I don’t know much about Lauren O’Connell, other than that I heard her cover Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” and fell in love with her voice. After more investigation, I found she’s a terrific cover artist. Her originals are pretty neat, too.
But it’s her cover of Paul Simon’s Graceland that got her attention on this site. It’s one of the few covers that’s better than the original. I always liked it as a sweet little pop song, but when O’Connell sings it she breaks my heart wide open. “Losing love is like a window to your heart/Everybody sees your blown apart.” I had never really understood that until I heard her sing it.
Check out some great songs below, and support the artist by buying her albums! Her latest, Quitters, is below, after her “Covers” album. Then, the video of her performing “Graceland.”
Amazing music.
