Cover Story: Bridgers and Antonoff Commercialize the Carpenters’ Emotional “Goodbye To Love”
In her version of “Goodbye To Love,” Phoebe Bridgers teams up with Jack Antonoff for a melancholy take on a Carpenters hit for the “Minions: The Rise of Gru” soundtrack.
Written by Rachel Green
Photos courtesy of Jovanny Hernandez and Ron Howard
From the sultry sounds of the 1970s to the alternative indie arc of the 2010s, one thing that audiences will never grow tired of is the juxtaposed yet fitting pairing of a woman’s voice and an electric guitar. The legacy of brother-sister duo the Carpenters endures to this day for their mainstream 1970s appeal, rich harmonies comparable to their Swedish contemporaries ABBA, and Karen Carpenter singing catchy lyrics in her iconic alto timbre. One of their most well-known singles, “Goodbye To Love,” became the duo’s first United States hit when it reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 charts soon after its 1972 release. The slow-paced ballad features the singer resigning herself to being alone forever after heartbreak with a classic rock arrangement.
Richard Carpenter insisted that the lead guitar needed to “burn it up,” rather than match the melancholic lyrics. Over warm guitar and keys, Karen Carpenter sings, “Time and time again the chance for love has passed me by / And all I know of love / Is how to live without it.” The result is an ear-shredding power ballad with an arrangement that simultaneously contrasts and enhances the singer’s deep emotion.
The tune came into existence thanks in part to Bing Crosby. Richard Carpenter was watching the 1940 film “Rhythm on the River” and noticed that Crosby’s character, a songwriter, kept referring to his magnum opus, “Goodbye To Love,” but it was never played. The fictional song inspired Richard Carpenter to create a track of the same name alongside songwriter John Bettis, guitarist Tony Peluso, and his sister.
Much like its origin, the continued relevance of “Goodbye to Love” can be owed to the film world, albeit in a very different way. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” debuted in the summer of 2022 to lukewarm reviews and booming box office success thanks to its monstrous social media blitz. The soundtrack, produced by Jack Antonoff, utilizes covers of ‘70s hits by contemporary artists to underscore Gru’s adolescent development in the mid-1970s. In an interview with Billboard, Antonoff detailed how he shed his normal ‘80s synthesizers and opted to “take modern artists … and then record them with this half modern technique, half super analog technique.” Unlike the classic rock sound of the original, Antonoff’s origins in pop music is evident in his take on “Goodbye to Love.” Antonoff first found fame as the drummer of fun. and is currently the lead singer-songwriter in Bleachers. Not-so-behind the scenes, he’s a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer for many popular artists, including Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Troye Sivan. For the film, Antonoff collaborated with contemporary popular artists to give a modern twist to mid century hits, including Phoebe Bridgers. The film’s marketing team announced the album with a poster campaign of 1970s psychedelic-inspired art put up in major cities around the world, which created hype for the soundtrack long before it was tied to the movie. The powerful duo of indie icon Bridgers and multifaceted musician Antonoff in combination with a clever marketing campaign to advertise the soundtrack resulted in a spot on the Billboard 200.
While these two versions of “Goodbye to Love” are similar in their high acclaim and identical lyrics, the two could not be more different otherwise. When looking at the lyrics of the original, it’s evident the song comes from the genuine experience of being forced to contemplate the troubles of love: Karen Carpenter sings, “Surely time will lose these bitter memories / And I'll find that there is someone to believe in / And to live for something I could live for” with palpable, truthful emotion. The creation of Bridgers’ version came from a very different place. While Bridgers has gone through public heartbreak in the past, the creation of 2022’s cover came from a place of commercialism. Without the film, Antonoff and Bridgers would have likely never collaborated to cover this specific song, which gives the cover lower emotional stakes.
One of the most striking differences within the first few seconds is the contrasting vocal styles essential to each respective singer. Karen Carpenter reaches deep within herself to sing through her chest in her signature alto register which lends itself to a self-assured, matter-of-fact tone. Bridgers differs from the full-bodied tone and instead opts to perform in her lighter, more ethereal voice heard on her songs “Kyoto” and “Motion Sickness.” What results is a more melancholy, stripped back effect that completely transforms the mood of the track. The narrator in the story takes on a more raw, less matter-of-fact outlook with a simple shift in the vocal style.
Antonoff took a maximalist approach to instrumentation that heavily contrasts Bridgers’ tone. . While there are a variety of instruments and vocals underscoring the Carpenters’ version — choral harmonization, electric guitar, woodwinds, strings, and piano, just to name a few — the instrumentation solely serves to support her velvety voice and enhance the message of the song. The main underscoring comes from Carpenters’ iconic and rich vocal harmonies, which in the long outro play over the aforementioned guitar riff.
From the sound of the first few half, audiences may expect a more stripped-back version of “Goodbye to Love” from Bridgers. Midway through, though, harps, vocal distortion, and a bevy of horns come in and drown out Bridgers. While many of the elements feel reminiscent of the original, Bridgers’ cover utilizes more modern production techniques and a broader variety of instruments — including harps, horns, and a tambourine — which causes the ear to be pulled away from the vocals. Bridgers’ generic, soft, and indie-style singing melts into the background of Antonoff’s busy production style. She isn’t taking risks with her performance, which results in a sound that can be heard in hundreds of other indie tracks being released. To the modern ear, Karen Carpenter’s voice is more unique due to her low tone and more dynamic delivery, which results in a more powerful effect on the audience.
While both versions of “Goodbye to Love” have their strengths, Bridgers’ cover falls short when compared to the original. Antonoff made the right choice to leave Carpenters’ poignant lyrics unchanged, but the 21st century pair does not reinvent the track in any significant way when it comes to the message or emotional impact. While its use in the film is effective as a tool to communicate Gru’s inner emotions, the cover ends up coming off as less sincere because of its purpose of promotion as a big-name contribution to a children’s movie soundtrack. “Goodbye to Love” by Carpenters has withstood the test of time and the original remains as the most iconic rendition for its timeless sound and emotional vulnerability.