Viral videos. There's tons of them. From cats being afraid of cucumbers and hedgehogs getting a bath to people who dance better than your wildest dreams and reworkings of songs you could have never imagined. Often, these dancers and musicians post content online that they're proud of with no intention of "going viral". One such musician is Scott Bradlee, founder of Postmodern Jukebox, a group that takes hit songs and reworks them vintage-inspired styles. Bradlee's first big hit was an album tribute to Nickelback reimagined as a Motown group. But what really brought Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox into the spotlight was their 1920's "Grandpa Style" cover of "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore. With over 10,000,000 views, the video allowed Bradlee to turn a hobby into a profitable career. Postmodern Jukebox's YouTube page sports almost 2 million subscribers and over 400,000,000 total video views.
For me, sometimes I've liked their covers better than the originals or I've seen an old song in a new way. The following list is my top 15 favorite Postmodern Jukebox covers.
15. Single Ladies - Fosse style
For any musical theater nerd, this cover takes a well known song and does something fun with it!
14. Here - à la Peggy Lee
I was never a big fan of the original version of this song, but man do I like this cover. For those who don't know who Peggy Lee is, she was a famous torch song singer who was also one of the pound dogs in Lady and The Tramp (named Peg).
13. Bad Blood - à la Ella
This T-Swizzle cover takes its inspiration from the great Ella Fitzgerald, quite possibly the greatest jazz singer to ever live.
12. I'm Not The Only One - New Orleans Jazz style
Casey Abrams is one of my favorite PMJ vocalists and this is the first of his covers that appear on this list.
11. Seven Nation Army - New Orleans Dirge style
Every boy in high school with a bass guitar could and would play the riff from this song. It's like the "Wonderwall" of bass riffs. But this cover did something to make it new.
10. Sweater Weather - à la Edith Piaf
Edith Piaf is like the French Ella Fitzgerald. As someone who speaks French fluently, I can attest that the lyrics are translated fabulously. Piaf had a very specific look and she emoted in a distinct way while she sang. One of my favorite parts of this video is how vocalist, Cristina Gatti is able to emulate Piaf.
9. Someday - Casablanca style
I love this song by The Strokes. I definitely love the original more, but the arrangement, like "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca is classic.
8. Cry Me A River - 50's R&B style
What I find funny is that there is a popular 50's torch song called "Cry Me A River". The original version is soft, but the 2009 Michael Bublé version really amps up the tension. I think you can tell which version this arrangement takes after.
7. My Heart Will Go On - à la Jackie Wilson
Prior to this one, PMJ did another cover of "My Heart Will Go On", but this one is the better of the two. A song that is the source of much ridicule, even spawning its own Cards Against Humanity card, this cover makes me enjoy this song again.
6. Ignition - à la Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra would never have sung this song. He also may have hated his name being attached to this cover. But Frank Sinatra was also historically a huge diva. I'm not sure if I would call this "Sinatra Style" but this spin on R. Kelly's "Ignition" is fantastic.
5. Style - Grease style
As a child, I grew up with the musical, "Grease". I'm pretty sure that one year my dance class did "We Go Together" for our final recital. So, of course, I adore this cover. I like the Taylor Swift version, but I love it even more as a duet.
4. We Can't Stop - 50's Doo Wop style
I absolutely cannot stand the original version of this song. I've listened to this cover so many times that I never recognize the original when it comes on the radio. To me, this is the only "We Can't Stop". It's our sock hop, we can do what we want. This also features the vocals of the original PMJ girl, Robyn Adele Anderson.
3. Pompeii - Man Men style
I won't deny it, I'm obsessed with Mad Men. What hooked me was the aesthetic of the show, but I stayed for the characters I fell in love with. The sampling of the Mad Men theme is used to flawlessly here. I definitely like this version better than the original.
2. Stacy's Mom - 30's Hot Jazz style
As I said before, Casey Abrams is my favorite vocalist. This is my favorite cover that he does. I spent a long time debating if this is my all time favorite PMJ cover, but in the end...
1. Such Great Heights - à la the Jackson 5
The original version of this song is SO DIFFERENT. I had never even heard the original song before this cover came out, but I am in love. This is THE version of this song to me. It easily surpasses the original.
Honorable mentions: PMJ's cover of "Last Christmas" by Wham!
Postmodern Jukebox has gone on countless tours across the US, Europe and Australia, and currently has a tour going on in the US. Get your tickets here.
