The many jerks of MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks
thefader.comIt’s telling that Wednesday’s version of Drive-By Truckers’ “Women Without Whiskey” is the most faithful on their covers compilation Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling ’Em Up.
Like many of Mike Cooley’s best songs, “Women Without Whiskey” meditates on misery and lands on absurdity. The protagonist promises to give up drinking as long as he can drink for a few more months; he expects to think about liquor long after death.
On Wednesday’s version, guitarist and backing vocalist MJ Lenderman takes over lead vocals from his then-girlfriend Karly Hartzman and, while he isn’t exactly doing an impression of the D-BT’s Mike Cooley, there isn’t much to split them.
Lenderman may have grown up resenting Drive-By Truckers — he mistrusted any music his dad loved that much — but he eventually became a zealous convert.
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