Last night I watched the movie "Battle in Seattle". It was pretty good. I enjoyed it, being the activist, "liberal", free thinking hippy I am! It reminded me of a major cool moment I experienced this past summer when I saw Radiohead outside of Seattle, and Thom dedicated "You and Whose Army" to all those involved in the WTO protests.
It was amazing.......so here is a video of that exact performance for your viewing and listening pleasure:
Showing posts with label Radiohead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radiohead. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Top Albums of 2008
It is list time in pop culture! So, I thought I should join. This one is hard because I have 100 faves in 2008, but I chose to just write about 5 of my faves. It was hard to leave out Fleet Foxes and She & Him...but I digress........
ROBERT PLANT AND ALLISON KRAUSS- RAISING SAND
You have to look twice when you see these names together. Two legends from two completely different genres. But together they make beautiful Americana magic! I think it was probably released at the end of 2007, but I don’t care ! It is full of soulful and mellow, smoky harmonies and reverb. Light a candle and enjoy!
COLDPLAY-VIVA LA VIDA
I remember listening after anxiously opening the disc! Epic is the word I 1st used to describe it to Patrick in a text. I guess the actual full title — Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends — should have been a clue. The fellas have really pushed the boundaries of what we expect from a modern album. The attention to detail is incredible. And the songwriting is impeccable. The album is full of religious references, which add to the intrigue. The CD comes to life with a beautiful instrumental opener Life In Technicolour. It seems like it is just about to explode into sonic wonder…and then dies…leaving the rest of the disc to build to soaring climax! Every song is unique and wonderful….long live Coldplay!
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE- NARROW STAIRS
Narrow Stairs, Death Cab's sixth DISC, is one of the darkest and STRONGEST in their discography. It's an album about growing and changing and becoming resigned to the fact that you'll never be truly content. Narrow Stairs starts along the California coast, where Gibbard retreated to write the album. "I descended a dusty gravel ridge," his bookish tenor begins, in clear but vivid language, on "Bixby Canyon Bridge". Gibbard has said the song is about trying to commune with Jack Kerouac, who stayed in the same cabin to write Big Sur. It is a different record for them, but If you love the band, you'll probably find enough reasons here to keep sticking with them .
JON FOREMAN- WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL (SET)
I am not a huge fan of the CCM market. There are a few good songs here and there, but mostly it is plastic. I have always felt that Switchfoot was actually a good band, just victim of overplay and horrid marketing and management. This year their front man put out a set of stripped down and raw songs that is amazing. Don’t let the Switchfoot background scare you…this is amazing stuff. On his web site, Foreman says, "These are simple songs, but they're mine. There's blood and joy and anger and laughter in them. My reasons for living. My hopes and fears. And pain. These are my fight songs."
RADIOHEAD- IN RAINBOWS
I LOVE this album! It's true that we've come to expect a certain level of genius from this band, but when they actually exceed expectations, as they do here, it's a clear sign that Radiohead will continue to reinvent themselves and drop more jaws along the way. I could list the virtues of every song, but I’ll spare you that! It flows seamlessly along it sounds supremely confident, like a band who know they're at the height of their powers. And they are! I saw them live finally this year…and will never be the same ! I’ll stop now…it is AMAZING!
ROBERT PLANT AND ALLISON KRAUSS- RAISING SAND
You have to look twice when you see these names together. Two legends from two completely different genres. But together they make beautiful Americana magic! I think it was probably released at the end of 2007, but I don’t care ! It is full of soulful and mellow, smoky harmonies and reverb. Light a candle and enjoy!
COLDPLAY-VIVA LA VIDA
I remember listening after anxiously opening the disc! Epic is the word I 1st used to describe it to Patrick in a text. I guess the actual full title — Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends — should have been a clue. The fellas have really pushed the boundaries of what we expect from a modern album. The attention to detail is incredible. And the songwriting is impeccable. The album is full of religious references, which add to the intrigue. The CD comes to life with a beautiful instrumental opener Life In Technicolour. It seems like it is just about to explode into sonic wonder…and then dies…leaving the rest of the disc to build to soaring climax! Every song is unique and wonderful….long live Coldplay!
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE- NARROW STAIRS
Narrow Stairs, Death Cab's sixth DISC, is one of the darkest and STRONGEST in their discography. It's an album about growing and changing and becoming resigned to the fact that you'll never be truly content. Narrow Stairs starts along the California coast, where Gibbard retreated to write the album. "I descended a dusty gravel ridge," his bookish tenor begins, in clear but vivid language, on "Bixby Canyon Bridge". Gibbard has said the song is about trying to commune with Jack Kerouac, who stayed in the same cabin to write Big Sur. It is a different record for them, but If you love the band, you'll probably find enough reasons here to keep sticking with them .
