Hippie Hey Ya
August 18, 2006 10:14 PM   Subscribe

Acoustic OutKast cover by a Tempe, AZ musician named Mat Weedle from local band Obadiah Parker.
posted by cgc373 (78 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Nice. It's a very well-done transposition and the guitar work captures the playfulness of the original while adding that surprisingly appropriate bittersweet tone.
posted by clockzero at 10:24 PM on August 18, 2006


Wow, very nice. Thanks!
posted by SirOmega at 10:32 PM on August 18, 2006


I'm a fan.
posted by grrarrgh00 at 10:36 PM on August 18, 2006


He sings well, but it got on my nerves. I'd much rather listen to the original.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:52 PM on August 18, 2006


Nice. Seems like there's a bit of a trend recently of covers thoroughly de-funkifying soul/hip-hop hits. Just off the top of my head, there's The Gourd's Gin and Juice, Nelly Furtado's Crazy, and Nina Gordon's Straight Outta Compton. And I know there's more I'm forgetting.
posted by boaz at 11:03 PM on August 18, 2006


I loved it. He made it his own, but kept true to the source. It's a little long, but so was the original. Great voice.
posted by hipnerd at 11:04 PM on August 18, 2006


His cover stands on its own, even without having to know the original. I thoroughly enjoyed this, quite unexpectedly :)
posted by adzm at 11:08 PM on August 18, 2006


even without having to know the original.

And I'm sure the one person left in the world who hasn't heard the original will appreciate that. ;)
posted by boaz at 11:11 PM on August 18, 2006


Speaking of de-funkifying.... Richard Cheese also has a cover....
posted by mce at 11:14 PM on August 18, 2006


Hey, two people surely. I haven't heard the original!
posted by Justinian at 11:37 PM on August 18, 2006


boaz : "And I'm sure the one person left in the world who hasn't heard the original will appreciate that. ;)"

You'd be surprised. I only know it because my wife happened to have been visiting the US when the song was popular, and asked me to download it when she came back. I'd wager most folks here in Japan have never heard it.
posted by Bugbread at 11:39 PM on August 18, 2006


And I know there's more I'm forgetting

You're right, this is totally a trend. But one that might be getting played out by now... Dynamite Hack's Boyz In The Hood is a favorite of mine, albeit from four years ago when this was a little less done.
posted by jonson at 11:50 PM on August 18, 2006


That was good. Sure. But I live in (a) Jam Band Nexus.

In the past three years I've heard more than a handful of pudgy white guys do this song live. Sometimes solo. Sometimes with a horn section. Sometimes with a DJ. Sometimes with a female backup vocal section. Sometimes (swear to god) on an autoharp.

So I find it a little bizzare, if not humiliating, that given the musical backwater from where I hail from, I can give this a hearty, "played way the fuck out."
posted by sourwookie at 11:50 PM on August 18, 2006


Thanks a lot, cgc373! This really put me in a good mood.
posted by premiumpolar at 11:58 PM on August 18, 2006


Very impressed! I don't hear the John Mayer comparison at all -- this guy's voice seems more natural and less affected than Mayer's forced whisper/rasp. If anything he sounds like Damien Rice when Damien isn't trying too hard. Doing some Googling revealed that his name is actually Mat Weddle.

I hope Outkast see/hear this and would be very curious to hear their reaction. I also hope to hear more from Mat Weddle.
posted by tu11ym0n at 12:04 AM on August 19, 2006


The Kooks do a lovely Crazy cover.
posted by Kattullus at 12:05 AM on August 19, 2006


The Vines did a cool cover of Ms. Jackson by Outkast. They did a studio version as well.
posted by BackwardsHatClub at 12:31 AM on August 19, 2006


This is great. Does anyone happen to know if he's actually released the cover? I'd love to get an mp3 of it.

