The band who have recently released their brand new album a day earlier than expected have also released a new music video for the song “Lotus Flower”. Radiohead’s new music video is rather strange as it is shot completely in black & white and it only features Thom Yorke dancing in front of what appears to be a warehouse of sorts… the dance itself is rather unnerving. The song mainly follows the same line… no Radiohead alternative rock here, just a steady electro beat and a few variations in-between, but it mostly all concentrates on Thom Yorke’s singing. This is probably Radiohead’s idea of an experiment so maybe their fans will want to check it out, but even they might find it a bit hard to interpret and even like.
Radioheads lead singer Thom Yorke is predicting the end of the major labels in the music industry. Way to state the obvious. The rock star urges young musicians to resist the temptation of signing a big record deal as he think all the labels will completely fold in a couple of months. I say they have a couple of years left. He feels so adamantly in warning upcoming artists of the dangers of a record deal that he even sat down for an interview for a new high school textbook where Thom said It will be only a matter of time – months rather than years – before the music business establishment completely folds. (It will be) no great loss to the world.
Michael Gondry, acclaimed filmmaker and music video director for the likes of The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and The White Stripes has vision but the guy has to be blind by not being amazed by Lady Gaga. During a recent interview, the director basically slammed the pop princess by saying ?I?m not interested. To me it?s like a form of Marilyn Manson. It?s hard for me to talk about it; I?ve seen a couple of videos of hers, and not for very long. I stop watching them each time because I don?t think there?s melodies? And I don?t see it. Her melodies are very conventional. I remember when my friend and I would argue about Killing Joke. I remember him saying, ?It?s so great!? But I said, ?It?s so conventional! How can you find anything original? It?s just surface!? I don?t know, maybe the comparison is ridiculous. But the melody was very, very flat. That?s probably why they are famous. But maybe it?s considered high art just because of the way she dresses?? I?ll compare his next video to the best of the singer?s and we?ll see which is better.
Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke is going on tour with his side project and it sounds great. The band is called Atoms for Peace and is comprised of Flea, Nigel Godrich, Mauro Refosco and Joey Waronker, all of whom contributed on Thom?s solo album ?The Eraser?. Thom said ?ok so in April the other band.. that i got together to do the eraser and other stuff u know .. Mauro, Flea, Me, Joey and Nigel is going back out to do some shows in the US.. ending with playing with Coachella. we had too much fun to just leave it there?it has been decided that we call ourselves Atoms For Peace. hope you like the name.. it seemed bleedin’ obvious.? The band will play eight shows before they hit the Coachella Music Festival in April.
Miley Cyrus was on the JohnJay and Rich radio show in Arizona last week where she recounted a cold shoulder graced upon her by Radiohead during the Grammys. The Hannah Montana star begged her manager for an introduction but the band blew her off saying ?Yeah, we don’t really do that? which prompted her to leave the show all together. She said ?I’d already texted all my friends, we were all freaking out. This is someone who I like would have cried to [have met]. Stinkin’ Radiohead!? Unlike Miley Cyrus, the guys of Radiohead only hang out with people around the same age, intelligence level and talent level.
Questo from the Roots was at an LA Grammy party this past weekend where Radiohead performed. It looks like the band?s front man was having lots of fun up on stage as Questo was quoted in saying ?haaaaaaaa! thom yorke is jammin! he dancin like a muppet on acid. i love it. how he got more soul than 10 of post modern rnb artists?? If that was the case, I bet everyone at that party had just as much fun as those two rockers. Radiohead performed at the 2009 Annual Grammy Awards the next night with the USC marching band.
The creative force behind the rise of rock band Evanescence, with hits “Bring Me to Life” and “The Fallen”, songwriter Ben Moody has taken his love for the music in a new direction; as head of the new, artist-centered label, FNR Records.
Since his departure from Evanescence in 2003, Moody has collaborated with some of the hottest stars in the music business; the established and the up-and-comers. His song-writing and producing credits include working with Avril Lavigne on her second release Under My Skin, penning “Nobody’s Home”, “This Time” with Celine Dion, “What About Now” from Chris Daughtry, and Moody co-wrote and produced the smash hit, “Because of You” with David Hodges for Kelly Clarkson. The reason for Moody’s new direction, FNR Records, is simple, he states, “after going to such great lengths to protect the integrity of a project during the creative process, it seemed almost sinful to let the major label monster destroy it.”
In order to live up to its credo of protecting the creative artists, FNR Records first client is a young, Montana native, Hana Pestle; an alternative rock/acoustic solo artist. Pestle’s sound carries a unique blend of influences as diverse as Radiohead, Sarah Mclachlan, and the Cranberries. Hana Pestle is now touring the Midwest, performing her songs, “These Two Hands”, “Just a Phase” and her own haunting rendition of “Hallelujah”.
Moody was instantly taken in by Pestle’s voice, “It only took Hana singing one song and I was sold . . . I have never in my life been more in awe of such a breathtaking natural talent.”
Radiohead may not be getting much support from the big name record labels right now but they sure are getting a lot of support from the big name Hollywood actors. Brad Pitt met up with his ?Fight Club? co-star Edward Norton to catch the band in concert together at Civica Arena in Milan, Italy last Wednesday night. Norton commented on their support for the band saying ?Brad and I had a mutual fixation on the second two Radiohead albums.? Marianne Pearl, a friend of Brad and Angelina Jolie?s, was also at the concert. Angelina played Pearl in 2007?s ?A Mighty Heart?.
Ashlee Simpson recently sat down for an interview for a celebrity news website where she talks about her new hair color, the latest fashions, her song obsessions and other topics of conversation. The singer/actress is said to be in love with Radiohead these days saying ?I love the new Radiohead record. I listen to it all the time.?
Ashlee also has plans to continue her acting career saying ?I?m definitely interested in going back to acting but it?s all about choosing the right roles. I don?t want to take on a lead character right now or anything. The cool thing about being an actress is you can be a chameleon and you can choose all of these interesting roles.?
In Rainbows, as a title, implies a sense of comfort and delightfulness. Symbolically, rainbows are more likely to be associated with kittens and warm blankets than the grim and glum circumstances Radiohead are known for sound tracking.
Surprisingly, some of the album?s lyrics are even more personal/universal and straightforward than anything on The Eraser, the album made by Thom Yorke and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. ?I?m an animal trapped in your hot car,? from ?All I Need,? has to be one of the saddest, most open-hearted metaphors used to express unrequited love.
This effective weaving of disparate elements ? lyrical expressions commonly associated with the band, mixed in with ones suited for everyday love ballads ? goes for the music as well. The album is very song-oriented, with each track constantly moving forward and developing, yet there are abstract electronic layers and studio-as-instrument elements to prevent it from sounding like a regression.
