UPDATE: You can now watch the full video of Lorde playing "In The Air Tonight" at the top of the page. Drums!The sonic melodrama of Lorde's Melodrama had a lot to do with broad strokes: solo post-party ballads followed by big, dancefloor pop; mellow keys that broke into wide-gated, reverberating drums. It contained two straight-up Phil Collins fills, first on the late-night vodka thrill of "Green Light," then, more self-consciously, on the second half of "Hard Feelings/Loveless." This isn't just Jack Antonoff plugging the '80s in either—Lorde seems to love Collins and all of his work. She covered Collins's 1981 song "In The Air Tonight" on yesterday's BBC Live Lounge and here's what she told DJ Clara Amfo:
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When Lorde was asked by Amfo if she'd ever met Collins, she responded by saying, um:He's just such a pioneer. His melodies and his drums—I'm so inspired by him. He pushes me to be better.
Anyway, you can listen to Lorde's cover of "In the Air Tonight" around the 2:13:00 moment here. Lorde brings the song down about an octave, so she's breathier than Collins was on the original, but she's settled into it by the time the second chorus comes in. That big drum fill is reduced to an electric impression, but it's still pretty satisfying.I have not and I think I would just melt to a little pool. I think he would be like, 'Oh no, there's a little pool in front of me, not a person.'
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