While Taylor Swift is riding the success of her hit "Shake It Off" to the top of the charts, ?uestlove and Kirk Douglas of The Roots are using it for comedy gold.
The pair performed last night (Oct. 1) on The Tonight Show as "Black Simon and Garfunkel," giving Swift's song a folksy makeover. A running gag on the show (which probably started because of the matching hairstyles of ?uestlove and Art Garfunkel), Black Simon and Garfunkel have reworked contemporary hits like Katy Perry's "Roar," Macklemore's "Thrift Shop" and the Ke$ha/Pitbull jam "Timber." See the hilarity below.
Swift made headlines recently after she told Vogue UK about her new album, taking a polite jab at Nashville. "This time around I've chosen the brave and bold way of going about things," she said about her fifth studio album 1989. "Because with this album I've completely changed the sound of everything I've done until now. So it's interesting to not be afraid of that. You know, I don't want to hurt people's feelings, I don't want to betray Nashville, whatever, but essentially it comes down to challenging yourself as an artist."
The singer shared her plan of reinvention with Rolling Stone last month as well. "And so with this record, I thought, 'There are no rules to this. I don't need to use the same musicians I've used, or the same band, or the same producers, or the same formula. I can make whatever record I want.,'" she said.
1989 is out Oct. 27.
