Prince covers Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella:
I got that link via Petey so it's possible that the video embeds subliminal "vote for Hillary" messages or something.
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Prince's "Creep"
28 Apr 2008 09:09 am
Comments (58)
"I got that link via Petey so it's possible that the video embeds subliminal "vote for Hillary" messages or something."
Indeed. But the effect has a delay. So it'll take 6 to 8 hours before you suddenly decide that universal healthcare is the most important piece of legislation the next administration will be facing, and that the Obama campaign's decision to block the MI & FL re-votes was incredibly sleazy.
-----
I was working part time in a five-and-dime
My boss was mr. mcgee
He told me several times that he didnt like my kind
cause I was a bit 2 leisurely
Seems that I was busy doing something close 2 nothing
But different than the day before
Thats when I saw universal healthcare, ooh, I saw universal healthcare
She walked in through the out door, out door
Has Radiohead played that song since they started reinventing rock (aka, playing crap)? They peaked with The Bends, IMO. Before you call me a troglodyte for saying that, when is the last time you decided to listen to something from OK Computer, Kid A, or whatever execrable collection they've made since?
"Hm. A video of a mixed-race man who sings..."
Via Wikipedia:
There are a number of myths regarding Prince's ethnicity, some spread by Prince himself.[citation needed] In fact, both of Prince's parents are African-American.
Finally, Radiohead sounds good to me! Thanks, Petey.
You're gonna have to do a lot more to make Hillary ok for me, though :)
Raspberry Beret is obviously an attempt to dredge up the Lewinsky scandal.
Fred-
I'm no Radiohead historian, so I might be mistaken, but I believe that when they started playing it regularly on the Hail to the Thief tour it was for the first time in years.
Also, while I don't much care for Amnesiac, I'm a fan of most of the material on the other albums.
Ban Petey
According to Alex Ross they played "Creep" more or less spontaneously as an encore at a show in 2001, after not playing it since 1998. It sounds like it was a one-off at the time. (And the OK Computer and onward stuff still sounds good to me.)
Petey was trying to distract you away from Roger Waters/Pink Floyd's Giant Floating Obama pig. ("Don't Look! Don't Look!" )
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_en_mu/music_coachella_roger_waters
All in all, Petey's just another brick in the wall.
From the link:
"But Waters' biggest prop was an inflatable pig the size of a school bus that emerged while he played a version of "Pigs" from 1977's capitalism critique, "Animals."
The pig, which was led above the crowd from lines held on the ground, displayed the words "Don't be led to the slaughter" and a cartoon of Uncle Sam wielding two bloody cleavers. The other side read "Fear builds walls."
The underside of the pig simply read "Obama" with a checked ballot box alongside."
I understand that it serves the interests of neither the Clinton nor Obama campaigns, but I continue to be absolutely dumbfounded that we're about to enter month 5 of the Clinton/Obama campaign and basically no one in the blogosphere has mentioned this highly entertaining 15 year old video...
"the Obama campaign's decision to block the MI & FL re-votes was incredibly sleazy"
And not at all the kind of thing Hillary would have done in if their places had been reversed. Her position on FL and MI is clearly driven by her principles, and not cheap opportunism.
Radiohead's most recent album is on high rotation chez nous. Mostly courtesy of my wife, who is a bit hipper and edgier than I am -- but after listening to it twenty times, I'm finding that I do like it. And OK Computer is basically canonical.
Weird. Prince's style actually works pretty well for Radiohead, though it completely changes everything.
the Obama campaign's decision to block the MI & FL re-votes was incredibly sleazy.
Right, because lord knows theres nothing sleazy about agreeing not to campaign in Florida, agreeing not to seat the delegates, campaigning there, and then demanding they seat the delegates. No, that's just the height of integrity.
"And OK Computer is basically canonical."
Get the f**k out of here. In ten years you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who remembers it. Never underestimate the ephemeral nature of popular (or quasi-popular) music produced in an era with such a massive quantity of it.