JON FOREMAN- WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL (SET)
I am not a huge fan of the CCM market. There are a few good songs here and there, but mostly it is plastic. I have always felt that Switchfoot was actually a good band, just victim of overplay and horrid marketing and management. This year their front man put out a set of stripped down and raw songs that is amazing. Don’t let the Switchfoot background scare you…this is amazing stuff. On his web site, Foreman says, "These are simple songs, but they're mine. There's blood and joy and anger and laughter in them. My reasons for living. My hopes and fears. And pain. These are my fight songs."
RADIOHEAD- IN RAINBOWS
I LOVE this album! It's true that we've come to expect a certain level of genius from this band, but when they actually exceed expectations, as they do here, it's a clear sign that Radiohead will continue to reinvent themselves and drop more jaws along the way. I could list the virtues of every song, but I’ll spare you that! It flows seamlessly along it sounds supremely confident, like a band who know they're at the height of their powers. And they are! I saw them live finally this year…and will never be the same ! I’ll stop now…it is AMAZING!
Friday, August 22, 2008
“…this is really happening, happening…”
Wow…..I have seen some 300 concerts in my lifetime. I have seen many bands. And now, I have seen Radiohead….and my friends, these Brits are in a class all their own. I am sure now that Radiohead is the biggest band on the planet despite not having a major radio single in more than a decade. Thom Yorke is without a doubt the greatest vocalist alive. Live they sounded both modern and futuristic at the same time. Live, they were perfect. It was a very cool Seattle summer night with sporadic rain showers, but nothing could have ruined this highly anticipated and sold-out show. I had been waiting for this show 10+ years!
The stage show was unparalleled. The set-up consisted of a large video screen as a backdrop that was split into five displays, with each band member getting his own camera angle (the sepia toned, artsy angles you may have seen in some of their videos from "In Rainbows"). In addition, there were dozens of long, skinny vertical lights resembling halogen bulbs suspended in the air and surrounding the band. These were AMAZING when the show kicked up! I could try and describe it, but words would do NO justice. 
What would follow was a 2 hr 35 minute, 25-song, two-encore set that lived up to every dream I had. They played all of the new record (except "House of Cards") and threw in a great mix of older tunes as well (mostly from Kid A and Amnesiac). They kicked off the show with "15 Step", just as I predicted! Jonny Greenwood is now a new musical hero! I was thrilled with surprise with the performance of 2 of my fave oldies: "Street Spirit" from "the Bends" and "Lucky" from "OK Computer". On "SS" Greenwood not only played his guitar part for the song, but also managed to play piano with his guitar's head while simultaneously playing the guitar!
During the first encore, "Idioteque" almost caused my head to explode! It was the hardest rocker of the night to me. On the second encore (YES…there were two!) Thom finally talked to the crowd when he dedicated "You And Whose Army" to anyone who was involved with the 1999 WTO protests. I could tell you about it all, but I just cannot grasp it! We did get to see that Thom is human on one favorite moment of mine. For "Faust Arp" Thom and Jonny did a nice little acoustic number. But, Yorke botched lyrics during "Faust Arp," twice! It was brilliant and the crowd ate it up! However, the pair recovered and spontaneously broke into a brief cover of some song (I later learned it was Neil Young's "Tell Me Why"), before diving back into the song and slaying it, stripped down to a bare minimal tune. The show ended brilliantly with a hair-raising rendition of "Everything In Its Right Place". I am still speechless…………….
Here are some crappy pictures and videos from my little camera. It was AMAZING! Thanks to my buddy "PB" for making it happen.
Complete setlist:
- 15 Step
- Reckoner
- Optimistic
- There There
- All I Need
- Pyramid Song
- Talk Show Host
- The National Anthem
- The Gloaming
- Videotape
- Lucky
- Faust Arp
- Jigsaw Falling Into Place
- Climbing Up The Walls
- Dollars and Cents
- Nude
- Bodysnatchers
- Encore 1: How to Disappear Completely
- Arpeggi/Weird Fishes
- Idioteque
- In Limbo
- Street Spirit
- Encore 2: You And Whose Army?
- No Surprises
- Everything In Its Right Place
"reckoner"
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