Jeff Tweedy – “Pharmacist” (Alvvays Cover)

Like basically everyone with an iota of taste, Jeff Tweedy is a fan of the new Alvvays album. As a public offering on his subscription-based Substack outpost Starship Casual, the Wilco leader recently shared a lo-fi acoustic cover of “Pharmacist,” the opening track from the Toronto indie-pop band’s spectacular Blue Rev. Here’s what he wrote about it:

I learned this short and sweet beauty a little while ago, when it was released as a preview track for Alvvays’s new LP, Blue Rev. I love the unexpected C demolished chord in the chorus. If I understand these lyrics correctly, I think that chord (Cdim actually) makes the phrase “I hear it happens all the time” even more withering and full of delicious, pitying scorn. A diminished chord employed to diminish. Love it!

It’s remarkable how much “Pharmacist” sounds like a Wilco song when Tweedy sings it; I can almost hear the Technicolor Summerteeth-style orchestration swirling behind him. Listen in at Starship Casual.