The song was recorded in quarantine, with Winston pledging proceeds to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
We’re long beyond peak Tiger King. The Netflix docuseries that has transfixed a nation during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has spawned countless memes, conspiracy theories, angry tweets and even murmurs of a possible pardon for the King himself, Joe Exotic. What is has also inspired is a series of covers of the low-budget, high-body-count country songs released (but not actually recorded) by current inmate Exotic.
The latest is from indie pop singer Alex Winston, who gives a sensual, Lana Del Rey-esque veneer to the song about the mystery surrounding Exotic’s nemesis, Big Cat Rescue matriarch Carole Baskin. With gently strummed acoustic guitar and Winston’s intimate, velvety voice, the ballad of murder and mayhem is transformed into a pop tiger trap.
The song was recorded in quarantine, with Winston pledging proceeds to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has been on personal lockdown in her home, like many others right now, and as the popular show made its way onto her TV screen, an inspiration was born. “I think it was the perfect storm of being in my house alone for three weeks and the utter batshit craziness of Tiger King that somehow found me reimagining Joe Exotic songs in my underwear at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. There’s a couple more in the works so stay tuned.”
Listen to Winston’s cover below.
