Sophia Michaels
Sharon Van Etten has a talent for transforming popular songs into haunting ballads. The singer is known for her rendition of Sinead O’Connor’s “Black Boys On Mopeds,” which she regularly performs at live shows. Back in December, the singer shared a soaring version of the holiday classic “Silent Night.” Now, Van Etten has enlisted the help of Queens Of The Stone Age vocalist Josh Homme and others to record a version of Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding.”
Linking up with Homme and a handful of session players, Van Etten injects her singer/songwriter style into the cover. Popularized by Elvis Costello on his 1979 album Armed Forces, Lowe’s “Peace, Love And Understanding” confronts a loss of humanity. “I ask myself / Is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?” Van Etten sings.
Sharing the cover to social media, Van Etten detailed how the cover transpired: “When my friend Zach Dawes first suggested we try to cover Nick Lowe’s timeless song, ‘Peace, Love, & Understanding’, I was nervous and excited and wondered what direction we would take it together,” she wrote. Van Etten added that the cover leaves her “wistful” because it reminds her that she is a part of a “great community” of people in LA and the song feels “especially significant” now.
Listen to Van Etten and Homme cover “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” above.
Written by: Uproxx
