Watch Morrissey Cover The Pretenders On James Corden
In Jonah Hill’s new directorial debut Mid90s, a movie I liked a lot, there’s a key emotional scene where two kids are skateboarding together and Morrissey’s Your Arsenal song “We’ll Let You Know” wafts onto the soundtrack. That moment, along with Hill’s freaked-out enthusiasm at having anything to do with Morrissey, might serve as a nice reminder for anyone who ever liked that guy. For all the strange right-wing ranting and show cancelling that the guy has been doing lately, the man has been responsible for some incredible music, and it’s nice to have a reminder.
Last week, Morrissey shared a video for his cover of “Back On The Chain Gang,” the Pretenders’ 1982 new wave classic. Morrissey has been covering that song live for a while, but now he’s recorded his take on it, and he’s reportedly working on an all-covers album with producer Joe Chicarelli. And last night, Morrissey was on James Corden’s Late Late Show to perform that cover.
Playing the song, Morrissey wore his own T-shirt, which seems like an extreme violation of the rule that you’re not supposed to wear a band’s T-shirt while going to see that band. (In PCU parlance, Morrissey has an advanced case of being that guy.) He also got busy with the handclaps, which reminded me of my dad in church. But, I mean, it’s a great singer singing a great song, so what do you want? Watch it below.
The “Back On The Chain Gang” cover will be included on a deluxe edition of Morrissey’s album Low In High School, out 12/7.