Blog Post 7 YAY

Blog Post 7

Hello to all my party people! Welcome, welcome, welcome to my humble abode of “I’ve Got You Covered”!!!

This is the last post for a while on this blog (SAD FACE), so I have saved something very special for our last post together.  This week we are going to be reviewing The Persuasions’ album Acapella Dreams.  I really appreciate this album because I genuinely have a love for acapella and how it changes a song into something so artistic and beautiful! Since 1962, The persuasions have performed with countless artists such as Frank Zappa, Ray Charles, Bill Cosby, and Roseanne Barr.  Although they became popular in the 1960s, they are still creating and producing albums today with their latest being a collaboration album with “The Bare-Naked Ladies”. I am extremely excited to explore the culture behind the group, as well as the album, and combine it with their style and song choice to make a masterpiece of epic proportions. 

The use of soul and blues music was extremely popular in the 1960s and 1970s, some of Americas classic favorites such as Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, and the Dramatics arose from this era and continue to blow people away today with their familiar melodies. One thing that set the Persuasions apart from the rest was that they chose to abandon the big band sound of that day and age and go for acapella.  This was a large change in a time where everyone was used to belting sax solos and trumpet heavy bops.

Here is an example of big band style of The Temptations

In comparison to their style of

“Kings of Acapella” is what they are called and they sure live up to the name with 26 albums and several awards.  This group did not only defy the norms with their acapella style of music, these men were also defying the norms by creating an African American musical group during the civil rights movement.  This group first came together on the street corners of Brooklyn, but each of their members hailed from different areas of the United States with Jerry Lawson coming from Florida, “Sweet” Joe Russell coming from North Carolina, Jimmy Hayes born in Virginia and Jayotis Washington coming from the Motown area of Detroit.  They all had a very deep rooted history in the church and used this to give their music a heavy influence of gospel.  This is very relevant in all the tracks in their album Acapella Dreams with some tracks coming originally from the gospel genre itself, but all of the tracks on the album have the certain essence that comes with a familiar old gospel tune.

Their rise to fame was a very interesting one because it wasn’t as straight forward and successful of that with musical groups such as the temptations. 

This is shown in the album through the songs that they chose to cover.  Each of the songs fit into a specific category of music and they all mesh together to make a diverse mix of goodness. This album was produced in 2003 by the Capitol records company, but when you listen to it it feels as though you have been transported back in time to the old city streets of 1960s Brooklyn.  This band has a pretty faithful cult following because of their dedication to keeping it old school and acapella.  With each category of the songs on this album, there is a specific feeling evoked by each. In order to get a full understanding of each of the versions of the songs, I listened to the original song first and then listened to the new acapella version done by the persuations. The real kicker here is; does it live up to or surpass the original? Because this blog is all about finding new ways to enjoy some of your favorite songs.

The Elvis Presley Songs

-each of these songs takes you back to the “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog days” of the 1950s

“Good Luck Charm”- Originally by Elvis Presley

This song already has a good bopping beat that is emphasized by the swinging vocalization that is usually shown in music in this age.  With the acapella version of this song it keeps the same doo-wop nature that was found in the original which made it so fun to begin with.  The adding of harmonies to the main melody gives the song a deeper quality and adds the soul quality to it that soothes the mind. I definitely think that this version lives up to the king himself.

“In the Ghetto”- Originally by Elvis Presley

I think I am slightly bias about the Elvis version just because it has been a staple in my household for quite sometime.  This version was interesting because it had more pulsating deep sounds and it wasn’t as smooth and heartfelt as the original version. This song does not have the full qualities that are necessary for a ballad acapella song to evoke the same feeling that the original songs would have using instruments for depth. I personally think that the original would be the most enjoyable of the two.

Don’t- Originally by Elvis Presley

This is one that has a particularly emotional side to it.  This age of the late 1950s and the early 1960s was considered an age of crooning. This was a time when romance was on the rise and everyone and their mother had the intent of sharing it in their new love language of song. This is evident in both of the songs because it seems as though the arranger had taken the original and literally switched it so that It would be acapella instead of the usual version with instruments. The only difference that I can see is the tone quality between the two. Elvis Presley has a very beautiful voice that is known for its ability to scoop and lure an audience in which is where the persuasions are lacking. This is a classic song and I am going to give it a good rating. I would say that It lives up to its predecessor.

