Possibly The Most Enthusiastic Rendition of Smoke On The Water Ever.

May 18, 2016 5:31 PM

There is just something to be said about watching a person with talent and enthusiasm lose himself in an incredibly joy-filled 4 minute accordion rendition of Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water. (I dare say that it just keeps getting better and better with each subsequent viewing.)
posted by VioletU (34 comments total)

You're playing it wrong
posted by thelonius at 5:34 PM on May 18, 2016 [9 favorites]

I want to be at this party.
posted by Kabanos at 5:56 PM on May 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

You're playing it wrong

yes it seems so
posted by philip-random at 5:58 PM on May 18, 2016

and from the trusty Youtube sidebar ... Highway to Hell - Ukrainian Folk Version
posted by philip-random at 6:01 PM on May 18, 2016 [8 favorites]

Sorry but I couldn't make it through the first minute without actually feeling physical reactions to how annoying it was.

Props to dude with a Bill Cosby sweater and an accordion for his talent and courage though.
posted by raider at 6:04 PM on May 18, 2016

that's too bad, the 1:00 mark is about where it really starts to take off.
posted by indubitable at 6:11 PM on May 18, 2016 [6 favorites]

Highway to Hell - Ukrainian Folk Version

Here is the studio version from the same band. (Vopli Vidoplyasova)

And since we're discussing Vopli Vidoplyasova, and it's still May, here is this thing that I love.
posted by Kabanos at 6:12 PM on May 18, 2016 [5 favorites]

Featuring some of the best examples of Musician Face you will see this year.

Scratched my Gogol Bordello itch, thank you!
posted by gusandrews at 6:14 PM on May 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

That was fun. You don't have to love rock (and kids, Nickleback ain't rock). But if you do, you'll need a palate cleanser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXPI30rPu4k

Oh hell, just go google Smoke on the water, and spend an hour or two. It won't be the countless hours I've spent on Black Betty, but it will still be satisfying.
posted by Bovine Love at 6:18 PM on May 18, 2016

"that's too bad, the 1:00 mark is about where it really starts to take off.'

Yep. Armed with an accordion and a grimace, this is the besweatered hero we've been waiting for.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:20 PM on May 18, 2016 [7 favorites]

For your edification, here's a recording of the Frank Zappa concert that inspired the original song. (The key moment happens about 1 hour, 20 minutes in.)
posted by SansPoint at 6:21 PM on May 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

I just bought an accordion.

Don't tell my wife.

She'll find out the usual way.
posted by 0xFCAF at 6:22 PM on May 18, 2016 [16 favorites]

The neighbors show up with pitchforks and torches?
posted by soundguy99 at 6:39 PM on May 18, 2016 [6 favorites]

This is the second best cover of Smoke on the Water, and that is saying something.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:45 PM on May 18, 2016 [22 favorites]

Fwickin' awesome. Had me at 3:42 when he loses his mind.

"That song doesn't usually last two-and-a-half hours, but we got into a serious thing there. Also, I forgot how it ended."
posted by petebest at 6:54 PM on May 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

So, what do today's kids, picking up an electric guitar for the first time, bang out? In my day, everyone took a stab at those opening chords of SotW, mostly because it was simple and slow.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:01 PM on May 18, 2016

I already loved the hell out of the button accordion, but this increased my regard exponentially. Thanks!
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:11 PM on May 18, 2016

Here are Romania's own Nightlosers with their customized version of "Mystery Train." They do a pretty spunky cover of "Blue Suede Shoes" as well.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:23 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

This took me back to my East European cinema studies back in the day in so many ways.
posted by juiceCake at 7:35 PM on May 18, 2016

This is the second best cover of Smoke on the Water , and that is saying something.

