Five Covers of Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” That Are Actually Worth Listening To

I have varying theories on Lana Del Rey, beginning with “she’s a robot” and ending with “she’s obviously dead inside”. My theories (which also include various assumptions about her having been manufactured out of Barbie parts and the souls of departed Disney voice-over artists in some Pitchfork worshiping indie rock hell) are supported by various media outlets; just last week ninebullets.net compared her existence to that of a McNugget (or McRib), and the good people of the Washington Post declared:

Seemingly divorced from experience, or even imagination, her moody, melancholic music carries only the aura of emotion. It delivers glamour without mystery, desperation without consequence, escapism without destination.

Oh, Elizabeth Grant (her real name, by the way), you don’t fool us. We suffered through your SNL performance (for approximately 20 seconds).

All that aside, even I have to admit that there’s something to be said for a well engineered pop song and what it can do in the hands of the right person, which is precisely why I’m here tonight – to introduce you to five of them. These covers range from tarted up electronica explosions to stripped down folked-out campfire rock and are delivered by both super-hyped and lesser known artists, each equally worthy of your iPod. Listen and enjoy – even if you hate the song itself, you might walk away with a new band to dig:

David’s Lyre:

The Young Professionals:

Bombay Bicycle Club with Lucy Rose:

Jay Brannan:

Drive Like Maria:

And an awesome bonus, brought to our attention by Anne:

To Kill A King