What Comes Is Better Than What Came Before

Cat Power “I Found A Reason”

Chan Marshall’s approach to covers is unusual in that she seems to have very little reverence for her source material, and extensively edits songs that others might consider to be sacred in their original form. She edited Lou Reed’s “I Found A Reason” to such a degree that it may as well be a brand new song – she cut out all the verses, drastically pared down the instrumentation, and put all of the focus on the most melodically beautiful and lyrically profound moment in the piece: “I do believe you’re all what you perceived / what comes is better than what came before.” But even in that, she edits it, simplifying the language: “I do believe in all the things you see / what comes is better than what came before.” She never sings the title phrase, but it’s all there in her voice. She sounds so unguarded and pure when she sings about this love; it’s so beautiful and true that it sorta hurts to listen. There’s a peril in this sort of love song: You hear a person so close to having their heart broken, you almost mourn the loss preemptively.

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