"Unsure where this came from, if not the palsied hands of the good Lord himself."
That's how the original author of a post described it over on that there Tumblr thingie, and I immediately recognized its source: The Blacklist soundtrack, a underrated and—as near as I can tell—basically unknown gem I found at the library a couple months ago.
Simple premise: Dolly Parton's "Jolene" slowed from 45 to 33 rpm. Nothing more; no studio trickery, no trip hop drum breaks. The guitar loops back in and around itself. The bass becomes elastic, hot rubber. The violin stabs become sustained cello lines. The backing choir's split harmony rattles around, slinking ghostly into the corner. And most importantly, Parton's once-frantic vocal is transformed from bubblegum country scrawl into something approximating field holler reverence.
"An already perfect song made transcendental…"
The rest of the album is just as good—and even available on vinyl for those of you so inclined. (Yes, I ordered a copy.)
We recently started watching this series on Netflix. This song is in season one episode 15, "The Judge." The judge was played by Dianne Wiese. We just watched this on Wednesday. We are loving this series. The song at 33rpm is perfect.