I've heard Petey called a lot of things, but subliminal is not one of them.
i'll let you know if they are still playing creep on tour when i see them in a week, and again in 3 months!
Roger Waters also predicted Petey's response when Obama wins the Presidency:
-----------------
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
(Wait for it )
Boom!
"This Roman Meal bakery thought you'd like to know."
I don't need no arms around me
And I dont need no drugs to calm me.
I have seen the writing on the wall.
Don't think I need anything at all."
"Roger Waters also predicted Petey's response when Obama wins the Presidency"
Was Roger Waters shilling for McGovern back in '72?
I still listen to OK Computer all the time. But I'm sure there's an excellent reason why that doesn't count.
They have played Creep here and there in the last decade. I also remember a few songs from The Bends being played when I saw them in 2003.
Saw this video last night via Stereogum and have been playing it repeatedly.
This video has better video of Prince's Coachella cover of "Creep," but the sound's a bit more muffled.
Arg, I'm at work now (no speakers), and can only hope that Prince doesn't have this yanked off You Tube before I get home tonight.
Seriously, Matt, more Prince blogging!!!!
I'm a big fan of everything up through Amnesiac; it's with "Hail to the Thief" and "In Rainbows" that they lost it. Yeah, sorry Fred, not everybody shares your musical opinions.
Fred, you're nuts. OK Computer is my favorite album, by any artist, ever. It was one of the best albums of that whole decade.
Get the f**k out of here. In ten years you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who remembers it.
From Wikipedia:
"OK Computer is the third album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in 1997."
Thank god for half baked technology. Using cell phones, the internets can be filled up with shitty videos.
What amazes me is how Prince managed to sing through the earthquake.
So it'll take 6 to 8 hours before you suddenly decide that universal healthcare is the most important piece of legislation the next administration will be facing
And then about 30 seconds to realize that anyone who thinks The Hills is going to jeopardize her second term by pushing for universal healthcare in her first is an idiot. Hillary doesn't care about universal healthcare, Petey. She just wants rubes like you to think she does.
I was there, about 50 feet away. Great show, and this was the best part.
"And then about 30 seconds to realize that anyone who thinks The Hills is going to jeopardize her second term by pushing for universal healthcare in her first is an idiot. Hillary doesn't care about universal healthcare, Petey. She just wants rubes like you to think she does."
Y'know, Clinton wasn't my first choice for the nomination.
I think she's a pretty flawed standard-bearer for the progressive cause, even if she's a 'less bad' option than Obama.
But on the issue of universal healthcare, I actually think she's going to prioritize getting the thing signed into law, and is rather likely to succeed.
First, if she wasn't serious about this, she wouldn't have signed onto the Edwards plan. She would have come up with a gimmickier plan that was politically easier to digest. The Edwards plan allows certain openings for political attacks - attacks that Obama has already used repeatedly, and that McCain will reprise this fall. If she was just posturing, she'd have taken an easier way out in terms of the plan.
Second, and even more importantly, Hillary Clinton's political interests are aligned with the progressive community's interests on universal healthcare. Her 1993 failure is the greatest stain on HRC's reputation, and passage of a functional and popular piece of legislation like the Edwards/Clinton plan will permanently erase that stain. I trust Clinton to act in her own political interests, and passing universal healthcare is in her own political interests.
(Also worth noting that in 1993, despite all the errors, it was Hillary who wanted to do universal healthcare before NAFTA, which would have provided a key negotiating pressure point on GOP Senators to come on board. It was Bill who vetoed that idea and did NAFTA first, essentially dooming universal healthcare in the Senate.)
"Get the f**k out of here. In ten years you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who remembers it. Never underestimate the ephemeral nature of popular (or quasi-popular) music produced in an era with such a massive quantity of it."
You do know it's the one with "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police"? Cause for casual Radiohead fans like me, those are on the list. (Which I think goes, 1. Creep, 2. HIgh and Dry 3. Fake Plastic Trees 4. Paranoid Android 5. Karma Police 6. Everything in its Right Place.)
This is always why I'll like Radiohead better than Prince. Prince just has to switch the song into the third person, with a lot of "You're a creep". He brings it at the halfway mark, but even then, it's "Maybe I'm a creep." Prince's whole "I'm 5-feet-tall and the hottest thing in the world" schtick is cute, but I'll always have a much warmer place in my heart for the self-loathing of Radiohead.
I have enjoyed all their records; the best is probably the Bends, but OK Computer, Kid A, and, yes, In Rainbows are all wonderful, too. Prince sucks.
Radiohead is a great band. It is true, in my opinion, that their best album is The Bends, but that doesn't mean their other work is lacking. Far from it. OK Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows are all excellent. Prince, on the other hand, sucks.
"OK Computer" is already more than ten years old. I echo Alli in that it is possibly my favorite album by any artist, ever. (Definitely in the top three.) "Hail to the Thief" and "In Rainbows" are also incredible. "Kid A" is merely very good, although "Idioteque" is one of their greatest songs. I'm not that big of a fan of "Amnesiac."
I offer this praise as someone who doesn't even consider Radiohead his favorite band. (They're probably third on my list.)
According to Alex Ross they played "Creep" more or less spontaneously as an encore at a show in 2001
It was the big South Park gig in Oxford -- with the late Humphrey Lyttelton as one of the supporting acts -- and they played it as a kind of what-the-hell when the feedback for the opening to 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' meant they couldn't get through it: 'Bugger: Das ist Kaput, ja?' (Review here.)
Disregarding Old Fart Fred, that's a pretty damn fine cover by the short bepurpled one. It changes the song, but in a way that seems to fit him.
Matt Weiner,
""OK Computer is the third album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in 1997.""
By "in ten years" I was referring to ten years from now. I assumed that was implicit from the phrase "in ten years".
Prince, on the other hand, sucks.
Prince had a string of 7 5-star-quality albums over an 8 year period from "Dirty Mind" to "Sign O the Times." He followed that with a pretty good stretch through the name change and has been sporadically good (and extremely prolific) since. He had singles that reached the Billboard Top 10 in ten consecutive years (1983 - 1992, plus 1994) and has had even greater success on the R&B charts. He wrote hit songs for other artists, including "Manic Monday," "Nothing Compares 2 U," "I Feel For You," and "Jungle Love."
Prince often plays all or nearly all of the instruments on his albums, as well as producing and arranging them. He's proven to be very influential in fusing funk, soul, and rock elements together into very successful pop music, with lyrics revealing a fascinating collision between sexual desire, religious ecstasy, and social conscience.
Suffice it to say that Prince does not suck.
wouldn't have signed onto the Edwards plan. She would have come up with a gimmickier plan that was politically easier to digest.
And that plan would be? Clinton saw Edwards stealing her issue and sought to steal it back, but was unwilling to proffer the only serious and progressive health care plan available, which is single payer. Transparent political posturing suggests is not the mark of "seriousness".
Her 1993 failure is the greatest stain on HRC's reputation, and passage of a functional and popular piece of legislation like the Edwards/Clinton plan will permanently erase that stain.
Actually, failure to push through an unwieldy and probably unconstitutional health care program, leading to Democratic losses in Congress in '12 and potentially making HRC a one-termer, would be a much more serious stain on her reputation. Which is why she won't do it.
Just in honour of Fred, I listened to Kid A on my way to work this morning.
Everythiiing....
In its riiight plaaaace....
By the way, OK Computer to be forgotten? It would have to be quite a change in music, considering that it is still considered by music pundits as one of the best rock albums of all time:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1542202.stm
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36737-staff-list-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/page_10
http://www.spin.com/articles/100-greatest-albums-1985-2005
http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/0,27693,OK_Computer,00.html
Anyone who says "Prince sucks" can be safely ignored on all music-related topics, and maybe all topics, period. I'm lukewarm on Radiohead, but maybe that's because I recognize that Prince is awesome.
Fred, I know, but your claim that it's a flash in the pan is a little flimsy when it's already stood the test of time for eleven years -- which is a while in rock music. Can you think of any albums from 1987 that were on everyone's top list in 1998 and are forgotten today?
But I do admire your persistence and vehemence in continuing to uphold your point of view on a matter of taste. We like post-Bends Radiohead, you don't, get over it.
I don't know how falsifiable Fred's prediction really is. Generally saying it will be forgotten in 10 years is a pretty vague thing to say. Sure, someone will forget it. But, what's our criteria for something like me memorableness? Surely Radiohead fans will still LOVE OK Computer, or even Kid A, and perhaps In Rainbows; and there are an awful lot of Radiohead fans out there. Will Pitchfork be our barometer? Does anyone really decide to keep their albums put away because of music critics?
More to the point, there isn't much thought to Fred's prediction besides the generic notion that people's taste in music changes. True, but it often doesn't. People still listen to music that was very popular and/or had a cult following in the 60s, 70s, etc. I would further add that it seems to me that a collection of ablums that do not appear to sound all that genre-specific or emblematic of a particular trend (as opposed to albums by, say, The Strokes) would be well-suited to standing the test of time.
Must be a generational thing.
Here's another way to understand Hillary's copying the Edwards plan, Petey: she didn't want to get attacked by the guy with the most populist cred in the race. Copying his plan was the only certain way to make sure he didn't come after her with full populist force.
She came out with her plan quite late, after most of the other candidates had staked out their positions and she'd know how she needed to position herself. At one point before that she talked about how her goal was to pass UHC by the end of her second term, which makes absolutely no sense given the Senate calendar. These are not the actions of someone driven to erase the great stain on her record. They're more the actions of someone who doesn't want to get into that mess again.
So it looks probable to me that she's going to take the path of least resistance once she's in the White House, and it's hard to see how that's a path to UHC.
Basically, I'm just offering a little more evidence for the Josh E. position.
"So it looks probable to me that she's going to take the path of least resistance once she's in the White House, and it's hard to see how that's a path to UHC."
As stated, I think she sees UHC as crucial to her own political legacy.
I trust Hillary Clinton to act in what she sees as her own political interests. And I think the way she sees her own interests on this issue are aligned with our interests.
I'm not 100% sure I'm right and you're wrong on this. Your analysis definitely is plausible. But I do think I have likelihood on my side.
What's wrong with you people?
Who's the fool on this blog dissing Prince? PRINCE? The man's one of the greatest musicians of the last 25 years.
And who's the fool dissing Radiohead? They've had an amazing evolution as a band, they're fantastic musicians, and they are probably the best band playing right now. Period. I'm a little iffy on Hail to the Thief, but everything else is fantastic. Even Amnesiac. If you didn't like it, you should listen to it again.
Muse is the new Radiohead.
Clinton will be too busy ramping up the war in Iraq and bombing Iran to do much of anything on health care.
Matt: "it's possible that the video embeds subliminal "vote for Hillary" messages or something."
Which is why I only listen to The Corrs, Matt! No political messages in their stuff! (Well, unless you count Andrea's anti-war song, "Shame on You" - which she nonetheless insists isn't a slam against Bush and Blair.)
Mad6789j has it right - Hillary's "legacy" will be continuing the war in Iraq (well, until the US loses decisively, which it will, of course) and continuing the war in Iran that Bush and Cheney start this year. I'm not sure she'll even get around to starting a war in Pakistan.
But she'll definitely be supporting the war Israel starts with Lebanon and Syria. There'll be no limit to the munitions the US ships to Israel when they run out of cluster bombs dropped in civilian areas.
somebody wrote, referring to ok computer: ""Get the f**k out of here. In ten years you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who remembers it."
that's crazy talk. that album has influenced more music in the last ten years than any other release period.
it's kinda like saying, now that grunge is gone, nobody's gonna remember "nevermind."
people tend to remember influencal albums.
"blue lines" and "loveless" still turn up regularly on all-time best album lists.
then there's "the velvet underground and nico..."
ps; anybody who thinks prince sucks is really missing out.
Radiohead is a talented band that makes terrible music.
I'm not going to get bogged down in the question of which album is the one where they went wrong; I've heard them all. Are the songs interesting? Sometimes. Worthy of study and critical dissection? Perhaps even that.
You can appreciate the form and finesse of a boxer as you watch him pummel his opponent, but if you're the guy standing in the ring and bearing the force of his assault, you're not going to be having much fun. And with only a handful of exceptions, listening to Radiohead is like being repeatedly punched in the ear by a heavyweight champ at the top of his game: remarkable, maybe, but not enjoyable.
"Creep" was one of those exceptions.
Prince's rendition, however, goes right back into the "suck" category. In a sense, that means this cover is even more authentic than the original. He takes a decent, straightforward song -- an exception in Radiohead's repertoire -- and turns it into a drawn-out, self-indulgent, melodramatic pile of wankery. It's just the kind of thing Radiohead fans would love, if it hadn't already been a Radiohead song in the first place, and if Prince's wailing had been louder, longer, and squeakier.
As for the idea that Muse is the next Radiohead... not quite. They're both talented bands, but Muse uses their talent for the *benefit* of their listeners.
And with only a handful of exceptions, listening to Radiohead is like being repeatedly punched in the ear by a heavyweight champ at the top of his game: remarkable, maybe, but not enjoyable.
If you qualify all of that by saying that's one person's subjective opinion, fine. But otherwise you're presupposing that every person who likes most of Radiohead's music is only appreciating the skill and talent that's showcased in otherwise unenjoyable songs. I think that's a very bogus assumption.
Personally, I don't know the first thing about music. I can't tell you why it requires more vigorous training to compose a symphony piece than to lay down a Kanye West beat. Yet I find Radiohead songs to be incredibly aesthetically pleasing. Some of their stuff takes longer to get my head around than other music I listen to- and I imply from that this is because Radiohead creates more high-minded music than other artists in my collection, but I can't really prove it or defend this notion in any way. What I do know is that I don't get tired of Radiohead albums like I do some other stuff that might be easier to swallow on first listen.
But otherwise you're presupposing that every person who likes most of Radiohead's music is only appreciating the skill and talent that's showcased in otherwise unenjoyable songs.
No, not every person. I'm sure some people genuinely do like it -- even Komar and Melamid's statistically designed "Most Unwanted Song" was predicted to appeal to 200 people.
I suspect that a larger group, however, have simply talked themselves into enjoying it, or at least acting like they do, because it's trendy. Radiohead fans have built a powerful hype machine, and precisely because their music is so inaccessible, touting one's status as a Radiohead fan is an easy way to set oneself apart and sound cool.
And with enough familiarity, even if you don't like it at first, you may find it growing on you the more you're subjected to it.
What I do know is that I don't get tired of Radiohead albums like I do some other stuff that might be easier to swallow on first listen.
Those aren't mutually exclusive: there are bands out there who are easy to swallow on first listen and hold up to repeated listening.
And with enough familiarity, even if you don't like it at first, you may find it growing on you the more you're subjected to it.
Right. My impression is that a lot of people want to like Radiohead because it's trendy or whatever. And then they end up really liking Radiohead. Yes, that's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's also genuine. I don't think there are too many poseurs out there. At the least, I wouldn't suspect poseurs are the ones making it so hard for me to get decent concert tickets.
My impression is that a lot of people want to like Radiohead because it's trendy or whatever. And then they end up really liking Radiohead. Yes, that's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's also genuine.
On the other hand, it can happen with just about anything. If you have nothing to eat but cookies made of mud, oil, and salt, you might grow to appreciate them after a while, even if you find them unappealing at first. That isn't a statement about the hidden deliciousness of mud; it's a statement about the ability of humans to adapt to their environment.
Comments closed May 12, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
it's possible that the video embeds subliminal "vote for Hillary" messages or something.
Hm. A video of a mixed-race man who sings:
"I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here."
Hardly subliminal, in my estimation.
Posted by James Gary | April 28, 2008 9:18 AM