Between The Covers

Sky Ferreira Covers Miike Snow’s “Animal”

Out of all the Miike Snow covers, this one is interesting not only because of its altered tone, but also its singer: 19-year-old singer-songwriter, model and actress Sky Ferreira. The cover starts off with Ferreira’s soft, exposed vocals confessing “There was a time when my world was filled with darkness, darkness, darkness / And I stopped dreaming now / I'm supposed to fill it up with something, something , something.” With increasing conviction in vulnerability, the song crescendos as Ferreira shows her full range and intensity (the gospel songs she sang in church as a child probably help on this one), as she gives into animal instincts: “I change shapes just to hide in this place / But I'm still I'm still an animal / Nobody knows it but me when I slip, yeah I slip.”

Oberhofer Covers Kanye West’s “Runaway”

File another one under the indie rap covers – and this one is worth taking a listen to, if nothing but to hear an Animal Collective-like voice sing “She find pictures in my email / I sent this girl a picture of my dick / I don't know what it is with females / But I'm not too good with that shit” over piano plinks and atmospheric noise. In a humorous yet musically aesthetic anthem, melodic vocals singing lyrics with an apathetic conviction usually reserved for rap fits the chorus in perfect irony: “Let's have a toast for the douchebags, / Let's have a toast for the assholes, / Let's have a toast for the scumbags.” Who knows if Kanye would approve of this softened cover…but at least the band’s from Brooklyn.

Lera Lynn Covers TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me”

Under Lera Lynn’s YouTube video for this cover, the description reads “While learning this song, we learned that Gerard Smith, TVOTR's bass player, passed away from a long battle with cancer on April 20. We offer this song as a Tribute. We hope we did it justice.” Listening to the song after reading this, you do get the sense that Lynn and her accompanying banjo player did do it justice with an authentic sincerity and real talent. Even with just banjo, acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies, the duo recreates the song with full fever, complete with tempo and dynamic changes that become all the more noticeable in this stripped-down, bluesgrassy version.

Be Sure to Check Out:

The String Quartet Tribute to Kanye West Available now at iTunes and Amazon