Dua Lipa, Waxahatchee, Pearl Jam, and PARTYNEXTDOOR all put out new albums today, but did any of them “unite people in a pure way”? No, no they didn’t. Not even Bob Dylan’s 17-minute free-association song about the JFK assassination can compete with The Medicine, the new EP from musician/occasional actor Jeremy Renner.
“I’ve always found music to be one of the few things that unite people in a pure way,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe star Instagrammed. “Common ground can be hard to find in today’s world, but music has remained a constant for me. To feel deeply, to dance fervently, and live together is more present now than ever.” Song titles include “Never Sorry” and “Every Woman,” which may or may not make you feel deeply, dance fervently, and live together, but you will question the lyric, “What’s underneath that smile? / Your secrets drive me wild / It gets me every time / Take me on your magic carpet ride.”
The Jeremy Renner app had to die so The Medicine could live.
Every time I see Renner’s irony-free Instagram handle, I think of Conner4Real from Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Renner has already covered “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” by Crash Test Dummies — why not “I’m So Humble” next?
