News Update

Sarah Palin Excited by Apparent Abundance of Oil

Nature to Man: "This is what you get when you mess with us"

The Mind Eraser

So I have made a hobby of making hypothetical supergroups of my favorite musicians. My interest in these sort of things was revitalized when the band Chickenfoot emerged, a collaboration between Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith (who was a constantly considered for the drummer in my theoretical bands) and Michael Anthony.

Anyway, when I make bands I usually like to pick musicians with similar styles or personalities so that they fit together. Now, Thom Yorke is one of my favorite singers/songwriters, so he is often a candidate for one of these imaginary supergroups. Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers' over-the-top bassist, is another candidate. However, I would never think to put these two seeming poplar-opposites together.

But that is exactly what has happened. Today, Thom Yorke announced that he will be performing material from The Eraser with Flea, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead's producer), Joey Waronker (drummer for Beck), and Mauro Refosco (percussionist for David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto). They have two performances coming up in Los Angeles and, though they don't have a name yet, they will be playing some new material.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm sure that the music should be pretty good, but I'm worried how this will affect Radiohead and I wonder if this might be another nail in Red Hot Chili Peppers' coffin. If so, maybe Jonny Greenwood and John Frusciante could work together.

Getting Down to the Roots

The Roots are my favorite rap group. This became apparent to me after I listened to their song "Atonement" of their 2006 release Game Theory (currently my favorite Roots album). What originally drew me to the track was the interesting instrumentation, which included an accordion, an instrument not usually found in The Root's sound pallet. On a second listen, I noticed that the chord progression of the song sounded familiar. I instantly thought of "You and Whose Army" by Radiohead, but I dismissed the similarity as coincidence. With another listen I realized that the guitar line was in fact a sample of the Radiohead song, accompanied by a sample of Thom Yorke's vocals. While I was originally surprised by this because I never really noticed The Root's sampling, I nonetheless had to give them props on music taste. Radiohead samples aside, what makes this track great is the classic Roots sound. The bass keeps a solid groove and the drum holds down the beat while keeping it interesting. The track features Jack Davey of J*Davey, laying down a sultry chorus.

The power of The Roots lies in the band. The problem with a lot of rap music these days is that it sounds too produced. The sounds are synthetic and everything is wrapped all too tightly in a box. A live band will always sound better than electronic instruments. There's more energy, more power, and more substance. It's raw, edgy, and real. Also important to consider is how multiple musicians can affect the song writing process. Instead of having one producer and one vocalist working on a song, there is more creative input with the inclusion of different musical voices.

The Roots have inspired many imitators, however none can compare. A principal reason for this is that The Roots are always changing things up. The formula for their albums is never the same. The Roots always keep it fresh, changing their style and featuring different collaborators every time.

Concert Review: Radiohead in Mansfield, MA on 8-13-08

This past week I had the rare pleasure of attending a Radiohead concert, a pleasure I decided I must have before I left for college. I had also purchased tickets for the Friday of All Points West in New Jersey, but unfortunately it took place on the day before I left for vacation with my family. So I settled for the Wednesday show in Massachusetts, which meant that I'd have to interrupt a family vacation anyway but who cares?

Before the concert I pre-gamed by watching Radiohead's Live At The Astoria DVD. Shot in '94, this DVD shows a young Radiohead: Phil had hair, Colin, and Thom's hair was still blond but had come a long way from his early-90's look. The show finds the band at their rockin'-est, thrashing (Thom literally kicks the shit out of his guitar), jumping, and jamming on staples from Pablo Honey, and debuting new songs ("new song, sorry") that would appear on The Bends in '95.

The Mansfield venue, although there was a lot of traffic getting their, although my brother and I easily out-maneuvered two particular douchebloggers and cut through the thick mass of concert-goers. The Comcast Center (formally the Tweeter Center) was a good-sized open-air amphitheater with a large lawn in back. My brother and I were stuck on the lawn, farthest from the stage without being out of visual range. My enjoyment of the concert was hindered by the distance and, to a certain extent, the presence of my brother, who does not like Radiohead. However, it would turn out to be quite funny, as we bonded over our mutual scorn of hippy-college kids and indie hipsters, and debated Radiohead vs. Kanye West.

The opening band, Grizzly Bear, was decent at best, but they served their purpose by making me we want to hear Radiohead more than before. An hour and a half after Grizzly Bear left the stage, Radiohead came on, opening with my favorite song from In Rainbows, Reckoner. The band exhibited great energy throughout the show and had an impressive presentation through the use of video screens and tube lights. The show was dominated by songs from Kid A and In Rainbows, and the highlights from the show included National Anthem, which came on loud and strong as Jonny fiddled with his radio, interjecting snippets of talk radio, and Paranoid Android, with blazing visuals and an over-excited Colin jumping on stage during the slow bridge. The only song that I heard that I didn't like was The Gloaming, however I was able to squeeze some enjoyment out of the performance because I got to see Thom dance.

Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for the whole show, as my brother was jonesin' for some hamburgers and wanted to beat the traffic. So, we left after How To Disappear Completely and we heard the band play Thom's Cymbal Rush as we walked to the car. I heard from reliable sources that the band finished with Karma Police and Idioteque. The night stunk of cigarettes and pot, my legs fell asleep, and my brother wouldn't stop bugging me, but damn was it a great night. All hail Radiohead.