Here are some samples of each of the songs so you can listen and assess them yourselves. If you find something super interesting than you can put it in the comment section below.

The Gospel Standards

These are the songs that are found in almost every gospel album in America. These classic songs have been made over time and time again until we can barely find who was the original artist any way. But there is a certain familiarity about these songs that makes them feel like home, and the Persuasions have found a way to make them their own.

“When the Saints Go Marching In” – Originally performed by Louis Armstrong

This song has a deep culture surrounding it as an American gospel hymn. This has been a song of jubilation and salvation that has been linked to this verse in the bible “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city” – Revelation 22:14.  There is some speculation that this could have been sung as a slave song as it talks about being brought out of the trials with the lyrics

“Oh When the Saints go marching in,

When the saints go marching in,

O Lord, I want to be in that number,

When the saints go marching in.”

The most popular version of this song was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1938. This boppin version features the king of the trumpet himself along with a big band basically just jamming out to the song.  It is a fun and very freeing way to listen to the song.  The Persuasions version of this song is very different than what is considered to be the original. Their rendition sounds more like how the breakdown of a bridge would sound.  The bass voices provide a steady repeating beat for the song that gives it a driving force, so that the song doesn’t lack due to It not having instruments to fill out the spaces that aren’t all there. If this song would have surfaced with the Persuasions version then I think that it would be more well liked due to the fact that you wouldn’t know what you would be dynamically missing with it being acapella.

Here are the two separate versions so that you can get a full idea of the differences between the two.

Louis Armstrong 

The Persuasions Version

“Peace in the Valley” – Written by Thomas A. Dorsey and Originally sung by Mahalia Jackson

This song also has deep roots in gospel surrounding the idea of peace. It was written in the time right before Hitler led war chariots into Western Europe in the late 1930s.  He was on a train going through Indiana and he saw horses, cows, and sheep all together in a small valley. He began to think “What is the matter with mankind; why can’t we all just live in peace?” and from these questions came the song peace in the valley.  This song branches off of the Christian ideology of love in peace instead of hatred. He states in the song…

No headaches or heartaches or misunderstands

No confusion or trouble won't be

No frowns to defile, just a big endless smile

There'll be peace and contentment for me

He is explaining that in the end there will be no more pain or trouble, just a happy ending in heaven with his father.  This is also comparing the difference between the evil found on earth and the good that is found in heaven.

This was the first gospel recording to sell one million copies. 

In reference to the song itself, it was created with good bones to build off of, but I feel like this was made with the intent to be created over. The Persuasions’ version has a particular movement to it that adds to the overall feel of the song.  The harmonizing under the melody adds depth and beauty to the song that was lacking in the original version of the song. The soulfulness of their voices adds to the gospel nature of the song, and overall I would definitely say that it lives up to, if not, surpasses the original.

The Last Category that I noticed within the album are the Old Timey Fun songs:

These include “Dock of the Bay”, “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “She’s a Lady”

These were like a breath of fresh air on the album, they were strategically placed in the track list so that they don’t have issues with there being a lag in the overall movement of the album.  I grew up in a household where music was a big deal, and there was never a moment without some sort of tune playing. “She’s a Lady” is a particularly special song because it was frequented throughout my childhood. When I was little my grandfather would sing this song to me every time that I would dress up to make me happy, and listening to this version of the song took me back to those days and put a smile on my face.

All of these tracks have a special meaning for being put in the album, which is why this album is so beautiful to me.  It was arranged and out together with such care and thought that it doesn’t have a dull moment.  I knew most every song, but I was listening to them in a new light that I had not yet experienced before.

This is what is so beautiful about covers. They bring in the familiar and make it new and fresh.  This blog has been dedicated to helping you find new versions of your favorite songs, but even more than that it was here to explain that there is always a specific meaning to creating a song, especially a cover. I hope that you take what was learned in this blog and go out and find the meaning behind your favorite songs and new renditions. If there is anything you guys ever need, musically or otherwise, I’ve got you covered!

See y’all later!

Mary Ashley

What's the Deal with YouTube Culture?

Hello blog family and welcome back to week 5 of “I’ve got you covered”!

I hope you all had a super fun and hopefully safe St. Patty’s day weekend. Today we are going to be exploring the world wide phenomenon of YouTube!

