Radiohead on SNL

If you'e like me, you forgot that Radiohead was performing on the season opener of Saturday Night Live because you were grading papers. (This is common, I realize.)So much tragedy in the world. Anyway, NME posted video of "Lotus Flower" and "Staircase." Please enjoy what a strange little man Thom Yorke is. And stop grading papers.

Friday Night News Round Up

The last time TMI did a news round up, it involved Photoshopping a Santa hat on Bob Dylan, so I figure it's about time to do another one.

- Coldplay announced the name of their new album, but sadly did not include a pronunciation guide. [Editor's note: It's my-lo zy-letoe, according to the Coldplay newsletter] Mylo Xyloto is out October 25. There's not a track listing out yet, but you can count on "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" to be on there. Rolling Stone is reporting that other songs might include "Us Against the World," "Hurts Like Heaven," "Charlie Brown" and "Major Minus," which Coldplay have been playing at shows as of late.

- Louisiana songwriter dude Marc Broussard has a new video out. It's for "Cruel," a song off his new self-titled album. It's pretty amusing and Broussard is as soulful as ever. Check it out.

- Radiohead's going to be on Saturday Night Live September 24. I know. I'm trying to picture the uber complicated and layered sonic textures of Radiohead coming out of whatever miserable sound system SNL uses. We shall see! Maybe they'll get the USC marching band to play with them like they did at the Grammys a few years ago. Also, Alec Baldwin will be hosting.

- If you're interested in more Noah and the Whale, Pretty Much Amazing posted an MP3 of the Brit indie folk rockers playing a cover of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" for BBC Radio 1. Even better, you can download it.

- And finally, Feist debut her new single today. It's "How Come You Never Go There" and it will live on her forthcoming album Metals, out October 4.

Well, that's all I've got. Enjoy.

Catch Up: Not Just for Burgers

I've seen so many interesting items pop up on my Google Reader over the last couple of weeks, I can't even describe the agony it's been to not write them up. Fortunately, I am back in town and steeling a few minutes to pass some opinion on the highlights.

+ Avett Brothers to release new album - My favorite North Carolinian band of brothers is back in the studio working on a follow up to their stellar 2009 album, I and Love and You. Scott Avett told Paste that they'd already finished one session of recording. Money line: "Avett did not offer a specific timeline for the release, but did say that the band hopes to have “something done” by mid-2011." Sweet.

+ White Stripes call it quits - After two years of releasing no new music, the Detroit duo announced they'd broken up. Nashville native Erin Carson yawned. But really, what will Meg White do without the hype machine that is Jack White? TMI has no idea, but wishes her the best of luck. I did get to thinking though, so many fans had panic attacks when the news came out, what would have happened if they never announced anything but just never released anything else?

+ Death Cab for Cutie set release date for new album - Codes and Keys just might be the most perfectly Death Cab-tastic name for an album. Key points: 1. Less strumming, more synth and reverb 2. It's out May 31st 3. Guitarist Chris Walla said the first single will probably be "You are a Tourist." 4. There is a punctuation mistake on their website.

+ The Travelling Band are giving away free tracks - If you don't know who these guys are, then familiarize yourself. To start, check out my review of their debut album Under the Pavement from way back when in 2009. They're a terrific band from Manchester and for the price of an email address, you can download four new tracks. The new stuff has a feel that's little less sentimental and dreamy (except the live version of "Only Waiting" off the Under the Pavement), but it's still solid. Also, I am happy to know these guys are still in business.

+ Radiohead is sneaky - Last week we found out that the much anticipated follow up to 2007's In Rainbows was all of three days away. Yes. No more dodgy projections for release, just a ambush version of a release. Then, it apparently came out a day early. It's titled The King of Limbs and they're calling it a "newspaper album." I'm going to be really honest. I do not know what that means. So long as that doesn't mean it will turn my hand gross and inky, I will be purchasing it when the physical copy comes out March 29.

Radiohead is Toying with Our Emotions

Good grief, we haven't had this sort of emotion turmoil and ambiguity since high school. Paste posted this article today, saying that Radiohead might not be ready-- oh, what were Ed O'Brien's exact words, "in a matter of weeks." Oops.

The band is stepping out of the studio until late summer-ish (they say that now), so expect... an album... maybe... at some point... in the future.

