Buried inside the music-writing blogosphere, it can be easy to forget that the average Joe has no idea who Father John Misty is. And maybe that’s by design. Maybe Josh Tillman’s curmudgeonly alter-ego isn’t known yet because he hasn’t adopted the dulcet, butt-rockin’ tones that still reverberate from the country’s few remaining rock radio stations. That seems to be exactly what The Voice contestant Aaron Gibson was going for when he ran FJM’s “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” through some sort of Creed filter and came up with a choir-backed Seven Mary Three song.
Tillman didn’t feel like being called Goliath or wearing a David mask. As Stereogum points out, he posted the clip to his Facebook with the caption “why God why” before realizing he probably looks like (even more of) a dick and deleting it.
Of course, the I Love You, Honeybear singer isn’t just some jaded hipster who hates all True American Rock Music, in spite of the mountains of evidence. He’s even gone to bat for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the past.
“Everything else around that time was so joyless and authenticity themed,” he said. “They’re misunderstood. I think Anthony Kiedis has way more of a sense of humor about this whole thing than anyone gives him credit for.”
Sometimes a bad cover is just a bad cover. Watch it above and decide for yourself.
