Fresh off his new album, What Do We Do Now?, Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis has covered Phoebe Bridgers‘ “Motion Sickness” during a solo performance for Australian radio station 3RRR, Stereogum reports. He makes the song his own, delivering it in his classic J Mascis drawl and converting some of the themes to fit his style.
The original version by Phoebe Bridgers stretches out the words in some of its lyrics; especially in the beginning. She sings how she is so numb to pain that there’s nothing left to feel. The song is about refusing to seek help with soft tones. Even when she has the titular motion sickness, she doesn’t feel anything. She is grateful that she doesn’t have it worse: “and while you’re bleeding on your back in the glass I’ll be glad that I made it out”. In addition, she admits that her pain is emotional, not physical. In the end, she wonders what it would be like if she “surrender to the sound.”
J Mascis’ version has some of the pauses that Bridgers version has, but overall seems to have a more country feel. It’s slightly faster, and carries the same themes as the original. He doesn’t forget to include that the pain he feels is emotional. One of the big differences between this and the original is that the instrumental is more prominent. Bridgers version is the opposite; the lyrics surround the instrumental. He is also grateful to be alive and well despite the turmoil. The song ends with the acoustics giving the listener this feeling of warping noise that closes off the cover.
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