The Flaming Lips With Erykah Badu, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

The Flaming Lips With Erykah Badu, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”

http://player.vimeo.com/video/43225458

First of all, this is not safe for work because it has nudity in it. But secondly, watch it anyway, sometime, whenever you can. The Flaming Lips’ cover of Ewan MacColl’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” with vocals by Erykah Badu, is maybe as good as Roberta Flack’s definitive 1972 version. (Maybe better?! It’s very early for such assessment, but wow is it good!) I don’t think I will ever like any visual treatment for the song more than I do Clint Eastwood’s usage of it in Play Misty for Me. But this video is super-excellent, too. It’s beautiful and yucky at the same time, and also strangely moving. That’s Badu’s sister, Nayrok, who gets covered with glitter and various liquids.