Regina Spektor Covers Radiohead for Haiti, Chile

Regina Spektor already offered her help to the Tibet House early this year by performing at Carnegie Hall with Iggy Pop, but when it comes to victims of this year’s earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Spektor has even more to give.

Available now on iTunes is an MP3 download for her cover of Radiohead’s “No Surprises” from OK Computer, priced at $1.29. All proceeds will go directly to the Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund.

Though fan site Reginaspektor.org is streaming the cover (via Consequence of Sound and We All Want Someone), I highly suggest you contribute to the cause and purchase the track here if able.

April 27, 2010 12:21am    Regina Spektor   Radiohead  

Conan O’Brien Covers Radiohead - “Creep” (Video)

Beloved former Late Night/Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien, sidekick Andy Richter, and his former house band (sans Max Weinberg, now dubbed the Legally Prohibited Band) kicked off their music-heavy live comedy tour last night in Eugene, OR. According to reviews, Conan’s new repertoire was reminiscent of his “old days” at the 12:30AM time slot on NBC, complete with guitar-strapped performances by the man himself of a few apropos covers, including Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up.”

Though his rendition of “Creep” during the soundcheck contains more than a couple comedic lyrical adjustments, it’s Conan’s wonderfully absurd parody of Thom Yorke’s voice that takes center stage. I’m pretty sure he channels at least 4 different British accents. Watch Coco and the Legally Prohibited Band play Radiohead as a high-pitched version of Dick Van Dyke’s character in Mary Poppins below (via the Daily What):

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April 13, 2010 10:48pm    Conan O'Brien   Radiohead  

Girls Post Tour Diary Video, Cover Radiohead

Girls frontman Christopher Owens’ songs and videos make me feel nostalgic for people I’ve never met and events I’ve neglected to embrace in a way that’s akin only to the work of filmmakers like Richard Linklater, Noah Baumbach, or Tom Tykwer. While we patiently await their forthcoming “best EP of all time,” Owens and company have uploaded two videos to helps us feel that unique emotion in the meantime: a new tour diary video from their spring European tour and a cover of Radiohead’s “No Surprises” performed live in Gothenburg, Sweden (via Fader/My Poproks).

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March 25, 2010 3:00pm    Girls   Radiohead   Christopher Owens  

Listen: Jonny Greenwood - “Doghouse” (Norwegian Wood Score)

As we previously reported, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood premiered his latest orchestral composition, “Doghouse,” for an intimate crowd at Maida Vale Studios last month. The performance by the BBC Concert Orchestra was recorded for a later broadcast on Radio 3, as well as a short Q&A with Greenwood and conductor Robert Ziegler in which they revealed that the piece will also be used as the score to a forthcoming film based on Haruki Murakami’s novel Norwegian Wood.

Stream the interview and premiere of Greenwood’s new composition/film score, which was written “mostly in hotels and dressing rooms while touring with Radiohead,” at the 33-minute mark (for one week only) here.

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March 19, 2010 4:20pm    Jonny Greenwood   Norwegian Wood   Doghouse   Radiohead  

Daniel Johnston Biopic, My Suicide Soundtrack, & More

Our friends at Pedestrian.TV landed a scoop-filled interview with father-son filmmakers David and Jordan Miller last night in Sydney, Australia, discussing their new film My Suicide, a “self-inflicted comedy” currently on the festival circuit, as well as their next project: a Daniel Johnston biopic.

First off, My Suicide, which was scored by Tim Kasher (Cursive, The Good Life) with a few pieces by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh, managed to get a Radiohead song approved for use by the band. “[W]hen Radiohead agreed everyone pretty much agreed,” said David Miller. So who is everyone? Devendra Banhart, Bright Eyes, MGMT, My Morning Jacket, TV On The Radio, Rocky Votolato, Animal Collective, the Pixies, and more. Wow.

The Daniel Johnston biopic is still in its very early stages, but Miller was able to leak a few intriguing details about the developing project.

