We loved so many things about 2012 that we’re not ready to let it go just yet. Here’s our favorite cover tracks from 2k12:

Divine Fits – “Shivers”

“I’ve been contemplating suicide, but it really doesn’t suit my style” sounds exactly like the kind of cocky confessional Spoon front man and Divine Fits collaborator Britt Daniel would write — but he didn‰’t. “Shivers” is a cover of the Nick Cave tune recorded by his band The Boys Next Door (shortly before changing their name to The Birthday Party). The Divine Fits‰’ cover nearly eclipses the original, sending permanent shivers down the spine.
-Emily White

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Baby”

While a great cover is often defined as a creative reinterpretation of the original source material, Ariel Pink’s version of Donnie and Joe Emerson’s “Baby” is memorable for going down the exact opposite route. Known for his occasionally ironic and always bizarre material, Pink performing a straight-forward, sincere version of the Emersons’ soulful lost classic is perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to hearing Pink let his guard down. For the track, Pink manipulates his vocals into an unrecognizable R&B croon, while his Haunted Graffiti band locks into the slinking groove of the original, creating an unlikely candidate for the year’s best slow-jam. Pink’s music has always seemed like it was from another era, but on “Baby,” he proves that he can revisit the past and still make it his own.
-Cameron Meindl

Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland – “2”

It was a big year for Donnie and Joe Emerson’s “Baby,” getting another makeover via Hype Williams’ pseudonym side-project, Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland. Off the duo’s Black is Beautiful LP, “2” holds on to the soul of the original with the soft sweetness of Copeland’s dreamy vocals over minimal production.
-Marissa Cetin

Ty Segall – “Femme Fatale”

The original by The Velvet Underground and Nico is an understated, soft-spoken bossa-nova styled pop piece. In the hands of Ty Segall, it gets doused in gasoline and set ablaze, removing all sense of classiness and leaving only grimy, noisy remnants. In other words, it is exactly what we expected from Ty Segall.
-Richard Murphy

Pinkletank – “King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 & 3”

It takes a brave group to cover a track from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, especially the well-known crooning of “King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 & 3.” Luckily classic rock-revivalists PinkleTank found themselves equal to the task. The duo give Mangum’s vocal lines a powerful and provocative update, delving much further into the avant-garde than the original. That coupled with Tank’s brilliant riffing takes the now 15-year-old song straight into the 21st century. These kids might be small, but what they lack in size, they make up for in talent and heart. Give this a listen and you might find yourself seriously questioning which version is better.
-Bill Oldham

Yamantaka // Sonic Titian – “John, I’m Only Dancing”

Pulsating bass synth and bells throb for a few seconds before a cymbal crash. When the verse finally begins, the vocals are jumbled and filtered. But soon after a few clear “Oh Lordy!‰Ûs and the shriek of “Touch Me!‰” a transformative Bowie cover takes shape. Yamantaka // Sonic Titan take an already sexually ambiguous song and make it even more erogenous and androgynous. Where the original is jangly and campy, the cover is electric and bewitching.
-Emily White

Julia Holter – “Gold Dust Woman”

It would be disingenuous to not include a Fleetwood Mac cover in this list as literally a lot of artists took a stab at the iconic band’s catalogue. Off of Mojo Magazine‘s Rumours Revisited cover compilation, avant-pop goddess Julia Holter puts her antique atmospheric touch on “Gold Dust Woman,” without losing the folk quality of the original. Holter’s characteristic ambient layering and floating vocals with an anxious build benefit “Gold Dust Woman” without erasing connection to Rumours‘ original.
-Marissa Cetin