OK Cover

August 1, 2012 6:37 AM

Back on June 8, the Metafilter Music Challenge announcement was made: cover an assigned track from Radiohead's OK Computer. Lotsa folks signed on. Now it's August 1st, deadline is passed. Check out the 46 submissions that came in!
posted by flapjax at midnite to MetaFilter-Related at 6:37 AM (30 comments total)

Just noticed in the thread that the deadline has been extended another month! Yay! I get a chance to make an actually interesting version of Karma Police!
posted by lazaruslong at 7:13 AM on August 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah! We just moved and this gives me more time to find where music things are boxed.
posted by xorry at 7:15 AM on August 1, 2012

Just noticed in the thread that the deadline has been extended another month!

Hey, that's news to me! Sorry, then, for posting prematurely!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:18 AM on August 1, 2012

This challenge produced some of the absolute best out of the MefiMu Crew. I've been recommending the challenge playlist to friends who are Radiohead fans. I'm seriously floored by the talent in that subsection. I can't even call one out in particular, because they are all so fantastic.
posted by frecklefaerie at 7:55 AM on August 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyway to do a mass download of this instead of clicking individually on each track? This is some excellent stuff, I really should go to MeFi Music more often.
posted by arcticseal at 8:07 AM on August 1, 2012

Excellent challenge and very happy to hear it's been extended.
posted by idest at 8:08 AM on August 1, 2012

I really should go to MeFi Music more often.

You know, that is not at all an uncommon comment to hear whenever one of these "hey! look what's happening at Mefi Music" posts come up. But alas, people usually do forget about it, soon after, and we languish in obscurity over there.

Such is the fate of the underappreciated musican.

I'm gonna go to my room now.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:21 AM on August 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

*slides apologetic plate of jaffa cakes under the door*
posted by arcticseal at 8:26 AM on August 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just noticed in the thread that the deadline has been extended another month!

Yeah, I figured, hey, a lot of people haven't found the time/inspiration to do what they wanted still, and it's not like we're on a temporal budget here, so let's give it another month so folks who didn't get across the finish line can regroup and give it a go still. And new folks can hope on the wagon if they like.

Been a ton of really fun stuff so far. I'm really enjoying all these interpretations.

Anyway to do a mass download of this instead of clicking individually on each track?

Not in any built-in way, but I bet we could get a everything-in-one-zip-file thing put together after the shutters close on the challenge for good.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:28 AM on August 1, 2012

*slides apologetic plate of jaffa cakes under the door*

Thanks! I will eat them at midnite.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:33 AM on August 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

new folks can hope on the wagon

Mods! Hop me!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:34 AM on August 1, 2012

I'm still planning on doing my track once I get some sort of recording setup going so thanks for keeping the challenge open for another month.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:42 AM on August 1, 2012

This has probably been brought up before, but is there any way to highlight the track you're playing on the music page so that if you scroll around while you're listening it's easy to find it again?
posted by Clustercuss at 9:03 AM on August 1, 2012

This has been a really fun challenge month. So many awesome covers. It's been really impressive.

Something that really struck me - and I guess I knew this on some level, but it really hit me this month - was just how good the songs are, from a songwriting standpoint. I mean, the production of the record is so good, and the playing is so good, and so iconic, I sometimes forget just how good the song craft is on the album, which really shines through in all these great covers.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:24 AM on August 1, 2012

Yeah, that's something I noticed when trying to learn how to play 'Electioneering' (Yes, I'm one of the latecomers that's thankful for the extension). They excel at the craft of songwriting and there's also some delightful details in the arrangements that ties back in with the lyrics. Electioneering has a great descending melody against an ascending bassline in the chorus when he sings "I go forwards, you go backwards." 'High and Dry' from 'The Bends' is another good example where the melody reaches its highest note on the word 'high' in the chorus. These may of course be unconscious on the part of Thom Yorke et al but they strike me as the kind of guys that would revel in these kinds of musical details.
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:45 AM on August 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

And new folks can hope on the wagon if they like.

