Radiohead

Radiohead

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The King of Limbs

Concert Catch-Up Week, Day 3: Radiohead
(click here if you missed Day 1: Todd Snider, and here if you missed Day 2: Justin Townes Earle) 

I love picking music apart. Like some eager high school biology student with a scalpel in his hand and a dead frog lying belly-up on his desk (The album art above seems downright icky after reading that, doesn’t it?), I like dissecting songs, finding out what makes them tick, what makes them exceptional, and what they reveal about the people who wrote them. Actually, “like” might not be the right word to use; after years of playing in bands and nearly 250 posts on this here blog, this type of analytic thinking has become almost totally involuntary. I’ll sometimes catch myself coming up with angles for posts about even the dumbest pop music, like why that video of Jimmy Fallon and the Roots playing “Call Me Maybe” with Carly Rae Jepsen is actually pretty great, or how “Am I The Only One” by Dierks Bentley perfectly encapsulates the way relationships with your friends evolve during your mid-20’s (please someone dare me to actually write this).

With this propensity in mind, I had a quick chat with my brain as we hurried into the Verizon Center to catch the beginning of Radiohead’s June 3 performance. It went a little something like this…

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Radiohead

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(Editor’s note: This is the last of three posts about this past Saturday, which was jam-packed with great music. Click here for the first post, which talked about meeting the stepdad of Jeremy Salken from Big Gigantic, and click here for the second post, which chronicled the fantastic Trillions CD release show at Gallery 5.)

The world is a tiny place. It used to be big. Huge even! So huge that we didn’t even know the fucker was round! Crazy, right? Now it’s so small that I can write a blog post about meeting the stepdad of a famous musician and hear back from that musician via Twitter in a matter of minutes. And it’s so small that we can be several places at once. Thanks to the world wide web of information, just as we can watch every single game of the NCAA basketball tournament, we can now attend music festivals from thousands of miles away, and last weekend was a great example. Throughout the weekend, Coachella was webcasting performances, 3 at a time, and I was in heaven. And though I’m not going to argue that watching on my laptop beats being there in person, there is one HUGE advantage.

I’ve been to Bonnaroo twice, in 2004 and 2005, and one of the most difficult things about the monster music festival experience (aside from not showering for 3 days and being around other people who haven’t showered in 3 days) is the decision-making. One band vs. another that’s scheduled to play at the same time. It’s downright painful in the moment, and there’s around a 95% chance that you will despise your decision a few years later (Jack Johnson over the Black Crowes haunts me to this day). But there I was on Friday night, zooming from Dawes to Arctic Monkeys and back in the blink of an eye. Like I said, heaven. But Saturday was a little more stressful. As I left the Trillions’ CD release show, holding two new CDs, one sticker and a whole mess of excitement, I was also lugging around a serious sense of urgency.

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Gnarls Barkley

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The video above was sent to me by a lucky soul whose laudable sense of initiative has resulted in a trip from Richmond to Tampa, Florida for Radiohead’s show at the St. Pete Times Forum on Wednesday. It makes me so happy when I hear about people taking this type of trip. Whether it’s by plane, train, automobile or pimped-out Rascal, schlepping yourself that far to see a band is a beautiful thing, and it definitely gives the people around you a reason to see what all the fuss is about. In this case, she and I are already on the same page. As Joey Tribbiani might say, RADIOHEAD GOOOOD. We were also on the same page yesterday, when she showed me this 2008 video of Gnarls Barkley performing In Rainbows track “Reckoner,” which is to say that neither of us knew exactly what page to be on. There’s a lot to take in. I think the most alarming element of the cover has to be Cee Lo’s intensity, both in terms of the force with which he’s singing and the CRAZY-ASS STARE he exhibits. It’s kind of insane. But then again, shouldn’t every Radiohead song be sung as if you were completely bonkers? The paranoia, anger and confusion call for an off-kilter messenger… possibly someone who has a history of questioning his or her sanity… someone who has shown that he or she has no problem dismissing others’ behavior with extremely sharp language… someone who’s unsure about his or her own reckoning… clearly Cee Lo is just the man for the job! Watch the video of Gnarls Barkley’s cover of “Reckoner” above or listen to the audio below to see if you agree, and snag In Rainbows from iTunes here. And to any of you who are planning to schlep your bones across state lines to see a concert in the near or distant future — I salute you.

Gnarls Barkley — “Reckoner” (Radiohead cover)

Punch Brothers

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Who's Feeling Young Now?

Every once in a while, I’ll be watching a drummer go to town during a rhythmically demanding section of a song, and I’ll say to myself, “That dude is an alien.” Certain drummers have that extra gear that makes it look like they’re working with more than two arms and two legs — how else could they be doing so much at once and/or making so much noise? Not so coincidentally, I described Battles’ John Stanier as “otherworldly” when I witnessed his handiwork at the 9:30 Club a few months back, and I’d be inclined to throw that same adjective at Wilco’s Glen Kotche, especially when it comes to his chaotic outbursts in “Via Chicago.”

