I Shit Music

So like any obediant child of the piper’s call, I adhere to most paths that Radiohead’s Thom Yorke leads me down. Thus with the release of last month’s 2 tracks by Burial and Four Tet with Thom Yorke, I was eager and primed for the embrace despite not really having a clue who Burial or Four Tet really were. Regardless, the 12 inch/digital apparition 2-for of “Ego” and “Mirror” are fucking money, straight on the dime, sounding a lot like the glitchy/ambient beat assault from Yorke’s Eraser. I highly recommend seeking them out in whatever fashion people seek out digital copies of vinyl releases. Seem to be alot of valid links out there, but I’m not gonna be the guy who right now accidentally redirects you to the Mozart virus circa 1992. Either way, here’s a youtube stream below.

Anywho, in breaking down who’s doing what on the tracks, I realized that Yorke’s just singing, Burial drops the bass heavy drum lines, while Four Tet adds the dreamy textures: ie. piano fills, and radiant bubble expansions. It subsequently occured to me that I had heard Four Tet’s name before, (like quartet I think, not like forte’) as he had done a remix of Radiohead’s “Scatterbrain” on their amazing secret album Com Lag. Get it, it’s magical. So that led me to say, what the fuck…I’ll head down to the record shop and pick up Four Tet’s album from last year, There is Love in You. And hell, it’s friggin’ awesome. It’s electronic, glitchy, intelligent with eerie samples, awesome transitions between different interwoven textures – dreamy shit you can either melt into you couch with or dance your post-groove shimmy with 2 inches off the ground. The opening track, “Angel Echoes” should grab you in the first 45 seconds…if not, turn back you heartless old fogie.

If you’re looking for a modern purveyor of warm, organic, electronic sound, the fine English bloke known to his friends as Kieran Hebden, and his sometimes truly beautiful project, Four Tet is a great place to both start and end. If you dig deep, his older stuff can be a little too melancholy in the ambient, and a touch too drab to hold you, but right now the kid has a finger on the trigger so start from the present and move backward. I’ve included another video of him truly crafting music last year in London. Definitely worth the seek and embrace. www.fourtet.net

So after a dozen or so run-throughs of Radiohead‘s new release , here’s my take on the 37 minute glitch-out paradise. After going so deep into existential modality on In Rainbows, I think what the neo-humanoids most felt they needed to do was drop something a little more ‘straight-forward’  – or however that term can really relate to this band. What I mean by it is that they’ve backed down a notch or two off the multi-layerings to present a somewhat stripped-down version of themselves. It almost sounds like they’ve shredded any perceived egos of being the most important band in the world, (which they are.) On a clearer day, I could somehow relate this idea to the album’s title being King of Limbs, but moving on…

Perhaps more than any album of theirs before, there are not necessarily any stand-out cuts – not because they’re not good, but because it runs together as more of a unified piece than ever before. My dear friend DJ Wyllys is right when he called it “The Eraser Part 2″ – in that it sounds a lot like Yorke’s solo album, very digi-break-beat.

Again, I don’t think they wanted this album to be seen as such a ‘game-changer’ as their last, and for its’ intentional non-epicness, I think it might catch some flack for falling short of their capabilities. I can guarantee you it will catch at least 50 plays in my ipod before the year is done.

My only gripe is the take on my most anticipated track “Give Up the Ghost.” When I heard Yorke perform this at Coachella last year, I was floored. The looping wasn’t over-the-top, it was spooky, it was beautiful, it was everything I love about the guy. However, the studio version is a good 1 to 2 minutes shorter than his live ones thus far, and consequently never seems to have enough time to really lock into its’ pocket. Plus it seems like his vocals used to come on the offbeat but now are on the 1 – I recommend digging up an older solo version. There’s a solid one of his Cambridge show you can download on itunes, but I still think the Coachella one’s the best. Here’s video:

Well, after just announcing at the beginning of the week that their new album The King of Limbs would drop tomorrow Saturday the 19th, Radiohead have decided 24 more hours is too long to wait and have made the album available now. I could rant on about how amazing it is, and the power of Thom Yorke, but who hasn’t had somebody tell you how amazing Radiohead is by now? I feel that all that needs to be acknowledged is that you should be honored to hear this music fresh and new. It’s like getting Axis: Bold as Love the day it came out, and realizing what a permanent part of your DNA that music could be. So yes my friends: embrace it, love it, honor it – for more than anything, our chaps across the pond are creating legendary music of our time. I’m so, so sorry if you don’t get it, but the rest of us quiver in joy. Let’s pray for U.S. tourdates soon.

Here’s the new video for “Lotus Flower.” It’s nothing but black and white footage of Yorke dancing, and its’ truthful simplicity may make it the most powerful video of their career.