Radiohead to release new LP

Just so happens I wrote it up elsewhere....

The Musically Inclined's Top Albums of the Decade

Several weeks ago, every music publication and their mother('s publication?) started putting out "best of the decade" lists. Of course, until that moment I hadn't actually thought about the fact that the decade was ending until Bob Boilen was waxing nostalgic about OutKast or whatever.

That said, if everybody's doing it (always solid justification to do anything), TMI would be remiss not to throw together a completely subjective list of albums from this first decade of the millennium, in the effort to celebrate (and to impress the reader-- more solid justification) the finer points of the past ten years.

Criteria: Must own album.

Note: I got 99 albums and Jay-Z ain't on one. Or Bon Iver. Or any White Stripes before 2006. Never bought the Arctic Monkeys album. Refused to buy anything by Arcade Fire. No, Wilco is not on this list either.

So here, not truly grounded in anything but my mood this afternoon, are The Musically Inclined's Top Albums of the Decade.

Send your eye-rolling grievances to
themusicallyinclined@gmail.com.

Much love,

Erin

Greetings from Michigan : Sufjan Stevens : 2003

Everyone always raves about Come on Feel the Illinoise, but Greetings from Michigan was the album TMI was interested in. It was partly due to my undying love for states that look like articles of clothing, but mostly it was because when I heard it, I knew Stevens hit Michigan on the head. Things have been rough up there, but there's a lot of natural beauty when you get past the economically depressed cities. Stevens managed to balance some of the grim realities of Michigan, with a sound that matched icicles on tree branches and the gorgeousness that is the Upper Peninsula. Plus, TMI first heard "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" on The O.C. in the Spring of '06. It felt significant.

Tranatlanticism : Death Cab for Cutie : 2003

Still the best Death Cab for Cutie album to date. More refined than their way early sound on Something About Airplanes, yet these were the edgier days before computers took over on Plans. Transatlanticism is Death Cab for Cutie at its best. Of course, this is not to say that TMI wasn't crazy about Plans... in fact, TMI would probably buy a box set of the band tuning their guitars, but really. Just about every song on Transatlanticism is a winner - "The Sound of Settling," "Expo '86," "Title and Registration," "Passenger Seat"-- this is the place to start if you haven't already.

Home : Dixie Chicks : 2003

Random country album? Maybe. Back in the day before The Dixie Chicks wrote mildly bitter songs about being wronged, they decided to go acoustic on their (in their current line up) third album, Home. It was ridiculously good-- a reprieve form that glitzy glossy commercial crap that passes for country these days. It was a little bit rootsy, a little bit folksy, but mostly just really solid. From "Long Time Gone," to the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," to "Lil' Jack Slade," to the super powerful "Top of the World," The Dixie Chicks laid down the direction that country music should have gone in-- "More Love," less Miley.

American Idiot : Green Day : 2004

It was like those angsty kids in middle school grew up a (little) bit and made a somewhat serious statement. Who knew? Between "Give Me Novacaine," "Tales of a Broken Home," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," we started to get a grim picture of a generation raised by the media and popular culture. Or you could just sing along and pretend like you're angry. That's fun too.

Continuum : John Mayer : 2006

Room for Squares was an album for lusty teenage girls. Heavier Things spoke of potential. Continuum was the product of not a teen heart throb or one more drippy, sensitive singer, but of a highly talented guitarist and lyricist. Continuum was bluesy and soulful in a manner we didn't think Mayer was capable of, and it put him on track for "guitar great" status. Continuum is so rich, I only like to listen to it on occasion-- don't want to take it for granted. I also treat mangoes that way, but that's a separate issue.

In Rainbows : Radiohead : 2007

Maybe it's that I'd never listened to Radiohead seriously before. Maybe it's their avant garde marketing strategy. Maybe it's the way "15 Steps" is some strange breed of entrancing and infectious. "Videotape," "House of Cards"-- being classified as "un-radio friendly" never sounded so appealing.

Wincing the Night Away : The Shins : 2007

I bought this album after hearing the Garden State soundtrack for the first time a few years back (and who didn't?!). "Australia" is my most-played song on iTunes-- which is funny because I can never remember specific times when I've listened to this album. It's like an unconscious instinct pulls me back to Wincing the Night Away and I gladly follow. Cryptic, catchy, lightly sprinkled with 60's Brit pop, TMI eagerly awaits whatever James Mercer (and whomever he's wrangled for the line up) releases next.

