Tracy Chapman

apologies if this was already noted, but as of this morning the Chapman version was the number 1 streamed track on iTunes

Ah good, things are turning out like they should now

jonas blue's version of "fast car" has 1.1 billion (with a "b") streams

I have given "origninal" a partner with "relaplaced"...I think I need to switch to voice text or something.

That was mentioned earlier, and again, that's good to hear. Guess I'm thinking more years from now. Anyway, I don't like the cover, and that was really all I came on here to say.

It would have been funny if Jonas Blue had rushed the Grammy stage with a glow stick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkl_Vq1SWKg

Only version I'm playing^

"Fast Car" was a popular song and it still is.

clemenza, I’m not cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs over the cover either but I’m happy it’s not a) blatantly offensive, and b) done by someone determined to give Tracy Chapman all the shine she deserves for writing the song

"sometimes i rhyme slow" is great

Now that, I loved.

hell yeah

i was on 125 and st. nick

I got a plan
to get us outta this thread

But what often happens in terms of radio in these cases is the origninal disappears in favor of the cover--ask Harold Melvin or Percy Sledge. (Actually, you can't.) She'll get the royalties, you just might not hear Tracy Chapman singing "Fast Car" anymore.

How often was this 35 year old song getting played on the radio (and where) to start with?!

It was like Norah Jones’s “Don’t Know Why” at the time, in heavy rotation, and never fully left CVS playlists. Outlasted “Luka.”

Yeah, the places that do play it are ones that play folky stuff or 80s music and they aren’t going to swap it out for a Country cover.

a note-perfect country cover even

I still heard "Fast Car" a fair amount even before the Combs cover — on '80s oldies stations, or Jack FM stations, it's never really gone out of circulation I don't think.

I find the Combs cover stupendous, I'm slightly embarrased to say brought tears to my eyes when it randomly popped up as I was listening to the NPR 2023 playlist, still can't quite put my finger on why it works so well, but alpine static described it well:

deference, i think, is the word you're looking for. he just plays it as best he can w/o doing all sorts of shit to "make it his own" because, assuming we believe him, he just loves the song and it makes him think of his dad.

this is why it's good.

― alpine static, 31. december 2023 00:06 (one month ago)

well, also because Tracy Chapman wrote an incredible song

― alpine static, 31. december 2023 05:22 (one month ago)

I had not heard "give me one reason" prior to the fast car revival, so that's been a pleasant surprise

One of the reasons I am inclined to think fondly of Combs’ decision to cover it is that “Fast Car” is such a non-judgmental and anti-self-aggrandising song - this is where it derives a lot of its power, the absence of judgment makes piercing observations like “says his body’s too old for working / his body’s too young to look like his” that much more crushing.

If you don’t feel an immense amount of humility in covering this finely wrought, hand drawn map of human frailty, then you probably wouldn’t even have liked the song in the first place.

One of the things I love about this song (in either version) is how well it demonstrates how emotional restraint can imply its opposite. “Says his body’s too old for working / but his body’s too young to be looking like his” - not judgmental but crushing in its observation. Hi

lol at me trying to write long posts on my phone

the best "fast car" cover is jim o'rourke's 20 minute one

oh wait it's 30 minutes

not a very fast car then huh

Love those alpine static posts from December. I also believe that many of today's popular male country artists would have felt uncomfortable singing the "checkout girl" line as written.

Never got into Xiu Xiu's cover.

The Jim O'Rourke one feels like one of those "30 minutes of Billy Joel saying 'JFK Blown away'" Youtube videos.

Xiu Xiu’s cover works well in context

O’Rourke’s cover sucks but I would enjoy to hear Tracy work her way into that version

O’Rourke’s cover is sublime

I've also seen Xiu Xiu do their cover twice, once while opening for Swans, and honestly, I remember nothing else about the show except how incredibly moving it was.

Listened to the Combs version just now, and now listening to the Chapman original. Both iterations still rip my heart out.

