A quick scan of the headlines reveals, for those who'd let it slip their minds, that the world is essentially an exploding toilet of governmental crisis and global conflict. A quick scan of tomorrow's headlines will likely reveal, for those who dare anticipate them, an entirely new set of threats and catastrophes. The old ones won't have resolved themselves, mind you; they'll merely have been joined by a fresh set of nauseating calamities, each landing in our lives with the shudder-inducing plop of a full diaper dropped off a tall building.

Against the backdrop of this harrowing nightmare-world, Taylor Swift has decided to record a lightly countrified cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" for the Spotify Singles series. To which I say: Sure! Knock yourself out! It's not like it's going to be the worst thing that happens today, right? It already feels like we're living inside a haunted circus — a ceaseless parade of demented calliope music and blood-spattered clowns, each emitting a piercing, unbroken shriek that lasts until infinity — so let's all just go limp and check it out.

There. Look what you made me do.

Postscript: For those who believe in stuff like "silver linings" and "mitigating circumstances" and "the potential for good in the world," here's The Temptations' cover of The Weeknd's 2014 song "Earned It."

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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