Feist is using her platform to encourage the people of Wisconsin to go out and vote this year by covering Cat Stevens’ song “Trouble.” According to Pitchfork, the video of Feist’s rendition of the song was released on Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires festival voter initiative titled For Wisconsin.
The video is especially utilized to emphasize the importance of voting. The words “Text Vote to 56005” are shown on the screen to immediately show what Feist is trying to push with this cover. However, she hasn’t been the only artist to use their platform to bring more attention to voter turnout. Emily White, artist manager, Mike Luba of Madison House and Pat Sansone of Wilco teamed up to launch an initiative called #iVoted. This initiative was launched in 2018 and was created to encourage people to go out and vote. In return, it would supply free tickets for 78 different events in 32 different states for those who proved that they voted.
Feist, born Leslie Feist, recreated “Trouble” in a more soothing yet somber way. While it wasn’t a drastic difference between hers and Stevens’ version, the acoustic and wide-range vocals Feist used in her rendition gave the song a different feel than the original. Stevens voice in “Trouble” is much higher-pitched than Feist’s which gave his version a more upbeat aura to it.
Yusuf Islam, more commonly known as Cat Stevens, released “Trouble” back in 1970 where it was featured on his album Mona Bone Jakon. 1970 was a good year for Stevens as he released his album Tea for the Tillerman. This album was one of his most famous releases.
Earlier this year, the MusicNOW festival announced their 2020 lineup which included Feist on the bill. The Cincinnati music festival was due to be held on May 8-10 of this year but was canceled because of COVID-19. The National, who originate from Cincinnati, were also on the bill for the MusicNOW festival. In April of 2019, The National released their album I Am Easy to Find which Feist provided back-up vocals throughout.
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