Radiohead + Regina Spektor

"No Surprises" by Radiohead from OK Computer (1997)

&

"No Surprises" by Regina Spektor (2010)

In support of Doctors Without Borders' effort in Haiti, Regina Spektor took to her piano to cover Radiohead's "No Surprises," the third and final single from their 1997 classic, OK Computer. Thematically, the song is a lament of modern life; monotony in the form of a dreadful job and a mundane existence is depicted by Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke, as the rest of the band plays a dreamlike melody to counteract the nightmarish lyrics.

Regina Spektor's cover is beautiful and true to the original. Employing only a piano, minor strings, and Spektor's soft voice, this version's melody is consistent with Radiohead's recording, while the new arrangement compliments the original wonderfully.

Regina Spektor's "No Surprises" is available at the iTunes Store for $1.29. All proceeds from the song go to the Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund in their efforts to aide the victims of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

Radiohead

Regina Spektor

A heart that's full up like a landfill,
a job that slowly kills you,
bruises that won't heal.
You look so tired-unhappy,
bring down the government,
they don't, they don't speak for us.
I'll take a quiet life,
a handshake of carbon monoxide,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
Silence, silence.

This is my final fit,
my final bellyache

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises please.

Such a pretty house
and such a pretty garden.

No alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises, please.