As I understand, YouTube has become something that is very important as the world goes toward technology and social media instead of one on one reactions. This company caters to the “I want it now” general mindset of the 21^st century generation. People are able to search anything and they will almost always find a video for it in 2 seconds flat.

I know from personal experience with my youngest sister, there is a whole culture surrounding it where people film themselves doing anything and everything to gain subscribers.  For example, the day after Christmas my sister sat in her room for half of the day and watched every gift haul video there was from the fay before. I went in her room and watched one with her and I saw these people who used to be pretty much normal citizens that used their youtube accounts to gain a massive fan following that is almost similar to what you would see with a boy band fandom. The Youtuber, Jon Kosart has a very fun and interesting that explains this fairly well. Here is his video “YouTube Culture”

Video bloggers are not the only people getting famous from youtube, there has also been a lot of people who have risen to fame by putting out cool covers of popular songs. But the real question here is, Is this beneficial to the creativity of the new generation? We explore this more in this week’s edition of “I’ve Got You Covered”.

Let’s start with the basics, who are these people making covers! This is actually a pretty easy one because guess what? These are just regular everyday people. Some of the most popular singing artists we have today started by putting covers on youtube.

Justin Bieber posted this cover of “So Sick” by Ne-Yo 10 years ago.

The next 2 years he continued to put these cover videos out on his YouTube channel which gave him a massive fan following. He was eventually discovered by Usher, offered a recording contract, and the now he is one of the most well known pop singers of this generation. Shawn Mendes has a similar story. He was discovered by the covers that he put on the internet, and he now has a huge fan following. This is the story for so many of these artists that we love today, and the one thing that links them all together is that they got their start by putting out covers on YouTube.

The YouTube cover culture has gotten to intense as of lately that there are complete channels and people who do no original work and that produce only covers. Some examples of these are The Piano Guys, Boyce Avenue, The Pentatonix, and Alex Boye.  These artists have made a name for themselves by essentially making another person’s song their own.  Honestly YouTube sounds like a paradise for people to listen to a new version of their favorite songs, but is it doing really anything to encourage the creativity of these artists? This is where the whole YouTube culture gets a little bit muddy.

It seems like YouTube acts as just this constant spring board for others to go off of.  One person starts with an original idea such as the cinnamon challenge shown here and people create a million different variations in order to gain subscribers or look like they are down with the times.

This is also true for the cover aspect of YouTube. Whenever a new song or album comes out there is always a myriad of covers that come out right after that ride the popularity high of the original song itself.  For example, the song “Hello” by Adelle came out about a year and a half ago and if you search “Hello by Adele Cover” on YouTube you will find 9,320,000 results with almost all of them being within the first few weeks of the song release. This was honestly very interesting to me so I gave some a listen and I didn’t really hear much variation from the original song which is brilliant in its vocal technique.  From this analysis it would seem like these YouTubers have abandoned their own sense of creativity and jumped on the bandwagon of just tweaking a small amount of the song to make it sound just a little bit different, but it really does nothing to effectively change the song.  It would be very interesting to see how Youtube culture would change if people were not allowed to cover songs and had to rely on their won mind to create original music. Based on these observations, I think that the copying verbatim culture surrounding the YouTube realm is causing a detriment to creativity in this new age of media.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for enjoying covers and I think that they can definitely cause you to look at a song in a different light that inspires new ideas and ways of listening to it, but purely singing along to the same track as the original song is not doing that. I think that the YouTube culture is coming from a place of wanting to be accepted and staying on trend instead of looking for a way to express their creative energy.

I am very interested on what you all have to say about this, so if you have an opinion on the culture or meaning behind YouTube covers please comment under this post and if not don’t worry about it fam.

Although this post was just a tad bit different than my usual ones, I think it hit on some pretty important points as far as upholding creativity. As always remember that if you ever need anything, I’ve Got You Covered.

Thanks for listening and have a great week!

Mary Ashley 

Blog Post 4 woohoo

Blog Post 4

Hello everyone and welcome back to week 4 of “I’ve Got You Covered”.

The past three weeks have been pretty cool, and I can’t wait to explore the genre of folk, specifically using the acoustic guitar.  This week I am mixing it up a little bit and instead of doing an album, l am going to make and review a spotify playlist that includes covers of songs originally produced by John Mayer, Cyndi Lauper, The Killers, and Outkast that I believe change the original intent of the song and makes it have a new feel. I am going to combine this playlist with the analysis of “The Guitar and the New World: A Fugitive History”.

