10 posts tagged “radiohead”
I really shouldn't lament though; it's been a busy summer! What, with the stalking of Radiohead in three cities and rolling through multiple cannisters of film in the past few weeks, I only apologize that I have not been able to comment on why I fucking love Hall & Oates so much. Seriously? I just bought their Best Of and cannot pull myself away. Listen to "I Can't Go For That" as you brush your teeth while standing in your underwear in the morning, and you will understand. It's okay in arriving late to work because of this. It happens to the best of us.
I will take a moment tomorrow to gush about my esteemed lottery winnings in being able to photograph Radiohead at Outside Lands this summer; but for now, here are some pretty pictures from both OSL and the Treasure Island Music Festival, of which I spent about 26 hours with Morgan at and we did not kill each other. He did bodycheck me into a Walgreen's side wall though, so violence did creep up. Kristin, Vroo, Rosie, Danielle, and Miles all made my weekend too - I have the bestest friends.
Also, I was very lucky to have been published overseas/on the international interwebs over at NME.com last week. I used to read that site religiously every morning during my first year in college, and to start writing for them is a huge honor. The Pigeon Detectives were nice English blokes as well who talked a lot about 50 Cent and being a baller. Or something. We should have something live on the popscene website with them soon.
Lastly, my faux boyfriend Rickolas Reed is playing pop tomorrow night, and you can't even imagine how fucking stoked I am. Maybe? Maybe.
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Photos - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Day 1 | SF
Day 1 – Pure carnage
Highlights: Tears running before the show even started, being corralled like fluffy sheep, and falling in love.
I wanted to love the first day of Outside Lands. I really did. Everyone who knows me is aware that I have an absolute adoration for my city of San Francisco, and I was so utterly proud to be in attendance for the inaugural year of a huge festival. And hi, duh – Radiohead. But if I'm sobbing twice in an hour before I even get into the show? Well, shit's not right… (more)
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Photos - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Day 2 | SF
Day 2 – In limbo
Highlights: mentally playing "YYZ" on Guitar Hero in my head, dinner with Matt Nathanson, lots of geriatrics on stage during Tom Petty
How can you tell people to take public transportation when you can't increase service? That was still my gripe come Saturday, and though I was a rested Jenz ready to wait for my decked out train to come, it still took me over two hours again to get to where I needed to be. Maybe I'm just an angry little faux redhead, but man…missing seven bands as a result made me none-too-happy. (more)
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Photos - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Day 3 | SF
Day 3 – Complete redemption
Highlights: gorgeous weather (for San Francisco), lots of romantic guitar, Broken Social Scene still having 1,029 people in their band, and Jeff Tweedy being adorable
Somehow the weather gods smiled upon our little festival in the park on the last day of Outside Lands, and I arrived to Golden Gate Park with sun shining on my fire engine red hair and in a good mood – only 40 minutes door to door to witness people from Canada? Awesome! (more)
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Photos - Treasure Island Music Festival Day 1 | SF
Words and photos by JENZ
Armed with a bottle of bubbles, my camera, and more snacks than a fourth grade field trip, my friends and I tumbled into the Treasure Island Music Festival early on day one to soak in the sight and sounds. But I had life-changing, brain-probing questions: would I see the creepy carrot again? Could I take excellent pictures in the photo pit while donning an eye patch? Was my butt showing in the dress I decided to wear? Questions abounded as we shuffled off our shuttle and through the festival gates. (more)
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Photos - Treasure Island Music Festival Day 2 | SF
Words and photos by JENZ
Day two of the Treasure Island Music Festival was filled with
some stellar string arrangements, wandering around the fields like an
orphan, and finding out my alien starfish boyfriend has a twin. Going
big on the weekends was never as fun as this. (more)
ON TELEVISION. Hold yer horses, crazies.
