Oklahoma City based alt rock band The Flaming Lips are set to appear in Clarke Duke’s directorial debut Arkansas, in which the band is shown covering George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” according to Pitchfork. The film, which comes out May 5th, stars Clark Duke, Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn, John Malkovich, Vivica A. Fox, and Eden Brolin.

The cover is a very well done modern interpretation of a timeless classic, as The Flaming Lips delivers an emotional performance for what appears to be a pivotal scene in the movie. The resonant vocals, updated instrumentation, and modern effects added all contribute to the modernity of the cover, while also retaining the same emotion and tenderness that exists in Jones’ original take on the song. While the song embodies a bluegrass country classic, the band’s fresh take expands the song past just this narrow genre to be appreciated by all music lovers.

The Flaming Lips are one of many bands whose world has been greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The band was set to tour from April to June this year, as well as appear at Psycho Las Vegas in August.

Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of the band also collaborated with Los Angeles rock duo Deap Vally under the band name Deap Lips to release a self titled album, and released the album’s first single, “Home Thru Hell,” in January of this year.

Photo Credit: Stephen Hoffmeister