Two months on from its release as a vinyl-exclusive, Father John Misty has officially shared the Lana Del Rey cover of his recent track, ‘Buddy’s Rendezvous’.
Originally featured on his April album Chloë And The Next 20th Century, the deluxe edition of the record featured a bonus single which saw Lana Del Rey offering up her own version of ‘Buddy’s Rendezvous’. Due to its relatively inaccessible nature on a wider scale, and thanks to Lana Del Rey’s voracious fanbase, the track leaked online soon after its release, but did not receive an official release until now.
In a brief interview with DIY Mag in April, Father John Misty commented on Lana Del Rey’s cover, praising her use of ad-libs throughout the track.
“Aside from lots of ineffable singing-things that a real singer can bring to a song, she’s got some incredible ad-libs in there,” he explained. “I gave myself one at the end of my version. Any one of hers you could have built a whole song around. Love her.”
The release of Lana Del Rey’s cover of ‘Buddy’s Rendezvous’ also comes paired with the arrival of the music video for Father John Misty’s original version. Directed by his wife, Emma Elizabeth Tillman, the clip was shot in 16mm and features a man (Craig Stark) recently released from jail reminiscing on his relationship with his estranged daughter (Starcrawler’s Arrow DeWild).
“‘Buddy’s Rendezvous’ is a world unto itself,” Emma explained of the clip. “It is a place out of time. My dream for the video is that it would surrender itself to the power of the song.
“Although the video and the song can be considered love letters to Los Angeles, the themes are universal. Disappointments, regrets, forgiveness, tenderness, perseverance, and love. The incredible performances by Arrow, Craig, Gilbert Trejo, and David Haley all coalesce to bring this vision to life.”