"House of Cards" will be the track 'performed' on Late Night With Conan O'Brien tonight; rather than fly over to do the song, the band is being green and is sending the song over to be broadcasted instead. Those Oxford blokes, saving the world and shit...
Oh, did I mention I'm going to three Radiohead shows up and down the West Coast in August? So much for me being nice to Mother Earth. (But a happy birthday to me!)
First of all, George Michael in June?? Seriously?????????
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently, it's for the first time in 17 years (which is no too shy of my age, yikes), and is shaping up to be a farewell tour of sorts. Let's just hope I can hear some fucking "All She Wants" uninterrupted and that the GM doesn't pull a Babs and goes on like 17 farewell tours. Phew.
Speaking of:
Anyway, it's been attack of the 80s recently, which makes me grateful to have the chance to be able to see the bands I got into while growing up and in college, but is also bummed; I was so born in the wrong decade. In more concert news, The Police are playing in July with Elvis Costello and the Imposters (!!) opening, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are headling the Outside Lands Festival in August. How cool would it have been to see these bands in their element when they were popular?
Speaking of the OLF (my new acronym for the Outside Lands Festival), Beck has also been confirmed to play, and I almost fell off my chair Monday when I found out. Radiohead and the love of my fake Scientology life? I'm into it.
- and watching the video about nine times. Best morning ever. I wish Pop-Up Video was still around.
I had my wallet stolen about a month ago, and finally have been able to pick up the pieces; Noise Pop and my friendies definitely helped with that, so this is a public shout out to them too.
Today I went down to Virgin to buy the cutest wallet I've ever seen:
The inside is reverse polka dot with a secret zipper compartment. FUCK WITH ME NOW, THIEVES.
Anyway, while I was at the counter I happened to look over to a little stand while my credit card was authorizing, and went, "Hmm. That looks like Justin Timberlake on that box." Then I thought, "Hmm, what a nice red bow." And then I started to uncontrollably laugh.
They are selling "Dick In a Box" as a novely gift, with the tag line "We provide the box. You provide the rest."
True love, for sure.
A quick recap of this week:
- Been working on a personal portfolio shoot, and had to miss Nicole Atkins & The Sea on Monday...I saw her perform on Craig Ferguson last night, and I am fucking bummed I missed "Maybe Tonight" live and her high kicks. Come back, please...
- Also found out that my teenhood crush A.J. McLean is apparently performing at the House of Blues in Anaheim in March, which is so nuts considering he used to have an alter-ego but is not performing as such. Is A.J. going solo? Do I need to dust off my BSB sleep tees? It's too much for words.
- And, of course, speaking of too much for words, Radiohead's confimed to play the Outside Lands Festival, which I first found about approx two weeks ago and held off on saying anything about, because I didn't know if I was going to be heartstruck through the mouth if it ended up not being true. But yes, the RH and motherfucking Petty are confirmed as well some surfer, so I'm stoked. This is everyone's official invitation who's reading this to crash at my house and for the BBQ/food bonzanza before, since I live about three blocks away from Golden Gate Park. The show is also five days after my birthday, so a happy early belated one to me!
Now to figure out some food...
- Radiohead announced the first leg of their tour this morning. California won't be announced until they come back from Europe in the summer, so me thinks a weekend Texas trip is in order. My grandmama lives in Houston, and my dear editor Erin said she'd be down for a road trip...I'm thinking maybe YES. I'm so pumped on this news, totally not even focusing on today's work...
- Tom Jones is insuring his chest hair for $7 million. Can you imagine? What if you pulled out two on accident? Do you owe him like $80,000?
- My Super Furry Animals/Holy Fuck show review went live today. New favorite band as of late (the latter).
ALL SORTS OF AWESOME!!
Now to go back to researching plane flights...
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Live - Super Furry Animals, Holy Fuck @ Great American Music Hall | SF
Thus, some serious dancing needed to happen to shake me of my sorrows. I was bummed all Saturday day; calling various places I remotely recalled having accounts at (Blockbuster, I'm sorry I used you last in August 2006). But I knew anything could be solved with a show.
