What songs should my electronica cover band play?

September 29, 2008 12:33 PM

Help me think of classic electronic tracks for my (as-yet-hypothetical) classic electronica cover band.

I came across Orbital's Doctor?, a cover of the Doctor Who theme song, and I thought "man, this is great; I bet people go nuts for this at parties".

And then I thought it would be a hell of a lot of fun to start an electronic cover band with a couple of my synth-geek friends. Easier than starting an original band, since you wouldn't have to worry about all that pesky creativity—and, y'know, people would go nuts for it at parties.

So what tunes would you want to hear if you came to see my band? Kraftwerk offers a whole smörgåsbord of possibilities, of course, but what else?

Tracks should be familiar and recognizable (to electronic music geeks, at least), party-friendly (or amenable to being played that way), and not too techno-oriented. (I like techno, but that's not what this project is about. I'm sure we would put a more danceable spin on some tracks, but I don't want to just cover the big rave hits of the 1990s or whatever.)

posted by greenie2600 to media & arts (26 answers total)

Stakker Humanoid
posted by exogenous at 12:40 PM on September 29, 2008

Charley by Prodigy
posted by Bernt Pancreas at 12:44 PM on September 29, 2008

Blue Monday by New Order.

Beat Box or Close (to the edit) by the Art of Noise.
posted by gyusan at 12:59 PM on September 29, 2008

I thought it was hilarious that the Ringling Brothers show I just saw had renditions of Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up, Firestarter, and Breathe.
posted by neilkod at 1:04 PM on September 29, 2008

Little Fluffy Clouds - The Orb
Plastic Dreams - Jay Dee
Show Me Love - Robin S.
posted by BillBishop at 1:10 PM on September 29, 2008

Great idea! I would love to see/hear these covered:

Anything KLF

MARRS, Pump up the volume.

Jean Michel Jarre, Oxygene (I think that is his most "known" track outside synth geeks).

Daft Punk hits, Around The World perhaps.

Chemical Brothers, Block Rocking Beats

Yello, The Race

DJ Shadow, buildingsteamwithagrainofsalt, for the "slow" track

Fatboy Slim stuff.

(These are film but synth/electro film themes..)

Harold Faltermeyer, Beverly Hills Cop Theme.

Sylvester Levay, Airwolf Theme.

Jan Hammer, Miami Vice (probably Crocketts Theme)

and probably lots more! great project :)
posted by gmm at 1:10 PM on September 29, 2008

any kraftwerk!
autobahn, computer love, pocket calculator.
posted by slograffiti at 1:11 PM on September 29, 2008

"Blue Monday" is a great suggestion, and ties in nicely with another thought I had: "The Walk" by The Cure.

Also: the Knight Rider theme.

Keep 'em coming!
posted by greenie2600 at 1:23 PM on September 29, 2008

Rockit by Herbie Hancock.
posted by gyusan at 1:25 PM on September 29, 2008 [2 favorites]

If you want classic electronica, Pierre Henry's 'Psyche Rock'. I believe that Fatboy Slim did a cover/remix of it, too.
posted by Paragon at 1:26 PM on September 29, 2008

Harold Faltermeyer's Axel F.
posted by gyusan at 1:29 PM on September 29, 2008

I'm not deeply into the genre; my selections are from an earlier, poppier synth era. I have no idea how old you are, but I think most people in your potential audience would know at least one or two of the songs I list below.

Gary Numan: Are Friends Electric? and Cars.

DEVO: We're Through Being Cool is a personal fave, and their own cover of The Rolling Stones' Satisfaction is a classic. But then, any DEVO is good stuff.

Newcleus: Jam On It. It's like, crazy space rap. Plus, a mic battle w/ Superman!

A Flock of Seagulls: Wishing ( A Photograph of You). I like this song much more than their big hit, I Ran.

Then there's always the Mode. You can't go wrong with a song or two from Depeche Mode, especially pre-Violator.
posted by droplet at 1:29 PM on September 29, 2008

(this sounds like a great project, keep us posted!)

Some random suggestions, both cheesy and serious:

EMF - Unbelievable
Technotronic - Pump up the jam
Roni Size / Reprazent - Brown paper bag
Bomb the bass - Megablast
Squarepusher - My red car
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
Trentemøller - anything...
Prodigy - Voodoo people
posted by swordfishtrombones at 1:38 PM on September 29, 2008

Your idea should be the 21st century version of bar lounge acts. I want to hear some classic electronica while I drink my beer. Seriously.

Orbital - Born Slippy
Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy
Old video game soundtracks - Mario, Tetris, etc.
posted by faunafrailty at 1:53 PM on September 29, 2008

Bizarre Love Triangle. 'Nuff said.
posted by Spyder's Game at 2:01 PM on September 29, 2008 [1 favorite]

Cover Moog Cookbook's cover of More than a Feeling: Classic Rock and New Order together at last.
posted by turbodog at 2:03 PM on September 29, 2008

Orbital - Born Slippy

You mean Underworld - Born Slippy.NUXX. Underworld's good, also their previous iteration as Freur, & Chemical Brothers might be fun too. Speaking of previous iterations, see the KLF, also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, furthermore known as the JAMS.

I'm sure I'll think of lots after I hit post.
posted by Pronoiac at 2:28 PM on September 29, 2008

Tunes I think most of your target audience could name in a few bars:

Autechre - Basscadet
Skream - Midnight Request Line (this might still be a classic in the making I guess, but it's pretty distinctive and recognizable at this point)
DHS - House of God
Chemical Bros - It Doesn't Matter
Mr Oizo - Flat Beat
DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World
Coldcut - [More] Beats and Pieces
Underworld - Born Slippy
Boards of Canada - anything from Music has a Right... or Geogaddi
Mr Scruff - Get a Move On

And you do need some 90s rave hits, right?
Goldie - Terminator / Inner-city Life
Dillinja - Nasty Ways
Ganja Kru - Super Sharp Shooter
UK Apache and Shy FX - Original Nuttah
posted by moift at 2:51 PM on September 29, 2008

A little something from Switched-On Bach or The Well-Tempered Synthesizer.
posted by bricoleur at 3:53 PM on September 29, 2008

And, y'know, Popcorn.
posted by bricoleur at 3:54 PM on September 29, 2008

And, god help me, Frankenstein.
posted by bricoleur at 3:55 PM on September 29, 2008

The KLF, billing themselves as The Timelords, recorded a Who-based single called Doctorin' The TARDIS, which is wicked good electronic nerdiness rolled in OMG awesome. I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, though, so I may be a bit biased.
posted by droplet at 5:22 PM on September 29, 2008

Mr Oizo - Flat Beat

It is probably fairly obvious that I endorse this selection flat-heartedly.
posted by flaterik at 5:24 PM on September 29, 2008 [1 favorite]

Lords of Acid - I sit on acid, or anything off of voodoo-you

Soft Cell - Tainted Love
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 7:31 PM on September 29, 2008

Thirding Mr Oizo and Flat Beat. This is one of my favorite videos of all time. It's more of a Euro thing though, apparently.
posted by intermod at 7:45 PM on September 29, 2008

Enola Gay or Souvenir by Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark from the 80's and Lawnchairs by Our Daughters Wedding (less well known but a catchy little synthpop gem IMHO), then back to the 70's for Space by Magic Fly (check YouTube for their very funky video) and of course I Feel Love by Donna Summer.

As far as the 90's goes, Energy Flash by Joey Beltram RULES and hey, what about some Moby?
posted by Chairboy at 8:44 AM on October 4, 2008