Divisible
Radiohead are something of a sacred cow for me (and numerous other music nerds of a certain age), so any mention of a cover usually sends me heading for the hills. Heck, covers in general usually send me heading for the hills, but the idea of a bad cover + Radiohead is just that much more off-putting.
Ahh, but before you go running as well: this cover by Angelenos Divisible is actually pretty darn good. Lead singer Shola wisely avoids trying to match Thom Yorke’s distinctive vocals, and instead goes for a bluesier, raspier interpretation. It works. And while not matching the exact atmospherics of the original – there’s still a sense of calamity but they go less for lamentation and more for sinister foreboding – the tone still feels right.
It’s difficult to place or put into precise terms, but their original music sounds unmistakably influenced by Los Angeles. As in, if I didn’t know the pair were based out of the City of Angels, I’d have suspected it in my gut. They have that noirish, seedy back alley feeling to them. Like Midnight Movies’ distant cousins. It’s good stuff.
Divisible – Exit Music (For A Film) Radiohead Cover
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Hi Sean -
Sorry to hear that emerging artists covering tunes makes you run for the hills. The idea is that you get a sense of where the artist is coming from if someone like you is reviewing; or perhaps a DJ has never heard of the artist, but will listen to the cover to see if there is any reason to listen to the remaining tracks.
Benefit to the aritst: Priceless. An artist’s name associated with a popular cover zooms that artist to the top of the charts for that title.
It’s a very simple concept that has amazing power. For those who believe in originals only…well, that is a respectable opinion. If you want to make money, try doing a cover or two and see what happens.
Janet Hansen
Scout66.com
Any band with sheet music and a free afternoon can cover a song – that tells me nothing about the band itself. Hearing if a band can write songs themselves – that’s everything.
As far as money, well, ask Murray Head, Soft Cell, Sinead O’ Connor, and Alien Ant Farm if collectively they’re doing as well financially as, say, one Depeche Mode album. Or compare David Lee Roth’s solo career with, say, Morrissey. Covers get you five minutes, original songs get you a lifetime.
Janet,
I completely understand the need for new bands to round out their setlists with covers in their formative stages. However, that doesn’t change my personal experience with them. I can count on one hand the number of good covers I’ve heard lately, even by established artists. 90% of them do no favors to the original nor the covering band. I’m not saying I’d dismiss a band totally out of hand because of that or that I don’t understand why they do it, just that they personally do very little for me, as an individual and as a music lover.