NowLizzie Weber, a St. Louisbased self-described tendercore singer-songwriter, has recorded a head-turning negative image of the original.
Where Soundgarden turned up their amps, she uses glistening orchestral strings and piano.
Where Soundgardens recording ends with a bang, Webers ends with a whimper.
Lizzie WeberTim Gebauer*
Weber, who loved Soundgarden in high school, decided to reinterpret the song when a friend suggested it.
As she reconsidered Head Down, Shepherds lyrics spoke to her in a new way.
Weber points to the line, Bow down to live your life, as one that gave her pause.
It just has an intoxicating energy, she says.
Her first instinct was to play the guitar melody on piano.
It was immediately moving, she says.
I slowly sang the first lyric in a lower key than Chris, which made it feel eerie.
I experimented with re-writing some of the chord progression, sometimes changing major chords to minor.
Engineers Phil Schawel and Zach Kranz contributed mixing and mastering, respectively.
It was his feedback early on that gave me the confidence to move forward in this direction.
Like Head Down, its a departure from anything Ive done before, she says.
