This Is Our Jam: Chromatics, “Into The Black”

There are a lot of ways to approach covering a song, from radical reinterpretation to literal recreation. Chromatics’ version of Neil Young’s “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)” (confusingly retitled after the song’s Rust Never Sleeps counterpart "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)") goes for the latter strategy, maintaining the stripped-down aesthetic of Young’s original. Yet, even a faithful cover as performed by Chromatics is still going to result in the dark, sexualized, and vignetted ambiance the band is known for. With “Into the Black,” Johnny Jewel and co. focus on the ironic, ambivalent heart of the track, adding greater emphasis to lyrics like “It’s better to burn out than to fade away." The song has always been about the emptiness that a glamourous life leaves behind, and Chromatics know it couldn't be any other way.