New/old versions of “Metal Heart” by Cat Power

Last week, me & my pal Ray got a sneak peek at the new Cat Power album “Jukebox,” which releases tomorrow. Ignorant ol’ Ray calls Jukebox “a real snoozer.” It is too bad Ray has no idea what he’s talking about. I think this collection of stripped-down, soulful songs is very awesome, and I’m positive that fans of Chan Marshall’s previous releases are gonna eat it right up.

For me, a huge highlight is an updated version of “Metal Heart” — a song that appeared on her 1998 album “Moon Pix” and one of my all-time favorite sad songs. On maybe a half-dozen mopey/depressing nights between 1998-2005, it was necessary for me to play this song on repeat like 100x while crying my eyes out. :( :( :( Seriously you guys, “Metal Heart” is the ultimate jam for break-ups/rejection/etc.

That said, I felt nervous to press play, not wanting to be let down by some weird massacre of a song so sacred to me. Luckily, though, the new one is such a different take on the original — stripped-down & soulful like the rest of the album, but also more full and desperate-sounding, if that makes sense. They’re two totally different songs, and I’m at a loss to decide which I like better. Which I think is perfect!

Anyway, I had posted the songs to download but I got in trouble & had to take them down. Oops. So here is a video of her performing the song recently, and here is one of her performing it in 1998. (You should really seek out the studio versions, though — none of the live clips I’m finding online do this song justice at all.)