Well, Nolan is finally memorializing his love for the German techno-pop pioneers with The Ludes’ latest release, a cover of Kraftwerk’s “The Model.” The vast gulf between Kraftwerk’s immaculate cyber aesthetic and Nolan’s gritty hard-rock lens is a reconciliation almost beyond imagination. But Big Black pulled it off, so why not The Ludes, right? The outcome is both unexpected and inspired.
For this feat, Nolan had to take The Ludes out of their usual way — in this case, way out to the Wild West.
“I’d had a notion to do a Morricone Spaghetti Western version of that song for years but never recorded it properly,” he says. “One day I just got bored and put it together.” In the most solo Ludes outing yet, Nolan played, programmed and produced everything here himself, except for the singing.
“I sat on it for a bit trying to figure out what to do with a vocal,”he says.“And then it occurred to me — Skinny Motherfucking McGee!” So he landed the famous baritone of Central Florida rockabilly icon Skinny McGee.
“He killed it,” gushes Nolan.“Now it sounds like Orville Peck doing a Sergio Leone soundtrack.”
The resulting transformation of “The Model” is dramatic. In sharp contrast to Kraftwerk’s futuristic minimalism, the Ludes’ version is lush in old cinematic aura with long, lingering guitar tones that conjure plains, hills and desperadoes.
Moreover, the elemental synth hook at the heart of the song has been cranked up to a beefy rock riff that pushes past Sergio Leone atmosphere and into Robert Rodriguez badassery.
One of the most novel cover versions to come along in ages, the Ludes’“The Model” is a reinvention so evocative and divergent that it stands on its own. It now streams everywhere.
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.