The guitar has made more of a significant impact on our culture than any other instrument in history.  Joe Gioia agrees in his book “The Guitar and the New World: A Fugitive History” when he states “the modern guitar is a collection of many cultures; no instrument has evolved more rapidly, and spread more widely, in the last five centuries.”.  Since the invention of the guitar spans five centuries it can be difficult to pin point when it rose to fame.  The American style guitar was introduced, and it rose to fame when it was combined with fiddles and banjos in Chicago which started the folk revolution. The guitar over took the banjo in popularity around 1914 and it has stayed that way since then. Thank goodness because "no one likes the banjo!"

The guitar also had an important part in Jazz music in the 1920’s. The mixing of weepy guitar lines along side other blues instruments led to what we know today as modern blues. Both blues and Jazz have shaped the way our music is made today. In fact, in this book the author says that “ I saw that the forces that had created the guitar were the same which formed my family, the people who had, one way or another, forged my history in the first place.” What we consider now to be folk music was roots music back in the day.  Musicians combined the genres of blues and country in the first part of the 20^th century to pave the way for the first folk revival around the 1960’s. The guitar made a breakthrough in popular folk music around 1960 when the 6 six string nylon guitar was introduced into the mix with the violin to create the foundation for modern “folk” music today.  There have been several folk revivals since then, and the demand for this type of music has been increasingly popular with development of music festivals made specifically for folk music. Right now the popularity of folky sounding music, old and new, has risen an extreme amount amongst the young adult population.

Something that has become increasingly popular is for folk artists to cover songs of different genres during their concerts to give them some diversity. This is one of my favorite examples is from a performance by “The Civil Wars” where they covered Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”.

The way their voices mesh with the guitar makes the song have a beautiful, almost haunting, tone that wasn’t there before. This just goes to show that the feeling a song gives you is not just dependant on the lyrics, but it has almost more to do with the way a song is portrayed.

The versatility of the guitar mirrors that of the music it creates. The soft lull of an acoustic guitar can take a song that was once harsh can be turned into a more intimate and soft feeling tune.   I found this very prevalent while listening to the songs in this playlist. Here is a link if you are interested in checking it out : Blog Post 4 Playlist  This playlist includes 12 songs which the original genres of the songs include pop, alternative, and some classic favorites.  While making this post I listened to the original version of each song first, then I listened to the acoustic cover immediately after, and I discovered just how much an instrument could change things.  For example, the song “Mr.Brightside” by the Killers is often thought of as a party anthem filled with passion that gets everyone pumped and ready for a fun night. In the Run River North version they take the guitar and cello and  turn it into a lovely ballad of longing and hopeless love.  Another example of this is in the acoustic mashup “One Dance/ Needed Me/ Too Good”. With all of these clips being from songs made and performed by Drake one could assume that they would have an “R and B” hip hop feel to them. However, when the guitar replaces the synth track created by the computer causes it to change completely just like the Killer’s song. This is very evident in a lot of the songs on the playlist. This playlist as a whole would be really good to listen to if you were having a stressful day or if you were studying for a test and needed some chill music to focus to, but of course I could be considered a little bit biased because I listen to acoustic and folk music on a regular basis.  I do think that this playlist is very on point to the real theme of this blog which is to discover new ways of listening to your favorite songs.

The acoustic guitar had the opportunity to not only shape the music that we listen to, but also the culture surrounding the music. With folk music on the rise and events surrounding it popping up all over, there is no telling where it will go!

Well, that’s all I have for you this week “folks” (lol I thought I would try to be funny). I will see you again in 2 weeks! Stay safe and keep adventuring on.

Always remember if you ever need anything, I’ve Got You Covered!

Mary Ashley Boykin

Quotes from: Gioia, Joe. The Guitar and the New World: a Fugitive History. Albany, NY, Excelsior Editions, 2013.

The Piano Guys are Pretty Wonderful "Revised"

Hey y'all! Today we are going to be talking about "Wonders" by The Piano Guys!

I actually really enjoy listening to this group. They put a lot of thought into their arrangements and their videos. The Piano Guys were started by 4 fathers from Utah who have a passion for music that they want to share with the rest of the world. Who they are is well showcased in this quote by the group "We’re just a bunch of ordinary “guys” playing classically influenced instrumental music in videos that showcase incredible locations." I think the thing that makes this group so well liked is the fact that the men in it are so approachable. All four of the men in The Piano Guys are dads, husbands, and are pretty normal people. For them it is always family first. For example, they turned down a Sony recording contract 5 times because it required them to tour away from their families.  These are just ordinary guys who have an extraordinary love for music.

