So basically due to the blank void that has been my summer, I haven't really kept up to date with any of the latest "pop culture happenings." Which may or may not be a good thing. It usually gives me something to babble about, but it has allowed me to pursue other hobbies... like sleeping. And sitting.
But HEY! I've sort of kept up with musical "happenings" recently, enough to know that Radiohead, a.k.a. the best band in the world (well... not really. Well maybe. I don't know why I said that anyway) apparently won't be releasing any LPs anytime soon. Apparently they're (or Thom Yorke is) bored and tired of the slog that making an LP puts them through... or SOMETHING like that. I'm too lazy to look for the article right now. I think they're instead just going to put out a lot more EPs and singles and such.
Which is cool for a number of reasons. One, the EP is underrated, and two, well... they've already released a number of classic albums, but I also feel like some of their recent stuff feels just like a by-the-numbers collection of songs (looking at you, Hail To The Thief). So maybe it'd just be better if they released songs whenever they felt like it, allowing people to pick and choose which ones go on their iPod and crap.
... which it seems like is what they're doing. This song, called "Harry Patch", I guess really was intended for a charity for the oldest WWI vet who recently died (or SOMETHING... again, too lazy to look for the actual specifics.) It's a nice song... not really essential or anything, but if you like your strings and Radioheads combining forces and such, it makes for a pleasant listen.
That big box above this sentence was a totally cool embedded "YouTube" video, by the way. You all should check YouTube out when you get the chance. It's pretty cool.
Anyway, a week after releasing that song to the general public, they decide that it'd be cool to release another song! Cool, huh?
This one I like a lot more. It's sort of reminiscent of "Arpeggio", but a lot darker. And that bass line is SINISTER.
Anyway, the point of this is that the idea of a band releasing songs as they finish them, instead of just releasing them all together... well, it could work, you know? At the very worst, you won't have a material object that tries to make this "cohesive statement", but if you're just going to be recording a bunch of songs that aren't necessarily going to be cohesive, you might as well release them one by one rather than piling them all together, you know? At least for Radiohead, it makes sense. It will pique everyone's interest for a while, and then they'll pique everyone's interest again, instead of having everyone wait impatiently for the next record, all the while both massively hyping it and setting oneself up for disappointment. One of the reasons why I enjoyed In Rainbows was due to the fact that it was released 10 days after it was announced, which allowed me to not get too hyped up over it. So randomly discovering that they've put a song out there every once in a while sounds like a cool treat.
I'd be interested to see how they plan on making money if they're just going to release singles one by one, but I guess that's for the future.
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Oh, and there's this song I've been digging the past day or two. It's by a group called Dead Man's Bones, which is sort of a project for actor Ryan Gosling... which sounds like a massive red flag, but the music is eerie and moody enough to grab my attention. The song linked combines zombies, doo-wop, a mournful, grandiose feel and a children's choir. So I think I sort of have to like it, just for that reason.
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