The title track from the Bad Plus' most recent release, Never Stop (2010), is a blast. A composition by their bassist Reid Anderson, it was originally written for a fashion show that the band was commissioned to score, and you can hear how its rhythms might have been inspired by imagined parades of models. The tune is straightforward in one way, but it's kind of tricky in another, because the beat gets turned around several times via the use of asymmetrical figures. Of course, this device is one of the secret weapons of Radiohead, a band that the Bad Plus have covered several times during their fascinating career, and it's not impossible that they picked up the idea as a result. But maybe not, because they have done tunes by a few other artists as well. In fact, I wonder if there's ever been a band that have covered such an eclectic list of sources, which includes Black Sabbath, Queen, Yes, The Pixies, Neil Young, Nirvana, Roger Miller, Blondie, Led Zeppelin, Heart, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Ornette Coleman, Rush, David Bowie, Wilco, Pink Floyd, the Bee Gees, The Flaming Lips, and several others. It's quite amazing, really. Oh, and I didn't even mention the classical composers that they've covered - Stravinksy, Babbitt, Ligeti among them. But perhaps the most astonishing thing about the group is the fact that their most compelling music is found in their original compositions, which are contributed by all three members. We're talking about a great group here. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfSEVk8f2Co