Both Meshell Ndegeocello and Cat Power have long histories of reinterpreting and reshaping other people's songs. Now, they're doing it together. This fall, Ndegeocello will release her new album Synonym, a collection in which she teams with a fascinating array of collaborators to cover songs that, for the most part, everyone knows. The list of contributors includes ANOHNI, Chaka Khan, Nick Hakim, and (hey, look at that) Cat Power's ex Bill Callahan, among many others. We already posted the lead single, a version of Aretha Franklin and George Michael's "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" that Ndegeocello recorded with Cynthia Erivo. Now we get to hear Ndegeocello and Cat Power take on a synthpop classic together.
For their team-up, Meshell Ndegeocello and Cat Power take on the Human League's "Don't You Want Me," the 1982 chart-topper that essentially opened things up for the MTV-driven new wave chart takeover sometimes known as the Second British Invasion. (I wrote a whole chapter about that song in my book.) Like Ndegeocello's last single, it's a duet version of a song that was already a duet, and it's a rich text for riffing.
With their version, Ndegeocello and Chan Marshall turn "Don't You Want Me" into a slow, sweaty reggae song, with Ndegeocello playing the famous keyboard riff on bass. In this reading, Marshall was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar when Ndegeocello found her, and the same-gender factor gives the song new layers of meaning. Marshall's timing and phrasing move the track into different realms, too. Below, check out the Ndegeocello/Cat Power version of "Don't You Want Me," as well as the video for the Human League original.
Synonym is out 10/2 on Blue Note.