A good friend and I approached the box office at Great American Music Hall for the Super Furry Animals/Holy Fuck gig, and I was itching to move my feet. Remembering I was on the latter's list, the woman at the ticket counter asked me which one I was on, and I actually stuttered.
"Holy F-f-f-f-...um, Holy F-f-f-f-uuuuck," I said slowly, like I was unsure I was going to get in trouble for saying the F word. Holy cow, holy crap, holy deuce, and holy shit - these guys are all in my vocabulary, but "holy fuck?" Was that blasphemous? Could a fuck be holy?
(Don't answer that.)
San Francisco's local kids Here Here were just finishing up their set as we walked in, the stage strewn with brass instruments and plaid. I was hooked. As we waited for the kids in Holy Fuck to grace our presence, we squeezed into the crowd and took our places, braving the increasing temperature on the dance floor and stripping down to our first layers of clothing.
The Fuck guys came on stage nonchalantly, and immediately I could sense tightness between these Canadians. Minimal vocals, tons of gadgets, and a whole lot of hair bouncing in sync together, my favorite was when the blondie in blue started doing what seemed like jazzercise to his own music - priceless. Song three we were bobbing our heads, and song five we were dancing amongst a sea of people with quizzical and adoring gazes. It was an electronic jam band pulling out the live drums for a spin, and adding some killer keys and a sense of urgent "Get out here now and fucking dance" statements. Hearing a song like "The Pulse" on record and tapping your feet at work versus observing it at a music venue with a sheer sound that envelops your brain is ridiculous. Needless to say, we fell in love with these guys. They make the electronics non-boring.
I had to escape the crowd after Holy Fuck's set because I literally could not inhale clean air. I stepped outside to take a breath, and it was one of those rare San Francisco nights where the atmosphere outside was infinitely better than inside. I almost didn't want to go back in for Super Furry Animals, but I had a sneaking suspicion I was going to be highly entertained. Thankfully, I was.
We got to be transported back in time to a place where folk ruled, headgear was in, and potentially many drugs were taken. Lead singer Gruff Rhys emerged on stage wearing a head covering that looked like a cross between a motorcycle helmet and the Red Power Ranger's helmet, and that was about three times too big, holding the mic near the visor opening to sing. Later he changed into a spring green beanie that was in the shape of a Smurf hat. I was enjoying this.
Sounding like he had experience singing in piano bars crossed with doing a lot of acid, Rhys rumbled through new songs off Hey Venus!, the band's current full-length. A '60s infused rock with a Britpop twist, the Furries delivered both rock and ballad tunes, "The Gift That Keeps Giving" showcasing the melodic and slow baby making music that the band can dominate, complete with a little distortion and sultry vox. "This song is about one of our favorite animals - the golden retriever," said Rhys of the rock song of the same name ("Golden Retriever"), then later making the audience place their hands on their heads palm out to wiggle their fingers to an outer-space/alien beat for about 30 seconds. I giggled the whole time.
Amusement all around? You bet. Thanks to some dancehall Canadians and some stoner rock musicians to make me smile. Identity theft has nothing on this.
By JENZ Feb 12, 2008 in NEWSPORTISHEAD, WHAT???
There is a gigantic rumor Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine are going to do the Saturday/Sunday headline spot. I think I might explode if that ends up being true...
Via PH, here is the prelim list. The full line-up should be announced in the next month. Let the speculation begin!
I'm excited for a lot of these, but my extreme excitement in (!!!!) after.
Raconteurs
The Verve (!!!!)
Jack Johnson
Kraftwerk
Portishead (!!!!)
Death Cab for Cutie
My Morning Jacket
Love and Rockets
Justice (!!!!)
M.I.A.
The Breeders (!!!!)
Rilo Kiley
Sasha & Digweed
Café Tacuba
Fatboy Slim
Spritualized (!!!!)
