2023 - Miley Cyrus - Nothing Else Matters

If you think we've been featuring Miley Cyrus's performance at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival a lot this week, you're right.  

That doesn't mean she didn't out-Hetfield James Hetfield on his own song.  She brings the popular Metallica song to new heights.

Metallica thought enough of her performance to perform it with her again in 2021.  You hear them side by side.  You tell me that Miley didn't out-Hetfield James Hetfield!

27 June 2023 - Miley Cyrus - Head Like A Hole

Ashley O wrote this about her shitty aunt.

No, not really, but in the world of Black Mirror, that's how it played out.  It was really written by Trent Reznor and originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails.  I won't retell the story about how this song plays into the episode "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too" because I literally just did that on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.

Spoiler alert: the video below is from the end of a Black Mirror episode from four years ago, so maybe you should watch shows in a more timely manner.

Yes, Miley has performed this live, such as this time at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival.

26 June 2023 - Miley Cyrus - Black Dog

Did you expect a different cover today?

Well, you got Miley Cyrus doing a Led Zeppelin cover and a great Robert Plant impersonation.  She truly understands the song, so that's a good thing.  

5 June 2023 - Sam Smith - I Feel Love

I feel Sam Smith said it best when he announced his Donna Summer cover on an Instagram post.

As a queer person ‘I feel love’ has followed me to every dance floor in every queer space from the minute I started clubbing. This song to me is an anthem of our community and it was an honour and most importantly so much fun to have a go at it. Highest song I've ever fucking sang. But a joy. 

A hit in clubs, it remains my favorite Sam Smith song.

18 May 2023 - Breanne Düren - Everlasting Light

Remember when I said Breanne Düren was an outstanding vocalist in her own right?

You should.  I literally said it two minutes ago.   

She's good enough to get me to post on this blog, so that's something.  

Here she is, all by herself, brilliantly covering The Black Keys.  

2 May 2023 - An "If You Could Read My Mind" Special

Sadly, it is usually the passing of an artist that gets me off my ass to write on this blog.   

Gordon Lightfoot's passing was enough to do that.  I know I have twice featured covers of arguably his best known song, but there are so many other great tributes. 

I want to open this with a personal note: the original version of this song absolutely blows me away with emotion.  I find it very hard to listen to, but at the same time, it is a fabulous song.   

The late Glen Campbell, a fellow storyteller himself, paid great tribute to Lightfoot's worldwide #1 - arguably the greatest breakup song every written.  

I almost left this abomination off, but I didn't.

House music collective Stars on 54 did an electronic cover of this song that was a hit in 1998.  

You can skip this one.  Or don't  It's nothing if not interesting. 

A more surprisinging rich version was done in 2019 by former Go-Go Belinda Carlisle.  It's rich and beautiful - her raspy voice bringing serious gravitas to the already deep song.   

She also paid great tribute to Lightfoot on Twitter.  I'll let her say it best.  

In 2019, I recorded a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's haunting "If You Could Read My Mind" for my Runaway Horses 30th Anniversary box set. https://t.co/ACT4InvEJt
It's one of my favorite songs.
RIP #gordonlightfoot pic.twitter.com/s6cRWFh9Jx

— Belinda Carlisle 💙 (@belindacarlisle) May 2, 2023

There are so many great covers of this song, I could not include them all without being here all day writing.  I wanted to include one more.

The greatest tribute I can think of with which to end this post is one Canadian legend covering another Canadian legend, and with that, I bring you Neil Young. 

10 April 2023 - The Breeders - Freed Pig

This song, originally performed by Sebadoh, was written by Lou Barlow about his ex-Dinosaur Jr. bandmate J Mascis.  

This version, from the Head to Toe EP, was produced by J Mascis.  

C'mon.

That's funny.

I wonder if it was his idea.  

Anyway, they did a great job on the cover.  

24 March 2023 - Lights - How You Remind Me

As we think about expanding our Hall of Fame on Wicked Guilty Pleasures, let's welcome the latest Canadian Music Hall of Famer.

Oh, not Lights.  Nickelback.  She's just covering them.  Brilliantly.  

3 March 2023 - Lisa LeBlanc - Ace of Spades

Here, today's Wicked Guilty Pleasure, New Brunswick native Lisa LeBlanc, shows us her banjo skills and her understanding of how Motörhead should be played.  

I honestly cannot stop listening to this.  It's pretty amazing.  

16 February 2023 - Frank Turner - Bob

I never truly considered getting a tattoo until I had a stroke a year before the “plague” hit the world.

Lying in a hospital bed for weeks of rehab and listening to my iPod at night will do that to you. I probably listened to Frank Turner’s “I Still Believe,” dozens of times in those weeks. I would meditate on this single line from that song, “Now who’d have thought that after all something so simple as rock and roll will save us all?”

I was convinced that when I got out of that place and got “well enough” I would get that line tattooed on my arm as a reminder of where I was and what I wanted to be. After my release I had an uphill battle with glorious victories, and annoying failures. Went back to work after a few weeks of my release (albeit in four-hour shifts) and was able to drive after five months. Sadly, playing guitar proved too frustrating and typing on cellphones or laptops is still a freaking chore (left hand freely types away while right hand labors behind frustrating me with errors as every misstep drives me bonkers.

