Septuagenarian rock legend Mick Jagger has released two new politically motivated singles, which is all well and good and very impressive considering it is 2017 — but we're a little more interested in/impressed by the fact that Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker is one of a group of artists selected to provide remixes.
Jagger has unveiled the tunes, titled Gotta Get A Grip and England Lost, as a response to widespread "confusion and frustration with the times we live in", driven by "anxiety [and the] unknowability of the changing political situation".
Along with the vanilla versions, though, Jagger conscripted several well-known musos to provide their take on the tracks — British grime artist Skepta features on a "reimagined" version of England Lost, while Parker, Norwegian trio Seeb, Brazilian DJ Alok and Rolling Stones musical director and touring member Matt Clifford have all taken a crack at Gotta Get A Grip.
As you'd probably expect, Parker's is a thoroughly different take on the original vibe of Gotta Get A Grip and, with no disrespect intended to the great Sir Mick, we think we might actually prefer the Australian muso's stab.
It would seem Jagger's selections of artists to bring into the fold drew heavily from what's currently populating his playlist, with the Stones frontman mentioning both Skepta and Tame Impala as informing his current listening habits.
"I do quite a lot of trawling for music online and also the youngsters in my family all play me music when we get together, so I get to hear all kinds of things," he said in a statement. "I listen to R&B and pop and strange mixes of old and new and then like everyone I make my own random playlists.
"The last things I added to a list were Kendrick Lamar, Skepta, Mozart, Howlin’ Wolf, Tame Impala, obscure Prince tracks and classic soul stuff from The Valentine Brothers.
"I really like Kendrick Lamar, he’s also talking about discontent and he really nailed it. I thought his stuff, and what Skepta is doing, are very interesting and pretty much on the button."
Jagger says that he started writing the two new songs back in April, and was in a bit of a hurry to release them sooner rather than later, when the songs "might lose any impact and mean nothing".
"It’s always refreshing to get creative in a different fashion and I feel a slight throwback to a time when you could be a bit more free and easy by recording on the hoof and putting it out there immediately," he said.
Well, no sense in us prattling on then: check out the clips for England Lost and Gotta Get A Grip — and Parker's remix effort — below.
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