News

Lou Reed Aids And Abets Susan Boyle In Mom-izing Of His Music

12:05 p.m. · November 8, 2010 · by Kali Holloway

Susan Boyle has just released a new video for her cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” a song that – until recently, anyway – was universally recognized as the perfect aural explanation of what it feels like to O.D. on heroin (and I mean that in the absolute best way). If you think Lou Reed might disagree on the sort of imagery Boyle would choose as a backdrop for her Celine Dion-ized version of the song, then forget everything you think you know about Lou Reed! Turns out, after initially refusing to allow Boyle to cover the song on an episode of America’s Got Talent earlier this year, Reed not only did a 180 and allowed the Scottish singer to re-record the song for inclusion on her album, he also had a large part in the creation of the accompanying video. The resulting four and half minute display features Boyle surrounded by music video tropes only a mother could love: misty mountain tops, rainbows, expansive landscapes, and arms raised toward the heavens as a camera pans overhead.

"I wanted to create a beautiful and intimate piece shot in Susan's native Scotland and she quickly agreed," Reed told the UK’s Sunday Mail.

Boyle was also happy with the end product, and is now apparently on a first name basis with a man who had sex with Nico, dated drag queens and famously wrote several songs about how awesome heroin is (Eds. Note: “Perfect Day” has long been considered one of these). Said Boyle to the Sunday Mail, "I loved that Lou understood how much it meant to me to film in Scotland. I didn't mind how much it rained or blew a gale – I enjoyed every minute."

The video for Susan Boyle’s cover of “Perfect Day” can be viewed on the Billboard site; I’m assuming her redone version is probably about cats. Check it out and decide for yourself! [NME]