Fiona Apple covers The Waterboys' "The Whole of the Moon"

[boingboing]

Originally published at: Fiona Apple covers The Waterboys' "The Whole of the Moon" | Boing Boing

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[1000YearBan]

It’s a beautiful, moving song.

For those unfamiliar with the Waterboys - This is the Sea is a brilliant album from start to finish I’ve never tired of. Be My Enemy is another incredible track.

[Peter_Willard1]

I’ve always been surprised she didn’t make it bigger than she did

[Mindysan33]

She was pretty much all over MTV in the 90s. She was pretty big back then. But that tends to be far more common direction for most artists - they sort of have a moment, make a solid fan base and then spend much of their careers making a living making music.

[QuickBrownFox]

Gorgeous song, but damn that was depressing AF.

[Adrian_Hillier]

Really? I thought it was a superb version, she put everything into it, and the end had me laughing out loud!
I truly can’t see anything depressing about that, possibly says more about the listener than the performance.

[Ceran_Swicegood]

I think I played that album every day in 1986.

[cheem]

She’s always treaded a fine line between being successful enough to live off making music and getting so big that it would destroy her mentally. I think she’s where she wants to be, which is what matters.

[robertmckenna]

I love how she sings it with a similar grit but the production lacks the bombast of 80s big budget which really brings out the sorrow of the left behind.

That said I also like singing the higher harmony line along with a woman so that was great fun in my kitchen.

[AJinNH]

She meant every word.

[nosaj]

@1000YearBan

For those unfamiliar with the Waterboys - This is the Sea is a brilliant album from start to finish

I recently wrote in a thread about Bjork, about growing up in a backwater town before the Internet was a thing, and what it felt like when a friend came back to town with Sugarcubes tapes, and how that night is a very happy memory.

I didn’t mention that he brought back tapes from two bands: a few Sugarcubes albums and The Waterboys’ This is the Sea.

It was a joyous, mind-blowing night, and I tear up a little with happiness at the memory. And they’re both artists I’ve still not tired of either.

ETA: Since I saw this article a couple days ago, I’ve listened to cover by Fiona Apple about 20 times, and it just gets better each time.

Watch teenage Björk performing live in 1982

I grew up in a northern redneck Canadian town, where the music was very commercial country or (for the wild at heart) top 40 stuff. I was bored silly by it all, and in pre-Internet days that was a deep boredom. In my teens, a friend went away to a Big City (Montreal) and came back with recordings of The Sugarcubes. That evening around the stereo is one of my happiest memories.

[blackeye]

In my mind it is her song now.

@Adrian_Hillier

she put everything into it, and the end had me laughing out loud!

She added some intensity, that’s for sure! The transition from her singing state to being back in the room was remarkable!

Disclaimer: With holiday goings on I haven’t heard this through uninterrupted. I look forward to Jan 3 with no-one home so I can blast it through the stereo.

[DiveGirl]

The Waterboys so much, and this was a pretty faithful (gritty) cover of one of my favorites.

A few years ago my local free-format radio station was exposed to the Waterboys by an intern and started playing tracks (WRHQ; they’re mostly older and southern and guitar-heavy, but intro new music often). The DJ’s surprise and appreciation for The Waterboys was apparent, and he was excited to get more tracks into rotation.