Something For Kate Covered Taylor Swift’s ‘Cardigan’ And It Was Pure Magic
This will make your day.
Given triple j and Taylor Swift have something of a contentious history, consider this morning’s Like A Version, in which Something For Kate covered the megastar’s hit ‘Cardigan’, something of an olive branch.
The rift between Swift and triple j stems back to 2015, when a campaign to get ‘Shake It Off’ onto the Hottest 100 was shot down by the youth broadcaster. Swift was banned from the countdown, with the station issuing an official statement that called out “all the tweets, the think-pieces, the hipster lulz, the corporate intervention and heavy gif usage.”
Since then, the station has slowly warmed on the world’s biggest popstar. folklore, her quiet Bon Iver-influenced record, got a fairly heavy rotation on triple j — and now it’s the lead single from that record that has got the Like A Version treatment.
Of course, on paper, Something For Kate and Taylor Swift are strange bedfellows. The former is one of the most nuanced of the Australian bands that emerged in the early ’00s, best known for their rollicking hit ‘Monsters’, while the latter makes maximalist, wonderfully in-your-face pop hits.
But the best covers are born from difference, and Something For Kate have managed to take the beauty of the original into new and strange directions. It’s a work of strange, subtle power, one that flirts with a climax that never arrives.
The cover follows a string of hits for Like A Version — ever since the viral Wiggles/Tame Impala mash-up, the segment has moved from strength to strength, combining disparate sounds into one deliciously soupy mix.
Watch the Something For Kate cover in full right here:
And if that’s not enough Swift coverage for you, why not check out Something For Kate talking about the impetus behind the cover in a sweet, humble interview: