Photo by colm.mcmullan

Robert Christgau, perhaps the most famous rock critic in history, once called Radiohead the “Only Band That Matters,” a title previously bestowed upon British punk band The Clash. Radiohead has put out seven full-length studio albums and have been called the “Pink Floyd of Generation Y.” Whether or not you listen to them or you believe they deserve it, they are the most critically acclaimed band of the past two decades.

I grew up in a middle-sized town in northwest Indiana: too big for John Mellencamp, but not quite large enough to relate to the Rolling Stones’ portrayal of New York in “Shattered.” I used to sit in front of my parents’ stereo and listen to Beatles’ records for hours at a time. I listened to a dozen CDs a week driving to and from my high school. My best friend used to tell me there were three musical phases you would go through at some point in your young adult life; a Beatles phase, a Led Zeppelin phase, and a Radiohead phase. My Beatles phase came young, and my Led Zeppelin phase was throughout high school. Now I write for a couple of music blogs and spend part of my week doing grunt work at a local record label. I have listened to thousands of artists, I own hundreds of records, and I have never had a Radiohead phase. This makes me wonder if it will ever happen to me. Is Radiohead worthy of a phase in my life, or everybody’s for that matter? In order to answer these questions I enlisted the help of experts and conducted a personal experiment (involving five and a half hours of Radiohead) that has never been attempted.

The Experts

In order for Radiohead to legitimately occupy a plane above all other pop bands they have to contribute more to society than ring tones and record sales. According to Brandon Forbes, co-editor of Radiohead and Philosophy, the band is not just a capitalistic juggernaut.

“We had a pretty good hunch going into it, but putting this book together made it plain to us that there are good reasons why Radiohead has succeeded The Clash as ‘The Only Band that Matters’.”

The book compiles essays about the band itself and its music and lyrics, separating them into categories such as “Radiohead’s Existential Politics” and “Radiohead and the Postmodern.” The overarching theme of the book is that yes, it is possible to have a discussion about the band that goes beyond the surface aesthetics.

As Forbes puts it, “Radiohead’s music points toward philosophical analyses of actual experiences in the world.”

However, Radiohead has impacted more than just the philosophical world. They made a cultural and economic splash in 2007 with the unconventional release of their highly anticipated album, In Rainbows. They decided to allow fans to download the album for whatever price they wanted to pay. The results were mixed, and it is estimated that less than half of those that downloaded the album contributed any money to the virtual tip jar. The album was released physically later, but this attracted much less attention than the initial digital-only sale.

This new method, flawed as it may have been, created a whirlwind of controversy about not only the album itself, but about the entire music industry. D.E. Wittkower, author of the essay “Everybody Hates Rainbows,” says that cutting out the middle men of the recording industry is something that plenty of people would not mind doing.

“Music is expressive, and the idea of transforming something fundamentally communicative into a commodity for sale has always been a bit of a house of cards…From the fan-perspective, music as a commodity has always been only a necessary evil and an unwelcome precondition.”
Any band with enough power to make countless numbers of fellow musicians, authors, and professors muse about their work and cultural impact has to be important. Having established that Radiohead does hold merit in intellectual communities, it is time to answer whether or not Radiohead can have a significant impact on my personal life.

The Experiment

What do Radiohead and I have in common? Nothing as far as I can tell. I have never listened to any of their albums all the way through. To me, this does not seem like such a big deal, but to other music writers it is akin to reporting on professional football for a year and then going on vacation during the Superbowl.
In the interests of science and my own personal edification I listened to all seven of Radiohead’s studio albums in a row. According to iTunes that is five and a half hours and 81 songs. There were three bathroom breaks and a phone call from my mother that stopped the music, but other than that it was smooth sailing on a slow Sunday. When I decide to do something I tend to follow the plan through to completion (unless you count my childhood dream of owning a Ford Probe, which I have put on the back burner for now).

I am not a very good scientist. I went into the experiment wanting to like Radiohead. Often I wonder to myself, do I have an inherent dislike for Radiohead, or as perhaps George W. Bush would ask, is it a choice that I freely make? The only band I ever tried to make myself like was Pink Floyd. I remember having a 7th grade duty to hate them since “pink” is in their name (i.e. must be for girls). Then, somebody cooler than me told me they were the greatest band ever so I sucked up my pride, bought Dark Side of the Moon, and listened to it twice through while sitting in my mom’s minivan. Quickly it became one of my favorite albums, and I still love it.
I have listened to a few Radiohead songs before (I think once in high school I fell asleep listening to Hail to the Thief on a long car trip), but I’m still probably an anomaly in the “indie rock” world. Before I listened to all the albums I liked the song “Karma Police” and I have a previously formed opinion (more later) on the single that vaulted them into the spotlight from relative obscurity, “Creep.”