Boxer : The National : 2007

Describing The National as "orchestral pop" does not do the band justice. Sophisticated sounds back the uncertainty of drifting into an oblivion of adulthood. Beautiful, often poignant imagery almost makes you want to be 30, if only for the drama and doomed romance of blue blazers, swanky apartment parties, and friends you can barely recognize anymore. Also, there seems to be a critical consensus that front man Matt Berninger's voice sounds like a variety of liquors. How could they go wrong?

Which albums made your list?

News Round-Up!

It seems as though there have been quite a few interesting music news bits lately. Here's a quick overview.

- Reportedly, Bob Dylan is planning on releasing a Christmas album. Because you really want to hear Dylan rasping his way through "Up on the Rooftop." Not too many more details so far. We'll keep you posted.

- Mika has released the specs regarding his sophomore album. Name: The Boy Who Knew Too Much. Release Date: September, 22 (U.S.). Track Number: 12. City of Production: Los Angeles. First Single: We Are Golden. Level of Excitement at TMI: High.

- As if Ryan Gosling couldn't get any better, dude's got a band. Dead Man's Bones will release their self-titled debut album on October 6. According to NME, the band describes their musical inspiration as "Disney haunted mansion, doo wop and 60s girl groups." Maybe he should just stick to acting.

- Radiohead released a new song this week, entitled "Harry Patch (In Memory of). I felt very non-British. Harry Patch is (was) an actual person, in fact he was the last survivor of World War I. (Yeah, Patch was 111 years old.) He died on July 25th and Radiohead released the song the day before his funeral. Thom Yorke talked about the need for future generations to be reminded of the atrocities that accompanies war.

- But then, Radiohead came out and said not to expect any full albums for a while. EPs, singles and one-offs? Yes. LPs? They're just not feelin' it. We're confused?

- Jack White debuted a solo single called "Fly Farm Blues." [insert generic Jack White grumbling].

- Heath Ledger's Modest Mouse video for "King Rat" premiered. Haven't seen it yet, but apparently it has "save the whales" undertones. Score.

- The Shins' drummer Jesse Sandoval didn't leave the group because of an "aesthetic decision." He was fired. Well, alrighty then.

Phew, that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned, kids.

Radiohead Starts Recording New Album

The BBC reported this morning that Radiohead is back in the studio. That's pretty much the extent of the details, but those few words happen to be quite hefty on their own, fortunately. The big question that everyone is raising at the moment, is whether the band will put out the new album in a similar way to the In Rainbows release. That probably depends on what the true motivation was behind the original idea, regardless of what they said. If it was a matter of audience control, being avant guard and adapting to the reality of the music industry, then the obvious route would be to allow fans to pay what they want yet again.

But, if it was more a marketing/publishing stunt, then it's time to move on and try something fresh. I don't really care. I'll buy either way. It's Radiohead. C'mon.

Radiohead Gets Going On New Material

Glad tidings from NME: it appears that Radiohead is working on a follow up to 2007's In Rainbows. There aren't many details as of yet, but the gist is that now that most of the touring for In Rainbows is finished, the band's got the time to start work on a new project. Of course, the tour is not quite over-- they'll be playing several shows this summer.

So... suck on that, Miley.

In Other News...

Not much to report lately, kids. Now that I'm on "holiday," I can't really think of anything to write about. Anybody see today that a bunch of music videos are getting yanked by PRS (Performing Rights Society) from Youtube UK? Sometimes it seems like people have nothing better to do than get their knickers in a bunch, to borrow a phrase from the country in question.

Some of us were certainly a bit disgusted when Miley Cyrus threatened to destroy Radiohead this week after they declined an invitation to meet her backstage at the Grammys. I'd like to picture Thom Yorke mumbling to himself, "who the eff is Miley Cyrus?"

Beyond that, there's not much shakin.' Flight of the Conchords gets better with each listen and I'm starting in on a rather promising review for Twisted Ear. About a minute ago, my inbox informed me that Andrew Bird is now following TE on Twitter. I can think of people who would be pleased with this notification. You know who you are.

Something random and cool: my buddy Ben at The Daily Grind is doing 7 reviews in 7 days this week. Check this business out.

