Awesome Covers

Vinheteiro plays a medley of 13 tracks from the Super Mario series on a synthesizer he’s loaded up with 8-bit sounds. While we’ve heard lots of covers before, there’s just something about hearing them played with the original sounds.

Our friend Greg Johnson of Acoustic Labs finally shows his face, turning in a hypnotic, asian-tinged rendition of Beck’s track Wave, off of the artist’s Grammy winning album Morning Phase. He was approached by Beck’s people to create the cover.

Musician Andre Antunes shows off his skills while demonstrating the distinctive playing styles of 10 iconic guitarists, performing a cover version of Daft Punk’s hit Get Lucky with each axe man’s individual flair.

The latest track from Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox is a Jackson 5 inspired arrangement of The Postal Service’s classic electronic track Such Great Heights, led by the smooth and sultry vocals of Kiah Victoria.

Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser show off their impeccable cello skills in this concert recorded at last summer’s Exit Festival. The show starts off quietly enough but escalates at 6:26 and doesn’t let go. Put your headphones on and enjoy.

Whether Taylor Swift’s megahit Shake It Off was one of your favorite or most hated tunes of 2014, Milky Chance deserves a listen with their complete revamp of the song that transforms it into an excellent folk rock track.

Puddles the sad clown takes on a song that fits his character like a glove. Listen as he powers through Rock N’ Roll With Me, David Bowie’s song about a depressed entertainer. That ending is a very nice touch.

In all honesty, it wouldn’t take much to improve upon Anna Kendrick’s sappy version of Cups (When I’m Gone), but Jim Huish from Amber’s Drive ensured we’d get maximum entertainment value by adding some firearms to the mix.

Casey Abrams cranks out snappy vocals, bass and melodica for ths Postmodern Jukebox retro jazz version of Fountains of Wayne’s pop hit Stacy’s Mom. They should cover the entire Welcome Interstate Managers album in this style.

Yet another great cover version of Ramin Djawadi’s epic cover theme from Game of Thrones, this time played on 23 low brass instruments, including three types of trombones, tubas and cimbassos. What, no euphoniums?

Jimmy Fallon and the Ragtime Gals pair up with Steve Carrell to… absolutely mangle Marvin Gaye’s instant get some sonic aphrodisiac Sexual Healing. But it becomes hilarious when you imagine it’s Michael Scott up there.

Transforming a tune from a major key to a minor key can really make it dark. This is particularly evident in Chase Holfelder’s sinister rendition of The Police classic Every Breath You Take, making it even more stalkerish that it was already.

U2 canceled its The Tonight Show appearance because of Bono’s injury. Jimmy Fallon and The Roots turned lemons into lemonade. Plus, by covering Desire, they probably spared the audience from hearing U2’s newer stuff.

The guys from bluegrass band Iron Horse are back with an unexpected and finger-pickin’ good cover version of Elton John’s classic Rocket Man. Our next request: Ozzy Ozbourne’s Crazy Train. Oh, never mind. (Thanks for finding that, Namu!)

Musician Jacob Tolliver does an incredible Jerry Lee Lewis cover on an old piano he found in a neighborhood hardware store. Not only is his performance amazing, he channels the mannerisms of Lewis brilliantly. Mirror here.

Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t just know fake Latin spells, he can hit you with lots of rap songs as well. Watch as he performs Blackalicious’ old school virtuosic track Alphabet Aerobics on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

(NSFW: Language) GWAR stopped by A.V. Club’s offices, and turned in an unexpected thrash metal version of Pet Shop Boys’ ’80s classic West End Boys. Stick around for an even more awesome cover of Jim Carroll’s People Who Died.

Anthony Vincent went all out for the Halloween episode of Ten Second Songs, dressing up as zombie Michael Jackson and singing the King of Pop’s Thriller in a variety of voices, from Oingo Boingo to Scary Spice.

Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser of 2CELLOS perform a head-banging medley which combines The William Tell Overture with Iron Maiden’s The Trooper. We’re surprised their bows have any hairs left on them by the time it’s over.

NeoGeofanatic shreds a rockin’ new version of Michael Sembello’s cheesetastic classic Maniac from the 1983 film Flashdance. We’re picturing Jennifer Beals welding and pouring a huge bucket of water over herself – not at the same time.

Fafa the groundhog and Gorilla of Glove and Boots dust off their big hair and the Mr. Big ballad To Be with You and put their own simultaneously whimsical and apathetic spin on the 1991 track. Pretzel bun I know you feel it too…

Nick Proch’s epic arrangement of Rage Against the Machine’s 1992 anthem Killing in the Name played on flutes, clarinets, bassoons, trumpets, violins, cellos, piano and any other instrument the band never used. Want more? Hit Kickstarter.

Goosebumps are coming. Cellocyl – a club of cello players in Castilla de Leon, Spain – covers the Game of Thrones opening theme. We’re not sure if this is just a practice run – there are hiccups here and there – but it’s still well done.