I love watching videos by 2Cellos anytime I need a pick me up. The Croatian duo is known for reworking pop songs and theme songs into classical music, and have a talent for keeping each piece fresh and entertaining without the benefit of lyrics. Plus they always look like they are having a blast.
I love when a band covers an unexpected song outside of there own genre and does it justice. 30 Seconds to Mars does exactly that with their soulful stripped down cover of Rihanna’s Stay, recorded in 2013 for BBC Radio’s live lounge.
I love classical covers of pop songs, and Lindsey Sterling‘s version of Katie Perry’s Roar is simple, light, and fun. My favorite part of this video is that she performed the song on the spot after a band member joked that she should start taking requests on a radio show.
I love finding classical covers of rock songs. There’s something about putting the two contrasting music styles together that almost feels taboo or illicit. There are a lot of musicians giving their favorite band’s songs a classical arrangement, but this version of System of a Down’s Chop Suey, played on a white Baroque Baby Grand Piano in a Bosendorger Showroom by Ukrainian pianist Vika, is one of my favorites. Vika writes all of her own arrangements, and posts some on flowkey for other musicians to try. If your not familiar with the song, the original System of a Down video is below hers for contrast.
Set in the tumultuous 1960s, Across the Universe is a surreal look at love, loss, and self discovery centered around the music of the Beatles. Although many of the musical sequences are dizzying dreamlike fantasies, the film is grounded with sobering moments of reality, including one standout scene set to Let It Be. Director Julie Taylor deftly cuts between scenes from the 1967 Detroit riot and a family receiving news of a soldiers death to illustrate the simultaneous devastating effects of the Vietnam War and civil unrest. The song itself is a tribute to the simple vocals of the original recording and the soaring gospel version recorded by Aretha Franklin. The first clip is an inspiring behind the scenes look at the filming process and Carol Woods’s original audition, the second is the actual sequence in the movie
While looking for songs to mix together for Friday’s NaPoWriMo prompt, I found this version of Van Morrison’s Into the Mystic. There are a lot of good covers out there, but I really love this version by Zac Brown Band, where they transition from their own hit Free to Van Morrison’s classic song.
Anya Marina is a regular on movie and television soundtracks, and this cover of rapper T. I.’s “Whatever You Like” was featured on a 2009 episode of Gossip Girls. I love how she completely strips the song down to a delicate acoustic version, much different than T.I.’s bold and brash original.
Many movie fans who watched Rami Malek‘s turn as Freddy Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody or saw his gracious Oscar acceptance speech have wondered, did he sing in the movie, or lip sync. Although Malek worked hard to replicate Mercury’s distinct accent, most of the singing was done by Canadian singer Marc Martel, who’s singing is eerily similar to Mercury.
I love this single off of Disturbed’s latest album, Evolution. Similarly styled to their successful cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence, it shows off the bands evolving sound and lead singer David Draimon‘s unique singing style.
I love Disturbed’s cover of Sound of Silence, and this orchestral version by Lucas King is also melancholy but at the same time beautiful.
