Rolling Stone Original: Exclusive Cat Power Videos

Listen to five tracks recorded live in our Seattle studio by indie rock's preeminent chanteuse, Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power. As usual, Cat Power's mini-set included an insightful mix of completely reinterpreted covers (Buddy Holly's "Crying, Waiting, Hoping," which the Beatles also recorded, and Sandy Denny's haunting folk rock ballad "Who Knows Where the Time Goes") in addition to shiver-inducing renditions of Marshall's own brilliant tunes ("Love & Communication," for example). Check out the songs, recorded exclusively for Rolling Stone, here.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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