THE TOP 10 COVERS, TRIBUTES OR MASH-UPS OF 2011 (#5-1)
5. COOKIN’ SOUL-Jay -Z vs. Elvis: Billboard Gangsters (mash up album)
Cookin’ Soul’s latest mashup project can be obtained here for nothing. It’s fiya.
4. COLOSSAL GOSPEL-Shadows the Battlefield (Pat Benetar cover medley)
Colossal Gospel also released a nice little record this year, and their melody of two songs by my when-I-was-twelve-favorite-artist Pat Benetar edged out Thao and Mira’s cover of Love is a Battlefield for a spot on this list.
https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23202151 Colossal Gospel – Shadows of the Battlefield (Pat Benatar Medley) by Colossal Gospel
New, Improved, LIVE: Thao & Mirah – “Love is a Battlefield” from The Bay Bridged on Vimeo.
3. VICO ONO-Heaven is a Bitch (Mash-Up)
Gramatik’s remix of Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” burned hot last year, so in the 2-oh-double-one, Vico Ono mashed it with the classic Nas cut, “Life is a Bitch,” and made it even hotter.
2. KRIS DELMHORST-Cars (Album)
Smooth, beautiful, fairly straight-ahead renditions of songs by the 1980s pop giants. It kinda reminds me of last year’s Hall and Oates tribute by The Bird and the Bee–not adventurous, but wonderful. I can listen to it over and over and over, and never miss the original versions. Buy it here.
1. LISSIE-Covered Up With Flowers (EP)
A 5-song EP on Fat Possum Records, where you can score it for just a buck a song. And it’s easily worth twice that, just for her cover of Joe South’s, “Games People Play.” Toss in an amazing Kid Cudi cover, a Gaga one that’s better than the original, and Nick Cave’s “The Ship Song,” and you’ve got one of the most impressive–and most contemporary–covers collections I’ve ever heard.
Get it here.
