I’ve associated Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” with a Madonna mixtape my high school chum Laura Rupp for my entire life. It was never my favorite Madonna song, nor a song I even enjoyed greatly, but it kicked off the mixtape with that certain splash of New Jersey-meets-Latin pop and for that it has lingered in my memory, for good or for bad. Jonathan Wilson, an up and coming singer-songwriter, was tasked with putting his own stamp on the song for a 2007, hah, Madonna cover compilation and what floated from his mind was this heady, bit of Laurel Canyon psych-rock. Gone is the Latin-tinge, replaced with sinister guitar noodling and a wall of sound. It’s a beautiful track, and “La Isla Bonita” is already finding a new home on the record shelf of my mind.

Thanks to Aquarium Drunkard for pointing this track out.

Jonathan Wilson just released his sophomore LP Gentle Spirit.

Jonathan Wilson – La Isla Bonita (Madonna Cover)