Limp Bizkit has ceased to be a band and fully evolved into a punchline. Sure, we all dug their cover of George Michael’s “Faith” when it was all over the radio in the late ‘90s. Some of us even followed them for a little longer, when Fred Durst was kickin’ it with Method Man. But at some point Fred Durst wasn’t kickin’ it with much of anyone and the band became synonymous with immaturity and the ills of mainstream hard rock.
When the song “Re-Arranged” was released, though, the fan base still existed and the song became a radio hit. You might not remember it now, lost in the pile of nü-metal songs that never really should have made it. But after the tinkerers in Joywave get a hold of it, it’s barely recognizable. Joywave surprised us before with their ability to reinvent a song, using their electronic wizardry on a knockout version of Robyn‘s “Hang with Me.” This time, they take a dejected song and make it special again.
The song starts as a Gregorian chant as performed by a choir of robots. The coldness of the vocals and the harmonies hidden inside make the words themselves almost irrelevant: everything you need to know about this song is found in the dark soundscape. Eventually a buzzing bassline and some ethereal instrumentation enter, but soon fade out again, leaving only the digitized voices. By the end, when singer Dan Armbruster moans “Thank God it’s over,” we think you’ll disagree.
MP3: Joywave – Re-Arranged (Limp Bizkit cover)
[audio: News0411/11ReArranged.mp3]
Check out more Joywave at their website and download their new mixtape 7777 here.
