Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead Playing No Surprises – KROQ Radio (2003)
One of the few bands that could remix their own tracks with children’s instruments and make them sound better.
Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne et al
Leonard Cohen, the solo performer, was revered as a writer more than a performer. This makes sense as his greatest hits were covered by others who gained success from his songwriting. In the ’60s, Judy Collins covered his song, “Suzanne,” and it garnered attention for the fledgling Cohen. Much later, Collins’ was interviewed by Bill Moyers about this song. The reference point (for us) was a 1976 performance...
Goodbye to The Fall’s Mark E Smith
In 1988, as a kid with a fresh CD of “I Am Kurious Oranj,” I was not the toast of the party. I remember playing it for friends. No one was into it.* Christgau loved it apparently but that didn’t amount to anything (despite the VV’s popularity in that era). My favorite records have always been alienating. When I was 10, I played this LP for my grandparents and it, appropriately so, horrified them. A few years...
14 Years of Heartbeats
The Knife’s “Heartbeats” is 15 years old now. Not soon after its release, fellow Swedish musician José González released an acoustic version, setting the stage (along with Gary Jules’ version of “Mad World”) for a genre of pop song renderings that challenge the success of their source material. José’s Version The Knife In case you haven’t heard it recently, here’s the...
Mike Skinner, The Streets and Norwegian Death Metal
1999 Norwegian death metal band, Bloodthorn releases the epic (and I am not being facetious) The Brighter the Light, The Darker the Shadow. 2016 The Street’s Mike Skinner begins posting tracks under the name The Darker the Shadow, The Brighter the Light (iTunes Music people, get them here). Stripped down, like early Mountain Goats, the music is a framework for the author’s quirky stories. Unfortunately, for Bloodthorn...
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