Why does a Phoebe Bridgers cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” feel so inevitable? Maybe it’s just that pretty much everyone in the music industry is tripping over themselves to work with Bridgers, from the Killers to Taylor Swift to, yes, the massive Metallica Blacklist collection of dozens of high profile covers of songs from Metallica’s Black Album. Probably no song on that album is as well-known or hallowed as “Nothing Else Matters,” but Bridgers is in the “she can do no wrong” phase of her career, so her courage is understandable. The result is a decidedly baroque take on the song. Where the original number is ornate and furious, Bridgers’ take is fragile and anxious. That’s another way of saying it’s a Phoebe Bridgers song, which may not be every Metallica fan’s cup of motor oil but we’re into it.
The Blacklist will celebrate 30 years of The Black Album with a tracklist that truly has something for everyone. We’ve already heard Miley Cyrus’ take on this same song while Jason Isbell transformed “Sad But True” into an electric hoedown. The album will also feature contributions from My Morning Jacket, Moses Sumney, St. Vincent, Mac DeMarco, Cage the Elephant, Chris Stapleton, Kamasi Washington, J Balvin, Weezer, PUP and so, so many more.
