November 1, 2020

This week saw lots of ugliness, but don't forget about the beauty and the comfort, much of it in the least likely of places and forms. This Wednesday saw the release of a cross-generational remake of iconic Bowie/Queens collaboration, "Under Pressure" by Willie Nelson and Karen O, lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

From Texas Monthly:

This version maintains the iconic bass line in its intro. It starts with Karen O singing the opening chorus by herself, before Willie comes in to join her, singing the David Bowie part. At that point, the bass drops off, and bright acoustic guitar carries the song’s melody. The two join their voices for the song’s famous “people on the streets” breakdown, eschewing the falsettos of its original performers for something more contemplative.

Then Willie takes over the song. He takes the bridge and turns it into a classic Willie Nelson song, one where the singer mournfully looks back on a life of indecision, before asking a vital question. “Why, why, why,” Willie sings, like Bowie before him, until he reaches the conclusion: “Love, love, love, love.” Then he and Karen O sing together once more, in warm, compassionate tones, about the people on the streets, living their lives under pressure.

I heard in this recording lyrics I never heard in the original, which added to my reverence for the writing genius of it. But my favorite lines, which come at the end, remain my favorite, and they resonate even more powerfully in this particular moment of history.

"'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word,
And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night,
And love dares you to change our ways of caring about ourselves.
This is our last dance...this is our last dance.
This is ourselves.
Under pressure."

Don't forget to vote.

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Here's your Sunday morning line-up, according to Politico:

  • CNN“State of the Union”: Anita Dunn … Pete Buttigieg … Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) … Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer … Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf … Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers … Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine … David Chalian. Panel: David Axelrod, Rick Santorum, Karen Finney and Amanda Carpenter.
  • NBC“Meet the Press” (from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza): Bill McInturff and Jeff Horwitt … Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar … Nate Persily … Ellison Barber, Blayne Alexander, Morgan Radford and Maura Barrett. Panel: Kasie Hunt, Rich Lowry, Claire McCaskill and Kristen Welker.
  • ABC“This Week”: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows … Anita Dunn. Panel: Mary Bruce, Jonathan Karl, Tom Llamas and Nate Silver. Election security panel: Pierre Thomas, Dan Abrams and Kate Shaw. Panel: Chris Christie, Rahm Emanuel, Sara Fagen and Donna Brazile.
  • CBS“Face the Nation”: RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel … Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) … Jeh Johnson … Scott Gottlieb … Mark Strassmann … Anthony Salvanto with a CBS battleground tracker.
  • FOX“Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Corey Lewandowski. Panel: Karl Rove, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Juan Williams. Power Player: Arnon Mishkin.

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