My Gen X Playlist: Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies

In college, I lived in kind of a co-op. It was a large eight bedroom old Victorian house a few blocks from campus and housed 12 students. Part of the agreement living there was to keep the house clean through weekly chores and also cook dinner for the house every two weeks. The rent was affordable and it was a great deal having a home cooked meal to come home to. The big challenge was cooking for 12, especially since my culinary skills were limited. I had my fair share of screw up meals. One time I tried making beef stroganoff, but for some reason, the sauce turned a strange pinkish color. I made corn bread once, it didn’t rise and was flat as a piece of paper. The guys in the house were cool about it. As long as you genuinely showed effort, they knew your cooking skills would gradually improve.

I went to Barnes and Nobel and found a cookbook: 365 Ways to Cook Chicken. The recipes were generally pretty easy, which is helpful when cooking for a house of twelve. I would ask friends to pick a number between 1 and 365. It was like playing chicken recipe Russian roulette. I still remember the first time I cooked Coca Cola chicken. Funny name, but it actually turned out to be delicious.

I lived in the co-op for four years and it really helped me develop life skills and I made life long friends. I occasionally return to campus for football games and I’ll pass by the house out of nostalgia. It’s still standing, so I guess the tradition continues on. Living there was a great pre-adult training ground and made for an easier transition to adulthood when the training wheels eventually came off. Did my time there make me a good cook? My God, no. But I can whip up some Coca Cola chicken in a pinch in case of an emergency. Then again, when is there ever a chicken emergency? Well, you know what I mean.

I stumbled upon Anthony Bourdain’s Top 25 Favorite Songs to Cook To. Nothing like a great playlist while in the kitchen. One of the songs that stood out was The Velvet Underground’s Sweet Jane. The song has a good cooking vibe and I can imagine food dancing in a hot pan with this playing in the background. I, on the other hand, grew up with the Cowboy Junkies’ cover of Sweet Jane. I’ve always liked Margo Timmin’s slowed down, haunting version. It turns out I wasn’t the only fan.

It’s no secret: Lou Reed, the inimitable Velvet Underground frontman and solo rock legend, was a bit of a cranky dude…He didn’t like answering questions about, well, anything. And he could be particularly grumpy about interpretations of his music, especially the many takes on his “Sweet Jane.” There was one, however, that he actually liked: That swoon-worthy take by the Cowboy Junkies.

According to the BBC, Reed himself called the Canadian band’s 1988 version “the best and most authentic version I have ever heard.” …While the song has been covered by countless artists, …the Cowboy Junkies give it a romance-in-the-stars lifeblood never before heard in those three simple chords. It’s hushed, tender, angelic and simply gorgeous. It’s where the heart overtakes the mind.

– Billboard

The Cowboy Junkies released Sweet Jane on their album, The Trinity Sessions – a recording completed in Toronto’s Holy Trinity church, surrounding just one microphone, in just one day. I imagined the lone microphone in the empty, hollowed sanctuary, harmonies echoing throughout the halls. Maybe not quite the version Bourdain might have played in the kitchen, but if Lou Reed loved it, you know you just can’t go wrong.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Anyone who's ever had a heart
Wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who's ever played a part
Wouldn't turn around and hate it
Sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane

You're waiting for Jimmy down in the alley
Waiting there for him to come back home
Waiting down on the corner
And thinking of ways to get back home
Sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane

Anyone who's ever had a dream
Anyone who's ever played a part
Anyone who's ever been lonely
And anyone who's ever split apart
Sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane

Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to me when you smile
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to me when you smile

La la la la, la la la, [etc...]

Sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane