The other day I heard the Fray’s cover of Kanye West’s “Heartless” on the radio. It’s amazing. Not only is there a completely different rock element to the song, but Issac’s voice is brilliant. With the new, piano-driven arrangement, there’s much more depth, especially when listening to the lyrics.

The track was originally recorded as par of The Fray Live, which is available on iTunes, and was released to radio April 21. While the Fray may have committed a cardinal sin and covered a song that’s currently on the charts, they’ve managed to do so magnificently. There’s not another band I can think of who could have attempted the switch without faltering. It just goes to show that the Fray aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Make sure to check out the new single on iTunes, or you can listen to the song for free on YouTube.

In celebration of the new look for Eat Sleep Drink Music – otherwise known as ESDMusic, of course – let’s roll out a new column, shall we? As you can see, it’s called “Random Acts of Listening,” and the idea is to hit “shuffle” on one’s iPod, listen to the first song that turns up, and write about it. The resulting piece might be personal, critical, or just straight up informational, but the ultimate goal is that it prove interesting, and I’d like to think that anyone who writes for the site can manage to pull off such a task.

First up: “Sara,” by The Lotus Eaters, from their 2001 album, silentspace.

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