This did not end up like Chuck Klosterman’s essay where he sets out to watch music videos on TV for 24 hours, only to find out that they loop every couple of hours, so he ends up watching the same videos in the same order all day. Radiohead does have seven studio albums and, as I found out, they had quite an interesting musical evolution. What follows is my account of the day when my view on Radiohead became informed, instead of just based on speculation.

Any Given Radiohead Sunday

Released in 1993, Pablo Honey is the group’s first studio album, which is the first step on my journey to enlightenment. The album art is god-awful and for a moment I consider scrapping the whole experiment and throwing on an old Led Zeppelin record.

1 Song In: The first song on the album is called “You” and it sounds more like R.E.M than what I had imagined Radiohead to sound like. It is rather surprising and I can’t say that I dislike it.

2 Songs In: This is the aforementioned “Creep” and my opinion on it has not changed. Anybody who has played the Rock Band video game or has had a roommate trying to learn guitar knows this song and has heard it too many times. Since it is the second song into my odyssey there is no new context in which I can view it, so I still think it is whiny drivel.

5 Songs In: I’ve listened to four full tracks and I have not heard any break beats or electro-sneezes that I expected to hear. This song is called “Thinking About You,” and if Radiohead was an 80’s hair metal band, this would be their “Ballad of Jayne.”

12 Songs In: “Blow Out,” the last song on Pablo Honey is ending, giving me the first glimpse of psychedelic weirdness that I have previously associated with Radiohead.

15 Songs In: This song, “High and Dry,” is the first song that has legitimately wowed me. It has a sad beauty that kind of sums up the rest of the songs I have heard so far.

19 Songs In: More than half way through The Bends, and this song, “Just,” has woken me from some sort of trance. I was either entranced or napping, but I’m not sure which. This song is what I would call rock and roll and boasts a pretty great guitar solo.

25 Songs In: “Airbag” is the first song on OK Computer, which many consider the band’s greatest accomplishment. In an NME article from 1995, singer Thom Yorke said of the album, “You know, the big thing for me is that we could really fall back on just doing another moribund, miserable, morbid and negative record, like lyrically, but I really don’t want to, at all.”

30 Songs In: I can see what Yorke means now as I listen to “Karma Police.” This album ventures more into outer space, with songs like “Paranoid Android” and “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” as opposed to the introspective bent that the previous albums had. Like The Smiths before them, Radiohead was often labeled as a band to listen to only when depressed, since their lyrics were often self-loathing and melancholy. OK Computer signaled a change in perspective as the band began to comment more on the world around them, as opposed to the world inside themselves.

37 Songs In: Starting the next album, Kid A, right now, and feeling the beginnings of the pain this might inflict on my physical self. I feel a little burnt out but glad I decided to undertake this experiment instead of a Whitesnake experiment. Can you believe the band with one video of a model dancing on the hood of a car put out 11 full-length albums?

46 Songs In: This song (“Motion Picture Soundtrack”) has multiple endings and solidifies my view that Radiohead is adept at choosing the last song on each of their albums. I am enjoying each album more than the last, which I am more than half certain is not because I am developing some sort of disorder from sitting in front of my monitor for so long.

57 Songs In: I just finished listening to Amnesiac, which is the most epic album that I have heard so far. It has thunderous bass, but lacks the cohesiveness of Kid A. The albums were recorded at the same time, but their releases were staggered since the band was opposed to releasing a double album. My mental and physical states are on the brink, but maybe the next album will be full of Metallica covers to keep me awake.

58 Songs In: I am listening to the first song off 2003’s Hail to the Thief, which is called “2+2=5 (The Lukewarm).” This album annoys me already for a few reasons. First, did each member of the band get to choose a word of each song title without consulting each other? I do like the title “A Punchup at a Wedding. (No no no no no no no no),” but I think that probably triggered the trend in music nowadays where bands think it is okay to name themselves Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

71 Songs In: Hail to the Thief, like all of Radiohead’s previous albums, builds on their sound, this time adding a creepiness and feeling of impending doom to each song. At points the album falls short and turns into background music, but it has a handful of quality songs. Also, I think this may be the first album that gives credit in the liner notes for playing the “laptop.” If you are allowed to claim that you play the computer, I think the next Britney Spears album will come with a tome full of liner notes.

81 Songs In or The End: I just finished listening to In Rainbows and it went by like a blur. I like the sound of the album as a whole, but there are not any songs that stood out to me like “High and Dry” or “Karma Police.”

