Fitter, Happier, More Ska
April 13, 2013 7:19 PM   Subscribe

Easy Star All-Stars released (previously) their reggae and ska infused cover version of Radiohead's OK Computer, "Radiodread" way back in 2006.
posted by panaceanot (21 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
Bonus for Radiohead fans: Exit Music (For a Film) on piano
posted by panaceanot at 7:24 PM on April 13, 2013


Huh. It's not rocket science to convert anything to reggae, but this works so well that I almost wonder if OK Computer was intended to be a reggae album to begin with, and they just removed the skanks at the last minute.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:28 PM on April 13, 2013


Bonus for Easy Star All-Stars Fans: Human Nature
posted by box at 7:29 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


(I was expecting that Exit Music to be the Brad Mehldau piano trio cover — also worth a listen, while we're at it.)
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 7:30 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Huh. It's not rocket science to convert anything to reggae, but this works so well that I almost wonder if OK Computer was intended to be a reggae album to begin with, and they just removed the skanks at the last minute.

They're kinda pros at this. For example, their album, Dub Side of the Moon
posted by RustyBrooks at 7:31 PM on April 13, 2013 [4 favorites]


Jonny Greenwood is an unabashed fan of first wave ska, dub and rocksteady, so it's not suprising to me that the songs translate well. In fact he released a reggae mixtape, which I highly recommend as a primer to those genres if you're not already familiar with them.
posted by triceryclops at 7:34 PM on April 13, 2013


This is much better than it should be.
posted by bardic at 7:39 PM on April 13, 2013


This is just a reminder of my shame at not ever completing my cover of Subterranean Homesick Alien for that MeFi Music Challenge last summer.
posted by dismas at 7:49 PM on April 13, 2013


I'll point out that OK Computer, and Radiohead in general, owes a huge musical debt to Cardiacs – compare the opening chords in Airbag to the opening of Dirty Boy – and that Cardiacs, in turn, would practically be a ska band if they weren't also punk and prog and pop and rock and seventy bajillion other things. Case in point: Jibber and Twitch (it won't sound very ska-like until after the first chorus, but then the off-beat guitar makes it obvious).
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:01 PM on April 13, 2013 [4 favorites]


Metafilter: they just removed the skanks at the last minute.
posted by mannequito at 8:07 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Complete it dismas!
posted by panaceanot at 8:11 PM on April 13, 2013


"S*H, you called out sick yesterday because your great grandma dies, but you are here, at work, smiling today. I think you're faking. What can make someone who's mourning laugh like you are?"

Said my boss at the convenience store when I was 17, and straight out of class into summer vaca.

"Walk out and quit" should have been the answer, but I was told I needed to save for college. OK. Tell the truth.

"Dread Zepplin," I replied.

"Whuh..."

"Well, there's an Elvis impersonator, and a reggae band, and a Ford Pinto playing Led Zep on the 8-track when an explosion occurs..."

Yeah, he laughed. Yeah, I still got fired for attending my great-granma's funeral.

The moral of the story is, don't fire the brass, no matter what the record company say! They make you awesome.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:14 PM on April 13, 2013 [3 favorites]


MORE SKA!!!!!!!
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:50 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


That's nothing, Talking Heads did reggae and ska infused Radiohead in 1986....
posted by oulipian at 11:11 PM on April 13, 2013 [2 favorites]


I'm not gonna say I like the stuff, but when you combine some Radiohead with some Rolling Rock and some really hot chicken wings... just sayin'.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:00 AM on April 14, 2013


A single Grooveshark link for an album from 7 years ago is a pretty weak post. And I say that as someone who loves this album. You could have at least mentioned the other albums Easy Star did, like the Sgt Peppers covers from 2009.

How is Grooveshark even legal anyway?
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 1:23 AM on April 14, 2013


That's nothing, Talking Heads did reggae and ska infused Radiohead in 1986 ....
posted by oulipian at 7:11 AM on April 14


And we all know, right, that that track is where Radiohead took their name from?

We do? Okay, carry on.
posted by Decani at 1:52 AM on April 14, 2013


I realise it's a bit of a weak post Pruitt-Igoe, but it's sunday afternoon (around the world), and I figured some people may not have heard it and might appreciate it.
posted by panaceanot at 5:59 AM on April 14, 2013


Thin or not, I love Radiohead; love Reggae; and have never heard of this. As others say, I can't BELIEVE how well they translate (when if I'd had to guess in advance I'd have predicted absolutely NOT well).

You made my Sunday OP - thanks so much!
posted by Hartham's Hugging Robots at 7:36 AM on April 14, 2013


and panaceanot - they've had other albums out in recent years which sound well worth a listen too: if you've done Pink Floyd and Radiohead, it's probably time for... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJP3jRyQp0A
posted by Hartham's Hugging Robots at 12:00 PM on April 14, 2013


No discussion of Radiohead covers is complete without the Bluegrass Rodeohead medley by Hard 'N Phirm.

....This is what you'll get ....
posted by memebake at 5:29 PM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


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