Miley Cyrus’ rolling sonic circus known as the Bangerz tour has passed its halfway mark, and twerks its sweet-sassy way into Boston’s TD Garden tomorrow night, April 2. The spectacle of a show was at first billed on hysterics, from sexually gratuitous poses to pink tongue slides to one giant hot dog levitating over the arena crowd.
But the real treat so far has been the series of covers Cyrus has rolled out for her Smilers. No stranger to the cover game — we loved her Lana Del Rey take for Live Lounge and her spin on the Arctic Monkeys for MTV Unplugged — the singer has made headlines over the past few weeks for her impressive selections, and even more impressive renditions.
As we count down the hours to tomorrow’s show under the Bruins and Celtics banners, here are our five favorite covers so far on the Bangerz tour. Maybe we’ll get one of these at the Garden, or maybe she’ll treat us to some hometown sounds. Maybe an old Aerosmith tunes, or a re-worked Pixies jam. Now that would be banger.
5. “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots,” Flaming Lips
Maybe not technically a cover, since Wayne Coyne is up there on stage with her at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Still kinda awesome.
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4. “It Ain’t Me Babe,” Bob Dylan
“Who’s Bob Dylan,” asked 94% of the St. Paul XCel Energy Center crowd. Dads on the ride home fought the urge to pull off the highway and plow into a black maple tree.
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3. “Jolene,” Dolly Parton
No need to slow down the Godmother’s 1974 classic.
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2. “Hey Ya,” OutKast
The cover that showed Miley is on some next-level shit. It ain’t easy covering the most definable song from a decade, even if that decade is the shitshow naughts. The only bummer is that Andre 3000 and Big Boi weren’t up there with her.
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1. “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac
Here’s a song Cyrus has covered since her brunette days, but this rendition from Oakland should be released as a single. Stevie should be proud.