But the greatest moment in the recovery process came just before I was headed to Jamaica for my annual vacation. My doctor, after a boring year of forced, yet absolutely necessary sobriety, cleared me to drink alcohol with one caveat: drink like an adult and not like a frat guy. I happily complied. I then thought, “I’m back. When I return from my trip, I’m gonna get that tattoo.”

Had a great vacation. Came home and saw some friends at the bar. We laughed about some threatening virus as we were saying our goodbyes.

Covid.

F@cking Covid.

Suddenly everything fun was over. Not for days, or weeks, or months, but years. We seem to be getting back to a new normal, but the urge to get that Frank Turner lyric etched onto my skin has waned. It’s still a beautiful thought.

Anyway, here we are with Frank covering “Bob” by NOFX. The video is very meta as NOFX portrays Frank’s band covering themselves. "What is Bob gonna do now that he can't drink?" for a while there, I could certainly relate. Enjoy!

9 February 2023 - Molly Tuttle - Olympia WA

The first five Rancid albums are “go to” albums for me (the records after…not so much but they each had their “moments”). That said, they are one of my favorite bands ever. …And Out Come The Wolves is punk perfection.

Over the years I discovered that I like bluegrass music, too. Well, if the singer is a woman. I can’t think of a male bluegrass singer I like…and that includes Billy Strings who everyone seems to dig. Hell, I even hated Sturgill Simpson’s two bluegrass albums where he reworked his perfect contributions to country music into a bluegrass bore. Gimme Sarah Jarosz, Sierra Hull, Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent and the like and I swoon. It’s time to now add Molly Tuttle to that impressive list.

And as the world is now learning of her via her latest album Crooked Tree (which received a couple Grammy nods), I’m still grooving to her previous album …But I’d Rather Be With You which includes this tasty Rancid cover, among others.

• Random Point 1: I went to Olympia High School. Totally unrelated to this song.
• Random Point 2: I went to Olympia High School with the drummer of Mastodon. He was two years younger, and we didn’t know each other (surprisingly I was told this bit of info on Facebook by my considerably shocked friends from high school). This random point is even funnier to me as I’ve been a huge Mastodon fan for at least 15 years.

1 February 2023 - The Interrupters - Bad Guy

After 20 years my truck said “no more” in a liquor store parking lot. Lots of smoke, cussing and believe it or not laughing. Needless to say, the new truck I purchased hours later is amazing. First vehicle I have ever owned without a tape deck or CD player. Eek!

It has XM though, which I love (Hits 1 and Outlaw Radio rule). I also discovered the Faction Punk station which has become my go to. I also found my new favorite band (at the moment).

The Interrupters.

The first time I heard them I was blown away. I told virtually everyone, “Dude, they’re like a female fronted Rancid,” not knowing they were signed to Tim Armstrong’s Hellcat Records. Fortunately, no one called me out on it (to be honest I doubt they cared).

Anyway, while picking up everything I could find by them on vinyl, I discovered this Billie Eilish cover on their Live in Tokyo album.

Duh. 

31 January 2023 - Rolling Quartz - Misery Business

Two days, two covers by Rolling Quartz?

Well, this time, 1) it's in English 2) it's a Paramore classic 3) it rocks really hard.  I guess #3 was the same as yesterday, but it felt like I needed to say it.  

30 January 2023 - Rolling Quartz - Zitti E Buoni

Korean girl rock band Rolling Quartz covering Italian Eurovision winners Måneskin.

Does that sentence sound strange?  Maybe.  It shouldn't, although we've come to expect K-Pop and not K-Rock.  Does the cover rock?  Holy hell, yes it does.  

That was the "Hot" version.  Rolling Quartz rocks this song so hard, they had to do a "Cool" version, too.

I don't know if this is hot or cool.  I can tell you that, the first time they performed the song was live, and no, they don't speak Italian.  

12 January 2023 - Kim Petras - Running Up That Hill

In 2022, the Netflix show Stranger Things featured an old synth-heavy Kate Bush song.  That song ended up being a bigger hit in 2022 than its original release in 1985.  

Covers followed.

It would make sense that German synth-heavy artist Kim Petras would come with a great version of the song.  

11 January 2023 - Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

I will rarely post a song I dislike.  

RARELY.

RARELY.

This is one of them.  And it's not that it's a bad song.  It isn't.  Whitney OWNS the hell out of Dolly's song.  That's doubtless.  Even Dolly admits that.  

It's just not the song I grew up with.  I don't dislike it on its merits.  I dislike it because it isn't Dolly.  But I can appreciate that it's a great performance of a great song.

10 January 2022 - Ra Ra Riot - Valerie

In 2012, American indie band Ra Ra Rior released a cover of this Steve Winwood classic between albums.  It's a faithful cover, with maybe even a little more synth than the original.  Give it a go.

4 January 2023 - Miley Cyrus and David Byrne - Let's Dance

There are very few times that I'm completely speechless.

This is one of them. 

Completely unexpected.   

I didn't expect David Byrne to hold up the bravado and stage presence of David Bowie.  I didn't expect Miley Cyrus to pair so well with him.  

And yet, here we are.