Which reminds me of this, which isn't related to Smoke on the Water but is a pretty bitchin' cover in its own right.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:36 PM on May 18, 2016

I love his enthusiasm, and his knowledge of the lyrics made it all the more fun (which brought to mind Canadian Bacon).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:50 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thank you, thank you, Slap*Happy. The You Tube link I had years ago for that video from Japan went dead, and I thought it was lost forever. A truly classic version of the classic riff.
posted by LeLiLo at 7:59 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Somebody get this guy in a meeting with gogol bordello, swiftly.
posted by vrakatar at 8:14 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

That Japanese version is totally listenable, totally a wonderful thing.
posted by Oyéah at 8:25 PM on May 18, 2016

I just came to plug some accordion Thunderstruck.
posted by dylanjames at 8:37 PM on May 18, 2016

Slap*Happy: "This is the second best cover of Smoke on the Water , and that is saying something."

In this joyous Eurovision season, Buranovskiye Babushki at least deserve an honorable mention for doing it in Udmurt. (You know them from this - or at least, you should.)
posted by capricorn at 8:51 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Delightful. I want to love something as much as he loves every second of that performance.

Since the only accordion I've ever paid attention to is my dad's old basic-keyboard childhood one, the unfamilar ... keys and his fingering made it look like he was a navigator at the console of an alien spaceship.

Which might actually explain a lot.
posted by NumberSix at 9:06 PM on May 18, 2016

What a joyous performance! I wish he was my friend
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:46 PM on May 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Friends! MeFites! Netrypersons!

I have seen the future. And it is Slap*Happy's link.

If you are reading this thread (and you know who you are), then your life - as all of ours - has led us to this moment! For truly within that link lies wonderment and divine awesomenositude beyond all measure or perception!

Click! Click like the wind! And discover for yourselves what you have known forever - that all of life can be created, destroyed, and reborn again as new . .

For those who have heard - know. And having known, they must surely . . . be!


Seriously that kicked ass. I think I shat myself a little.
posted by petebest at 4:02 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seriously that kicked ass. I think I shat myself a little.

I love how it escalates, until there's a full western orchestra doing James Bond style jazz, and you think that's about as far as it can go, and then the singing starts.

My favorite is the vocalist who's job is to yell atonally over the other vocalists during the chorus. He's got sheet music for his yelling. Without it, he might forget he has to go "WAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!" whenever he hears the other guys go "Smoke on the water!"
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:12 AM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]

So, what do today's kids, picking up an electric guitar for the first time, bang out? In my day, everyone took a stab at those opening chords of SotW, mostly because it was simple and slow.

According to my guitar teacher, In the early 2000s it was Smells Like Teen Spirit and now kids just want to play Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift songs since there are very few popular songs with recognizable guitar riffs and kids don't form traditional (guitar/drums/bass) rock bands much these days.

Once in a while, he says, a kid comes in who likes AC/DC or The Beatles. He likes those kids. He likes me because I stopped paying attention to popular music sometimes in the early 90s.
posted by bondcliff at 6:27 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

this just reminded me of how much I miss the accordion and concertina in my "now playing" music playlist. Does anyone have recommendations for modern bands that sound like the Fleet Foxes, Beirut, Beach House, and the like? Not really sure what genre/genres this is, simple, emotive music with decent lyrics and melodies.
posted by rebent at 7:46 AM on May 19, 2016

My appreciation for the Japanese video is deepened by knowing that it is Ooedo no Hikeshi, playing at the Kabuki-za (which itself has burnt down twice) at an event commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Great Fire of Mereki and the 300th anniversary of the Hōei eruption of Mount Fuji. Smoke on the Water, indeed.
posted by zamboni at 7:57 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]

So, what do today's kids, picking up an electric guitar for the first time, bang out? In my day, everyone took a stab at those opening chords of SotW, mostly because it was simple and slow.

Judging from reddit's guitar subreddit, they are split between wanting to play metal or blues/rock stuff. Maybe there are fewer guitar obsessed teenagers but they don't seem too different from the ones we had. Except they are unhealthily obsessed with pedals and they all seem to think that if only they "learn modes" they will be brilliant soloists.
posted by thelonius at 10:04 AM on May 19, 2016