Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers cover Hall and Oates's "I Can't Go For That" while crammed into a van, with Bluhm driving, singing, and playing a kazoo, and seeming to do a rather good job at all three. Talent!

Hall and Oates - I Can't Go For That - Cover by Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers - Van Sessions (via Wil Wheaton)

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Funny • happy mutants • music • Old school • video • youtube

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nem0fazer

How did they get the mix so good? I’ve done worse in a home studio let alone a car!
- zartan74
  
  It’s horrifying how many hours I spent trying to get a mix sound even half as good as this using a cassette-based 4 track.
  - nem0fazer
    
    That’s exactly what I had in mind. I suspect you’re of a similar generation to me! we didn’t have no HD multi-tracks in my day!
- BookGuy
  
  I am not well versed in the physics of sound or studio fundamentals, but I wonder if the sound quality has something to do with being confined in a small space with lots of glass and hard surfaces for reflection, but at the same time lots of soft materials for absorption.
- flickerKuu
  
  They didn’t do any mixing at all. It’s one mic, in a small non-reflective space. It’s a natural mix. Kinda of like the Cowboy Junkies- they did an entire album with one mic hanging down in between them in a church, and it’s one of the greatest “mixes” I’ve ever heard. No mixing here- just your ears, and sound bouncing around a van.
Donald Petersen

Now that’s the performance that song has always deserved.
Cowicide

I knew it was only a matter of time before this was on boing boing… this is going to be huge… I love this to death.
http://twitter.com/Noddy93 Noddy Ninetythree

well, i gotta admit, i’ve been avoiding clicking on this video all day but…. i love it. can’t wait to get to work so i can rip the audio.

and you gotta give props to that stringed snare
- Donald Petersen
  
  Yup. I imagine Martin never imagined someone could slide a sheet of paper into the strings of a Backpacker guitar and thereby construct a damned fine rhythm section.
MrMonkey

I think that’s the sincerest kazoo solo I’ve ever heard. Seriously so much better than I thought it would be.

I expected ham, and they delivered bacon.
http://www.blert.net Pixel

So their version of the song was good, but I admit to being a bit disappointed that there as no motorized kazoo, because that was what got me to click on this in the first place.
- http://twitter.com/Noddy93 Noddy Ninetythree
  
  time to learn, my friend, the power and glory that is the hyphen
  - howaboutthisdangit
    
    LOL. I didn’t notice the hyphen at first either.
    
    “Motorized kazoo? This I gotta see!”
http://twitter.com/abditum Griffin Boyce

That’s a really great cover =) Major props to the singer/driver for both being good and not crashing the band.
h4x0r

There’s a lot of win here.
snagglepuss

Yeah, but can she/they do the Beat Farmer’s “Happy Boy” ?

Now THERE’S a test of your kazoo chops.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_33XKGBFC2L23VDB75WWC2LSL6U Casey

Hall&Oats + Hipster crap-rock band = Why the F*#& is this post worthy?

Is it supposed to be ironic I don’t get it?
- http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios
  
  You must be new here. Somedays it seems that Cory has an odd fondness for all things hipster. Weird, eh?
  - hymenopterid
    
    Hipster is the new Godwin.
    
    It’s ok, I was fixated on the trucker hats at first, wondering just how many levels of irony they represented. I wish the term meshback would have caught on.
    
    The song is good.
    - Antinous / Moderator
      
      “Hipster” isn’t really a derogatory term among people who leave the house and have mated with members of their own species.
- garyg2
  
  It’s all about the song though and whatever you think of H&O, this ain’t a bad song at all and covered with a certain panache I find appealing.
  
  IMHO. Your opinion is allowed to be different. ;)
- wrybread
  
  [oh nevermind]
- http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art
  
  Actually, Casey, it’s not “hipster” at all. It’s a note perfect rendition of what was termed, “Blue Eyed Soul”.
  
  Hall& Oats were not only stellar writers and performers with a discography of #1 hits that were second to none, they also enjoyed great critical acclaim.
  
  This band here artistically spans that difficult void of being both perfectly true to the original song but also give it a completely unique personal twist.
  
  This is a MOST notable artistic accomplishment.
- Jeffety
  
  And speaking of hipsters, isn’t it about time for a changing of the guard? I saw this *exact* style of dress in Portland around 1999, no difference whatsoever. Aren’t trends supposed to evolve faster these days? At what point do we all just yawn?
  - flickerKuu
    
    Pffft.. Calling the Mother Hips “Hipster” is like pretending your point is valid. Absolutely ludicrous. Try listening to the band once, and then tell me they are bad. What do you listen to?
- jimh
  
  Free ice cream, no?
  Get thee back under thy bridge.
http://twitter.com/_Engineer666 _Engineer

Seatbelts?
Edit: She’s wearing it.
noah django

I’ve always loved this song, this is a fine version. really great vocal. can’t believe this is mic’ed with a camcorder in a moving vehicle though. how many attempts before the sweet spot of that dashboard was found?
http://twitter.com/Truersound Truersound

very cool and well done, I saw a couple of other bands recently who recorded videos from their moving vans (and many other locations) for CXCW (www.couchbycouchwest.com) festival.
I can’t remember which ones, but there were at least 2.
Lauralee Smith

Thanks to you, Cory, I have not only discovered a new band I love, but they are coming to my town in 2 months. And I *love* the van session YouTubes. ;)
http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art

They nailed it. They totally nailed it!

Very heartening to hear such sublime talents.

Thank you, Cory, for the great post.
zartan74

The details really make this – the backing vocals, the kazoo solo, the occasional syncopated beat on the 2 and 4 (not sure what exactly is making that beat, however). Really, really well done.
- clayvis
  
  Tim slid a sheet a paper in the strings of his Martin Backpacker guitar…amazing snare effect. Brilliant!
yochris

If you go to their youtube page they have a whole series of these. The last one they did was “Islands in Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and it is equally amaze-balls.

Also, the guy in the back right playing guitar is her husband and lead singer from The Mother Hips, Tim Bluhm.
http://www.facebook.com/mr.intj Scott Smith

That was really impressive. I too am amazed at the near perfection of the mix. I’d rather watch this, than some lame lip-sync with all the flashy costumes and lights.
- Shibi_SF
  
  I completely agree. I resisted watching this video for almost an entire day — though, I’m not sure why. I liked H&O in their time, but Nicki and the Gramblers cover of this song is perfect!
  
  (I used to have a pair of her sunglasses with the red-white-blue composite plastic frame, worn whilst listening to H&O back in the day, natch!).
- flickerKuu
  
  Lol. There is no mix. It’s one “mic”, an I-phone, nothing else. No mixing, just natural sound bouncing around a van.
  - wrybread
    
    Are you sure its an iPhone camera? I know they say that in the YouTube description, but for one the video is the wrong aspect ratio, and the sound is soooo much better than I’d expect.
    - flickerKuu
      
      No, I’m not sure- I was going by the description. Aspect ratios get changed from phone -> youtube. All I know is I shot a friend’s live act once with a 60D and an Iphone, and the Iphone’s sound was great, the 60d’s was garbage. You have to remember, it’s in a nice van- so there’s a lot of soundproofing and soft surfaces, with a few hard ones at the front for some spacial dimension. I think they got lucky with the acoustics, but they are also amazing musicians, and know how to play their instruments pretty well and tight.
      - wrybread
        
        No, the apsect ratio doesn’t change when you post a video to YouTube. Here’s a video my girlfriend posted directly from her iPhone:
        
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNEIf58JFs4
        
        And yeah, the sound is notoriously bad on Canon DSLRs, which is why you see so many people using Zoom mics (or similar) with them.
tmccartney66

They may have a Xoom camera – those things have amazing mics.
- flickerKuu
  
  It’s an I-phone.
crummett

Plus, Zach Galifianakis on keyboards!
flickerKuu

Bluhm, and his band The Mother Hips, are the band I call “My favorite band”. That’s a hard claim to make with all the good music out there. But I followed these guys since the 90′s in college, and they are just amazing. Finding this Nikki girl and adding her to the family- what a great idea! Enjoy these guys! They ARE amazing musicians!
penguinchris

This is one of those videos where I think “do I really want to bother?” but wow, am I glad that I did – it’s excellent!

edit: this Patsy Cline song they did is excellent as well
http://twitter.com/Marilyn_Res Marilyn Terrell

Nicki Bluhm is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/nickibluhm
http://twitter.com/Marilyn_Res Marilyn Terrell

Here’s their version of Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good” performed in the van between Phoenix and Tucson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qagfnqQNkeo&feature=relmfu
mediumlite

I can’t get enough of this. Literally hitting replay isn’t doing it. I NEED to ingest this somehow.

Motorized kazoo-equipped Hall and Oates cover

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