Drake covered Jackson Browne’s “These Days.” No, we’re actually serious.
Well those are two names I never expected to type back-to-back in a headline, but this is the world we live in now. Drake, the viral hitmaker / cell phone spokesperson / actor, has gone and covered one of the most covered songs of all time: “These Days,” written by Jackson Browne in the mid 60s and popularized by Nico when it appeared on her 1967 album Chelsea Girl.
Hers was the first officially recorded version of it, though Browne had been performing the song for a few years previous, and it appeared on his 1973 album For Everyman. The Nico version went on to be famously featured in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums and “These Days” in general was recorded and / or performed by 10,000 Maniacs, Elliott Smith, Fountains of Wayne, Mates of State, Paul Westerberg, Denison Witmer, The Tallest Man on Earth, and now Drizzy.
His cover is actually a duet found on DC singer Babeo Baggins’ album Love Songs For Tough Guys, and it takes some lyrical liberties – weaving in between the words of the original and some updated lines. But it’s all done in the spirit of “These Days,” and I’m happy to report the immortal song holds up just nicely in a synthesizer / autotune R&B context.
Give it a listen below, and check out a roundup of some of the better versions of “These Days” from over the years. (h/t Pretty Much Amazing)
https://soundcloud.com/babeobaggins/things-i-forgot-to-do-feat-drake-nico-cover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcJDI7a_1lk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9bT4MRkn3Y