These Days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5TR_ReL43w

My cover of "These Days"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk11AugG4c

Jackson Browne wrote this song when he was 16. Since then, it has amassed an impressive amount of covers from admiring artists. The most famous version of this song, perhaps even more famous than the original, is Nico's version, released in 1967.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_z_UEuEMAo

The version that I first heard was performed by Kristian Matsson in a stuffy guitar shop in New York City. I've since been meaning to visit this idiosynchratic music outlet, but have yet to make my way down to West 4th to stop by.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wvkt6R39pw

From one version to another, the verses morph and shift around, the style changes, and the singers all present radically different sounds. Yet each rendition stays true to the heart of the song itself. Few folk songs can boast such timeless malleability, let alone one written by a 16 year old. It just goes to show the timelessness of the questions the singer is asking. The overall message can pertain to a 16 year old, or a 60 year old. I hope that my version, recorded by a 22 year old, strikes a chord with you.

-Charlie

P.S. Since this song is so much about owning your past failures and not letting them damper your outlook on the future, I decided to splice in some humourous footage of the misfires, before I finally got that winning take.