Conclusions

Having consulted the experts and gained firsthand knowledge (maybe a little too much) about Radiohead’s music, I have come to realize a few things. The first is that Radiohead is a great band. Who am I to tell millions of people that a band they love is not worth loving? Such a statement always sounds ludicrous and ignorant when it is about a topic as subjective as musical taste. Even if it is not my perception of them, the world sees them as great and credit should be given where credit is due. The last thing that I learned from my time with Radiohead is that I do enjoy their music and their message, even if I do not fully understand it. Now I understand the hype and I can eagerly follow along as the band teeters on the edge of a break up or contemplates the post-In Rainbows world and the evolving (devolving?) state of the recording industry. I may be a late bloomer, but I feel like I am on the edge of a new musical phase…

http://mylifemyhiphop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bilal.jpg

All you RADIOHEAD stans, feast your motherlovin ears on this pretty ditty:

Pete Kuzma feat. Bilal – High and Dry = Dopest. Radiohead. Cover.

awwshiggety…
Bilal throwback alert!

check the “Soul Sista” legit video here >> http://vodpod.com/watch/1535381-bilal-soul-sista

 

but if you just wanna listen, this youtubey one will do >>

 

Our first show will be December 4th.

It’s a house show here in Worcester.  If you want to go contact us (highanddryma[at]gmail.com)

We’re really psyched on this and hope that a lot of people will come to support us and bash in heads.

We’re just getting started but we’re hitting the ground running.  We’re nearly done writing our demo and will hopefully have that out by the end of 2kSwine

Check out our naked myspace in the meantime.  We’ll be posting tracks up when they’re done.  This blog may be the best place to find High and Dry information in the future, though.

For booking/questions, email us at highanddryMA@gmail.com

Greek - 3.04 "High and Dry"

Cappie: “So that’s it? You’re gonna throw in the towel?”
Rusty: “What else can I do? Hastings is the only professor I have a relationship with.”
Cappie: “As with all relationships, Spitter, it’s a numbers game. Wade, how many girls smacked you at Dobbler’s last week-end before you found one who’d go home with you?”
Wade: “My cheek went numb after my first dozen, but then I found a transferred who didn’t know any better.”
Cappie: “See? You need to find a high concentration professor to hit on! Sure you might get slapped by 99 of them, but you just need that 100th professor to sleep with you! You know, metaphorically!”

Calvin: “I’m gay! And I have inappropriate feelings for my straight roommate and this gift is proof of that.”
Rebeca [pretending]: “You’re what?!” [slaps Calvin] “No wonder you never kiss me with tongue! How long have you been gay?”

[ ... ]

Calvin: “Let’s go!”
Rebeca: “We’re leaving? Cause it’s just starting to get good!”
Calvin: “Come on!”
Rebeca: “That’s the problem with our relationship! We never do anything fun!”
Calvin: “That’s why I don’t date girls!”

Roommate and boyfriend when you've only just started seeing each other...?

Rusty and Cappie discuss the Kappa Tau’s underground wet party. Someone calls Rusty anchor because his low grade is helping the curve.

Ashley tells Casey her escape from dry weekend plan. Casey reveals that they can’t because each house must host a dry party. Fisher is still trying but Ashley resists. With no alcohol they’ll need good food so fisher will have to work.

Rebecca shows up at Calvin’s when he’s wrapping a gift. She wants his help to get Ashley to forgive her. In comes someone looking for Grant. It’s Whitney who lays a big kiss on him.

Rusty gets home to find all of Dale’s belongings on the table. He plans to put his God related items in storage for the time being. Rusty is upset about people calling him anchor. He suggests that he get known for something else by doing an outside project. He goes to a professor to ask if he can sponsor a project. The professor says he doesn’t sponsor projects because it’s a waste of his time.

Calvin is upset about Whitney. She’s staying apparently.

Casey and Ashley are at a bar and Ashley desperately wants to find a new guy. Both Evan and Cappie stop by. Casey has to patrol dry week which makes Ashley upset. Evan texts Casey something.

Katherine and Casey talk about the weekend. Casey asks if she could go with someone other than Evan to patrol with. Katherine is considering Casey to be on Panhellenic board.

Beaver is upset about dry week. They can’t afford to be on social probation so they will not be partying. Cappie suggests that Rusty asks many professors for a sponsor, he only needs one to say yes.

Calvin arrives at his room and Whitney is there alone while Grant showers. She wants to talk to him because her relationship with Grant is off. And she finds Calvin’s birthday gift and thinks Grant is cheating on her. She suggests he stop by Grant’s birthday party with a date.