I also quite enjoyed Ben Folds's cover of Dr. Dre's Bitches Ain't Shit. iTunes-only, unfortunately.
posted by omarr at 12:54 AM on August 19, 2006


It's kinda cool. It's a very literal version. Every measure matches up precisely with the track and he sings every syllable precisely like Andre 3000. That's why it syncs up with the video so well. He doesn't do anything to make it his own, except remove all the other instruments except the guitar. The 1-4-6 chord progression over and over becomes tiresome after the first 3 minutes, but it's 4.5 minutes long. He has a nice voice.
posted by wsg at 1:11 AM on August 19, 2006 [1 favorite]


I loved it. I had the original "Love Below/Speakerboxxx" album, so I was hearing the original in my head and his at the same time.

I think you know that you have good lyrics when it can be translated to a totally different sound and it still works.
posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 1:14 AM on August 19, 2006


Here's original Brititsh Idols winner Will Young doing a slowed down soul version of Hey Ya (it's his song dubbed over the original video).
posted by PenDevil at 1:32 AM on August 19, 2006


This is why Outkast is good music, because their songs can translate so well.

Thank you, I thoroughly enjoyed that.
posted by Colloquial Collision at 3:29 AM on August 19, 2006


Damn. The dude's name was Weedle at the site I saw, but now that tu11ym0n, among others maybe, mention it, the site's corrected his name to Weddle, just as you said. I'll fix the tag, too.
posted by cgc373 at 3:33 AM on August 19, 2006


This is great - thanks!
posted by goo at 3:48 AM on August 19, 2006


Reminds me of a lot of the Barenaked Ladies' early covers (before they ever put out an album), only not as talented and, imo, not as good an original track.
posted by dobbs at 6:06 AM on August 19, 2006


Kinda cool, should've cut the 'what's cooler than being cool' section and gone straight to the 'shake it' breakdown bit imo.
posted by chrissyboy at 6:07 AM on August 19, 2006


What's the name of this band again? Jebediah Springfield?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:31 AM on August 19, 2006


Brilliant. Anyone got an mp3 of this? (original link)
posted by ColdChef at 6:53 AM on August 19, 2006


This has been done.
posted by Zero Gravitas at 7:14 AM on August 19, 2006


I like the cover, especially the first, serious verse.

Here's a very strange combination of The Gourds cover of "Gin & Juice" and a slideshow of some guy's kid.
posted by kosem at 7:14 AM on August 19, 2006


I wasn't expecting this FPP to be so good; credit to everyone else who threw in links. Thanks!
posted by Eideteker at 7:50 AM on August 19, 2006


[Apologies, boaz, for doubling you up. I'll rtft, next time.]
posted by kosem at 7:53 AM on August 19, 2006


Nice surprise post cgc373. Mat Weddle did a great job with the song. He's good! And it's a fun cognitive dissonance, the Andre 3000 video and Mat. Here's a Google vid of Mat Weddle doing a Bjork cover, Who is it? And a Google vid of him with the band Obadiah Parker, the band's site.
posted by nickyskye at 8:06 AM on August 19, 2006


Cold Chef:
I found a link to the mp3 on the dreaded youtube:
here you go.
posted by ktrey at 8:06 AM on August 19, 2006


quick, someone put those lyrics to the peanuts video!
posted by arialblack at 8:08 AM on August 19, 2006


I guess I'm a sucker for an acoustic guitar and a mellow back-of-the-throat voice. Love Iron & Wine's cover of Such Great Heights for the same reason.

But I couldn't stand the overlay with the OutKast video. Yeah, I get it. It's bar-for-bar the same track. I'd still much rather watch 4.5 minutes of the lo-res pudgy dude. Maybe a splitscreen...
posted by scarylarry at 8:14 AM on August 19, 2006


That was beautiful.
posted by scottreynen at 8:16 AM on August 19, 2006


That was great.

