Coheed and Cambria, the prolific prog-rockers behind roughly 8,000 LPs of sci-fi madness, have returned with something entirely different: A “sequel” to Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl,” featuring none other than Rick Springfield. Aptly titled “Jessie’s Girl 2,” it chronicles the unholy matrimony between the original’s narrator and the eponymous girl, who’s apparently “out of her mind.” Oops!
“Has anyone ever written a sequel to another artist’s song?” Coheed’s Claudio Sanchez says in a press release. “I don’t think so. As a fan of movies, it just seemed like a really interesting idea.” Springfield, meanwhile, signed on after Sanchez pitched the song to him via Instagram Live. Springfield, who we can confirm has a very good sense of humor, not only contributes killer harmonies and a verse of his own, but also stars in the music video as a jilted bartender.
Though undoubtedly a Coheed joint—Sanchez’s signature wail remains one of a kind—the song still feels indebted to the pop-rock swagger of the original. And Springfield sounds like he hasn’t aged a day when he sings about how “strange” it was when Jessie seemed relieved to lose his girl. “Jessie played sincere, he sure seemed cool,” he sings, “What I hadn’t known was I was his fool.” His verse wraps with a guttural wish that he’d “left that monster in the 80s.” It fucking rules.
You can score a vinyl release of the single (and its “director’s cut”) over at Coheed’s website, which also has hats, shirts, and buttons pegged to the song.
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