The many faces of Creep
This article kicks off a Ticklebooth series that will showcase and celebrate many amateur vocalists singing some of pop culture’s most iconic songs. There is not a better song to start off with than Radiohead’s Creep. A song for whatever reason has a magical way of getting people to lose their inhibitions and sing their hearts out. There is a very nice Wikipedia article on the song: “Thom Yorke explains the song saying that he wrote it while studying at Exeter University. It tells the tale of an inebriated man who tries to get the attention of a woman he is attracted to, by following her around. In the end, he lacks the self-confidence to pull it off. Although he usually referred to the drunken student in the third person, with no little contempt, sometimes outright denying it was him, he sometimes admitted it was.”
But this isn’t about Radiohead, I write this to celebrate the human spirit to express, past the hissing camera, in little rooms, with only the computer to light their faces, they sing. Changing, morphing the song to fit their troubles, their lives. So often in searching for these performances, I’d get goosebumps because I couldn’t help feeling all these emotions people were putting into these songs. In contrast, Thom Yorke and Radiohead have grown out of the song, rarely performing it in public.
I have chosen a handful of videos that I thought were standouts. Breaking from Ticklebooth tradition, I have actually embedded these videos in the post so you don’t have to leave the page. There are other smaller links in this that you can choose to visit if they interest you.
A good place to start is with the official video for the song. Sadly, it is quite conservative by Radiohead standards. There is no concept, there is no play. It basically consists of the band playing to fancy strobe lights.
Then there is, of course, a series of concert videos. My favorite Creep performance was in Astoria, London.
Other concerts:
- Creep at Glastonbury 97. The song was not played in concerts for a while after.
- Sung in Japan where the crowd sings along. In the Radiohead documentary, Meeting People Is Easy, Yorke lets the crowd take over clearly indicating he is tired of the phenomenon.
Creep is one of those songs that speak to young people. How young, you ask? How about a baby in its crib that cannot speak but understands the whine of the melody. Behold the boy wonder…
And it doesn’t stop there, there are teens all over the land singing their depressed hearts out. I think part of the attraction young people have to the song is perspective of the outsider, unable to fit in, uncomfortable with their physical selves.
But I’m a creep,
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doin here?
I don’t belong here
There was so many to pick from but in the end I decided to go with a music video that best indicates that youthful angst & awkwardness.
Other young performers:
- Young Jaime de V. (notice his voice in its various stages of change)
- Mouth syncing to Richard Cheese’s version
- Short and loud
My all-time favorite Creep music video is by Monkeehub. An animated classic that I have watched several times and have never grown tired of. Based on an acoustic version sung by someone other than Yorke. (update: people have commented that it is Thom, apologies)
Sadly the quality of the Creep music videos falls quite steeply after that. There are some odd ones that are worthy of some attention. Here is a music video whose main character is a red ball.
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Other music videos:
- Interesting video where the entire video uses a dark filter to good use. The performance, however much it hides behind the effect, is not so good.
- A video full of 90’s cliches
As with any popular song, Creep is remixed with popular movies and television shows. There are three versions that use Phantom of the Opera as it source. Repeat three.
Other remixes:
- #2 Phantom of the Opera remix
- #3 Phantom of the Opera remix
- A terrible Fight Club remix
- A terrible Bad Ronald
- Versions featuring Anime: Chisen & Charcoal Feathers
I think the best movie that goes with Creep is Punch Drunk Love, sadly the movie was only remixed with another Radiohead classic “No Surprises.”
Creep is ideal for road trips –– you can scream sing your head off with few people around to actually witness it. I remember driving up to meet my in-laws and singing this song. I transformed from a nervous wreck to a confident creep. This video is short but I have so been there.
Other traveling Creeps:
- Raul sings in his car
Once upon a time people sat in parlors listening to a Mozart’s music, now they listen songs ear-popping renditions of Creep. Here is a teen performing Creep to his peers in his garage.
Other Chamber musicians :
- Singing Creep in the corner of a house party
There are some wonderful covers of Creep. But on YouTube, however, Marty from Rockstar claims the honors.
Other covers:
- Lukas Rossi
- Beck
- Benjamin
- Dustin Kensrue
Which brings me to my favorite video of the bunch. The very spirit of this article. A man and a guitar deliver a heart-wrenching performance. I am aware of stating the obvious here but much like telling my wife I love her, I think it is good to hear and say it repeatedly –– I love the internet. And I don’t mean to oversell here, this is not better than Thom Yorke or whatever, it is what it is but beautiful nevertheless.
I am sure I have missed some worthy Creep videos. If you know of any, feel free to share.
Digg this story – Buy Radiohead cd’s at Amazon. Meeting People is Easy is also available.
Also check out DeK’s piece on Avenue Q’s “Internet is for Porn!”
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30 Responses to “The many faces of Creep”
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I don’t know of any video, but Frank Bennett did a great, big-band-style cover of it on his (sadly no longer available) album Five O’Clock Shadow.
