“Fade Into You” is Mazzy Star‘s iconic song and their one hit, though it charted outside of the Top 40 on the Hot 100 (charting better than that on some niche charts). It is the song they are forever associated with and the embodiment of their sound.
I haven’t heard anywhere near a plurality of the 60+ covers of “Fade Into You” that have emerged over the last 30 years but I’m going to guess most of them try, in some way, to capture the dreamy feel of the original – slow, hazy, ethereal.
Middle-Aged Queers are a self-described “super group” made up of veterans of the Bay Area punk scene, including a former member of Fang. They were unlikely to stick to the script when it comes to a cover of “Fade Into You.”
Their version begins unrecognizably, with a drumbeat replacing the reverby acoustic guitars. Then a plucked bass comes in and it’s soon joined by crusty electric guitar. Lead singer Shaun Osburn shouts the lyrics like he’s singing a hardcore punk song and the tempo is way faster. It’s only when we get to the chorus that there’s a little bit of a resemblance to the original vocal melody. There’s also a guitar fill that echoes the famous slide guitar part, only sped up quite a lot. There’s more of the guitar in the outro.
It feels like a completely different song almost, losing the feel of the original and much of the melody. But it’s still recognizable if you pay enough attention. The cover flips the song on its head and it’s fun. Check it out:
