Awesome Covers

Get Schwifty with musician Scott Bradlee (of Postmodern Jukebox fame), as he performs his arrangement of the theme song from Rick and Morty, played in a smooth, jazzy style. We’d love to see the versions of Rick and Morty that exist in the jazz quadrant of the multiverse.

By now, you’ve heard a thousand and one cover versions of Toto’s Africa, and it’s starting to wear out its welcome. But we couldn’t resist posting Toni “Pupsi” Patanen’s version, in which he performs the track using some delicious veggies and fruits. More edible fun here.

Aussie string quartet Dolce Ensembles provides their own upbeat interpretation of Walk the Moon’s 2014 pop hit Shut Up and Dance, performed on violin, viola, and cello. We especially enjoyed the plucky pizzicato bit.

While it’s in no way a comprehensive collection, musician Marcos Kaiser’s compilation of 12 classic movie themes performed on his acoustic guitar will bring back lots of memories, and occasionally tug at your heartstrings.

Miserlou was made famous by Dick Dale and Pulp Fiction. But it originated as a traditional mediterranean song. Here, the track both returns to its roots and gets a fresh coat of paint courtesy of violinist Caroline Campbell, pianist William Joseph, and cellist Tina Guo.

Do you prefer your winters warm? Then you were probably rooting for the Heat Miser in the Rankin/Bass classic The Year Without Santa Claus. Now, enjoy the Heat Miser’s song like you’ve never heard it before, courtesy of the Ska Tune Network.

While it’s not quite the spectacle of 28 people playing Bohemian Rhapsody on trombones, musician Seb Skelly’s 10-part brass cover version of Queen’s 1976 classic Somebody to Love is still fantastically entertaining.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? After amusing us with their performance of Don’t Stop Believin’, HarvardTHUD is back with another charming cover, this time taking on Queen’s Magnum Opus on their colorful plastic noisemakers.

We know Melbourne, Australia pianist Josh Cohen from his fantastic Radiohead and David Bowie piano covers. His emotional cover of Pink Floyd’s 1979 classic is just as captivating, and will have you feeling anything but numb.

Vocalist Smooth McGroove takes a break from video game tunes to entertain us with Tame Impala’s catchy and crunchy little ditty. As much as we enjoyed the original, Smooth’s version delivers the positive message even better.

The Ska Tune Network’s peppy cover version of the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s classic piano track from A Charlie Brown Christmas is sure to have you dancing and tapping your toes at your desk. As an added bonus, you’ll enjoy a little extra holiday cheer along the way.

Brice Dudouet turns the crank on a classic mechanical pipe organ called an orgue de barbarie as it whips through his spirited arrangement of John Williams’ classic Cantina Band, originally played by Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes in Star Wars: A New Hope.

YouTube’s resident metalnerd Leo Moracchioli takes on one-hit wonder Chumbawamba’s 1997 track Tubthumping, a song about getting drunk and in bar fights that will infect your ear by simply hearing “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down…”

See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen. The multi-talented Gunhild Carling joins Scott Bradlee and Aaron McLendon of Postmodern Jukebox for a fun 1920s jazz-infused remake of ABBA’s 1979 disco hit Dancing Queen.

Musician Alexandr Misko works his magic on Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer’s familiar He’s a Pirate, the swashbuckling theme music from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He manages to charm a rich array of sounds out of just a single acoustic guitar and a wooden stick.

A stellar cover of Pink Floyd’s Have a Cigar, with fantastic guitar work by Max Newman, smooth and soulful vocals by Corey Frey, and great keys and rhythms by Smiley, Rob Skywalker, and Reuben Gingrich of The Main Squeeze. Their Allman Bros. ain’t too shabby either.

Paweł Zadrożniak’s Floppotron performs yet another all-too-perfect tune for its clanky electromechanical instrumentation, the 1983 New Order classic Blue Monday. Those little click breaks on the hard drive servos are just what the doctor ordered.

We’ve heard a number of covers of the familiar theme song from Tetris over the years, from bluegrass to dubstep, game fanatic insaneintherainmusic’s jazzy rendition is our favorite yet. Beyond the cool arrangement, the man has some serious sax skills.

Melbourne, Australia musician Josh Cohen presents powerful and engrossing piano arrangements of two David Bowie classics – Life on Mars and Space Oddity. Trust us when we say you’ll be glued to your speakers or headphones from the minute you hit “play.”

The last time we checked in with the talented young Feng E, he was entertaining audiences in the park. Now he’s wowing us from the back seat of a car, and asking Annie if she’s okay with a fantastic ukulele cover of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.

Musician AaronGrooves puts a seriously shiney new coat of paint onto the theme music from the 1980s arcade game Pac-Man, playing the classic 8-bit tune on xylophone, drums, ukulele, cowbell, and a loop machine.

Musician and vocalist Morrissey applies his trademark sad wail to The Pretenders 1982 hit Back on the Chain Gang, offering up a delicious mindmeld of two iconic 1980s sounds. The song appears as a bonus track on the upcoming deluxe edition of Low in High School.

A warm and soothing cover version of Queen’s rock opera classic arranged and performed by a quartet of talented musicians: Sam Novack, Lakshmi Sawhney, Jordan McElroy, and Michael Charles Smith If you fancy yourself a marimba expert, sheet music is available here.