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Jonny Greenwood to Score Film Based on Murakami Novel

Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, the composer-in-residence with the BBC Concert Orchestra, unveiled the world premiere of his new composition “Doghouse” for an intimate crowd at the BBC’s famous Maida Vale Studios last month. That’s newsworthy enough, I say, but thanks to a couple online reviews from the lucky few in attendance, there’s more…

According to attendee Adam Bowie, Greenwood and conductor Robert Ziegler also took part in a brief interview after the performance and—just as Greenwood’s “Popcorn Superhet Receiver” inspired his lauded There Will Be Blood score—”Doghouse” will inform parts of the score to Norwegian Wood, director Anh Hung Tran’s forthcoming film based on Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel of the same name.

“I wrote this piece mostly in hotels and dressing rooms while touring with Radiohead,” Greenwood said in a description from the BBC’s site (now removed). “This was more practical than glamorous - lots of time sitting around indoors, lots of instruments about - and aside from picking up a few geographical working titles, I can’t think that it had any effect where, on tour, it was written.”

And now for the really great news: We will all get a chance to hear the premiere of “Doghouse” and preview of Greenwood’s next film score on Friday, March 19, as BBC Radio 3 will broadcast the performance on that date at 2PM.

March 5, 2010 11:26am    Radiohead   Jonny Greenwood  

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien Pens Letter to BBC Trust

Perhaps Thom Yorke is a fan of Radio 1 (or just Gilles Peterson), but fellow outspoken Radiohead member Ed O’Brien is a BBC 6 Music man through and through. In a new blog post on the band’s Dead Air Space, O’Brien revealed that he is now championing the same cause of his former foe.

Calling the proposed closing of 6 Music “a ludicrous decision for those who actually love hearing great music on the radio,” O’Brien penned a letter to the BBC Trust “who apparently have the ability to reverse the decision.” You, too, can write them here, but first check out a bit of O’Brien’s letter for inspiration:

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March 3, 2010 9:23am    Radiohead   Ed O'Brien   Thom Yorke   BBC 6 Music  

Bat for Lashes Cover Radiohead w/String Quartet [Video]

In preparation for their upcoming South American tour with Coldplay, Bat for Lashes played two sets at the De La Warr Pavilion in England’s Bexhill-on-Sea last Friday night (2/19). While the first set, a 45-minute sampling of songs from their 2-album discography, was notable for being the group’s first public show with new drummer Valentina Mageletti, it was the second set that brought us the headline…

After a 20-minute break, frontwoman Natasha Khan and company returned with a string quartet for—what she announced online before the show would be—an exclusive one-off set, featuring covers of Radiohead In Rainbows single “All I Need” and “Wild Is the Wind” (which she perhaps first heard on David Bowie’s Station to Station).

I won’t vouch for the video quality here, but the audio is quite good: Hear Bat for Lashes cover their former tour/dinner mates’ “All I Need” here or below:

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February 25, 2010 9:16am    Bat For Lashes   Natasha Khan   Radiohead  

Thom Yorke Names ???? Atoms For Peace, Unveils Tour Dates

Thom Yorke has finally replaced those pesky question mark placeholders for his new solo outing with producer Nigel Godrich, percussionist Mauro Refosco, bassist Flea, and drummer Joey Waronker. Now dubbed Atoms for Peace (a named which “seemed bleedin’ obvious”), the quintet will finally venture outside of Los Angeles this April. In addition to their previously reported slot at Coachella in Indio, CA, Yorke and friends will play 8 more dates in 5 U.S. cities (New York, Boston, Chicago, Oakland, and Santa Barbara).

If you live near one of these cities, trust me, you don’t want to miss this. For Yorke’s Dead Air announcement, tour dates, and ticket info, go here.

February 25, 2010 8:32am    Thom Yorke   Flea   Mauro Refosco   Nigel Godrich   Joey Waronker   Radiohead