If new people want track assignments, they can either speak up in this thread or message me directly.

Thanks to cortex for giving the thumbs-up to keep it open for another month. I almost didn't get my track done before the end of the month and I still haven't done the pretty acoustic instrumental I promised, and I suspect that others are like me and can benefit from the extra time. And I'm still hoping for more versions of the tricky songs.

And thanks to flapjax at midnite for putting up this MeTa post. I thought about doing one like this but have not had time.

It's been a great challenge. The submissions have been surprising and incredible. I never cease to be amazed at the talent at MeFiMusic.
posted by The World Famous at 11:21 AM on August 1, 2012

Reposting from the other thread:

Along with extending the contest a month, would it be cool to expand the track selection to the album's B-sides? There aren't nearly enough cover versions of them out there:

Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)

Pearly

A Reminder

Melatonin

Meeting in the Aisle

Lull

Palo Alto

How I Made My Millions

They're all great with no filler (I love the last three especially), and it could offer some extra creative opportunities to those who already scrambled to finish their July covers and have nothing to do till the end of August. They're also not quite as technically challenging for the most part, good for those intimidated by the main tracklist's walls of sound.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:11 PM on August 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

That's cool with me. I like the B-sides more than I like the actual album.

People can feel free to cover those tracks. I'll add them to the list of tracks to assign anyone who asks.

Anyone who has already done one or more tracks for this challenge should use August to do another!
posted by The World Famous at 12:26 PM on August 1, 2012

I may go for Pearly.
posted by dobie at 1:05 PM on August 1, 2012

THE ANSWER IS TAWNY.

Extension is a great idea. I snuck mine under the door without realizing there was an extension. Still, I won't re-submit, because I liked the rushed feeling of my take. (I think it took me a total of two hours to record the seven tracks, after the song had been ringing in my head for six weeks.)
posted by not_on_display at 1:17 PM on August 1, 2012

Glad to have the extra time to finish mine off (it's been languishing half-finished for a couple of weeks), but also cursing quietly because now I don't have any excuse to just write it off as too tricky to do in the allotted time...
posted by ZsigE at 2:18 PM on August 1, 2012

This is the NaNoWriMo of Metafilter Music Challenges.
posted by swift at 2:23 PM on August 1, 2012

And I mean that in a good way.
posted by swift at 5:51 PM on August 1, 2012

Cortex, for your cover of No Surprises did you do the head in a fishbowl filling up with water thing? Also, what kind of drugs were you on MajorDundee when you did your lucky cover? Cause I want some.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 6:21 AM on August 2, 2012

And also metafilter kicks so much ass its not even funny.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 6:22 AM on August 2, 2012

I've had an idea rattling around for Fitter, Happier ever since I first saw this assignment that I'd like to try. I have absolutely no musical skills, so taking on that particular thing speaks to me.
posted by Shepherd at 9:52 AM on August 2, 2012

I did this challenge coming from the same place, Shepherd, and hoping hard I was assigned Fitter, Happier. Alas, I was not and was forced to actually be musical about the ordeal. I worked out (kinda) in the end, and I'm really happy I contributed. Now I'm actually considering doing another one. = o
posted by carsonb at 10:40 AM on August 2, 2012

If anyone's interested in the challenge and looking for collaboration, i'm happy to team up. already done two tracks but could easily be convinced to go for more...
posted by dubold at 1:18 PM on August 2, 2012

I'm still meaning to record mine -- Airbag as played by Eric Satie but with the lyrics of How Soon is Now instead -- but have had a hell of a lot going on musically since the challenge was issued. If all else fails I'll just DO IT LIVE I guess.
posted by unSane at 10:11 PM on August 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

I just posted a proposed Los Angeles meetup for tomorrow or Sunday evening at my home for anyone who would like help working on a track on my home recording studio setup.
posted by The World Famous at 11:20 AM on August 3, 2012