Take Cover: Papa Literally Has a Brand New Bag.

Tom Waits, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" (James Brown)

I have written this column now six times, for this week, and each time I find something better to top the last cover and so have to write it all over again and postpone whatever I had written for a future week, but then there's always the chance that the postponed cover becomes either horribly irrelevant (the internet age is fast, you know) or becomes like a viral video and becomes so relevant that I'm the last person to write about it (the internet age is fast, you know!)

I am overlooking no less than Macy Gray killin' the Arcade Fire, Fever Ray covering Peter Gabriel (really well), Mavis Staples covering CCR (come on), Rage Against the Machine covering Dylan (killing me) and the force-of-nature buzz band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. actually doing justice to the sun-kissed harmonies of The Beach Boys (I am dead). Finally there was the North Carolina A&T Marching Band covering the instant classic Bed Intruder Song (why?!) that put me over the top. (Thanks for the tips Fiona, Ben, Jared.)

But this is simply the best of all possible worlds. I mean it this time. Classics on classics. Kings on Kings. Listen up.

--Caroline Klibanoff