Tegan and Sara
Madness
The National
Animal Collective
Mum (!!!!)
Pendulum
Sharon Jones
Stars
Battles
Aesop Rock
Midnight Juggernauts
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Spank Rock
Minus the Bear
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (!!!!)
Diplo
Adam Freeland
Santogold
Vampire Weekend
Dan Deacon
Hot Chip (!!!!)
Cold War Kids
Stephen Malkmus (!!!!)
Gogol Bordello
Chromeo
Metric
Danny Tenaglia
Booka Shade
Murs
Cool Kids
Sia
Les Savy Fav
Holy Fuck
Black Kids
Black Mountain
Man Man
I'm from Barcelona
Kid Sister
The Horrors (!!!!)
Austin TV
Shout Out Louds
Luckyiam
Autolux
Modeselektor (!!!!)
The Bees
Professor Murder
Cut Copy
Busy P
VHS or Beta
I read in an interview a while ago Paul Banks’ sentiment towards fans who like to gush all over him:
“A lot of people have said a lot of beautiful things to me. I always make time for that, because I care about it. It’s beautiful. Look, the most beautiful feeling music can give you is physical. Goose bumps, shivers down your spine. It’s listening to a song and waiting for your favorite part: you get all excited and then that part finally comes and the chemicals just shoot out of your brains…Well, if someone comes up to you to tell you that your music gives him that feeling: that’s the point. That’s why I’m in this band. I get that feeling from what the four of us write together. So I’m also doing it for myself.”
I thought at length about that part where he describes what music does to you. To be honest, I am still trying to figure out my top records list for this year, in what order. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to be a “music journalist,” because I was a follower of it for so long. It can be hard to separate the “fan” from the “critic,” to put aside the bias and the memories and the people associated with the songs. On the surface I so desperately don’t want to like the Album Leaf because it’s a painful reminder of an ex who undoubtedly hurt me tremendously; but the blips and the soft reverb and the shattering of electronic keys do me in every time, and I smile, and I appreciate, and most of all, I love. We each have our own opinions on what we think constitutes “good music” and what should be considered to be “the best of the year” material. For me, I guess I leaned more to the ‘physical’ factor while trying to weave in a value factor.
I haven’t decided what the other seven are going to be. Rather than say “my top records of the year,” I like the term “my favorite records.”
And because I am a dick, I’m going to post #3 today and then #2 tomorrow, #1 on New Year’s Day. You love me.
3. Radiohead – In Rainbows
Rated against the other favorite two albums:
All around: 3/3
Sentimental value (tears, memories): 1/3
New listen test (how much I liked it when I first listened
to it): 3/3
Hype, media (how much everyone was freaking out): 1/3
Hype, personal (how much I psyched myself out): 1/3
There was about a week leeway when I first read In Rainbows was getting ready for
release; I was pretty jazzed knowing I was going to have mastered copies of all
the bootlegs I had been listening to of the 2006 tour. But then they did this
and that and this too, and it exploded into pure mania. I’m sure some CEO over
at Capitol had a hernia and that messageboards were shut down for the overload
of the word “fuck.” I mean, it’s fucking Radiohead, right?
At midnight that fateful October day, the internets almost broke as everyone and their mom registered for on W.A.S.T.E. and downloaded the glorious In Rainbows straight to their computer. None of this import shit on iTunes, no more filesharing (although some were still passed around), just a direct link from band to listener in what was called the most ballsy and “fuck off” move in the music industry to date.
But then, there was the actual matter of the music itself. Was it going to be up to par? Was it going to be another “OK Computer,” or “Kid A?” And thankfully for us, it was neither and it was both. "Weird Fishes" kept the pop-friendly cadence with a sweet entanglement of guitar at the end, "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" provided the rock element we knew the boys could always do, and "Videotape" came as an 11-hour stab in the jugular that proved the band around from 15 years ago could still do a love song.On an intimate level, this band is so colossally important
to me it is so hard to put into words. It was my first taste into Britpop, my first experience being winded; it was my first introduction into being obsessive and devout, and open to possibility. I love Radiohead so illimitably it's sort of gross.