I believe there’s an official Frank Bennett web site somewhere with a free MP3 of the song (amongst others).
Thom York is singing in the video by Monkeehub. The credits say music by Radiohead. I know Thoms voice when I hear it.
the person singing on the acoustic version that accompanies the animated video is thom.
the acoustic version of creep, in the animated video by monkeehub, is actually sung by thom yorke, it is actually a quite popular acoustic version of the song that is well known. good artical though.
just to reiterate, the acoustic version is in fact thom and can be found on the My Iron Lung EP, and others as well.
[...] Luego de que la banda interpretara 3 veces “Creep”, apareció en la red un artÃculo llamado “las varias caras de Creep”, donde se hace una compilación de varias versiones, libres y covers, del tema. [...]
The Frank Bennett version can be found at http://www.frankbennett.com/sounds/s_Frank%20Bennett%20Creep.MP3
other songs from Frank Bennett are here:
http://www.frankbennett.com/discography.htm
a video of his creep version can be found here:
http://www.frankbennett.com/video/Creep_BBand.wmv
other videos are here:
http://www.frankbennett.com/video.htm
Hi,
Thanks to all those who have corrected me. Amazing, I thought I knew Yorke’s voice.
yeah the voice was from thom yorke, but who caress? your article was very cool..
the red ball video rocks
Look around for a couple Japanese covers of the song (they do not have videos, to my knowlege). One is by Sheena Ringo, it’s a live bootleg floating around on the internet. The other is a full-on J-pop arrangement (with fake orchestra and everything!) by an artist called ACO.
There is this song from the Hollies, back in ‘74, called The Air that I Breathe
which is like an old version of creep
This is a great post, I love all the videos. I think i might have a go at making my own!
Hi Lauren,
You should do a video and then come back here and submit it. Would love to see it.
U2 also did a live cover of Creep. I’ve never seen a video of it but there is an MP3 floating around.
I saw “Creep” performed by Radiohead at Coachella a few years back and it blew my mind. However, the best live version of “Creep” was at a party. I don’t remember the bands name, as they were a local group from Oklahoma, yeah Oklahoma, but they did the lyrics of “Creep” while playing the music of “New York, New York”. This was almost seven years ago, so way before mash ups and stuff like that. It was amazing. I have tried to find this version multiple times in my life, but it is nowhere to be found. I highly encourage someone to mix it, if they have that talent.
Hunter, sounds very cool.
Very nice article, though, I think the concert in Japan wasn’t the one in Meeting People is Easy, anyway, I don’t remember very well, saw the documentary a while ago.
To Ally’s comment, that “cover” from U2 is false, I can’t really tell whose the singer, but it’s not Bono, nor U2 =p
Moby did a cover as well. watch it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaiQlOcHFVg
A somewhat interesting coincidence: this karaoke version of “Creep” I’ve seen [and sung to] also features a Phantom of the Opera kind of thing. At the end, it’s revealed to only be an actor behind the mask or something but it’s still close to the same concept.
[...] Strictly speaking, this is not about Radiohead: The many faces of Creep. [...]
this post rules…enjoying it a lot…thanks!
I love your article (Y) =)
.
Malaysia has lots of Youtube contributors and Radiohead fans.
You’ve got two videos here from there
cheers
there’s also a rather amusing cover of creep by richard cheese
Would someone please find me a mp3 of the Hollies “The Air That I Breath”? It is said Radiohead copied there meolody for Creep and had to hand over copywrite publishing to the Hollies. . I am so wanting to hear that song to see the similarities.
thank NIKKI
I have listeneed to every performance of Creep and HANDS DOWN Lucas Rossi from Rockstar:Supernova is the all time greatest performance to date!!!!!!! Talk about getting chills. wow!!!
I have U2 cover of creep but I still haven’t found the video of U2 version….can you help me?
thanks….
vinci
yes. radiohead ripped off the chord progression from the hollies Air that I breath. At the end of the song, Thom Yorke sings the melody line from the Hollies song (during the “runnning out on me” part)
ultimately, the Hollies sued, won, and now share royalties on the song.
anyway, heres the hollies video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZMA5oRzMj0
When i first heard this song back in the mid 90’s, i remember thinking it sounded so much like another song from when i was a little kid, but i couldnt think of what…
then, somebody lent me a “best of the 70’s” compilation, and the hollies song was on it, and i knew that was it…
In keeping up with the celebration of the human spirit to express, and agreeing that so often in searching for these performances, goosebumps are felt because of the helpless feeling of all these emotions people were putting into their songs.
These videos are also standouts. I hope you’ll find them intriguing.
“Hurray” (Bringing Scrabble Back)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsJSyP–IhU
“Down In Heaven” (Skydiving)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rSDw8iXj-PM
“Bittersweet Symphony” live
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3uQet6SQcBo
This Canadian musician is an avid Radiohead fan too!