When Joey Ramone was fighting for his life with Lymphoma, he wrote and recorded the song, “I Get Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up),” about his battle with the disease. Last December, School of Seven Bells member and former Secret Machines member Benjamin Curtis also passed away after battling T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. Bandmate Alejandra Deheza has released their final recording together, a cover of Ramone’s “I Get Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up).” The song was recorded in its entirety by Curtis while in his hospital bed.
Deheza described the process in a press statement, saying:
Benjamin had been talking about the song a lot, and then he just decided he was going to do it. We couldn’t record vocals in the hospital, so he actually face-timed with me and his brother while we recorded vocals in the studio. He spearheaded the whole thing on face time, would even tell us which knobs to turn and listen to levels etc. We’d even see nurses in the background from time to time! It was really amazing. But that was Benjamin, and producing was what he did. It was therapeutic and took his mind off being really sick. This song was really important to him and I’m happy we were able to record it.
The cover is an absolutely stunning synth-laden track, and if you didn’t know the story behind it, it could just be passed off as a pretty cover. Knowing the context behind it, however, makes it an extremely moving piece of music. (via The Line of Best Fit)