At a book signing, Rusty scopes out professors while Cappie scopes out boys. Rusty wonders about the guy signing the book but Dale says forget it. Rusty wants to try because a big name professor would really help his reputation. Which means he promptly embarrasses himself.

Casey and Evan patrol awkwardly. The geek frat house had pot brownies that Casey and Evan eat unwittingly.

Cappie flirts with someone who blows him off for being an idiot. He has a plan, he and Rusty be each other’s wingmen.

Calvin and Rebecca talk. Calvin says he has a secret to tell her, he and Grant are dating. Rebecca is shocked that Grant’s gay. Calvin’s upset that Grant’s keeping his gayness a secret because he came out in sophomore year of high school. Rebecca says he has to be patient and let Grant do it his own way.

ZBZ party. Ashley and Fisher talk, she wishes he wasn’t there. Fisher says he won’t stand in her way. Casey suddenly feels sick. She and Evan start feeling the effects of the pot. Karaoke starts. Casey notices all the cats in the ZBZ house.

At the party, it turns out Dale already has the sponsorship from the professor Rusty wanted. Rusty is upset at Dale for screwing him over. Why can’t he sponsor both? It might ruin focus. Dale agrees though. Rusty gathers the courage to try again.

Ashley flirts with a guy and Fisher interrupts. Ashley wants to send Fisher away. Ashley doesn’t believe that Casey’s high because it’s not something she does but then she searches for her and can’t find her. Fisher refuses to leave now. Casey and Evan hide so that Katherine can’t find them. They stay in the shower smelling shampoos. Casey gets sad about their bad relationship. Evan was surprised to see her for patrol. Evan says when he’s around her he remembers all the bad things he’s done. They reminisce about freshmen year. Evan reveals that he told Cappie not to date her at the end of the world party. (They don’t seem high anymore…) Evan wants to taste her pinacolada shampoo.

Rusty approaches the professor with his project idea. The professor says he only works with perfect students but he can assist Dale.

Calvin and Rebecca have a double date with Grant and Whitney who wants to open Calvin’s gift. Calvin insists no so he says he’s gay and therefore the gift is inappropriate. Grant asks for some time alone with Whitney.

Ashley yells at Fisher for being “the good guy.” She wants to punch him but says it won’t feel him any better. She punches him anyway. Everything he does reminds her of the guy she thought he was. He wants to make her happy. He quits because he thinks it’s what she wants.

Katherine shows up asking why Casey didn’t patrol all the houses. Ashley says she was fixing the karaoke machine. Evan stands up for Casey and says she would be a good addition to panhellenic. Katherine figures out that they’re stoned.

Rusty and Cappie talk. Cappie felt dumb around the girls. He tells him it’s not fair that someone made him feel dumb. No one can make you feel dumb without your consent!

Ashley and Casey talk about Fisher quitting. Ashley admits missing him. She thinks she wants to try trusting him but she made a rule about cheating so what does it say about her. Casey says deciding to forgive someone can be a sign of strength.

Grant returns from his coming out moment. Whitney had known something was up. Grant is relieved and sorry for pulling Calvin into everything. Finally he opens his present which is a picture of the two of them. He loves it.

Fisher comes to pick up his final check and Ashley says they’re looking for someone to take his spot…him. He’ll prove he can be trustworthy. Probationary at first.

Rusty’s original professor wonders why Rusty turned down Larson and agrees to sponsor Rusty. He likes Rusty’s idea.

Radiohead – High and dry

May this bring a little more groove to your day!

**************************************************************************

My piano cover of High and Dry I uploaded onto youtube!

I desperately need some decent recording hardware… somehow I don’t think my laptop mic is good enough.

For more of my youtube videos clonk here

I arrived late at the Radiohead party. They just never registered with me, and without registration I can’t give no recognition. A copy of Hail to the Thief later I was registered and convinced. We’re never going to be as close as we could’ve been but I will nod in their direction when the time is right. 

Like today: a grey, wet and downright unpleasant day. I sang along to this in work this morning, staring at a rain that would not quit. Don’t leave me high Irish summer, leave me dry. 

