Song of the Day: Leon Bridges “Bad Bad News (Skratch Bastid Edit)”

Retro-minded soul singer/songwriter Leon Bridges delivered a preview of his eagerly awaited sophomore album, Good Thing last month with “Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand” and “Bad Bad News.” Sonically, both songs step away from the studied early 60s authenticity of his debut, Coming Home, and into a broader contemporary appeal. This ambition for a larger audience comes as no surprise given his recent history of active collaborations with a wide variety of other high profile artists, including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (“Kevin”), Nick Waterhouse (“Katchi”), Kacey Musgraves (“Present Without a Bow”), Lecrae (“On My Own” for Birth of a Nation), Neil Young (“Ohio”), Aminé (“REDMERCEDES”), and ODESZA (“Across the Room”). With the house-inflected R&B of “Bad Bad News,” Bridges delivers a personal against-the-odds tale:

I wanted to put that kind of message through songs like “Bad Bad News” and for me, I grew up with certain people telling me that I couldn’t be great. And that’s the whole message of that song is just making something out of nothing.

Canadian DJ/producer Skratch Bastid immediately jumped on the tune, personally editing “Bad Bad News” for a better fit in his DJ sets. The reception was positive enough that he decided to share it with fellow DJs and those in the know.

I made a good good thing out of bad bad news.

Leon Bridges live at Austin City Limits