Music reviews, news, opinions + more
A singer from Birmingham, England named KR has done a cover of Radiohead’s first hit, “Creep”. At first I had assumed it was a remix or mash-up, since it was credited as “KR vs. Radiohead” but other than the composition itself, no actual Radiohead sound elements are in this. It’s a nice take on it, one that helps to take the song to a new place allowing it to be heard by new ears for the first time.
To hear more of KR’s work, click to his Soundcloud page.
This album may become known for its choice of cover versions than for its musicianship, but I hope those who will want to year Louis Durra‘s renditions of Radiohead, Bob Marley, and Feist songs will pay attention to the world of Durra (piano), Jerry Kalaf (drums), and Larry Steen, because their work together is reserved-yet-remarkable in each of these songs.
Let’s get to their covers. They get into Tears For Fears‘ “Mad World”, Bob Dylan‘s “Tangled Up In Blue”, and also go for Feist’s “1234″ and pulling it off very well. Marley fans are sure to smile after hearing what Durra does with “No Woman No Cry”, but if there are surprises, it would have to be hearing not one, but two Radiohead covers here. “The Bends” and “No Surprises” are brought out of their original context for a bit and you get a chance to hear the song in a way that may bring you deeper into the Radiohead tracks (as the best covers do). However, the biggest surprise may be hearing Rob Swift do some DJ’ing in, of all things, a cover of Alanis Morissette‘s “All I Really Want”. When the song begins you may not be sure where it begins or where the band truly begin, but the blend between hip-hop turntablism and traditional jazz (i.e. “not funky jazz”) works well. It may piss off Wynton Marsalis but he’s not listening to this album, you are, and I like it.
The title The Best Of All Possible Worlds is a chance for the listener to hear what it can be like when you are able to travel, realistically and musically, and have a better view of the world around you. Uniting in sound can be a good thing, and in Durra’s world, it’s the most perfect place to be in, united as one.
The moment Radiohead talked about their new album for the year, it got everyone going crazy. A vinyl pressing is being made, and it will be released at the end of March. You can pre-order the vinyl pressing of The King Of Limbs from the Amazon link through the box below. The LP will have code so that you can download the MP3′s for free.
Robotanists released a brand new EP called Plans In Progress (my review of which can be read here), but when word about the new Radiohead album surfaced, everyone was abuzz had to hear it. Robotanists not only listened to and enjoyed The King Of Limbs, but they learned the songs and recorded it themselves in full. It was mixed and they made it available to fans in 24 hours since inception.
You can now download it for free (not only as MP3′s, but in lossless FLAC as well) via Bandcamp by clicking the player below (if the player for some reason is not present, you may click here.) I think this may be one of the fastest tribute/cover albums ever made.
For a limited time, you can buy The Bends by Radiohead for $2.99 at Amazon.com. This is a digital download, so take advantage.
Upon hearing this for the first time, I thought it was a joke. It sounded like kiddie music, or DEV2.O, and that I was not a part of their target audience.
As I listened to Can’t Stop Not Knowing (self-released) more, I realized that The New Loud‘s style of semi-infectious pop was not for me, but I do find the vocals of keyboardist Jessi Nakles to be something that could work outside of The New Loud context. In fact, I think that’s the problem for me: singing is great, music is great, but not together.
Vocal duties are also shared by guitarist Shane Olivo and drummer Radish Beet (appropriate name for a drummer), and… it’s not bad, but the elements are not as solid as they could be, in my opinion. This one is not something I would listen to a lot, but their version of Radiohead‘s “2+2=5” is sure to bring them a bit of attention.
(Can’t Stop Not Knowing is scheduled for release on February 23, 2010.)
MF DOOM has been the topic of discussion in the last year, when people attend “his” shows and allegedly find someone who isn’t DOOM. Who is it? Hell, who is MF DOOM? Well, outside of his K.M.D. roots, many people still don’t know who the man behind the mask is, or his agenda. However, he wants you and everyone to know that he is now just DOOM.
It doesn’t matter, because he’s about to drop a new album on March 24th in the form of Born Like This, being released through Lex Records. The album can be pre-ordered through CD Universe through the following links:
(compact disc)
(vinyl)
To make things more interesting, “Gazzillion Ear” has been remixed by Thom Yorke of Radiohead, and according to an article at Pitchfork will be an iTunes-only track when you download the album there (BOO!) I’m almost certain that you will be able to buy the track on some imported pressing of the LP, but if iTunes suits your needs, you’ll get to hear it that way.
Zion I DJ/producer Amplive decides to do some unofficial remixes of Radiohead tracks. Amplive gets a cease and desist order. Amplive sends remixes to Radiohead’s management, and it is received by Thom Yorke and friends. Amplive discovers that the band approved of the new interpretations.
Rainyday Remixes is a remixed approach of the In Rainbows album. To hear the end result, click to OneSevenSevenSix.com to download it for free.
