By Lauren Sloss | June 18th, 2011
I’m not sure if Radiohead and Neil Young is an obvious association for me. Canadian alt-country folk-rocker from the 70s meets creepy teched-out kings of the 90s and aughts? Then again, both Radiohead and Neil Young are musical geniuses who, in their own ways, have spoken to music lovers/geeks across the generations.
When I first listened to Radiohead’s cover of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” (one of my all-time favorite songs off the classic album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere), my jaw dropped a little. That raw, smokey opening guitar? Straight Neil Young. But those fuzzy, slurring vocals? Pure Thom Yorke.
Maybe not the most obvious association, but this cover, courtesy of Stereogum’s 20 Best Radiohead Covers, really works. And clearly Yorke and Co. are Neil Young fans — four other covers of the Canadian bard’s track appear on this list.