Awesome Covers

Guitarist Connor Gallagher, whose name sounds like a mashup of characters on two Showtime series, cranks out a dynamic metal version of the musical rollercoaster ride that is Symphony No. 5. IV. Allegro non troppo by Dmitri Shostakovich.

(PG-13 Language) In Foo Fighters’ recent concert in Edmonton, the band looked for someone in the audience who could sing Rush’s ball-twisting Tom Sawyer. Enter Brian, who not only knew all the lyrics, but performed it almost casually.

Amazingly talented vocalist Haley Reinhart once again joins Postmodern Jukebox to turn in an awesome cover version of a classic track – this time with White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, in the style of a Big Easy jazz funeral dirge.

Leo Moracchioli of Norway’s Frog Leap Studios cranks out a headbangin’, throat-burnin’ metal version of Ray Parker, Jr.’s classic Ghostbusters theme. Who ya gonna thrash?

For their Rockin’ 1000 event, a group of 1,000 musicians turned out in Cesena, Italy to play an awe-inspiring group performance of Foo Fighters’ Learn to Fly, with the hopes of convincing the band to come and play a concert there. (Thanks Alberto!)

Guitarist 331Erock’s latest metal cover comes to us courtesy of John Williams’ dramatic main theme from Jaws. We have to say the abrasive electric guitar sounds seem much more fitting of an angry great white shark than a cello does.

Musician SamuraiGuitarist covers the music from Super Mario Bros. 3, using a variety of musical instruments to recreate the memorable 8-bit soundtrack, including all of the sound effects, synced up perfectly with the gameplay.

A brilliantly edited music video for William Shatner’s cheesetastic talk-singing cover of Pulp’s Common People, matched perfectly to scenes from Star Trek the Original Series by YouTuber LordRicco666. (Thanks Conner!)

We’re pretty confident that the microphone, ukulele and drum kit that Leo Moracchioli is playing in his music video for his head-banging arrangement of the Bee Gees’ classic disco track aren’t the ones he actually recorded with.

Australian vocalist Jarryd James turns in an awesome cover of Weezer’s 1994 classic track Say it Ain’t So, with his soulful reimagining of Rivers Cuomo’s garage rock ballad. Jarryd’s original tracks deserve a listen too.

An unlikely cover version of Guns ‘N Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine performed in four violin parts by musician Cathie King. The video is two years old, but is just making the rounds now that G’NR shared it. Arrangement by Ben Hippen.

While we were watching that TMBG x Destiny’s Child cover, we stumbled onto another great performance from A.V. Club’s Undercover – neo bluegrass band Punch Brothers doing an insanely great version of The Strokes’s Reptilia.

From the “unlikely covers” bin comes a remake of the 2009 Destiny’s Child hit Bills, Bills, Bills as performed by Brooklyn’s finest, They Might Be Giants. It’s a combination that makes no sense on paper, but works quite brilliantly in action.

An unusual cover version of Queen’s classic Bohemian Rhapsody played on a 110-year-old Marenghi fairground organ, a mechanical instrument which plays music with pipes, percussion, and music recorded on punch cards.

Vocalist Maiya Sykes and Postmodern Jukebox turn in a soulful and emotionally-charged performance of Green Day’s hit Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Trust us when we say you’ve never heard it sung like this, and it’s great.

An absolutely brilliant, deconstructed acoustic arrangement of The Killers’ 2006 hit Read My Mind, as performed by Van McCann of Welsh indie rock group Catfish & The Bottlemen. The stumbly bit just added to the charm.

(PG-13 Language) While digging under some rocks, we stumbled onto this 2009 cover of Rage Against the Machine’s classic, performed by German swing revival band Musik for the Kitchen. Their Seven Nation Army is fun too.

The multitalented Daniel Koren takes on A-Ha’s 1985 guilty pleasure classic Take on Me with his own unique arrangement packed with jazz and multilayered vocal harmonics.

Vocalist Haley Reinhart and Postmodern Jukebox knock it out of the park once more with an awesome ’40s style jazz cover of the Cardigans 1996 classic Lovefool. Seriously, why didn’t Haley win American Idol?

Belarusan folk band Stary Olsa performs truly unusual cover versions of popular rock tracks using medieval instruments, including lute, zither, bagpipes, and recorder. Here, they perform the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication.

Musician Banjo Guy Ollie turns in an understated performance of the Game of Thrones opening theme song played on banjo, mandolin and other string instruments, bringing an appropriately medieval sound to the typically orchestral track.

Grammy-winning Jazz and R&B musician Robert Glasper turns in a brilliant instrumental rendition of Radiohead’s track Reckoner. The track appears on his upcoming live album Covered, to be released June 16th.

Listen to the second coming of Bob Marley in this clip from the 2013 Holland edition of The Voice. We take that back – Mitchell Bruning’s voice is even smoother than Marley’s. Hear more of Mitchell’s incredible talent here.