These guys focus their music on reinventing classical music and bringing it together with the popular songs of today.  The Piano Guys rose to their fame after this YouTube video for their song "Game Day" went viral.

After going viral. The Piano Guys have gained over 5 million subscribers on youtube and done numerous collaborations with musicians such as Lindsey Stirling, famous violinist, and the Pentatonix.  The group has made 5 studio albums and are in the process of putting out their sixth album “Uncharted”, and today we are going to be diving in to the real wonders that is their album (so casually named) Wonders.

One thing I found particularly interesting about this album is the initiative it started with.  Like I have said before, the Piano Guys are always looking for something fresh and interesting to produce their songs and music videos with.  In the beginning of 2014, the group came up with the idea to travel the world and record a music video at each of the 7 wonders of the world: Taj Majal, Petra, Roman Coliseum, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer, and The Great Wall of China. This is an updated list as most of the original wonders of the world are in ruins, so think of these as the wonders of today! In this album they were only able to tackle 3 of the 7 spots on that list, I still think that it says a lot about the spirit that they put into their music.

This album consists of 12 songs that range from a cover of One Direction’s hit song “ Story of my Life” to meticulously thought out arrangements of the “Let it Go” from the SUPER popular Disney movie Frozen. I think that the large range they put on their music is what makes them so diverse and well liked. Every song has a story that it tells, and together they make the magical tale which is “Wonders”. To me the name of the album could not have had a better fitting name.  It emphasizes the wonder of music itself as well as referring to the wonderful experiences they went through in order to make these videos.

The order of the songs were very important to this album. It starts with “Story of My Life” a heart warming ballad originally performed by One Direction, and then builds to the intense bumping of “Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends”, “Batman Evolution”, “Don’t You Worry Child”, and then eases back down to easy listening with “Pictures at an Exhibition”. The arrangements of the songs turned them into a story.  With each of the new songs a new part of the adventure began and left you wondering what was coming next.  As the album goes on the intensity builds, this is similar to the adrenaline rush that you would get from going on a thrilling quest. 

Another thing that was particularly cool about this is that in order to create the videos for some of the songs they had to take extreme measures.  For most of the videos the group spent countless hours hauling equipment and editing footage. For example, they had to create a contraption were they wrapped a baby grand piano in multiple moving blankets and then strapped on to a rolling platform and hand rolled it up hundreds of feet on the Great Wall of China in order to make the video “Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends” so freakin cool. I mean talk about adventure! The piano guys are dedicated to taking a place that is sacred and beautiful and making it into a sanctuary to share their art with people all over the globe.  The music or the environment are not the main focus of their videos. The two work synonymously to create a masterpiece of both sight and sound. 

Overall, I believe that this album is a work of art in itself.  The ebb and flow of the cello along with the soothing sounds of the piano makes for a whirlwind of tones that makes for an almost cathartic experience.  It is rare that something can so seamlessly meld together to create an album that gives us so much more than just some songs. It is truly a wonder to listen to an album like this.

That is all for today folks! Have a great day and I will see y’all next week!

Mary Ashley 

Track by Track Analysis

Welcome back y'all! We are in for a fun review this week.
This week I am reviewing one of my favorite albums that is predominately covers!
"Pentatonix (PTX) Vol. 2"

The Pentatonix or PTX is a highly accomplished five person accapella group, and they specialize in creating fun remixes of popular songs using only their voices!  This specific album has a mix of original numbers and covers which gives it a certain diversity from their first album which was only covers. This EP has a really good mix of tracks that are hard to get bored with, so let's go through them and see what makes them so special.


1. "Can't Hold Us"- Originally sung by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

The beginning of the track has a really cool start with what seems to be a pump up talk and you aren't quite sure what song it is, but then when it transitions into the rap and it's like "OH WOW, I know this song". Their use of beat boxing adds a unique feel to the music that resonates through your body. The way they layered the sound makes the song very full and well rounded, so that it didn't even sound like accapella. I have listened to this song several times and I have found myself listening to a different voice part each time and discovering something else I liked about the arrangement. I think that their revamp is as hype or maybe even more than the original version.



