Manchester Orchestra & Julien Baker – “Bad Things To Such Good People” (Pedro The Lion Cover)
By James Rettig
Manchester Orchestra and Julien Baker have teamed up for a cover of Pedro The Lion’s “Bad Things To Such Good People,” off the David Bazan project’s 2000 album Winners Never Quit. They recorded the song at Manchester Orchestra’s studio in Atlanta. Proceeds from the track will benefit the 1 Million 4 Anna foundation. Their cover is as pristine and elegiac as you’d expect from that group of musicians. Here’s Baker on why they picked this song to cover:
When Andy and I started talking about which Pedro The Lion cover to do, we knew we wanted to do one that was unexpected, something that would be challenging and interesting. I threw out the idea of ‘Bad Things to Such Good People’ because that song, as minimal and unassuming as it is, has always had some of the most dramatic and powerful lyrics to me. I think experimenting with the instrumentation and delivery, letting the performance of the song evolve and reveal new parts of itself made me appreciate Bazan’s incredible poetic talent in an even deeper way. It also made me so excited that I got to work with someone as creative and perceptive as Andy. It was truly a surreal experience to be able to collaborate with a songwriter whose music has informed so much of my own songwriting sensibility, especially in the context of creating a cover of an artist that’s been so influential to us both.
And here’s Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull on the same thing:
This song has held a deep weight with me since I was 16, and my awe of Bazan’s songwriting has never died down. It does what so few others can accomplish by painting a detailed and powerful world with minimal words, and allowing the listener to do the rest of the work. And working with Julien was an incredible experience… After meeting digitally and discussing how we could collaborate, we knew we had to do a Pedro song, and it suddenly clicked when she suggested this one. We met in person for the first time about 30 minutes before we started sketching out our re-creation. It didn’t take me but about five minutes to realize just how deeply talented and layered Julien is. I’ve called her ‘the truth’ ever since our first sessions and look forward to working with her as much as we can in the future.
Listen below.
Their cover is out now, with proceeds going to 1 Million 4 Anna.
This post Manchester Orchestra & Julien Baker – “Bad Things To Such Good People” (Pedro The Lion Cover) first appeared on Stereogum.