Los Angeles performer Sasami ,who recently covered System Of A Down’s “Toxicity,” has shared a new cover: Daniel Johnston’s song “Sorry Entertainer.” While the original was super-bare — mostly just strummed out on an out-of-tune acoustic guitar — this version is exponentially heavier, full of muddy guitars and a very metal solo. There’s also a deeply chaotic new music video, which was directed by comedian and actress Patti Harrison (Together Together, Shrill, I Think You Should Leave) and Alan Resnick.
Here’s what Sasami had to say about her choice to cover “Sorry Entertainer.”
“I made my last album when I was in a very emotionally vulnerable and tender place, but after a couple years of touring those same subtle, more sensitive songs, the live show became louder and more volatile. A bit before the pandemic took hold I was really getting back into metal and nu metal, so a couple months into quarantine I made an acoustic version of the System of a Down song ‘Toxicity.’ My sadness ripened into anger throughout 2020, and deeper into it I started experimenting with a heavier palette and decided to perform the inverse exercise of metallicizing an acoustic song. ‘Sorry Entertainer’ is my take on mixing the desperation of being a hopeless and powerless artist and the extremely powerful sounds of a metal band. Like giving a toddler a flamethrower… or a fullstack.”
Check out Sasami’s rendition of “Sorry Entertainer” above.
Sasami is out now via Domino. Get it here.