Awesome Covers

Stone-faced musician Seth Everman is back at his synth with a performance of Nirvana’s 1991 classic Smells Like Teen Spirit done in a bunch of different styles. The steel drum version makes us want to lie on a beach sipping Piña Coladas while the sun beats down on us.

Eshan Denipitiya celebrates his love for the music of Queen with a virtuosic medley of tunes performed on a Yamaha grand piano. Watch and listen as his fingers fly across the ivories with classical arrangements of We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody, and We Are the Champions.

KOSmusic is a master of the synthesizer, but in this clip he makes it clear he can play the guitar too. Crank up your speakers to 11 for this perfect extended cover version of The Alan Parsons Project’s epic 1982 track Sirius, also known as the entrance music for the Chicago Bulls.

Blink-182 is already the poppiest of pop-punk bands, but they sound even more bubbly in this synth pop cover version. Mick Mazz imagines what it would have been like if the band recorded All the Small Things sometime between 1985 and 1990, and used a lot more synthesizers.

While nobody can play a Flea bassline quite like Flea himself, we’ve gotta hand it to Charles Berthoud for his efforts, as he performs two handfuls of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ best and most memorable bass riffs and solos. Even more impressive is how he played them on a $85 electric bass.

Vocalist and bassist Casey Abrams teamed up with pianist and arranger Scott Bradlee for a great jazz-swing cover version of Lionel Ritchie’s 1983 ballad Hello. We imagine that the blind woman in the original music video might have had a hard time sculpting Casey’s impressive beard.

“There’s evil in the air and there’s thunder in the sky, and a killer’s on the bloodshot streets.” These are not exactly the lyrics that you’d think would pair with a guy wearing a bowtie, a vest, and a flat cap, but Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq brings his own flair to a Meat Loaf classic with a cover performed on his banjo/ukulele hybrid.

The Melodicka Bros. progressive rock cover of Green Day’s American Idiot brilliantly captures the improvised and meandering style of the genre. The only way they could make it better is if they added an 8-minute guitar solo and a laser light show.

We’ve heard a million and one versions of the Super Mario Bros. theme music, but it’s still fun to discover a new take on the classic video game tune. The very talented Ukrainian duo B&B Project performed a live run-through of World 1-1, with the button accordion providing the music, and the bandura creating the sound effects.

We recently learned what it might have sounded like if Weezer recorded Nirvana’s Come As You Are. Now listen to a Weezer song bestowed with a heavy metal growl, courtesy of resident metalhead Leo Moracchioli. What’s with these homies dissin’ his girl?

In case you’re unfamiliar with Device Orchestra, they’re a band made up out of electronic gadgets and appliances. Here, they perform a wonderfully buzzy cover of Imagine Dragons’ Believer, with the toothbrush on leads, accompanied by a toaster, a PS2 controller, a typewriter, a steam iron, and two credit card machines.

Constantine Bard presents a sweeping medieval-style cover version of The Rolling Stones’ 1966 hit song Paint It, Black. While we love how the original adds so much depth with Brian Jones’ sitar playing, this version feels even more epic in its scope.

Singer Robyn Adele Anderson applies her smooth and emotive vocals to this unique cover version of Led Zeppelin’s classic Immigrant Song. The jazzy arrangement is very different from the original’s aggressive guitars and wailing vocals, but it’s no less intriguing.

The members of 40 Fingers put their capable digits to good use with this awesome four-part cover of the Dire Straits track Sultans of Swing. They did Mark Knopfler and company proud with this richly-layered acoustic arrangement of the rock classic.

A pipe organ is about the last instrument that comes to mind when we think of the pop-punk sounds of Green Day. But Wir sind da likes to defy expectations. So here it is in all its glory – a cover of Boulevard of Broken Dreams on a church organ. Check out their channel for more unexpected covers, including some Backstreet Boys.

Finnish folk band Takapotku offers a fun, acoustic take on the 1999 Darude track Sandstorm, replacing the electronic synthesizer and drum machine beats with fiddle, guitar, drums, banjo, mandolin, accordion, and flute.

Kylie Minogue’s 2001 pop hit Can’t Get You Out of My Head is one of those songs you just can’t get out of your head. Leo Moracchioli’s heavy metal spin on the track is just as much of an earworm, though it might make them bleed more.

During their appearance at VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, Foo Fighters performed a version of the rock classic Back in Black. To help celebrate their first concert in front of an audience in over a year, they invited AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson to perform lead vocals. (Thanks Harriet!)

Polyphia’s prog rock track 40oz has a has a downright insane lead guitar part. In this amazing cover version of the track, Cy Leo takes over lead duties on his harmonica, while Tsui Jack provides the beatbox rhythm, and Danny Yau sends his fingers flying on guitar. Combined, they sound like a human chiptune machine.

Musician Jamie Dupuis offers up a great acoustic cover version of the 1970 Black Sabbath classic Paranoid, performed on his unusual hybrid string instrument that combines a guitar and a harp. This arrangement replaces the angry electric sounds of the original with a softer, but still ominous sound.

Among his talents, musician Alex Melton has a knack for rearranging songs so they sound like they were performed by Blink-182. Here, he takes on the Journey classic Don’t Stop Believin’, and gives it the trademark sounds of late-1990s pop-punk. Can you imagine if The Sopranos ended with this version?

The Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra is best known for their classic Russian tunes, but they also enjoy the occasional rock and roll song. Here, their balalaika section performs a cover of the 1971 Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven. We had no idea that a contrabass balalaika was a thing.

Finnish band Steve’n’Seagulls heads to the ski slopes to perform a rapid-fire bluegrass cover of a 1979 pop hit. Their cheeky thrash polka arrangement of The Knack’s My Sharona reminds us more than a little bit of “Weird Al’s” My Bologna.