Don't forget that The Musically Inclined is always open to tips and prompts regarding content, and if you're musically inclined yourself and want to pitch your band or album for review, give me a shout at themusicallyinclined@gmail.com.

Stay tuned kids, these quiet spells never last long.

Since When Have Grammy Posters Been This Fantastic?

Never. Saw this little item today on NME (my music news feed is currently dominated by British publications and it's Twisted Ear's beautiful fault) and didn't think much of it until it popped up on Pitchfork. Let's face it, if Pitchfork is going on about posters, Seattle has either exploded or the posters are cool...but not too cool, just cool enough to be Pitchfork-worthy. Right. Anyway, Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Thom Yorke all have their likenesses made out of the lyrics and names of thier favorite artists, albums and songs.

Part of the story here has to do with the Grammys trying to revamp their ad strategy in light of crappy (gross understatement) ratings in recent years. Last year, no surprise, was the lowest rated since '92. Ouch.

The other interesting portion is that Radiohead's Thom Yorke is involved in this. Radiohead is a notoriously and unapologetically not radio-friendly band, God bless 'em. Commercialism isn't really their thing, but I guess if your album gets nominated for album of the year, a poster might be in order, even if it is for the Grammys which are, as Pitchfork put it, "patently lame."

In any case. I found myself some new artwork for the walls.

No Such Thing as a Free Album

Recently I got wind that The Hold Steady is streaming the entirety of their soon to be released album, Stay Positive on their Myspace. I checked and sure enough, there it was. While I'll hold off on any comments about the album itself, it's worth noting that not so long ago record execs, fans, and artists alike would have balked at the notion of laying it all out there at no charge, even before the album is released for purchase. Can you do that? How does that even work? Well, these days-- yes you can and I get the feeling that there is a certain sense that there's really not much to lose or gain. As reported here at TMI a month or so ago, digital finally walloped regular cd sales and the trend is so drastic that it would be mind-bendingly naive to imagine that this shift could ever be reversed.

From the outside looking in, things are falling apart. Major record labels which at one time were the end-all, power-wielding dictators of protocol, are gradually losing leverage and clout. Sure the internet is infested with countless bands banking on novelty and grassroots type movements, but the big deal is that the established acts don't really need the big labels and can opt to employ their own home style marketing tactics.

When Radiohead announced they'd let fans name their own price, the risk was purely theirs and their sheer boldness earned In Rainbows far more publicity probably than would have been expected of a conventional Radiohead release. A positive side effect perhaps is reaching new potential fans, but it will still never be enough to offset the decline. Coldplay just offered a free download of "Violet Hill" in anticipation of Viva la Vida, and now of course, The Hold Steady put all their cards on the table, begging copyright infringers to get creative.

To an extent, I don't understand. At the same time it makes perfect sense, if there's going to be an evolution in the proverbial "way we do business," they might as well take it into their own hands and see what's left when the smoke clears.

Stay cool, kids.

Radiohead: Where's the love? (And by love I mean money).

Probably by this time, most are aware of that "crazy" thing Radiohead did, releasing their own album and allowing people to name their own price. I was intrigued by the idea. It sounded risky to me, people can be unpredictable and perhaps odd, but surely loyalty to a favorite band would count for something, right?

Guess not. According to an article I saw on the BBC news website, 62%of people who "bought," and I use the term loosely, paid absolutely nothing. 38% paid on average $6. Really? Seriously? I don't don't even really listen to the group but I'd feel so guilty for taking the culmination of hours of work for nothing. One could argue that hey, no one said anyone had to pay anything, but in my mind it's the honors system and if it was a band I liked especially-- the last thing I'd want to do would be take advantage of them.

Don't get me wrong either-- I'm under no illusion that Radiohead is depending on sales to feed their starving, malnourished families. It's the principle.

I don't want to sound too idealistic here, but the fact that a person would normally pay $14 should be a sign that they'd be willing to pay something. And if they've been willing to fork out in the past, because they like the band enough, wouldn't they feel some sense of good will toward them that they would want to pay? It's scary. Where did decency go? Or was it never here and its absence hasn't been as obvious?

Paste Magazine is having a similar promotion, letting people name their price for year-long subscription. Again-- too risky for my taste but at least they have set a minimum $1 per issue. Maybe it's better. I don't know.

Here's to hoping the Golden Rule experiences a resurgence in popularity.