Radiohead, ‘High and Dry’ from The Bends, 1995. 

dos saltos en una semana, apuesto a que crees que es de listos, no chico?
volando en tu moto viendo todo el suelo bajo ti caer
te matarías a ti mismo por reconocimiento, matarte para nunca parar
rompisto otro espejo, te estas convirtiendo en algo que no eres

no me dejes alto
no me dejes seco

agotando las conversaciones, tu serás el que no pueda hablar
todos tus adentros caen en pedazos, tu solo te sientas allí deseando poder todavía amar
ellos son los que te odiaran cuando creas que tienes el mundo descubierto
ellos son los que te escupirán, tu serás el que grite

no me dejes alto
no me dejes seco

es lo mejor que nunca has hecho
lo mejor que has tenido ya se ha ido

no me dejes alto
no me dejes seco

After having tried almost every means on google, I finally give up my efforts on adding a background music to my WP page :（ The problem is that I can not even understand what they’re talking about = =  seems like WP is a far too  complicated thing for me ~

The 12^th Murder

The day has finally arrived. Joshua looks up once again, only to meet the wet molding rope. “What a curse!” he gropes for the key in his left pocket for the 11^th time, takes deep breath and opens the door…

Since Joshua move to this new flat, it had already been 3 months. During the night he can sometimes hear a strange noise came from the crypt. And tonight is the 11^th time he heard this chilling noise, he had made up his mind to find out the whole thing.

Joshua got the key of the crypt from his landlord and always kept it inside his left pocket. But he never dared to open the door, because there was a wet molding rope hanging at the end of the aisle. It was like a curse, preventing Joshua from entering.

……

This time Joshua opened the door and got into the crypt. It was dark and wet, with a smelling like bloody spirit. He moved very slowly so he can inspect every corner of the room. But all he can found was nothing but an old phonograph and a pricket. Joshua took out his cigarette lighter and lit the candle then plugged the wire of the phonograph. Silently, there came out some kind of faint music, just the same as the strange noise Joshua had heard for 11 times.

The phonograph began to talk, “It never occurs to me that my final game would come here voluntarily…”

“What do you mean?” Joshua asked.

“Every time I kill an enemy, his soul will be taken here and I will drop his blood on that rope as my revenge ritual.” The phonograph continued, “Tonight, your soul will be the last piece of my revenge.”

Joshua’s first reaction was to run out. But the door had been mystically locked by no one. He moved back to the phonograph to search for some more clues. Suddenly he found a diary inside a “Joy Depression” album cover. It read, “I feel extremely bad today, I think I am losing my last courage to live in this big bad world, good bye my love. “ at the bottom of the page it read, “Ian, Mar 18^th 1980.”

Joshua took up the old album again, the man printed on the cover must be him, he thought. It looks like he had something unfinished during his life. As Joshua continued to read his dairy, he found that Ian was a vocal of the band Joy Depression. By the end of March, 1980 Ian had been seriously ill, but the record company wanted to make more money so they stole Ian’s songs and let other singers perform them. Soon, Ian was forgotten by the public when his songs became famous all over the world. To him this was something he could never accept. At Mar 18^th, he committed suicide inside his room, with the wet molding rope.

Joshua looked at some nearby albums. Some famous artists who died mystically these days were all on these albums, altogether there were 11 artists. But why did Ian want to kill Joshua, he wasn’t a singer at all.

Suddenly Joshua got an idea. He took out his mobile phone and dialed the number of radio station. He said to the DJ “I want you to play this track to the whole nation. It’s about an unknown artist.” Joshua turn on the phonograph, Ian’s voice came out, singing the “famous” songs written by Ian himself.

Finally, the 12^th murder was never committed, and the blood on the wet molding rope had gone forever.

<End>

Since I’m an ESL(English as Second Language) learner, I therefore decide to make it English here = =. However, I promise I will make them readable…

The title will still be  “Welcome to the Jungle” as usual= =, which is a name of a song by Guns N’ Roses in their 1986’s album “Appetite for Destruction”. The word “Jungle” means some kind of deep forest full of hidden peril; or it can also refer to a place full of danger and conflicts. For example, city streets with night clubs and fighting men can sometimes be called “Jungle”.

I want to say that even if my life looks peaceful and steady, something in my mind is rather like a Jungle, so, for whoever click on this site, welcome to the jungle~

Appetite For Destruction

————————————————-

I created my catagories by the name of different songs, it may look incomprehensible to the readers, But it fits perfectly on me, so I insist on doing this.

————————————————-

 I should say that I really love this place, at the first sight. This post is just for testing, test test 1,2,3,

</end>

Faltou…

Entre um show e outro, passam na minha frente três seres cobertos de preto, em fila indiana. O primeiro vem caminhando numa fúria assassina, desesperada, iluminando o chão com uma lanterna que cegaria Clark Kent. Segurança do show. Passou na minha frente e só faltou dar um empurrãzinho master durante a passagem. Deu até pra sentir o bafo do senhor. O segundo, com um capuz cobrindo a cabeça, segue atrás tentando acompanhar a semi-corrida. O terceiro nem me dei ao trabalho de olhar duas vezes.

