Inspiration: Vintage Computers Parts Cover Radiohead
Big Ideas (Don’t get any) from 1030 on Vimeo.
In case you haven’t seen this, James Houston has produced a short film in which an assortment of old computer gear “plays” Radiohead’s “Nude.” We’ve seen various bicycle parts and such performing music around here, but not the actual components of computers in this way. James features:
Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Guitars (rhythm & lead)
Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer - Drums
HP Scanjet 3c - Bass Guitar
Hard Drive array - Act as a collection of bad speakers - Vocals & FX
He explains:
I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware, and placed them in a situation where they’re trying their best to do something that they’re not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there.
It doesn’t sound great, as it’s not supposed to.
Sorry, James. You’ve failed thoroughly. It sounds fantastic.
Not only that, but I think it’s quite a nice reminder that even in regards to technology, sometimes sounding bad or primitive is wonderful. Yorke’s songwriting prowess comes out even as the music is translated to an entirely different arrangement. It’s humbling to hear — it means that, technology or no, being able to write great ideas sure helps. And it strips away some of the justification for having the latest and greatest soft synths, erm, not that it’ll stop us any time soon.
By the way, I hadn’t heard that Thom Yorke thought it was impossible to do remixes in 6/8. Come on, really? Okay, maybe for people whose heart beats four on the floor…
Time to dig into my equipment closet and see what will make sound. Peace out.
15 Comments
Leave a Commentbliss
Awesome!!!
June 6, 2008 @ 4:36 pm
bliss
Gives new meaning to the term “OK Computer”.
June 6, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
bliss
That’s art, I tell you! Well done, James!
June 6, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
Ogrim på veven » Blog Archive » Gamle maskinar, ny musikk
[...] for bare nogen minutt siden. Det kom inn ein melding om at det va komt ein oppdatering på ei kjekke sida eg fulle me på, gjønom [...]
June 6, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
superhumanoids blog » James Houston: “Big Ideas (Don’t get any)” Video
[...] I also disagree with Houston’s claim that “It doesn’t sound great, as it’s not supposed to” - it sounds absolutely majestic and I think it was always meant to sound that way. Get through the intro and you will see what I mean. [...]
June 6, 2008 @ 7:59 pm
dead_red_eyes
It’s nice to see this video on here. I’ve listened to it about 50 times or so since it went up on Gizmodo this morning. It’s sooooooooo good. I wish there was a downloadable mp3 of it.
June 6, 2008 @ 9:17 pm
the raker
this is ok,
but clearly, the best part is the vocals, and i’m not convinced that it’s anything more than a messed up sample of thom yorke’s original.
if anyone can convince me otherwise, i’ll be very impressed.
just another cover
June 7, 2008 @ 8:29 am
Premini
Yes, i agree with the raker.
Is there a capella of this radiohead song? How this misterious rack of HDs work?
June 7, 2008 @ 9:56 am
Francisco
this is f-ing fantastic!! and i love that the video looks like it was made in the 80’s as well. Great great….GREAT job!
June 7, 2008 @ 11:27 am
digital lofi
Yeah, the washed, 70s film stock effect absolutely adds to the atmosphere. However this was accomplished it is a thing of beauty. (Though I am curious about the programming/sequencing behind it.)
June 7, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
m-clis
it even can’t be jugged!!! really innovative way of producing stuff!
June 8, 2008 @ 3:49 am
c64
@raker: You can use a very old hard drive that will act as a speaker. That’s why it sounds like a messed up sample. YouTube has some clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GT2WrsCDmI
June 8, 2008 @ 5:42 am
ponk
fantastic video.
June 8, 2008 @ 9:12 am
Lisa
Unbelievable. Old school machines collaborating on a remix. I like it.
We’re big Radiohead fans here at MixMatch. This video will definitely be well appreciated.
Our Blog
June 8, 2008 @ 10:25 pm
mm
so clever so original so beautiful.
August 8, 2008 @ 2:32 pm
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