Radiohead Covers Info

THE WELL KNOWN NAMES

Jimmy Eat World deliver a heart-on-the-sleeve version of "Stop Whispering", probably R•diohead's purest pop tune. Weezer perform a great cover of "Paranoid Android", though Rivers Cuomo does change some of the lyrics (harrumph). The Flaming Lips deliver a wistful version of "Knives Out", from their Fight Test EP. And Gnarls Barkley's cover of "Reckoner", maaaan.... if you've ever doubted Ceelo Green, just hear those first notes he sings; your hair will stand up!

Deadmau5's great cover of "Codex" sounds like it could be in a Michael Mann movie. The faithful cover of "The Bends" is by none other than Anthrax, from their 1998 Inside Out EP. And oh boy, everybody sit down.... That devastating, killer version of "Optimistic" is performed by Hanson. Yes, HANSON. Give it a listen, you'll believe! And as mentioned earlier, John Frusciante does a great version of "Lucky".

And after auditioning many (MANY!) versions of "Creep", one of the ones I picked was the one by Korn, from their 2007 Un-plugged show. The intro is touching, and the performance is very nuanced. It's interesting that they use the bass drum to replace the stuttered chords at the start of the chorus. And also oddly, none of the other "Creep" covers I listened to attempted to try the riff either. And - a nice surprise here - I have Toots and the Maytals performing a sunny version of "Let Down".

THE ENSEMBLES
And that's it for famous people. Now, the unknown ensemble groups perform some of the best covers here. The R•diohead Ensemble of the Berklee School of Music is featured twice, turning in a sexy and ethereal "Nude", as well as a great "Morning Bell". Also coming from academia, there is the R•diohead Jazz Project of Lawrence University, performing a groovy, brass-led rendition of "Bodysnatchers". Check out the videos for these three.

The Paul Dunton Orchestra performs a driving cover of "Jigsaw Falling Into Place", that also has great vocals! The Portland Cello Project (feat Adam Shearer) absolutely blow "Exit Music (For A Film)" out of the water, just amazing! And the version of "Black Star" is by a non-audition public choir from Victoria, BC called... um, The Choir. The first time I watched the video this came from, I wept. It was just so moving to see this big group of regular people covering such a personal, singular song. That was when I committed to this comp having the aesthetic that it does. And lastly, the piano-and-opera-vocal version of "I Will" is by Monta Martinsone and Artyom Musaelov.

THE TRIBUTES
Austin group Mother Falcon released a front-to-back cover album of OK that was called MF Computer, which I grabbed two tracks from, "Fitter Happier", and a version of "Electioneering" that manages to rock even without guitars! The Easy Star All Stars' dub reggae cover of "Climbing Up the Walls" still manages to carry some real menace, and comes from their album called (heh) Radiodread. Secret Society's faithful-yet-dance-ish cover of "Planet Telex" comes from the tribute album Anyone Can Play R•diohead.

From the (online only?) tribute Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads, a group called L.O. Freq performs a moody, acoustic cover of "Blow Out". And to honor the three (!) different string quartet R•diohead tributes, I chose the Vitamin String Quartet's version of "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi". And did you know there have been two R•diohead lullaby music tributes? From the Rockabye Baby one, I chose a sonically beautiful rendition of "There There". Great on headphones!

THE INDIES

Multi-instrumentalist Marissa Nadler sings an even-wearier cover of "No Surprises" that I just love. I get goosebumps every time I hear it. Cut from the same cloth is Camille O'Sullivan's heartbreaking and dreamy version of "True Love Waits". My God! That track is from her album Changeling. Bella Ruse sings an equally haunting "Like Spinning Plates". These gals just nail it!

Two more good covers come from R•diohead's most recent album MoonShapedPool. Llargo's cover of "Daydreaming" is beautiful with that ethereal guitar sound. And metal band Johari deliver a smashing, Isis-tinged take of "Burn the Witch". The album only came out a few months ago, and there's already great interpretations out there!

I'm not familiar with iLonely and Sombra, but I like their acoustic version of "You and Whose Army?" Tanya O'Callaghan and friends perform a "15 Step" with real soulful vocals, while still holding a tech-sounding edge. For a change of pace, the group Children Slyness drops a very dubstep cover of "Pearly". The kids should love it...

Belém - who I think is the singer for a Spanish group, hard to find info - drops a faithful acoustic version of "Thinking About You". I don't know the group Blizzar B, but that's a great close-harmony take of "2+2=5". UK singer-songwriter Daniel Cavanagh performs a tender and moving "How To Disappear Completely", from his album Memory & Meaning.