Pela agitação, logo imaginei alguma briga acontecendo por perto ou denúncia de furto. Isso é Brasil, minha gente… mesmo com os ingressos (esgotados) a R$ 200, o fato não me surpreenderia. Quando tem “show” no Credicard Hall não é difícil ter manchete no G1, no dia seguinte, dizendo que teve arrastão no estacionamento. Enfim…

Cinco minutos depois, o Lito, que estava não sei onde com o primo dele, volta e diz:

Velho, vocês não sabem quem acabou de passar ali. O Jonny Greenwood! Ele com um segurança na frente e outro atrás.

Ainda não sei se rio ou choro. Só sei que chorei quando ouvi Karma Police. E Fake Plastic. E quando eles voltaram pela terceira vez ao palco “só” para tocar Creep. Foi um show de muitas lágrimas.

*Karma Police, Radiohead

Mas meus amigos não.

Pois é. Depois de muitas ligações “Freire, vai comprar ingresso pro show do Radiohead com o Bruno”, “Bruno, lembra o Felipe de ir comprar ingresso pro show do Radiohead”, “Vou comprar pela internet, vocês não vão lá comprar nunca!”. Depois de muitos fins de semana consultando a tabela do Paulista para ver se ia ter jogo ou não no Pacaembu. Ou depois de ir lá e ver que tinha jogo. Depois de todo dia olhar o site oficial do show para ver se os ingressos acabaram como um andróide paranóico. Eu desisti de ir ver Thom Yorke. E a frase “A Camila vai no show do Radiohead” está certa como 2 + 2 = 5.

Então, na sexta-feira eu vou para o Extra e fico bem High And Dry, chego um trapo em casa, acordo oito horas (horário que eu já deveria estar no trampo), chego duas horas e meia atrasada no trabalho, e fico sabendo que o Jess tem 3 ingressos sobrando para o show do Radiohead. Respira. Só pode ser um carma policial. Entendeu? EXATAMENTE TRÊS. LARARARARARA Adivinha pra quem eu ligo, mmmmmf? WEIRD FISHEEEEEEEEES, WEIRD FISHEEEEEEEEEEEEEES…

Tá certo que o milagre aconteceu porque um amigo do Jess quebrou a perna, mas um sacrifício teria que acontecer. Eu sabia que as peças iriam cair no lugar certo.

15 Step: NO SURPRISES, EU NÃO VOU SHOW DO RADIOHEAD, ENTENDEU? THERE THERE

But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here
nooooooooooo nooooooooooo

She's running out again

She's running out

She run, run, run, run

Run. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

* não queira tocar Fake Plastic Trees, Yorke, por favor

Ai eu fico aqui com meus amigos, um DVD Ao Vivo do Radiohead, coca-cola e isqueiros.  Pelo menos no DVD vai ter “True Love Waits”.

(pegaram os títulos das música manés? hooooooa mmf)

I have a fairly short commute to work, from my home in Southaven to Bekah’s day care to my place of employment in south Memphis, so thankfully my time spent in the car each way is never any more than 15-20 minutes. So, once I’ve dropped Bekah off, there is a relatively short time remaining in which I can prepare myself for the upcoming workday. Like other musicophiles, I turn to my trusty Ipod to grant me this readiness to face the day ahead, nine hours that will begin and end in a drab, gray cubicle sitting before a lifeless computer screen with nary a window in sight.

Yesterday, pdx made a comment that I rightly agreed with, that Radiohead is the greatest band in the world, so on this morning, surrounded by cold, dead concrete and hundreds of other cars helmed by hundreds of fellow souls trudging their way through the morass of life, I turned to Thom Yorke and his band to help make some bit of sense amid life’s chaos. Within my collection of 5,000+ songs that I carry along everywhere I go, Radiohead’s entire catalogue (well, ok, everything except Pablo Honey) is nestled between the works by Rage Against the Machine and The Raconteurs, and it seemed to be calling out to me on this February morn, beckoning me to choose them. Then, for some reason of which I was not entirely cognizant, The Bends, an album that was released in the Spring of 1995, the end of my junior year of high school, shown out like a beacon in the dark and I knew, I just knew, that there was some force, some otherworldly power, pulling me in….and I gave in.

Pulling out of the parking lot and onto Stateline Road, I skipped to track 2, the title song of the album, and turned the volume up, up, up, as loud as I could take it and settled back in my seat. Overhead the sun began to just peak out from behind the gray clouds, bestowing its life-giving rays upon the dead world of Memphis in February, giving the bleak landscape some semblance of life. Other vehicles crowded the streets like steel cells encapsulating their human prisoners, trapping them within the confines of their own created reality. The men and women stare blankly ahead, stopping and starting as the traffic moves with little recognition of their fellow souls who likewise reside in their own self-made solitary constraints, plodding along to whatever fate has destined for them today. I join them…

And then the music hits…

From the moment the rapturous sound of the densely coordinated guitar opening hit my auditory system I knew, I just knew, that it was the right choice. The layered sounds rang loudly in my ears, traveling through my entire body as I sat there until every cubic inch of me was filled, note after note and chord after chord exploding in my brain with euphoric bursts like the finger of God suddenly descended from the clouds and touched me as I plodded along I-55 in the morning rush. Then, just as the song reached its apex, it stopped, with only Yorke’s quavering voice and a lone quitar continuing.

Where do we go from here
The words are coming out all weird
Where are you now, when I need you.

Then, spent and with my spirit still hovering somewhere in the clouds, the next track, “High and Dry”, with its stark, acoustic-guitar strumming beginning began. Again Yorke’s emotion-filled lyrical phrasing strikes a chord deep within one’s soul and as the song builds to its crescendo, for at least a moment, things just seem perfect. In the world outside, tumult and discord reign, the vortex of life uncontrollably rages on and we watch helplessly as those around us are sucked into its dark, bottomless pit, and we cry out, “Why?” “Why does it have to be this way?” The voice coming from my car’s speakers doesn’t offer any answers, it doesn’t pretend to solve the world’s problems, rather it joins the anguished cries and that is more comforting than anything. Yorke’s last, gasping words penetrate deep inside my very being as I drive on.

Don’t leave me high.
Don’t leave me dry.

By this time on my morning commute, I am sitting in a line of traffic at the corner of Brooks and Millbranch, nearly to my workplace. Strip clubs, liquor stores, and vacant, dilapidated buildings crowd in along the street, their dead stares resting upon all who pass. Just then, the soothing acoustic strains of “Fake Plastic Trees” begin, massaging my troubled mind. I look up at an elderly black woman hobbling her way across this dangerous intersection and, for a few poignant moments, it seems as though time stops and it is just she and I here at this busy Memphis intersection during the morning rush hour and I would almost swear that in that frozen second she looked up at me and smiled.

It wears her out,
It wears her out.

And I knew everything would be alright.

I pulled into the parking lot at work and sat for minute, thoughts my only companion, as the song came to its end. The song’s climax has passed and Yorke’s voice, weakened from the straining against the pounding band, quiets to almost a whisper and the last lines hang in the air like a mist on a rainy day.

And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted
All the time, all the time.

So, for your Free Music Friday, below you can experience the same songs that I did earlier. Whatever you do, don’t listen to these quietly. Turn them up and let the music carry you away.

The Bends

High and Dry

Fake Plastic Trees

Para ler escutando High and Dry – Radiohead.

Era 1994. O Brasil seria ou já havia sido campeão do mundo pela 4ª vez. Não lembro se foi antes ou depois de julho. Na verdade, eu achava que tinha acontecido em 93, mas fui pesquisar e o CD ‘Calango’, do Skank, só saiu um ano depois do que imaginei.

Como foi em 1994, eu estava na 4ª série do primário. Sempre foi fácil lembrar os anos de colégio. E o primeiro fora a gente nunca esquece. Na verdade, acho que não foi o primeiro de todos. Talvez tenha sido o primeiro a me deixar engasgado, até com um pouco de raiva.

Como eu disse, Calango tinha sido lançado e o hit parade pertencia ao Skank. Eu sabia o álbum inteiro de cor. Tirando duas músicas mais chatinhas, ouvia todas. Eu só tinha dois discos: Calango e Nevermind. O clássico do Nirvana foi o primeiro que comprei, antes mesmo de possuir um CD player. E lembro que no dia em que fomos comprar o aparelho, para poder ouvir os cinco ‘disquinhos lasers’ que já tínhamos em casa, meu pai comprou o Calango pra mim. Saímos de Guarulhos e fomos até o SP Market, pra lá de Santo Amaro, porque tinha um CD player mais barato. Hoje em dia eu conseguiria convencer meu pai a não ir, simplesmente mostrando que a quantidade de gasolina gasta daria para comprar um aparelho mais caro, em um lugar mais perto, e ainda sair pra jantar no Outback.

OK, volta. A história não é essa. Enfim, eu gostava da Andréa/Andrea/Andreia/Andréia. Não lembro direito. Digamos que seja Andrea, que fica mais fácil de escrever, eu não entro em confusão com a reforma ortográfica e todo mundo sai feliz. Menos o Gabrielzinho, de 1994.

Eu gostava bastante da guria. Ela foi a primeira Winnie Cooper que apareceu na minha vida. Eu era um eterno Kevin Arnold. Jurava que os caras do programa iam fazer pesquisa de campo lá em casa, perguntando pra minha mãe o que rolava na minha vida. Deve ter sido um deleite quando ouviram a história da Andrea.

Estudávamos na mesma classe. Ela não fazia o tipo da ‘massa’. Poucos garotos reparavam nela, o que a tornava mais interessante ainda. Ou reparavam, mas eram tão cagões quanto eu. Como sempre fui muito ruim em xavecar, sempre usei a tática [falha] de virar amigo antes. Só fui me dar conta do quanto isso me atrapalhou anos depois. Como éramos amigos, constantemente ligava para ela, falando de trivialidades. Lição de casa, provas etc. Decidi que estava cansado daquilo. Não dava mais para ficar enrolando, sem ela saber o que eu sentia. Liguei, oi, tudo bem, o que você está fazendo e já emendei: “Olha essa música que ouvi e fiquei pensando em você…”. Entra o Samuel Rosa cantando: “Te ver e não te querer, é improvável é impossível. Te ter e ter que esquecer, é insuportável é dor incríveeel”. Na verdade, foram 20 segundos de introdução, até ele entrar cantando. Tem todo o “Arrarraum iê… uh uh uh. Arrarraum iê. Noaiuntchu cybers”.

Coloquei o CD no meu mini system, aumentei o volume e colei o bocal do telefone nas caixinhas de som. A sorte à época: era um minis system portátil e o telefone era sem fio. Pude ir para o quarto, fechar a porta e pagar esse mico em paz. Eu deixei o Sr. Rosa cantar o refrão [que abre a música], cantar a primeira estrofe inteira [“É como mergulhar num rio e não se molhar”], o refrão de novo, a segunda estrofe inteira [“É como esperar o prato e não salivar”] e o refrão. São dois minutos cravados. E finalizei com aquela técnica de ir abaixando o som aos poucos para parecer que a música acabou. [Nem eu acredito que fiz isso... Minha cara agora, se você pudesse ver, é de desaprovação com "que dó do Gabrielzinho"]. Fade out na música até ficar silêncio.

Gabrielzinho: E então?
Andrea: Er… ah… o que tem de lição de casa pra amanhã?

Juro. Pensando agora, não foi meu primeiro fora. Mas foi a primeira grande decepção. A expectativa de qualquer comentário sobre aquilo e nada. Simplesmente nada. Nem um “Que bosta, Gabriel”. Talvez tivesse sido melhor. Mas não. Ela preferiu falar da lição de casa. Eu não entendia e não a perdoava. Hoje sei que não poderia cobrar qualquer coisa dela. Eu fiz esperando um retorno. Apresentei algo com o fim de ter outro algo em troca. Uma resposta, que fosse.

Aprendi – não sei quando, não sei como – que a gente deve fazer as coisas pelo prazer de fazê-las. Talvez eu esteja errado ou você talvez discorde de mim. Se escrevo para alguém, não é esperando uma resposta. Se eu te visito, não é para ver o quanto você sorriu na hora em que me viu na porta. É simplesmente porque estou com vontade de fazer aquilo. É para satisfazer a minha vontade – o que estou sentindo – qualquer que seja o resultado. O fim está na própria ação, e não no que ela vai causar.

Fiquei traumatizado, mas ‘perdoei’ a Andrea. Tenho a vaga lembrança de ter falado com ela sobre isso. Não sei se foram dias, meses ou anos depois, mas lembro dela me pedir desculpas. De dizer que, no momento, não sabia o que responder. De nunca ter tido oportunidade de sequer pensar que eu [ou alguém] gostasse dela. Não há como culpá-la. E por muitos anos eu me culpei. Mas aprendi também a relevar meus próprios ‘erros’ e a perdoá-los. Entender que eu nem sempre soube das coisas e que nunca vou saber por completo.

[E que não posso tocar "Te Ver" por 2 minutos para uma guria e no final dar um fade out para parecer que a música terminou.]

*High and Dry – Radiohead

Here’s a music video that I made for I.T. class. Hope you enjoy it. I used Cyberlink Powerdirector for the editing, honestly it’s a pretty bad program (crashes often), but it comes with some decent built-in transitions so I guess it’s alright for quick–on-the-fly type editing. If you dig it, click here and rate it 5 stars : ) That would make me quite happy.

Morecambe

12/01/2009

378/366

Stranded at low tide