speed of dark

I mentioned in my Final Four Favorites post some pre-2006 songs that I discovered because of the influence of Thom Yorke's CD The Eraser.

Usually when I have a new Radiohead song or CD, I don't want to listen to anything else for a while because nothing else is like it. Radiohead songs don't fit well in mixes, at least not to my ear. The Eraser, however, is different because there IS music that is similar or that goes pretty well with it.

My first example is actually an older Radiohead song that I was not aware of until this year. A B-side of the Pyramid Song single, released in 2001, it had escaped me because I normally do not buy singles. It has several similarities to its Eraser kin: the use of vocals as part of the percussion, skippy dance beats, and the clarity of Thom's lyrics.
Radiohead: Kinetic

"Breather" by Laika, the electronica/dance duo of Margaret Fiedler and John Frenett, makes a refreshing opener for the title song of The Eraser. Their "Sugar Daddy," from the album Spin magazine noted in their "Top 10 Albums you didn't hear in 1995," fits this groove too.
Laika: Breather from Sounds of the Satellites (1997)
Laika: Sugar Daddy from Silver Apples of the Moon (1994)

Weird sounds weave around underwater vocals in this charming polyrhythmic dance ditty. I like this track even better than this year's favorite, Needle and Thread
Psapp: Calm Down from Tiger, My Friend (2004)