That being said, I’m sure there’s someone out there who knows me that’s going “You have a tattoo of this band on your arm and it’s not your number one? What the hell?” Here’s the thing: it’s not even anything to do with the fact that I don’t love this album. I wholeheartedly, seriously do. I just happen to love two other albums slightly more.
Radiohead
In Rainbows
Release date: October 10, 2007
The problem of writing about music is that you can't see it. It is not apart of the list of senses that you can tangibly feel and honestly say your fingers brushed upon in real life. I can't describe music's color, or taste, or what it looked like when it walked in the room. And yet this creation of sound and voice and instrument somehow emanates this love, this emotion and this story that we as humans take into our hearts and have a reaction to. We associate it with first loves, with death, with hook-up sessions and smiles and parties and road trips and celebrations and depression. How something we can't see have such an impact on our feelings is phenomenal, and ridiculous at the same time.
Great Britain's Radiohead are the masters at nailing this talent of story-telling. A small reverb feedback, a quiet piano sequence, a soft bass line, a lyric that says "I don't want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover" provides an intimacy not found anywhere, anymore. Each Radiohead song has these moments where you stop and realize you're crying, or remember the best day of your life and grin, these points that make you remember a memory no matter how well or tragic the outcome came to be.
We're at Radiohead's seventh studio album. Lucky number seven tries to get it right. Seven tries to win us over. Countless videos, EPs, singles, B-sides, and covers fill in the time in between their emergence onto the music scene in 1993 and 14 years later in an age of technological file-sharing and consumption. Nine days ago I had been listening to my bootlegs from 2006's tour of what is now In Rainbows, wondering how live versions of "Arpeggi" and "15 Step" were going to sound, before I was hit with the news of being able to download this sucker at midnight this morning. After completing three whole cycles of In Rainbows last night and a dozen more when I awoke, I'm thinking back to my whole "describing music" diatribe. I could say that this is the worst or best Radiohead album ever, but it wouldn't mean anything if you couldn't hear it for yourself. In Rainbows is finally that album, the one that satisfies the hardcore dedicates and appeals to newbies unfamiliar with the grace of Thom Yorke and co.'s brilliance. It's what we wanted for as fans, and it's what will finally solidify the five-piece into legendary figures.
Never mind the free downloads, the no-record label, and the DIY-ethic they've taken up in the past two years. It's important, yes, and what makes this album sound all the more sweeter. The music stands alone, though, and that in itself is a monumental occasion. There's the acoustic, and the grandiose, and the straight-up weird that these five have tried and conquered, and In Rainbows finds the band scoping out the entirety of their catalogue to make songs that throwback to successful formulas as well as find inspiration from to create some fucked up shit that even the best of us couldn't even expect.
1. "15 Step" - The opening track and its breakbeats had me yelling "Fuck yes! Fuck, yes!!" much to the chagrin of my roommates. A messy pile of distortion and simple guitar breed a dance-track that finds a drum machine front and center in the crescendo. Also, the schoolchildren's contributions are a nice touch. It's a throwback to Kid A, but more mature.
2. "Bodysnatchers" - "Palo Alto"'s older brother, with urgent guitar and furious fretwork. And just when you think it's going left, it goes right, and Yorke begins to nail these falsetto mumbles that are on the cusp of something so chaotic, then the movement segways into a straight rock show.
3. "Nude" - Opens with a woozy diaspora of playback and layered voiceovers before floating into a quiet, important track with subtle, haunting synth and memorable bass from Ed O'Brien. The paramount building for tension of piano and drums with the lyric "You'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking" is too much for words. "How To Disappear Completely" and "Like Spinning Plates" come to mind, but considering this track is almost 10 years old makes it the frontrunner for originality.
