Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.
Michael Gira’s “God Damn the Sun” speaks to depression and loneliness. Unless you’re singing it about skin cancer. Then it’s a little more literal.
Brooklyn songwriter Sean Allen Fenn discovered he had skin cancer last summer when his cat noticed a strange mark on his shoulder. It turned out to signal the early stages of melanoma, but thanks to quick care he escaped the worst. Now he’s raising money to help others in a similar plight with a charity recording of the Swans song. God damn the sun, indeed.
We’ve got a stream of the song below, with a link to buy it for any price. Your money goes to cancer research at Beth Israel Medical Center, The Institute For Family Health and Laboratory Services, and New York Weill Cornell Medical Center (where Sean was treated). It’s a good cover and a good cause. He even works in a little bit of Spacemen 3’s “Walkin’ with Jesus” which, thanks to early diagnosis and quality care, he won’t be doing any time soon.
Check out more Sean Allen Fenn at his website or MySpace.
This is beautiful
I think this is a meaningful song and a song people can relate to because a lot of people either have family members who’ve had cancer or friends or have had it themselves. Very beautiful and powerful song.