So what the hell does this have to do with Punch Brothers?!? They don’t even have a drummer! 

I’m glad you asked! Chris Thile, the group’s frontman and mandolin player, is one of the few people outside the world of stick-wielding snare-strikers that produces that same super-specific, disbelieving reaction: “That dude is an alien.” And I’m not alone — Ed Helms from The Office has had the exact same thought.

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Death Cab for Cutie

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Keys and Codes Remix EP

You guys! ZOMG! Did you hear the news about Ben and Zooey? OK, OK, so it’s not exactly news anymore that Death Cab for Cutie frontman and 500 Days of Summer starlet Zooey Deschanel filed for divorce after their own 500 days (give or take) of marriage. According to my sources… A. That news broke in early November; B. It’s now the middle of December; and C. I’m a terrible celebrity gossip blogger. Regardless, it’s always sad when two seemingly nice people split up (apparently not too sad to use the whole incident for a blog post setup), leaving them to wonder what could have been, and what could have been done differently. Though there are seldom second chances in marriage, fortunately for Mr. Gibbard, there are second chances in music, as his band’s Keys and Codes Remix EP exemplifies so enjoyably. All the way back in October, when Ben and Zooey were still hitched and Death Cab for Cutie’s most recent full-length Codes and Keys was but a six-month-old bundle of joy, the group started releasing one remixed track every Monday, each featuring a different guest producer, leading up to the November 22 release of a 7-track remix album. From the beginning, I was a fan. I liked the marketing — the slow rollout built suspense, letting you hear one piece of the (CHEESY ALBUM CONCEPT METAPHOR ALERT) puzzle [groan] at a time. I liked the results — the tracks vary wildly but each one offers a fresh view on the source material. But more than anything else, I like this concept. Given how difficult it is these days to profit from record sales, I love that artists are taking control of the secondary consumption market by releasing their own remix albums. Radiohead did the same this year with TKOL RMX 1234567, the follow-up to King of Limbs, as did Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr with It’s A Corporate World’s companion Horse Power EP. Some might say that these groups should leave well enough alone and let their albums stand for themselves, and it’s true that not every single one of these remixed tracks has been a winner for me, but so many of them are winners, and I can’t help but enjoy having the opportunity to look at all of these songs in a different light, like I’m hearing them again for the first time. Listen to the Keys and Codes Remix EP for yourself to decide where you stand on the matter, and if you like what you hear, head over to iTunes to make it official.

Death Cab for Cutie — Keys and Codes Remix EP

Yellow Ostrich

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The Mistress

Tryptophantastic Week: Day 1 — Yellow Ostrich

I’ve had an incredible time sorting through the music I heard about from friends and family over the Thanksgiving break, and since I haven’t done a themed week in a while, I’d like to spend the next few days exploring some of the winners. Call it “Tryptophantastic Week.” The first of these winners, Yellow Ostrich, originally came to my attention courtesy of the fact that they’d been touring as one of the openers for Ra Ra Riot. Some of my Pennsylvania-based in-laws are planning on catching the tour’s rescheduled stop in Harrisburg tomorrow, so over the weekend I introduced them to the music of the other opener, the amazing Delicate Steve (“In-laws, meet Wondervisions; Wondervisions, in-laws”) and then spent some time introducing myself to Yellow Ostrich. As it turns out, it looks like YO won’t be playing in H-burg — the venue’s website says they are, the band’s site says they’re no longer with the tour. But for my folks’ sake, I sincerely hope I’m wrong, because Yellow Ostrich has something special going on that strikes me as a hallmark of seriously good musicianship. On occasion, you’ll come across a singer whose voice has an instrumental quality, where words seem to melt away and vocals fuse with the accompanying music in the same way that any single piece of a well-oiled orchestra blends in with its compatriots to create a cohesive musical expression. It’s extremely rare (Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur Rós are two canonized practitioners), but Yellow Ostrich exhibits that same quality, and their song “Mary” takes this idea to another level. “Mary” is a gorgeous song that starts out with carefully layered vocals that build until they they sound almost exactly like an accordion that’s expanding and contracting. I can’t tell you how much I love that real voices, which are created by breath escaping human lungs and traveling over vocal chords, are being used to mimic an instrument that, itself, mimics the production of the human voice. The resulting effect forms a conceptual loop that’s cooler than I can possibly describe, so listen for yourself below and click here to buy Yellow Ostrich’s album, The Mistress.

Yellow Ostrich — “Mary“

Who wore it best?

