Count The Mother Hips as the latest act to offer an interpretation of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s chilling addiction song, “Codine.” The Northern California rockers’ take on the oft-covered classic appears on their forthcoming studio album, When We Disappear.
The 10-track follow-up to 2021’s Glowing Lantern was recorded last November in Santa Fe, New Mexico. When We Disappear consisting of “Codine” and nine new songs penned by co-founders Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono is due out via Blue Rose Music on January 27, 2023. Bluhm and Loiacono self-produced the LP which also features bandmates drummer John Hofer and bassist Brian Rashap as well as a guest appearance from Jon Graboff on pedal steel.
Sainte-Marie wrote “Codine” after she was prescribed codeine for a bronchial infection and became dependent on the drug. The original was released on her 1964 debut album, It’s My Way! Donovan, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hole, Janis Joplin and Gram Parsons are among those who have covered the song over the years. However, it was a ’60s psych band from the Bay Area whose version inspired The Mother Hips.
“When we were teenagers we were on a road trip in the Great Basin with my older brother and some of his friends. They had this cassette tape with a lot of weird music on it and one night at the campfire this song came on and freaked us out,” Tim Bluhm explained. “He wouldn’t tell us who it was but it stuck with us. We later discovered that it was the Charlatans covering a Buffy St Marie song. It seemed like it would fit nicely with the songs we were recording in Santa Fe.”
Stream The Mother Hips’ “Codine” cover below:
