A new discovery! The Replacements are one of my all-time favorite bands, and “Swingin Party” came up just now while I was listening on shuffle. I needed to confirm some lyrics, so I googled, and lo and behold: Lorde covered it. I love how rabbit holes work like that.

Anyway, I like this cover a lot. Lorde sings much more clearly than Paul Westerberg does. That’s a trend I’ve noticed in my years of doing Covers Corner: covers tend to articulate lyrics much more than the originals. I’m not sure why that is. I also think as an artist overall she fits. “Swingin Party” has the dismal, atmospheric tone that “Ribs” does, or even “Royals.” Those songs also talk about looking for a party somewhere, but maybe when you get there, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The backing trip-hop is quieter than “Ribs,” and its sparseness makes her vocals stand out even more. Its gloominess is also poignant somehow; see also “Here Comes a Regular,” one of my other favorite Replacements songs.

Which one do you like better?