When I has this job a few years ago and I felt overwhelmed by poor management, what was asked of me, or co-worker drama, I used to flip on Meeting People Is Easy and fastfoward to "Big Ideas," which is what "Nude" was first called. It made me feel safe, comforted; we knew Thom had an utterly weird but beautiful falsetto voice, and it comes into play here.
4. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" - The strumming work alone stands out, as well as the tropical, lush sounds of keyboard tapping. This version is much more put together than its live counterpart from last year; there is better direction, more focus, and the "underwater"/enveloped sound is developed to go along with the "little fishes" idea.
5. "All I Need" - It starts out with the "Where I End And You Begin" sound of warble before plowing into heavy brassy keys, following a simple "You are all I need" as a main chorus line. Images of love held and lost begin to fill your eyes before the song moves into sharp piano and Yorke wailing out over loud cymbal banging, still proclaiming "You're all I need." The minimalist approach is working.
6. "Faust Arp" - A eerie, distuned acoustic which is a good change of pace and transition from the immediate "look at me" sound of the first half of the album. Coupled with the romantic notes of a string section and elements of "Climbing Up The Walls," it also is reminiscent of if the Beatles did a creepy love song by taking the wrong LSD.
7. "Reckoner" - Tambourine, soft drums, and a melodic guitar line run into a wall mid-song when layered background vocals take over for one of the strongest tracks on the album. It sounds both tortured and celebrated, a completely distraught track that finds solace in the beauty of rhythm and hope.
8. "House Of Cards" - Perhaps one of the most straightforward songs, the guitar line and drum sequence don't change much and provide Yorke an opportunity to sing as earnestly as he's done recording-wise; he carries a strength and vulnerability in his voice wrapped in one, and bares his intimate thoughts in the process.
9. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" - If "Paranoid Android" had a chance to be reincarnated with a more fast-paced sense - the low, deep voice Yorke employs to spit put right before breaking out into higher notes is a wonderful diversity. Chant-like vocal arrangements serve as background reminders that spooky can be awesome.
10. "Videotape" - Just as we are trying to come down from the high of being taken on such a journey of In Rainbows, "Videotape" approaches the bench, asking to not be forgotten. The minimalist approach Radiohead has taken so far is perfectly showcases here, the opening nostalgic piano strings tugging at the heart. It's "True Love Waits"'s cousin but steps it up a notch in pure romantics, adding haunting drum loops, and a low monotonous-esque organ very much like "Untitled" by Sigur Ros. It's a quiet, reflective, and completely gorgeous way to end one of the best records of 2007.
End note: a special thank you to Charlie Rohrer for staying up with me when midnight hit, and becoming utterly destroyed with me into the late hours discussing one of the greatest bands of all time.
I have finally had time to digest the news heard around the world, and I'm going to say this:
Yes, there is the huge chance it's going to suck. That the album is just going to be a token of "hey, we're still around, this is just stuff we've recorded while being around." That "Kid A" is never going to be topped. That songs like "Nude" and "Arpeggi" won't carry an album that isn't solid.
But it also has the huge potential to be one of the best albums of the year if we're going on songs like "15 Step" and "Videotape," if their live shows showed any indication about this being a success. Yes, we're diehard fans and yes, I am excited for one of my favorite bands of all time to be releasing material. But in the way it's being released and the approach taken is going to be that much sweeter.
And in the meanwhile, I am going to continue to play the shit out of my bootlegs from last summer's tours and listen to this while on repeat. Oh. man.
He also responded to a comment Noel Gallagher made about the band and I think it's probably the most humble thing he could have went with:
NOEL: "I never went to f****** university. I don’t know what a paint brush is, I never went to art school."
THOM: "I did. It taught me to respect other artists."
SHA-ZAM.
Oh - and I knew there was a reason I liked Christina Aguilera.
