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When Lucinda Williams fans pick up the Louisiana native’s 10th
LP Little Honey on Oct. 14, they might
be surprised by the closing track, a cover of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way To the
Top (If You Wanna Rock N’ Roll).” But the bigger surprise might come two weeks
later on the digital-only EP of protest songs Lu in ’08—a live cover of Thievery Corporation’s collaboration
with The Flaming Lips, “March of the Hate Machine (Into the Sun)."
Along with covers of Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” and
Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” she also recorded a live version
of a new song she’s written called “Bone of Contention.” “That’s a pretty angry
one,” Williams says from her home in Studio City, Calif. “I recorded it in the
studio, but I decided I didn’t want to put it on [Little Honey]. I didn’t quite like the version we recorded. But
we were playing at Summerfest, and I went out for the encore and just blasted
out an acoustic version of it. It really went over well, so we captured it on
tape.”
Protest songs don’t come naturally for Williams, who
appeared at #22 on Paste’s list of the
100 Best Living Songwriters. “I’ve found protest songs or topical songs to be
the most challenging types of songs for me,” she says. “I find myself having a
hard time not sounding either too in-your-face angry or too sugar-coated sappy,
like ‘OK, everybody get together.’ It’s just so hard to do.”
Judging by the chorus she sang over the phone, she
definitely didn’t err on the side of sappy. “It’s kind of written in a bluesy,
almost like a ZZ-Top-ish or a Tony Jo White swampy bluesy thing,” she says.
“I’m really concerned about this upcoming election. Actually, I’m just terrified
about the possibility of a McCain/Palin victory.”
Related links:
High Gravity: Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams & The Best Country/Rock Duets
A/V: Lucinda Williams Quick Hit from ACL
Feature: Late Bloomer: Lucinda Williams Gets Comfortable in Her Own Skin
Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
Related links:
High Gravity: Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams & The Best Country/Rock Duets
A/V: Lucinda Williams Quick Hit from ACL
Feature: Late Bloomer: Lucinda Williams Gets Comfortable in Her Own Skin
Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
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