MINISTRY - "LAY LADY LAY" From their 1996 album, "Filth Pig"
As I mentioned in the last post, I have an abiding fantasy of the "Lay Lady Lay" guy: a space-age bachelor pad man who has a knack for making the ladies feel special. He's kind of like Rob Lowe's character in the 1992 film "Wayne's World," who snags super-hot rocker babe Tia Carrere because he can speak Cantonese and pours her Dom Perignon in his penthouse apartment with the spectacular view. But what song does he throw on the Bose to get an edgy rocker chick in the mood?
Industrial stalwart Al Jourgensen and Ministry's 1996 cover of Bob Dylan's 1969 classic song "Lay Lady Lay" should do the trick. I was super jazzed that they played this song when I saw them play at Roseland in New York a few years ago. I always felt like I was the only fan of this tune when it first came out. Now that I see the YouTube comments under the video, I can see that this feeling is wrong, but back before we were all driving the information superhighway, one got the distinct impression that neither the album Filth Pig nor "Lay Lady Lay" were going to get much play from rock audiences, period. I thought it was a shame since the sonic change in direction seemed to be a good one for a band that had been coasting on loud and abrasive noisiness for quite a few years.
I think this cover is great because it retains the original sexiness of the song, but smooths out the edges to a pleasantly gravelly wash of sound. It's almost shoe-gazer, like My Bloody Valentine or Swervedriver and such. I think the video very appropriately uses color to complement the song:
A very clever YouTube commenter of the video mentions how the bossa nova rhythm of the song "kills it." I could not agree more. Combined with the fuzzed-out guitars, it just livens it up, makes it more sleek and updated. I just really adore this tune. Ministry never really got their props for this one. You're welcome, Al.
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