Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

I know that it seems like I'm on a bit of an unnecessary Daft Punk kick over here. Which of course I am. The beginning of last week's tour pumped me out so much for the show I'm going to see later this summer that I've been listening to the French robots quite a bit lately.

Another unintended side effect of the tour's recent kick-off is the reemergence of a considerable amount of Daft Punk-related material on the web.

Take these videos. None of them (except the last one) is officially sanctioned. They're all a video of the same song but they couldn't be more different. I like how art of one kind influences art of another, but there is no expectation of how the influence is going to manifest itself.

This first pick is entitled Daft Hands, and the creator of the video has claimed that he created this masterpiece in one take. Dunno if that is the case or if he is being a little dishonest, but regardless it's pretty incredible. I do not have the coordination to do something like this at all.

For a little more musical talent (though not digital talent, the last d00d had that in spades), here is an a cappella version from the Carleton College Singing Knights. They have a pretty interesting set of songs that they perform on a regular basis; videos of most of them can be found at YouTube. If you've ever tried to sing anything in harmony, you know how difficult what this group of guys is doing truly is.

Click here (damn Flash-based pages) for an uber 8-bit version. If anyone know what game this is from (I'm looking at you, Perc) please let me know.

If those Nintendo throwback graphics brought you back to the future, then this one will bring you back. I spend at least ten hours a week with my feet planted firmly in front of my television, standing with a plastic guitar in my hands. I'm super-anxious to get my hands on a modified Play Station 2 so that maybe I can play things like this (though no where near as well).

And here, finally, is Daft Punk's version from their animated film Interstella 5555

"Crazy" for the theremin...

I have a slight obsession with the theremin. I just think that they're cool instruments, and sometimes I think I might actually be able out figure out how to use one.

I also have an obsession with cover songs. Personally, I think that one of the most overlooked skills of a great live band is the ability to pick a good cover song and place it well in a set.

Last summer, you could not go 5 minutes without hearing Gnarls' Barkley's "Crazy". The song was literally everywhere. You could not turn on the radio or go out someplace where music was being played--from roller rinks to night clubs to bar mitzvahs and weddings and retirement parties--without hearing the tune.

I'll admit, it's a good tune, and it sure won Song of the Summer as far as I'm concerned. Seems to me that I'm not the only one, as a big trend last summer was the live cover of "Crazy" placed in setlists all over.

I bet none of those versions are quite like this:

Cool cover song + theremin jamming = happiness