This makes me laugh.
posted by papercake at 8:25 AM on August 19, 2006


BtW, anyone who hasn't should check out Dynamite Hack's cover of "Boyz N Tha Hood".
posted by Eideteker at 8:30 AM on August 19, 2006


Its not an acoustic cover, but the Supersuckers have a great cover of Hey Ya too.
posted by Seth_Messinger at 8:37 AM on August 19, 2006


His singing does remind me of John Mayer, but maybe with some Adam Duritz in there too.

I like this.
posted by danb at 8:41 AM on August 19, 2006


Thanks, ktrey!
posted by ColdChef at 8:42 AM on August 19, 2006


I just realized that this sort of reminds me of what Weezer used to be like.
posted by clockzero at 8:46 AM on August 19, 2006


Dude, that sounded nothing like weezer.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:50 AM on August 19, 2006


Maybe it's just the way the song is interpreted. Something about it reminds me of what I used to like about Weezer.
posted by clockzero at 8:55 AM on August 19, 2006


Also, I guess, the tempo and key and mood are somewhat, somehow, reminiscent of Say It Ain't So.
posted by clockzero at 9:00 AM on August 19, 2006


The Obadiah Parker videos on Google are pretty damn good.
Mat Weddle's voice and style remind me of Jesse Colin Young, but I'm an old guy, and my memory's not what it used to be, and.....
posted by Benny Andajetz at 9:05 AM on August 19, 2006


Good songwriting is good songwriting.
posted by jimmythefish at 9:11 AM on August 19, 2006


Also, I guess, the tempo and key and mood are somewhat, somehow, reminiscent of Say It Ain't So.

Yeah, maybe if you're half deaf and on acid.

I kid, I kid. But I really don't see it at all. But different strokes, and what have you.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:13 AM on August 19, 2006


I've always wanted a crooner/Harry Connick type to cover "Baby Got Back". Real slow-like. So I can feel it.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 9:15 AM on August 19, 2006


The video seemed like a "in memoriam" for Andre 3000.
posted by c:\awesome at 9:21 AM on August 19, 2006


I can't believe no one's mentioned Jonathan Coulton's version of Baby Got Back.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:21 AM on August 19, 2006


Yes, this was good.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:22 AM on August 19, 2006


Yeah, maybe if you're half deaf and on acid.

I kid, I kid. But I really don't see it at all. But different strokes, and what have you.


Yeah. I know it's not a very obvious connection. I think it's the ebullient two-facedness, the tension between the levels on which it works. Just my thought.
posted by clockzero at 9:32 AM on August 19, 2006


You know, this song is currently the #1 hit on Google for folk cover. OTOH, I hadn't heard of #2, Brett Runyon's cover of Bring The Noise. I should warn you it's terrible.

I'm reminded of that (almost certainly apocryphal) quote from Ray Charles about the 70s music scene: "All the black guys want to sound white, and all the white guys want to sound black. .... All except for John Denver."
posted by boaz at 9:51 AM on August 19, 2006


For any backwoods hick like myself who hadn't seen the original Andre 3000 Outkast Hey Ya vid.
posted by nickyskye at 10:31 AM on August 19, 2006


A lot of great lyrics get lost in the power funk that these R & B and rap tunes have. The beat just takes over. Doing them accoustically highlights the lyrics. I've heard that song a million times but didn't know that it had lyrics like this:

But seprate's better when there's feelings involved
If they say nothing last for ever why is love the exception. Damn.
posted by Ironmouth at 11:39 AM on August 19, 2006 [1 favorite]


Here's an alternate MP3 link.
posted by pwb503 at 2:07 PM on August 19, 2006


I agree with Ironmouth - with the Outkast version, I never heard the lyrics because of the mix. I like this guy's version better, frankly...
posted by MythMaker at 2:24 PM on August 19, 2006


Wow, their cover of Radiohead's Idioteque is also pretty awesome.
posted by milov at 2:37 PM on August 19, 2006


Couple of stunning melodies in there as well, not just great lyrics.

