We last mentioned Sing Me To Sleep, a wonderful forthcoming charity compilation of “lullabies and non-lullabies,” last month, when Laundromat Records offered a free stream of Stars’ cover of the Smiths. And though I would argue that the Smiths’ “Asleep” fits into the “lullabies” category, this cover of the opening track from the Red House Painters’ lauded mid-90s album Songs for a Blue Guitar wouldn’t be my first choice for bedtime (unless it’s a “cry yourself to sleep” kind of night or something).
A pet peeve of mine regarding cover songs is when an artist tries to emulate the original vocals to a T, and Jenny Owen Youngs thankfully does nothing of the sort in this slightly twee version of the Red House Painters’ melancholic “Have You Forgotten” (You may want to check out the full band version too.)
Stream Jenny Owen Youngs covering “Have You Forgotten” on MySpace here and pre-order the record here.