Neil Young‘s cult classic On the Beach celebrates its 45th anniversary tomorrow. For the occasion, kindred spirit Steve Gunn has released a cover of Young’s breakup song “Motion Pictures (For Carrie)” as an Amazon Music exclusive. The singer-songwriter’s rendition adds a foggy synth wash underneath Young’s guitar-and-harmonica arrangement. “‘Motion Pictures’ perfectly captures the wistful anxiety of ‘living in between’ the real world and being on the road,” Gunn said in a statement. “Like Neil, I also find watching TV in hotel rooms inspiring.”
Gunn’s cover comes in the early days of a North American and European tour behind his January album The Unseen In Between. Dinosaur Jr., Gunn’s Gunn-Truscinski partner John Truscinski (performing in tandem with Body/Head’s Bill Nace), Hand Habits, Bill MacKay, Valley Maker, and John Prine join for select dates. You can view the full schedule here and stream Gunn’s latest LP here. Young, for his part, performed On the Beach with a full band for the first time since 1974 earlier this month; watch that performance here.
Listen to Gunn’s “Motion Pictures (For Carrie)” cover below.
