Rarely does a song allow for two incomparable interpretations within such a short span of time. "Heartbeats" is a superb exception. The original is an icy, ominous recollection of love; the cover is a quiet, wistful rumination. The Knife's live version (below) is enveloped in metallic, hollowed-out electronic beats, a mysterious musical creation befitting the band's masked personas and cold Scandinavian influences. Jose Gonzalez's rendition, while played against his warmer acoustic backdrop, still elicits something forlorn and time-weary similar to its darker companion. Both songs make it clear that something intimate was shared: "we were in love."
To call for hands of above to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, oh
And you, you knew the hand of a devil
And you kept us awake with wolves teeth
Sharing different heartbeats in one night
Why listen? "Heartbeats" is devastatingly original. The Knife's version uses its sonic framework and Karin Dreijer Andersson's striking (and almost alien) vocal performance to enlarge the song's cryptic lyrics into some sort of timeless love-rune. Jose Gonzalez's version settles on those same lyrics with an achingly insular portrayal of love and memory. The fact that so many argue the virtues of their preferred version is a testament that the song(s) is/are to be reckoned with. "Heartbeats" possesses an authentic and timeless quality matched by few other songs this decade.
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