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Did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? Get enough gravy? Watch enough football? I managed to catch chunks of all 3 of Thursday’s games, but there was one thing I was determined not to miss: Nickelback’s appearance during halftime of the Lions/Packers game in Detroit. I was fascinated by the hullabaloo leading up to their performance — I can’t remember the last time mean-spirited-ness was so widely tolerated (especially of the musican-on-musician variety). Hating on Nickelback is fun and all, but the campaign to have them replaced seemed bizarre in its fervor, and I was curious to see how they would handle the adversity. The event itself was relatively uneventful, in a way that these performances must be in a post-Nipplegate world, but two things stuck out… 1. The lead singer got a long-overdue haircut, and 2. There was a drumline. Hmmm… Now, marching bands and football go together like Forrest and Jenny, but this seemed like an odd choice, given how little the corps was utilized and how little you could actually hear it. See what you think…

Still with me? What a trouper you are. Seemed kinda off, right? Well the drumline issue jumped right back to the front of my mind when Enrique Iglesias took the stage just a few hours later during halftime of the Cowboys/Dolphins game. Why? Because Mr. Iglesias, owner of the world’s tightest hoodie, was flanked not only by rapper and co-founder of Bad Boy Records subsidiary Bad Boy Latino, Pitbull (he knows you want him), but also by a sizable group of marching drummers. Have a look…

Seriously, if you’re still reading, you get a gold star for wading through this crap with me. Speaking of crap, if you’ve ever read a glossy gossip magazine, you may already be familiar with the commonplace feature where they place pictures of two celebrities wearing a similar outfit side-by-side and ask the question (we’ll go with US Weekly’s wording here), “Who wore it best?” So what do you think? Who wore the drumline best, Nickelback or Enrique? Feel free to comment below, or just click here to get both out of your head as soon as humanly possible by watching the University of Southern California’s marching band back up Radiohead in their performance of “15 Step” at the 2009 Grammys.

White Laces

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The music gods giveth, and the music gods taketh away. I learned this lesson the hard way on May 11, 2008, when my friend Coyle and I, Radiohead tickets in hand, inched northward on I-95 towards Nissan Pavilion in a driving rain and an astounding amount of traffic, only to watch the entire duration of the show tick by on the cruel, green-blue-numbered digital clock that was built into the dash of Coyle’s Jeep Grand Cherokee by Satan himself. Turns out, the rain had washed away one of the venue’s main entrances, and along with it, my dreams of seeing Radiohead for the first time. I still haven’t seen them. Le sigh. I don’t know exactly why the music gods punished me that day (My closet top-40 habit? Accepting requests for “Freebird?” Downloading mp3s with Kazaa in college?), but I do know why they were pissed at me this past Sunday — waiting until the last minute to print my RVA Music Fest tickets. As I scrambled to find a working printer, I had flashbacks of that May evening, not just because I was running late, but because I was filled with excitement as I rushed to see another band for the first time: White Laces. Thankfully, there was no Radiohead repeat. The music gods were in a giving mood, and I made it in time to see the last three songs, which were worthy of every bit of the anticipation. Not only did I get to experience how sublimely weighty “Sick of Summer” feels in person (this song has a transfixing gravity to it — the drums and bass had me mesmerized all the way through to the final explosive moments), I also got to hear a really cool, winding, stopping, starting new tune that I learned will be included on a 7” single the band is recording this weekend at Mystic Fortress studio in Roanoke. I can’t wait to hear that one again, and I can’t wait for the 10” record coming out in mid-November that will feature one of my favorite White Laces tunes of all, “Hands In Mexico.” Check out the song’s delectably sinister video above, listen to “Sick of Summer” below, grab their self-titled EP here, and learn from my mistake — never wait until the last minute to print your tickets. The music gods don’t like it, and printers are pure, unadulterated evil.

White Laces — “Sick of Summer“

Radiohead

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There There

Important Vinyl Update … The Artist: Radiohead. The Album: “There There” single. The Store: Plan 9. The Price: $6.

Welcome to the B-side of the discussion of B-sides! After Justin Townes Earle whet my appetite with his cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Streets,” I poked around online for other fun B-sides. Quick side note – I’m a huge eBay tease. I tend to use my watch list not to monitor items I’d like to win in an online auction, but as a shopping list for the record store. Something about buying vinyl online is less satisfying, less eventful, and makes me feel like I’m cheating on my local record stores. That’s why I was so excited when I noticed a record behind the counter at Plan 9 that I’d seen on eBay the night before: a promotional copy of Radiohead’s “There There” – the first single off their 2003 album, Hail to the Thief. Though I’m a big fan of “There There,” I was even more intrigued by the single’s B-side, a song I’d never heard called “Paperbag Writer.” Turns out it’s a really cool and haunting bass-driven song with an creeping electronic beat and some truly creepy strings. As with a lot of Radiohead throwaways, it could really be the best song off another band’s album (or a fantastic track on a horror movie soundtrack), and the fact that it was discarded is a testament to the band’s greatness. Most of all, I love that I’m still discovering things about Hail to the Thief eight years after the album’s release. Such is the magic of B-sides! You can preview “Paperbag Writer” below, and you can buy it on iTunes as part of the There There EP, which features another B-side, “Where Bluebirds Fly.” And if you’re vinyl-inclined, keep an eye out for an upcoming series of 12″ King of Limbs remixes, with the first arriving in early July.