For all the (unwarranted) hipster cred Velvet Underground gets, Aloe Blacc’s spin of their little known “Femme Fatale” on his 2010 release Good Things turns a murky song into a cinematic tour-de-force with swirling strings and a haunting vocal performance equal parts soul and gospel, but the subject matter is entirely secular, and oh so good.
Good Things was released on Stones Throw Records September 28th, 2010. You can find the digital version on iTunes here
The Art of the Mixtape 