Awesome Covers

Barbershop quartet Bank of Harmony don’t want none unless it’s got buns, hun. Sit back, relax, and enjoy Sir Mix a Lot’s 1992 hit Baby Got Back, performed in a way we’re pretty sure you’ve never heard it before. We also enjoyed their cover of Pour Some Sugar on Me.

Musician Dave Rucci’s wife really likes Law & Order: SVU, so he decided to record something special for her. Listen and enjoy as Dave plays composer Mike Post’s familiar theme song entirely on acoustic guitars. We actually think it sounds better than the original. What do you think?

Musician Marc Durkee took Van Morrison’s 1967 upbeat-sounding classic Brown Eyed Girl and turned it into something more appropos of its lyrics about lost love. Durkee’s version is a supremely sad and emotional ballad, courtesy of a key change.

The members of HarvardTHUD whack out another entertaining performance with a fun and unusual medley of music from John Williams’ Star Wars scores. We were really hoping they’d find a way to work in Cantina Band though.

San Antonio, Texas performers Mariachi Entertainment System take on A-ha’s classic with a bit of Latino flavor. Not only is their instrumentation wonderful, but their vocalist even nails the tricky falsetto bits. Bonus points for playing Flight of the Bumblebee while holding a toddler.

The cleverly-monikered Ninja Sex Party turns in an epically good cover version of Peter Gabriel’s heartfelt ballad In Your Eyes, capturing the emotional intensity of the original, while giving it a fresh sound of their own. From the consistently entertaining Under the Covers, Vol. II.

You better run, you better take cover. Punk Rock Factory presents a fun and energetic pop-punk cover of Men at Work’s 1980 Aussie anthem Down Under. While we miss Greg Ham’s flute solos, we were too busy banging our heads to care.

Musician Ron Minis really loves him some Guns N’ Roses. But when he was growing up, his parents only got him piano lessons. But Ron didn’t let his lack of guitar expertise stand in his way from playing Slash’s Sweet Child O’ Mine solo anyhow.

Musician Luna Lee is back with one of her best covers yet, an arrangement of Radiohead’s Paranoid Android. It’s really amazing how well the melody works on the ancient Korean string instrument. Luna really knows how to rock.

The New Order tune Blue Monday isn’t exactly contemporary – it’s nearly 40 years old. BBC Arts’ Orkestra Obsolete took it back even further, envisioning what the track might have sounded like had it been recorded in 1933, using instruments that were in favor at the time.

Crank up your headphones and enjoy as musician Alexander Mills turns in an absolutely fantastic cover version of Dave Matthews Band’s 1996 classic Crash Into Me. This is why we truly love the Internet – discovering incredibly talented people we wouldn’t have otherwise heard of.

Guitarist Luca Stricagnoli is back to wow us with yet another incredible fingerstyle performance, this time, taking on the incredibly dynamic Muse track Supermassive Black Hole, and extracting way more sound out of single guitar than should be physically possible.

Back in 2018, the awesomely-named Mariachi Entertainment System paid tribute to the late Stan Lee with this wonderful cover version of the theme music from The Avengers. Be sure to check out their other covers, including The Throne Room from Star Wars. (Thanks Philip!)

A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty “Hi Yo Silver!” – the Melodica Men are here to save the day from bandits and other Wild West baddies with their frenetic rendition of Rossini’s 1829 overture, most frequently associated with The Lone Ranger.

The 8-Bit Big Band breathes new life into the soundtrack from the NES classic Super Mario Bros., with an energetic performance of the theme music from the game’s first two worlds by a full orchestra and a chorus providing vocal accompaniment.

The women of Thalia Strings tear up the place with an effervescent cover version of AC/DC’s 1990 rock classic Thunderstruck, arranged for acoustic strings by Amy Cave. Prefer Aerosmith to AC/DC? They’ve got you covered.

The Vitamin String Quartet’s new album pays tribute to Iceland’s one and only Bjork. The first single is an enchanting cover version of Venus as a Boy, accompanied by a beautiful papercut stop-motion music video.

Anthony Vincent focuses on a single style for another cover of Metallica’s Enter Sandman, done in the sonorous style of David Bowie, with instrumentals reminiscent of Let’s Dance. That’s Talor Steinberg on guitar, Mat Graham on trumpet, and Rocky Yera on sax.

Black Holes and Revelations is one of our favorite Muse albums. EatMyUke is a fan too, and put together this great medley from the album, including Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, and Knights of Cydonia, which sounds particularly great on the ukulele.

Resident metalhead Leo Moracchioli pays tribute to the The Prodigy lead singer Keith Flint in the best way possible, with a perfectly amped-up cover version of their 1997 hit track Firestarter, loaded with intense vocals and powerful guitar riffs. Rest in peace, Keith.

From Metallica’s Fuel played at a gas station, to RHCP’s Under the Bridge performed under a bridge, musician Danilo Vicari’s compilation video provides some overly literal context to familiar bass and guitar riffs. We were hoping he would play Def Leppard’s Rocket.

Everyone’s a super hero… everyone’s a Captain Kirk. ’80s kids will get a kick out of musician Seb Skelly’s all-brass rendition of Nena’s bi-lingual hit track 99 Luftballoons aka 99 Red Balloons here in the states.

Musician Francesco Parrino performs a stripped-down, but energetic piano cover version of Queen’s synth-heavy stadium anthem Radio Ga-Ga that will make you want to sing along and clap your hands by the end.