BY JOANNA C. VALENTE

Do you remember that time Garbage’s song “#1 Crush” was included on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's modernised William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet film adaptation. Well, I do. I was obsessed with this film and soundtrack in high school (who wasn’t, and isn’t?), and have always listened to it as a power-walk jam.

With lyrics like “I would die for you/I would die for you/I've been dying just to feel you by my side/To know that you're mine,” it’s pretty powerful, to say the least. So, when I saw that Taleen Kali did a cover of the song, I was excited—and deeply curious to see the interpretation of this new version, and how the intensity comes through.

Let’s just say, I wasn’t disappointed. Taleen gives us a punch, a slow punch, that gives the song a new angle. Listen below:

Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body), #Survivor, (forthcoming, The Operating System), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente