Tschernobyl, Harrisburgh, Sellafield

One of the things I like about Spotify is being able to find cover versions. That's easier for some songs than others, of course, thanks to the popularity of titles…

Radioactivitat (Radioactivity) was the almost title track on Kraftwerk's follow-up to Autobahn, Radio-Activity.

First, the 1975 original.

The truly wonderful 1990s reworking from The Mix.

The 2004 tour live version, which goes from the original to the rework and which was the highlight of the concert for me (and in English, if you insist 🙂 )

Good covers:

'Powerplant' (the English translation of Kraftwerk!) with strings.

Observer dancy version.

Screamin' Rachael's slight rework of the Observer version.

Ultravision, synth.

Andrea Belli, acidy.

An almost acoustic version from one of the Trans Slovenia Express albums.

Kat Onoma live electric guitar.

Jah On Slide, a reggae version.

Blackstone rock it.

David E Sugar on 8-bit games console hardware.

Not on Spotify, although the rest of the album is:

Senor Coconut's Latin dance.

Less successful:

Robot Project sounding like it was 8-bit console hardware.

Binary Sequence using a drum and bass drum track with almost ambient sounds.

Fatboy Slim doesn't quite get it.

The Triffids, sounding like it was done in someone's bedroom.

Ultimate Bassmachine – I'm not completely convinced this is a cover version.

Mustn't forget:

Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (as they were then) writing a song based on a speeded up version.


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