UPDATED: Father John Misty one-ups Ryan Adams with Velvet Underground-style 1989 covers
Father John Misty must not think much of Ryan Adams’ Taylor Swift fandom. Josh Tillman (who’s Father John Misty the same way Justin Vernon is Bon Iver) has released two Taylor Swift covers of his own, only they’re done in the style of Ryan Adams by way of the Velvet Underground. Tillman’s versions of “Blank Space” and “Welcome To New York” are incredibly layered and intricate—both as tracks and as jokes—with Tillman both paying subtle tribute to the artists and commenting, as he tweeted, on “what a dumb world” we live in, or at least produce and consume music in. More than anything, the two cuts prove that Tillman is just really great at impersonating Lou Reed.
UPDATE: Tillman has taken down his covers of “Blank Space” and “Welcome To New York,” apparently because the angry ghost of Lou Reed told him to in a dream. As he posted on Facebook, via Rolling Stone: