Rip

It takes something, or someone, very special to better the original when covering a song. I can think of just one popular example, being Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, but there are other lesser known examples, such as Biffy Clyro's cover of Rihanna's Umbrella, or Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt. And so, as Radiohead cart around the world in their tour bus, naturally avoiding flying at all costs, it comes as a wonderful surprise to see them upload a video of themselves playing an amazing acoustic version of Portishead's The Rip, off their album, Third, which, if you haven't already listened to, is incredible. Radiohead are not known for their covers by any stretch of the imagination. In the past, scarce recordings have surfaced, such as Carly Simon's Nobody does it Better (introduced as "the sexiest song ever written"), Can's The Thief, and even the Manic Street Preacher's classic If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next. They have never been a band to dwell on other bands' material, whether that be for respectful purposes or the wish to not be seen as fawning, but they have always been targets for cover versions themselves, recently made famous by that wanker, Prince, and other leechers like Alanis Morrisette and Jamie Cullum. Need I say any more, dear reader? Well yes. Radiohead have a strange knack of improving upon an original; not through stamping their mark all over it, but through careful consideration and due respect. I recommend the following links, which have all come in a flurry during 2008 after a career long (relative) silence on other bands' work: New Order's Ceremony; Bjork's Unravel; The Smiths' Headmaster's Ritual, and now, Portishead's The Rip.