Sampletastic: CRS/Thom Yorke

In 2006, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke put out a pseudo-solo release of the electro-rock persuasion called "The Eraser." The title track features a haunting series of looped piano chords that lay the groundwork for punchy drums and Yorke's signature eerie vocal stylings:

Thom Yorke - The Eraser.mp3

In 2007, Plain Pat put together a formidable Kanye West mixtape called "Can't Tell Me Nothing" which preempted in an attempt to get folks riled up about "Graduation" I suppose. The mixtape featured a collabo between Kanye, Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco, collectively known as CRS. The song "Us Placers" sampled "The Eraser" and all of them spit some of their best verses over that loop:

CRS - Us Placers.mp3

It was pretty brilliant even though really, it sounds more or less just rapped over the instrumental and kept Yorke's vocals intact for the chorus. But the fact that anyone would think "Hey, I should rap over a Thom Yorke song" is pretty remarkable in itself. In any event, you can definitely tell they were feeding off the mojo that was injected by Thom Yorke into the original. That same mojo made its way into the video as well - Va$htie did her damn thing and the end result was a video that pissed excellence and shat upon 96% of all rap videos ever made:

Versions: Estelle/will.i.am

British R&B siren Estelle has been making a lot of noise in the U.S. with her latest album Shine (2008), thanks in part to the single "American Boy" with Kanye West:

Estelle - American Boy (featuring Kanye West).mp3

However, I was really diggin' on a primarily instrumental version by will.i.am called "Impatient" which appeared his album "Songs About Girls" (2007):

will.i.am - Impatient.mp3

I really didn't like "American Boy" when I first heard it, but it's grown on me. I'm just really attached will's version because of the way it caught my attention as a stand-out track on "Songs About Girls." The composition and layering of sounds are impeccable (to me anyway) and it makes me appreciate will.i.am as a producer just that much more. You lose a lot of the intricacies when you add vocals to the track, which is why "American Boy" didn't sit well with me at first. I'm just a sucker for the nostalgia and imagery that "Impatient" invokes, so don't mind me.

Versions: Amy Winehouse/Jazmine Sullivan

'Round Midnight is said to be the most oft covered jazz standard in all the history of the genre. Chances are if you aren't familiar with the title, you've still probably heard the song in some capacity and by someone other than Thelonious Monk who is said to have composed it in 1940. It didn't originally have lyrics, but when they were added they told a story of deep longing in the late night hours. It's on some hugging-your-pillow-staring-outside-as rain-taps-against-the-window pane-and-sighing isht...with this song playing in the background, HAHA.

That being said, there are a couple of recent renderings of the song that I really dig. The first one is by Amy Winehouse, which appeared as a non-album b-side with the 2004 single "Take The Box" from her debut album "Frank." She wasn't even 21 when she recorded this, but her delivery was impeccable. She knew exactly what to put behind the notes she was singing to make them matter - I think we Black folk call that "soul." The overall production is great - quirky yet sultry, it definitely can get you to feel some kinda way if all the right elements are in place.

Amy Winehouse - 'Round Midnight.mp3

More recently, there's Jazmine Sullivan's live cover. She's straight outta the Black Lily scene in Philly, and getting her feet wet in the industry with the likes of Missy Elliot. There's not much I can really say to prepare you for the voice you're about to hear, so I'm just going to post the track. Give yourself about 5 seconds before you check your arm for goosebumps:

Jazmine Sullivan - Round Midnight (Live).mp3

How THAT is coming from a 20 year old is beyond me, but whatever diety saw it fit to bless her with those pipes I am grieviously in their debt.

So yeah. I don't really prefer one cover over the other - they're both pretty badass in their own respects, so it doesn't do them justice to compare. It's just cool to hear how different people interpret the song and how they choose to convey it in their delivery.