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After the Beatles, Radiohead may one day rank as the most-covered band of all time. It seems like everyone wants to take a crack at recreating the odd rhythms and melodies the band is famous for (even if most vocalists can’t match Thom Yorke’s distinctive wail), and over the years a very diverse group of artists have tried their hand at bits of Radiohead’s body of work. Here are some of the most interesting I’ve found. (PS, we’ll be mixing it up a bit on this edition of “late movies,” with a few sound clips in addition to film clips.)
Easy Star All-Stars – “Karma Police”
The Easy Star All-Stars are known for their dub-style covers of entire albums. They’ve done three thus far: Dub Side of the Moon, a cover of the legendary Pink Floyd album its title so clearly echoes, RadioDread, from which this track is culled, and most recently, the Lonely Hearts Dub Band, a really interesting reinterpretation of Sgt. Pepper’s.
Pianist Christopher O’Reilly is famous for reinterpreting Radiohead songs. Here’s his take on “Exit Music for a Film.”
O’Reilly isn’t the only pianist with a yen for Radiohead, though. Renowned jazz artist Brad Mehldau has also tackled “Exit Music,” and I thought it would be interesting to pair their piano arrangements back to back. Whose do you like better?
I’ve always loved Gillian Welsh, and apparently she’s always loved Radiohead. Here’s Gillian and the multitalented David Rawlings covering “Black Star.”
Few singers have the range to do Yorke’s voice justice, but Cee-Lo Green (of Gnarls Barkley fame) is someone who does. Watch him hit the high notes on “Reckoner.”
John Mayer’s acoustic version of “Kid A.”
Jaydiohead is a mash-up of Jay-Z and Radiohead. (You can download the whole album for free here.) One of the more successful tracks, in my opinion, is “Lucifer’s Jigsaw.”
I’m no huge fan of Korn, but I find it interesting that they chose to do this “unplugged” version of “Creep.”
This French quartet does a really nifty version of a song from Amnesiac.
To end with, here’s a really pretty version of “No Surprises” from Christopher O’Reilly.
Comments (18)
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Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine also does a delightful version of creep…
posted by Kimberlea on 6-29-2009 at 6:31 pm
This is a great post.
posted by Joel on 6-29-2009 at 10:37 pm
Mark Ronson did a great version of Radiohead’s “Just” featuring Phantom Planet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gy73YTx__Q
posted by Katie on 6-29-2009 at 11:29 pm
LOVE this post, but I love Radiohead, so it’s understandable.
Prefer Mehldau’s version to O’Riley, because of the other instrumentation – not a big fan of the original because it’s so quiet, so nice to hear the jazziness there.
Really enjoy the Jaydiohead and the French quartet, as “I Might Be Wrong” is one of my favorite Radiohead songs.
Finally, really surprised/impressed with John Mayer.
posted by Jeremy on 6-29-2009 at 11:36 pm
There’s also a group called Rockabye Baby that does lullaby versions of music . . . and they have a Radiohead album. Check it out on iTunes, silly, but sometimes kinda great.
posted by scott on 6-30-2009 at 12:23 am
Step 1 in my plan for world domination:: form a band called “The Original Artists” and have them release an album that’s all covers of major hits “As played by the Original Artists”
Step 2 is still pretty nebulous.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 6-30-2009 at 12:59 am
Life is a palette; you put colors on it.
posted by runescape gold on 6-30-2009 at 5:56 am
The Punch Brothers cover several Radiohead songs. They are a modern bluegrass band led by Chris Thile who is a insanely gifted mandolin player. They also cover Bach, Mozart, Beatles, The Strokes, and have amazing originals.
Go to Youtube and type in Punch Brothers P-Bingo Night. You won’t be disappointed. The video isn’t great, but the music is phenomenal.
posted by Nick on 6-30-2009 at 9:41 am
Aw– Missing perhaps the best cover of all: Rodeohead, the Hard ‘n Phirm Cover/Medley.
http://www.hardnphirm.com/music/Rodeohead.mp3
posted by Mariam on 6-30-2009 at 10:24 am
I don’t get the infatuation with radiohead. They are one of the worst bands out there that everyone loves. Unlistenable trash that fools the masses.
posted by MarcyDarcy on 6-30-2009 at 11:23 am
How about Hard ‘n Phirm’s bluegrass infused Radiohead medley, “Rodeohead”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyzVXFIbSDM
posted by Danny Gallagher on 6-30-2009 at 12:24 pm
Don’t forget Warren Haynes’ cover of \Lucky\, which is (as usual for Warren) better than the original.
posted by diz on 6-30-2009 at 2:12 pm
Amanda Palmer does a pretty interesting rendition of “Creep” with her ukelele. .
She’s done this several times in unexpected places (ie gatherings organized entirely on twitter). . A memorable one was when she was waiting for her panel to start at SXSW in Austin this past March and she started to serenade folks in the lobby outside the conference room when the artist inside was running over their alloted time.
I believe she has organized an event at Hermosa Beach for tomorrow (Around 4) during which she will cover the song “Fake Plastic Trees” with her 82 year old uncle. . the LA Times is supposed to be there covering this shin-dig.
Can’t post the youtube links (office connection has youtube firewalled pretty effectively). . But seriously: Look up Amanda Palmer covering Creep. . .
posted by Melissa Webster on 6-30-2009 at 2:58 pm
Wow, Brad Mehldau’s rendition of Exit.. was freaking brilliant. I can see how many people would hate it. But I think that anyone w/ a taste for The Bad Plus, or just jazz that’s a little “outside” would love it. Dang, he’s fantastic!
posted by Woz on 6-30-2009 at 4:31 pm
The Section Quartet is a string quartet that has covered several artists and groups from Bowie to Soundgarden. They did a brilliant cover of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.”
posted by becks on 6-30-2009 at 5:47 pm
BTW…the French Quartet is covering “I Might Be Wrong” off of Amnesiac. Really tight!
posted by becks on 6-30-2009 at 6:09 pm
Jeff Tweedy solo covering fake plastic trees-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jipFV3qIrok
posted by raf_oh on 6-30-2009 at 8:05 pm
On earth there is nothing great but man; in the man there is nothing great but mind.
posted by chi hair straightener on 7-30-2009 at 10:53 pm