JAZZ LÉ R•DIOHEAD

Did you know KidA and Amnesiac were secretly jazz albums? Given the workout that "National Anthem" and "Pyramid Song" are given, I think so. Atomic's "Pyramid" is a nice post-bop kind of take - sounding like Miles in '63 - and Perhaps Contraption's "Anthem" has a stomping groove. Also in a jazz vein is Postmodern Jukebox ft. Hayley Reinhart's cover of "Creep". It's a torch song reading, but for me it still goes to the forlorn longing of the original...gorgeous!

And yes, I know of Richard Cheese's cover of "Creep", but I didn't want to go funny with that song. But to acknowledge his love of the group - I particularly like the cover of his album OK Bartender - I used his version of "Airbag" to start everything off strange.

THE HOMEBODIES

This is kind of a blanket term I'm using to refer to the amateurs and pros here who performed their songs at home. I was gonna avoid homemade versions initially (type in "Creep" and "acoustic", I dare ya). However, I came across many songs (most of them studio-quality), that I liked very much. And I wanted the comp to reflect that aspect of how everybody, even everyday people, have taken R•diohead to heart.

(Hayley pic)
Hayley Richman has many covers of R•diohead songs on YouTube, with a lot of views, so I wanted to use her at some point. So, I picked her cover of "Identikit". It's a good version; I like her voice, reminds me of an Icelandic singer almost. And check that photo: gal's got a nice pad! Tara Rice  delivers a great homemade cover of "Lotus Flower". The video is cool; it shows her doing all the percussion herself.
(Percussion pic)

I had a hell of a time trying to find "Anyone Can Play Guitar". Even harder given that there's a web instruction show called that! Finally found this version by the Rocket Brothers. I can only assume it's home studio stuff. Well recorded, and the guy's got a great voice, though European diction on some words, German maybe? Sounds of Venus is another small group, and their acoustic cover of "Give Up the Ghost" has some really haunting (pun, sorry) vocal harmonies.

The cover song that made me change my mind about homemade solo acoustic performances is the cover of "High and Dry" here by a girl named Kayla L. It's gotten 41,000 views, it's played with heart, and I really like her earnest, elfin, almost weightless singing voice. Great version, and you gotta admit, she's easy on the eyes.

(Kayla pic)

FOLK/BLUEGRASS/COUNTRY

Somehow, ukuleles and banjos weave their way through these discs, even more than the jazz. First up is a reappearance of Amanda Palmer, performing "Fake Plastic Trees", from that R•diohead uke tribute disc of hers I'd posted last year. From Denver, CO comes the Ooks of Hazzard, an 8 piece folk band who deliver a great version of "Subterranean Homesick Alien". Singer Sarah Jarosz (also a uke player) performs a dynamite cover of "The Tourist".

Meghan Linsey does a great traditional country version of "High and Dry". I love how the guitar line is played on the violin. The group Punch Brothers - who have several R•diohead covers out there - do a killer version of "Kid A", all with mandolins and ukuleles. I love the way they replicate those electro sounds with these acoustic instruments.

The last track in this section I'll talk about is my favorite of the whole collection: Birds Of Bellwoods' astounding cover of "Idioteque". B.O.B. are a Canadian quartet (guitar, mandolin, banjo, cello/bass) who do covers and originals in unique arrangements. The way they adapt the original song to their style (check that palm-muted banjo), as well as keeping the rhythmic complexity of it, amazes me. I love the opening, where they're all drumming on their instruments. Their singing harmony is great, too. These boys are goood!

THE REST OF THEM

English/Pakistani group Bat For Lashes perform a moving live version of "All I Need". The "Tao" Church Choir of Tblisi, Georgia (country, not state) do an a capella cover of "Everything In It's Right Place" that you just gotta hear! The way they're all modulating their voices is very striking. R&B singer Muhsinah does a rhythmically driving version of "Scatterbrain". Tel Aviv pop star Shefita performs a quite different Middle Eastern take on "Karma Police", featuring traditional instruments like the oud. Pianist Christopher O'Riley does a great instrumental version of "Bulletproof".

The two versions of "Street Spirit" may seem the same, but they're not. The one by Manuja feat. Dimaestro that opens disc 3 is a moodily beautiful Spanish acoustic cut. The one by the (generically named?) Djambe Band is recorded off the street somewhere in Africa maybe, and features some traditional sounding instruments, and is spookier. And I couldn't resist this whole compilation ending with the sound of somebody turning off a tape. The boys would appreciate that, I think.