At 78 years old, Willie Nelson has been active in shaping American culture for the last four decades. Nelson made his mark on country music in the 70's as part of a rebel subgroup of country musicians like Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings that were not interested in conforming to the standards of the clean cut Nashville look at the time. The quality of Willie's music has been recognized through commercial success as well as being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and receiving honors from the Kennedy Center in 1998. He has also used his standing in culture as an activist. Willie has championed some very noble causes like raising millions of dollars for local farmers through Farm Aid and supporting the advancement of bio-diesel fuel advancements. Willie Nelson is a man that has done things his own way throughout his life, and has gained the admiration of many as a result.
I love Coldplay. I have seen Coldplay in concerts several times, own all of their albums since "Parachutes," and blogged about them last year. Coldplay changed a lot of things about my musical preferences, and while I really enjoy a lot of musicians, they are my favorite band of all time and I would include both "Parachutes" and "A Rush of Blood to the Head" in my top ten albums. Just last night I got together with some friends and watched the DVD of the 2003 tour.
"The Scientist" is one of Coldplay's most popular songs. It was hard to imagine that a British pop-rock piano driven song would translate well with Nelson's gravelly voice and country music, but it fits perfectly. There is something that sounds and feels very real in Nelson singing about things going back to the start. No disrespect to Coldplay, but when Willie is singing about going back to the start you get the sense that he is a man who has some regrets and some things that he really wishes he could take back.
I hope you like it, I'd love to hear your SOTD.