Radiohead + USC Marching Band

This clip is from over a month ago, but I was watching it again and I am still just blown away by it. Radiohead agreed for the first time in their career to perform at (or even show up to) the Grammy Awards, and delivered a live performance of "15 Step" from In Rainbows with the help of the USC Trojan Marching Band. The rehearsals and hard work that must have gone into this from the college students pays off brilliantly, and you can see the excitement in their faces. Not only is this a brilliant song, it's a creative and imaginative performance that, phenomenally, works as well as the original.

Radiohead - 15 Step
by Alisvideo

"15 Step" is in 5/4 time, which means it has five beats per measure and the quarter note is eqaul to one of those beats. If that doesn't make sense, you can count it out from the intro as "1 2 3 4 5, 2 2 3 4 5, 3 2 3 4 5, 4 2 3 4 5". Additionally, the brass section functions as the bass, a technique that actually has roots in classical and very early jazz music, before the string bass became prominent outside of orchestras. If this post makes me a dork, well that's nothing new. I think this is genius.

Enjoy and comment below if you like this performance half as much as I do.

New Music Wednesday!

Each Wednesday, I will (attempt) to review two or three songs that I am hearing for the first time and review them, in an effort to both broaden my own musical tastes and perhaps inspire you to do the same.

Last Flowers
Radiohead, In Rainbows (CD2), 2007

A piano ballad from Thom Yorke in the same vein as Videotape, but with more urgency. Asking for "relief" and simply to be listened to ("and if i'm gonna talk/i just want to talk/please don't interrupt/just sit back and listen"), an acoustic guitar compliments his haunting piano line. The music weaves itself into the lyrics well, matching the paranoia in the verses to unsettling piano lines, and shifting into more comforting music on the repeated chorus of "relief, relief". The build at the end on the "too much, too bright, too powerful" refrain recalls some of U2's work on Achtung Baby, at least to me. As a bonus track, left off the main album, it's not up to their best stuff from In Rainbows but definitely worth a listen and it stands well on it's own. Thom's voice is excellent and evocative, as always.
Grade: B

One Red Thread
Blind Pilot, 3 Rounds and a Sound, 2008

One Red Thread features the acoustic guitar and percussion of Portland, Oregon's Blind Pilot (duo Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski) who earned a fervent local following after they toured the West Coast via bicycle. You needen't know any of that to enjoy this song, however. Brilliantly recorded, the acoustic guitar sounds crisp and bright, and the vocals are fantastic. I have to say, I've heard many singers but something about Nebeker's voice floors me. There's an ease and purity to his vocals that is hard to find in many new bands today, when idiosyncratic vocals are praised far more than they should be. The tempo variation and harmonies shine in One Red Thread, and those of you who went to Starbucks last week may have picked it up for free as the Pick of the Week. Great stuff and I've got high hopes for this band.
Grade: A-

New artist to check out:
Julia Nunes
With an eclectic mix of covers and very good originals, Julia Nunes has gone from YouTube favorite to a record deal to opener for Ben Folds on tour. You might have also seen her on YouTube Live back in November. Between her ukelele, strong voice, and infectious sense of humor, you really can't go wrong with any of her videos. Thanks to Matt for the recommendation.

An Open Letter to EMI/Capitol Records

Dear Sirs, Madams, and Others,

As the record company holding the recording rights of many of my favorite artists (The Beatles, Radiohead, McCartney, Harrison, Lennon, Starr, Nat King Cole, etc), I would like to point out how much of my money you have gotten from me for your products. I have everything the Beatles have released in the CD era, along with most of Radiohead's proper albums, two b-side compilations, and every extra b-side they've released for The Bends and OK Computer. As for Nat King Cole, you've released too many half-hearted compilations for me to keep track of them all. I have enough to compile my own definitive best-of, which you folks seem incapable of.

My usual beef, that Apple Records is taking way too f*cking long remastering the Beatles albums, is not necessarily your fault. Though you aren't helping by jumping in on every "new" Beatles release that comes out around Christmas each year that really just consists of rehashed stuff, usually from the less interesting Get Back sessions. I do enjoy these, especially the latest one, but I'd enjoy them more if the Rubber Soul CD didn't sound like someone copied it off of a cassette. They're only the most chronicled and best selling band in history, I think you could make the investment. Let's go already.

But back to matters that concern you and only you. After a 12 month process of going from "interested in Radiohead" to "oh my God, I need help. I listen to too much Radiohead!", I spent a considerable amount of time (and my brother's PepsiStuff points) to amass all of those b-sides. Finding the My Iron Lung EP at Newbury Comics (which was never released in the US) was a challenge, as was sorting through the many singles with one or two b-sides each. The quality of the songs was my reward, though, and it was a labor of love. You see, I'm not only a completist, I'm a bit of a record collector from the old school (and oh, the ladies are impressed). It was fun and the music was excellent.

Then, you kick me in the balls again. Since Radiohead famously went with the pay-what-you-want model in 2007 and realized they don't need you, you've been milking the cash cow of their back catalogue to the point of overkill. Last week, I find out that after all of my hard work, you're re-releasing the albums I just bought with all of the b-sides I so painstakingly tracked down.

I hate you, EMI. I really do. Especially because you and I both know that the moment you release the remastered Beatles albums (assuming you ever do), I will be among the first to replace all thirteen of them with big shiny new ones. And you'll probably be skimpy on the liner notes and bonus tracks. And I won't complain because I'll be too busy listening and potentially weeping tears of joy, like I'm hearing Revolver for the first time.

I'm glad that, while The Beatles aren't around to dick you over for milking schmucks like me for my every last dime, Radiohead left you and now streams all of their back catalogue for free for the next two years. You don't understand how much it hit me in the wallet to shell out $33 for the White Album in high school. Radiohead gets it, you don't. And oddly enough, even schmucks like me who will continue to buy every Christmas rehash you issue won't save you from being phased out of the music industry like the other major recording labels.