Sometimes it helps to pull a song out of its genre to realize just how good it is. My drunken punk rock bands over the years played a couple Madonna songs ("Like a Prayer", "Material Girl") that I previously thought were dogshit tunes, but learning how to play them and arrange them gave me a fair amount of respect for Ms. Ciccone's abilities as a songwriter (that is, if she wrote them).
posted by Hypnic jerk at 3:18 PM on August 19, 2006




Anyone have an mp3 of the Nelly Furtado cover of "Crazy"? I'm totally digging that...
posted by hincandenza at 4:01 PM on August 19, 2006


Who was it that said the true mark of a good song is that it still sounds good on an acoutic guitar by a campfire?

Actually, I think it was Jon Bon Jovi.
posted by gottabefunky at 4:21 PM on August 19, 2006


Seems like Richard Thompson's cover of the Brittany Spears song Oops, I Did It Again deserves a mention here.
posted by maurice at 4:25 PM on August 19, 2006


Never mind- I just found out what a "search engine" was. :)
posted by hincandenza at 4:33 PM on August 19, 2006


Seems like Richard Thompson's cover of the Brittany Spears song

Ween does a cover of Hit Me Baby One More Time (sorry no link) that is, .... well, it's really amazing how creepy the lyrics are. And if we're just doing general covers, it's really amazing how good William Shatner doing Common People is, especially since the original is kind of a throwaway song.
posted by boaz at 4:46 PM on August 19, 2006


Richard Cheese does a great version of 'Baby Got Back'.
Razorlight do a decent cover of 'Hey Ya'
The linked version is a bit shit to be fair.
posted by MrMustard at 6:21 PM on August 19, 2006


Milov, the cover of Idioteque is fantastic. Thanks for that!
posted by scarylarry at 8:02 PM on August 19, 2006


"A lot of great lyrics get lost in the power funk that these R & B and rap tunes have. The beat just takes over. Doing them accoustically highlights the lyrics."

"Y'all don't wanna hear me, you just wanna dance."
posted by Eideteker at 8:25 PM on August 19, 2006


Great original, great cover.

Thanks, cgc373.
posted by ericbop at 8:28 PM on August 19, 2006


The Carleton Singing Knights doing Sufjan Stevens' "Chicago" and Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger", a capella choir style.
posted by arto at 8:39 PM on August 19, 2006


The accoustic version works--it really works. Neat.
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:27 PM on August 19, 2006


Who was it that said the true mark of a good song is that it still sounds good on an acoutic guitar by a campfire?

Actually, I think it was Jon Bon Jovi.


Well, he was wrong. There are lots of good songs that would not sound good on an acoustic guitar by the campfire.

Also, for good measure, writing about music is nothing like dancing about architecture.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:22 PM on August 19, 2006


OK, this is AskMe chatfilter, right?

John Wesley Harding does a "Like a Prayer" that's seriously haunting.

Aimee Mann does a sweet, less immediate -- more nostalgic -- "Baby Blue".

Tomek Makowiecki -- winner of a Polish Pop Idol -- does a metal-ish Can't Get You Out of My Head that I really like, although the video here trims the achingly anticipatory percussion intro (my MP3 is about three minutes longer, if you like look for it). It's also annoying the way he sings "hair" instead of "head".

Vyvienne Long (Damien Rice cellist) does a mean Seven Nation Army (so does Nostalgia 77, different angle tho).

The Folksmen -- from A Mighty Wind -- have a gem on the soundtrack album that wasn't in the movie: Start Me Up.

Nickel Creek's Toxic is another great one (bad sound here).
posted by dhartung at 2:08 AM on August 20, 2006


Thanks dhartung.

Local H also does a live version of Toxic that I love.
posted by Benway at 9:36 AM on August 20, 2006


I have a decent (audio-only) recording of Nickel Creek's Toxic, if anyone wants. One of my favorite covers of all time.
posted by danb at 2:05 PM on August 20, 2006


Wow, and I thought it was irritating when the Boss Hoss covered "Hey Ya" last year. Talk about tokenism.
posted by Eater at 7:32 PM on August 20, 2006


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