Pitchfork Forkcast: On Repeat: Yoko Ono/ Spiritualized: "Walking on Thin Ice" [Stream]

On Repeat: Yoko Ono/ Spiritualized: "Walking on Thin Ice" [Stream]

"Walking on Thin Ice" is a monumental song for a number of reasons: Not only does it rank among Yoko Ono's definitive works, but it's also the last track John Lennon worked on, just hours before his death in December 1980-- not to mention one of the most essential club tracks ever recorded.

In this reworking from the new Ono remix comp Yes I'm a Witch, Spiritualized's Jason Pierce strips everything from the original-- Lennon's jagged guitar, that icy disco beat, the period synths-- leaving Ono's agonized vocals to stand on their own. Though "Walking on Thin Ice" has been remixed hundreds of times for the dancefloor, Pierce creates something more somber, drawing out the sadness in Ono's desperate vocal. Each of her words is slowed down here, adding more tension as each utterance is drawn out. Pierce's guitar doesn't compete with Ono; rather, her voice takes front and center, before eventually being drowned in the final climatic passage, crying and gasping for air as its tidal crush consumes her.

Stream: > Yoko Ono / Spiritualized: "Walking on Thin Ice" [Windows Media]
Stream: > Yoko Ono / Spiritualized: "Walking on Thin Ice" [RealAudio]
[from Yes I'm a Witch; out now on Astralwerks] | [ORDER]