Video: Antony and the Johnsons, “Crazy in Love” (Beyonce Cover)
- story Matthew Schnipper
“Crazy in Love” was the jam the summer it came out. This was 2003, before Serato, and with the official 12-inch being just remixes, DJs either found the super random white label (Killah Kuts was no help), played it off the LP (which sounded terrible) or you were one of the lucky folks who had CDJs and knew what to do with them. Imagine Antony at some club in lower Manhattan hearing Beyonce coming through the speakers all tinny and being like, “Oh shit.” He must have felt out diva’d. Probably hit him hard, because it was a couple of years before he started to cover the song. He transformed it, never even approached anything like a faithful cover—definitely smart—he knew to leave sleeping dogs lie or whatever. Or the opposite, let the dogs running around run and then his dog could go lie down with this moody dream cover. We saw him perform this at the Apollo. The only thing it had in common with Beyonce was the exquisite dress he was wearing. They are both masters.
Live: Antony & The Johnsons in Heaven (Actually in a Pretty Room In Tribeca)
- story THE FADER
Because heaven probably smells lovely like string beans and drying flowers, right? Antony Hegarty had a WPS1-hosted release party for his new EP Another World in a purple-hued room with a gang of wooly robe-wearing women (including issue 54 Gen F, Sahra Motalebi) harmonizing wordlessly in the corners. Antony, dressed in a silken cream-colored gown, corralled everyone into one corner for an a capella version of “Another World,” warbled through with great grace. Then the chorus marched out the room and upstairs where they performed atop a spiral staircase. Antony’s voice and body were like the sea in light breeze. On the way out, you could see the office they transformed into his dressing room where the door was ajar, and there were so many little candles.
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posted on Oct 8, 2008 in MUSIC NEWS
I Am A Bird Now Is A Bird Now
- story THE FADER
Seeing Antony bring the shock ‘n’ awe down on the buddhists at Carnegie Hall last night reminded us that I Am A Bird Now is fully flying off the shelves of your local record store as you read this, and with damn good reason too.
Ant, with beautiful accompaniment, was wedged between a composition by Philip Glass for Dracula and Lou Reed doing “Perfect Day” in a shiny, West-Villy style leather git-up.
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posted on Feb 10, 2005 in MUSIC
