These are pretty dark times. Anger, pain, fear and deliberate misinformation constantly spinning in mass culture. I just want to take a moment to write about a beautiful song that may have slipped by. John Legend and Pink recently covered Peter Gabriel's Don't Give Up for Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project. The original was released in 1986 and featured Kate Bush as the consoling female counterpoint- or spirit, really - to Peter Gabriel's gravelly voice. Now Herbie Hancock has arranged a gorgeous, bass-heavy version - Legend and Pink do it justice.
Not a lot of contemporary female singers could deliver the line, "Don't give up now, we're proud of who you are" and have you believe it, but Pink can. The message of the song is so resonant in the aftermath of the American teen suicides. It makes me sick that, in 2010, being gay is still something up for "debate." I wish music could provide solace for everyone the way it has for me. Don't Give Up will give you something deeper than virtually anything being released in these strange days... seek it out. #itgetsbetter
Don't give up
'cause you have friends.
Don't give up
you're not the only one.
Don't give up
no reason to be ashamed.
Don't give up
you still have us.
Don't give up now
we're proud of who you are.
Don't give up
you know it's never been easy.
Don't give up
'cause I believe there's the a place,
there's a place where we belong
Thank you for this.
Lovely.
I recently heard a conversation between two music journalists where one of them commented that John's vocals occasionally sound too slick. While I like his parts here, I do feel like they could be a bit grittier, wearier, even distressed. Having said that, I never would have thought to put these two together, but it really works, especially on the bridge. Pink's vocal is stunning, and makes GaGa's turn on this song seem pedestrian in comparison.
Glorious. And to think P!nk was classed as a "guilty pleasure" on the x-factor last week. What is the world coming to?