“Can’t Feel My Face” (The Weeknd cover) by Andie Case, Friday, October 22, 2021

 

Ah! The weekend: a time when many of us can breathe that collective sigh of relief, leaving our forty hours at the office, forgetting about the boss, and maybe making some time for Number 1. Before I read into The Weeknd’s 2015 hit, the upbeat track reminded me of catching a fresh cup of Guatemalan iced coffee before catching a bus to meet friends for a weekend in another city. One weekend, I was in a cafe in Hongdae that was playing covers of hit songs and I heard a female version of "Can't Feel My Face" playing. I can't be sure if it was Andie Case's version. However, after adding Case's version of The Weeknd's #1 hit, I think it gives an interesting, mellow take on the normally, upbeat song. It's the alternate perspectives that makes YouTube cover artists and interesting addition to your music library.

SHE TOLD ME 'DON'T WORRY. ' The Weeknd is known for his melancholy, self-destructive tunes. Earlier this month, I covered his new single, "Take My Breath," which made the original version of his song ineligible for the October playlist. However, Andie Case's vibey cover feels like the prelude to a stay-in weekend. Andie Case is a singer-songwriter who gained popularity on her YouTube channel, covering artists. She has collaborated with other YouTubers, such as Boyce Avenue, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Alex Groot, and others. Unlike many of the YouTubers in Schneider's circle, though, Andie Case often sings the explicit versions of the songs. "Can't Feel My Face" is The Weeknd's beautiful love song to cocaine. The numbness that the singer feels is a side effect to the euphoria. There are certain red flags in this relationship, namely the foreboding about "the worst is yet to come" and "the misery is necessary when we're deep in love" in addition to the numbness. When the singer says "at least we'll both be beautiful and stay forever young," the '80s song "Forever Young" comes to mind. The notion of staying young forever at its best is a Peter Pan-syndrome, but if drugs are involved, it's probably about overdose or a tragic accident. 

SHE TOLD ME 'YOU'LL NEVER BE ALONE.' "Can't Feel My Face" is beautifully toxic, in a way that pop music has to be. If you wrote a song about going out and having fun with your friends on the weekend, it would probably not chart. But if you can add the undertones of sadness, desperation, or even tragedy, you might have a better chance at a hit. Likewise, songs about healthy friendships and relationships would bore us to tears. Instead, like Taylor Swift, we fall for the song about a guy who drives through the night with no headlights. Addictions to alcohol, sex, and drugs add to what makes a song compelling. We long for flaws because it makes us feel better about our Saturday nights, the partying or the lack thereof that we do. But we start to care for young Abel as he searches for true love. We scream at him to make the right decision. Listening to The Weeknd is the musical equivalent to watching How I Met Your Mother. Both Abel Tesfaye and Ted Mosbey continue to make the same mistake over and over. Sometimes we even wish that we were making those mistakes. So how does Andie Case's version fit in? Well, it's certainly a slow song for cocaine. Her version doesn't make me think about going out and getting wasted and hooking up with the wrong guy. Nope, instead, it's a book. I can't feel my face because I fell asleep in that awkward position on the sofa reading a book. Is that toxic? Probably just as much. I'd much rather spend my weekend in, but I have a conflicted feeling about wasting my life.

Andie Case cover version, The Weeknd (original) version

Andie Case version:

Original Music Video by The Weeknd: