So where do you go to find pop hits from the last several decades covered in the style of swing and jazz standards from a bygone era?  Postmodern Jukebox has that niche, uh, covered.

For example, check out this vintage jazz cover of “Lovefool” by the Cardigans –

I don’t know about you, but I’ve waited 25 years for an “Old Jack Swing” cover of New Jack Swing stylists Bell Biv Devoe –

Electronic Dance Music song “Lean On” done in the style of 70s Stevie Wonder? They got that –

…and it’s good. Far better than the original.

It might seem a bit naive to attempt covering a Talking Heads melody in vintage 40s swing style, but I guess they must be having fun. I liked it.

I have to wonder what urban, cosmopolitan feminist-y types think of PMJ’s cover of “Blurred Lines” – all the alleged rapiness with that bluegrass sound that makes the Tumblrinas teeth grind. Bonus points for a woman singing it. [Extra double bonus: listen to it at 1.25 x normal speed]

There’s also an instrumental keyboard mashup deep in the archives titled “Call Me Al, Maybe.”

This is how they remind me of how they polished an unpolishable turd with some Motown sound –

Lastly, one that sort of fits their bailiwick even before they covered it… I always liked this Fiona Apple song, but this cover suits it perfectly. Fiona should have done an alternate version in this style, because she was born sing in this style –

Thanks to my wife for discovering this.

….because when one thinks of rock music, one immediately thinks of \m/ xylophone \m/ !

[If flashing or flickering lights affect you negatively, don’t click some of these videos]

Xylophone has a somewhat obscure history with popular music, but it’s been quite a number of songs, especially in the 80s. Tears for Fears used it to good effect in their song “Change” –

Dig those crazy dance moves during the bridge. So 80s.

The Thompson Twins were known for skilled percussion work by Alannah Currie, including some understated xylophone in “Hold Me Now” –

They had a string of hits in the mid-80s, then just sort of disappeared. Wonder whatever happened to them?*

Rumors on the street claim that Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam snuck some xylophone into their hit song “Lost In Emotion,” but rock scientists have been unable to confirm this conclusively.

Bananarama dabbled with Xylophone in their song “Cruel Summer” –

Cops chasing the band to no avail, only to end up dancing in the streets with said band… a defining characteristic of 80s videos.

[Yes, yes, I know summer is pretty much over, and what month it is. Have some September with amusing xylophone and a gleefully abused puppet.]

Xylophone has made it into some more recent songs, such as the Pomplamoose song I cleverly snuck in above, as well as a relatively recent hit by Gotye [Warning: skinny dude who doesn’t like pants. but hey, it’s got Kimbra]. Specialists are still trying to figure out how to pronounce “Gotye” but many agree it has nothing to do with an exuberant affinity for goats.

At the end of the day, however, it appears that the all-time king hell middle-finger-to-the-world winner of rock xylophone is this classic –

Such nice, undisturbed fellows.

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According to this 2004 piece by Ace Of Spades HQ, Thompson Twinner Joe Leeway later developed an interest in politics and/or economics…