2."Natural Disaster"- An Original Song by PTX

I initially felt a little strange about this song being an original, but I was really pleasantly surprised.  This song has a steady rhythm that they created through clapping and stomping as well as making sounds that imitated the sounds of percussion. The Vocalist, Scott, has a certain intensity in his voice that combines with the strong baseline and helps personify the title "Natural Disaster". It also waxes and wanes with tempo which really helps the song build and not get boring. Overall it is a pretty well thought out arrangement and I enjoyed listening to it.


3."Love Again"- An Original Song by PTX

This song falls into the pattern that I've noticed in the rest of their songs. The song starts off with beatboxing to create a strong baseline and they use that to build off of it to add intensity throughout the song. This group does a really great job of layering their sounds so that they don't lack the fullness that you would usually get from the instruments or a backing track. This is a pretty good track, but I think that it is a little too repetitive of the first original song on the album.


4. "Valentine"- Originally sung by Jessie Ware

This is the first slower and more intimate track of the EP, and it feels sort of like a breath of fresh air. One thing that impresses me about this group is that they never fail to get their point across with their style of voice.  They have a soft and sweet voice quality in this song that exemplifies the song's central theme of love. They sound very sure and laidback which goes along with the lyrics "cause I know about our love". As in all of their songs this far, the way they mix their sounds is impeccable and it definitely adds to the finished product.


5. "Hey Momma/Hit the Road Jack" Hey Momma by the Pentatonix mashed up with Hit the Road Jack by Percy Mayfield

Long story short: This song is a bop! It has a fun vibe that jumps out at you, and brings back memories from older times with the song "Hit the Road Jack". This song feels a lot less planned out than the rest which is why I think that this song feels so freestyled and fun. It morphs the girl power song of today with the old school "see ya later" song to form this great mashup. It sounds like the old PTX. Their layering of sounds again doesn't cease to impress me. This is something that I could definitely see myself dancing around to with my gal pals.


6. "I Need Your Love" Originally sung by Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris

The original version of this song is pretty great to begin with, but this new version brings a different light to the song. This arrangement of the song is different than the rest of the arrangements in this album because it is the first track in the album that actually sounds like accapella.  They are putting a lot of emphasis on the actual words of the song to make the down beat instead of imitating the instruments with their vocalization.


7."Run to You" An Original by the Pentatonix

This is just beautiful. The song begins almost like an incantation, but it swells and morphs into what sounds like a prayer. I really appreciate the layering of voices that create beautiful five part harmony. This song is pure accapella, no beat boxing, just five voices melting together to create this work of art. This is definitely my favorite original Pentatonix song on this album.


8."Daft Punk" A mashup of Daft Punk songs

This one is a good moving song. It has a strong beat that stays pretty consistent through the song. They did a really good job of taking some of Daft Punk's most popular songs and morphing it into this fun mashup of all of them. Another thing that was pretty cool is that the original artist, Daft Punk, wear futuristic costumes and the tone of voices used in this song had a techno quality that seemed to symbolize Daft Punk itself.  This is definitely a must listen if you are into the group.

Overall, I really enjoyed this album. I think it brings a lot of funky fresh new ways to enjoy some popular songs, and I would definitely recommend it to any fan of pop music or accapella.

See you next week friends!

Mary Ashley!

About Me

Hi Friends!

I want to welcome all of the wonderful people of this class to my blog.  I hope y'all are going to enjoy this semester as much as I intend to.  During the semester I will be basing this blog surrounding the topic of covers that change the original vibe of a song into something new and interesting. I will be reviewing albums by The Pentatonix, Boyce Avenue, Punk Goes Pop, The Piano Guys, and many more. I have always been really interested in covers because I feel like there are only two types of covers: really great ones that give you a greater appreciation for the song, or really bad ones that you can never remove from your mind no matter how hard you try. Long story short, this is going to be an interesting journey for us to go through together!  Each week I will be sifting through the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of covers, so I want this site to be a fun place for people to discover fresh and fun versions of their favorite songs, and maybe have a few laughs on the way with some of the not so great ones.  This blog was founded with an adventurous spirit with the idea in mind to create a fun place for music lovers to journey through the wild world of covers, while joining a community of like minded individuals. If that is something that you are looking for then you are in luck, because "I've Got You Covered".