Awesome Covers

From The Final Countdown to Take on Me to Axel F, musician shochan8883 catalogs some of the most memorable synthesizer riffs of the 1980s. It’s by no means comprehensive, but entertaining nonetheless. Also, we’re not sure what to make of that Baroque Hoedown.

Musician and video maker Beanzo decided to enlist the help of 19 tiny digital clones of himself to perform Beethoven’s Für Elise on a grand piano. He openly admits he swiped the idea from Mystery Guitar Man, but Beanzo’s approach was clearly quite a bit more complex.

The original Sonic the Hedgehog has one of the most catchy and memorable soundtracks in the history of gaming, thanks to composer Masato Nakamura. Now listen as 130Grit Sound Studio performs a trio of familiar tunes from the game, done wonderfully in Dick Dale/surf rock style.

It’s a few years old, but that doesn’t make FamilyJules‘ hard rock medley of classic video game music any less entertaining. Whenever we hear video game music played with this much energy and speed, we think our character is about to run out of health. Grab the MP3 here.

The 1981 Rush instrumental track YYZ is known for its intense rhythm track, but that didn’t stop musician Mitch Bruzzese from performing the daunting track live for his Twitch followers – while wearing a blindfold for the entire 4+ minute song.

The multitalented Aaron Grooves and Jared Charney Cohen collaborated for this fun tap dance, piano, and xylophone performance of the “Athletic” theme music from Super Mario World. If you need a smile today, this video should do the trick.

If you’ve never seen The Neverending Story, rent it this weekend. The 1984 classic is a wonderfully imaginative ride through a child’s mind as he discovers a fantastical world hidden in the pages of a book. To show his love for the film, guitarist 331Erock put his own spin on its theme song, by Limahl and Giorgio Moroder.

Get your booty in a pew tonight. Gud Nuse shared this very different interpretation of Technotronic’s 1989 dance mega-hit Pump Up the Jam. His toned-down version was recorded in a church, and performed on a grand piano.

Musician Luca Stricagnoli is back with another fantastic performance. Watch and listen as the fingerstyle guitar master’s fingers fly across the fretboard with a great rendition of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ melodic 2006 hit Snow (Hey Oh).

Every once in a while, the Rockin’ 1000 assembles a group of musicians from around the globe to offer up one epic rock performance. This time, they gathered at the Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt to play the Rage Against the Machine classic, Killing in the Name. We love watching all the drummers banging away in sync.

The consistently silly and entertaining Device Orchestra is back to perform another track, taking on Darude’s 2000 dance hit Sandstorm, played on an electric typewriter, some credit card terminals, and a pair of electric toothbrushes. The googly eyes mean they now earn union scale for their performances.

Musicians Rob Scallon and Mary Spender teamed up to perform a great cover version of The Beatles’ classic Come Together on a truly unique instrument – a two-sided acoustic with a 6-string guitar on one side, and a 4-string bass on the other.

The musicians of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain take on an unexpected tune, AC/DC’s 1979 hit Highway to Hell. Despite the unusual choice of instruments for the hard rock track, they do it with aplomb. There’s even a finger-bleeding solo at 2:00.

Avast ye, and shiver me timbers! Musician Peter Bence is back with another rousing grand piano cover, this time taking on the familiar theme music from Pirates of the Caribbean, composed by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt. This guy can tickle our ivories any day.

Mathieu Terrade is an expert at playing the Harpejji G16, a wooden string instrument with a flat backboard, 16 strings, and 19 ultra-wide frets. His YouTube channel is filled with great performances, but his cover of Eric Clapton’s Change the World is one of our faves.

Pianist Eshan Denipitiya presents a virtuosic medley of three classic Queen tracks performed flawlessly on the grand piano. He goes on to ask us which is our favorite, but can you really choose between Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions? and We Will Rock You?

Back in 2016, musician Marcos Kaiser recorded this excellent cover version of Chuck Berry’s 1958 track Johnny B. Goode. As one of rock and roll’s seminal tracks, it sounds great in this acoustic fingerstyle arrangement. Just try not to get your groove on when he starts playing.

Scary Pockets turns in another wonderfully funky cover of a classic tune, this time taking on Derek and The Dominos’ 1970 track Layla. Though this time, they left the comfort of their studio and recorded the performance live at DC’s Union Stage. That’s Jacob Luttrell kicking out the soulful lead vocals and keys.

We always enjoy listening to Ska Tune Network’s performances, and this might be our favorite yet. Crank up your headphones, and tune in for Jeremy Hunter’s smooth and jazzy ska cover of “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Classical pianist Martin Leung dropped by the University of Michigan’s Britton Recital Hall to perform a medley of tracks from the world of Mario Bros., kicking things off with the classic Super Mario Bros. theme – and just to show off, he did that first bit blindfolded. If it seems familiar, he first performed the medley back in 2007.

The consistently entertaining and enthralling Pomplamoose presents a fun recording that seamlessly blends Smash Mouth’s unkillable hit All Star with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ tracks Can’t Stop and Californication. That opening bass riff is still one of the best ever.

Ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro and his fellow musicians turn in an outstanding performance of The Beatles classic Eleanor Rigby, with the uke complemented beautifully by Jerry Douglas‘ artistry on the lap steel guitar. From the album The Greatest Day.

The consistently awesome collective known as Brass Against cranks out another rollicking cover, this time taking on Jane’s Addiction’s 1988 track Mountain Song, this time lead by the ferociously soulful vocal talents of Maya Azucena.