And then, of course, Apple Music was like hey, wouldn’t you like to hear “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” right now

not that the lyrics aren't one of the most stunning features of the song, but the recurring acoustic melody manages to conjure up the imagery on its own, even if the song were to be wordless.

Not that there aren't loads of great songs on Chapman's later albums (there are!), but there's something very special—to me, at least—about the debut and Crossroads. Maybe it's because I love "interzone"-era production (the keyboards, etc) that gets pushed aside on the rest of her discography in favor of more natural-sounding recordings.

Anyway, has Chapman performed on tv or even performed at all between the wind-down of Letterman's show and this year's Grammys?

I remember being super psyched when she did Letterman in 2015 but I can't think of any other time I've seen her in the intervening nine years.

Just “Talkin’ ‘bout A Revolution” on Seth Myers on Election Night, 2020.

Something about this poster makes me realize Chapman could have ended up a Rounder Records folk artist if the time and opportunity had been off.

We are thrilled to see Tracy Chapman get all the love after that transcendent Grammy performance! A new generation of folks are falling in love with her, just as we did back in 1985 when she played our room for $4.50. Check out this vintage poster that still hangs in the club. pic.twitter.com/Ois41mFxwr

— Club Passim (@clubpassim) February 7, 2024

“Fast Car” racked up 949,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on Monday (Feb. 5), the day following the Grammys — up 241% from the 278,000 it notched the prior Monday (Jan. 29). That’s a big gain, though it’s nothing compared to how the song exploded in digital song sales, soaring 38,400% from a negligible amount to nearly 14,000. The Combs version also saw some huge gains over the same period, rising 37% in streams to nearly 1.6 million and nearly 3,900% in sales to just over 6,000.

Could it be enough for Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which originally peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 to return to the chart? It’s not impossible, though it will have to do well enough to make the top half of the chart to be eligible for a re-entrance, due to Billboard chart rules about catalog songs. If it keeps cruising through the week on its early momentum though, it may have a shot — and as of Wednesday, it was still No. 2 and No. 52 on the daily U.S. charts for iTunes and Spotify, respectively.

xpost Speaking of that era, Elijah Wald with a great post and photo:

https://www.facebook.com/elijah.wald/posts/pfbid035xdeq7XGWAHJY7TrexbEn1L3XLLhpSTyo8Kqv9qSmvH3Bthb189uViEatYvdbHPyl

love that Passim poster, glad to see they still exist

There was a WTF interview years ago with Brian Koppelman where he talks about "discovering" Tracy Chapman and helping her get her record deal.

Anyway, has Chapman performed on tv or even performed at all between the wind-down of Letterman's show and this year's Grammys?

I don't think so - I remember the Letterman appearance being singled out years later as her last public performance.

I've always loved "Fast Car," it's probably one of my favorite singles from the '80s, so the revival it's getting is very welcome, but I kind of wish the rest of her debut was as starkly produced. The a cappella "Behind the Wall" is also great, but the full-band arrangements for songs like "Mountains o' Things" and "For My Lover" kind of dilute the impact.

Dang, I need to go play "For my Lover"

Good Oxford American essay on For My Lover

back in the 80s I saw Tracy Chapman in the Cleveland airport and lost my shit bc I was 12 and had never seen a musician in an airport before, or even a musician IRL. i went over to say hi and say thank you, and she was very gracious and kind.

My friend used to work at a fancy boutique grocery story in San Francisco and once gave Tracy Chapman advice on which cheese to buy. I think I would have fainted.

If you don’t feel an immense amount of humility in covering this finely wrought, hand drawn map of human frailty, then you probably wouldn’t even have liked the song in the first place.

truth bomb

yeah I only saw a clip of the Grammy performance but I was moved as hell. And like Alfred, Combs heartfelt looks of admiration towards Chapman struck me as well and hit me hard as a music lover. Sorry for corn. Heart emoji.

I posted this in the Springsteen thread, but I've always loved this clip of Chapman and Springsteen singing "My Hometown."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCYbnLNEPD4

Not crazy about the way “Fast Car” has become a “meme” on social media in the past week; but these are the times we live in…

Fast Car (Bass Boosted)