Cheers to Thom Yorke

Today marks the birthday of Thom Yorke, also known as the lead vocalist Radiohead, the  most famous rock, metal, classical, alternative infusion band from the early 90's through today.

 A few short weeks ago, Thom released a solo album titled Tomorrow's Modern Boxes which was released with great controversy. This album was in fact released through BitTorrent, a popular online music downloading website often best known for hosting illegally published music for free download. A short twist, you actually have to pay for the album. Charging what seemed to be the too good to be true cost of $5.99, I was disappointed to see that the track list only containing 8 tracks, but I was thoroughly rewarding upon listening to it. Fear not if you don't use BitTorrent, it should be released on Vinyl and CD for purchase within the coming months.

Originally planned to be an EP release with three tracks, it was later expanded to an entire studio album. The release came to a complete surprise for his followers, no promotional anything or any information was given prior to the internet release. However, he must of done something right, with 2 million downloads since it's release September 26.


Tomorrow's Modern Boxes contains many unexpected gems. The basis of the album is built on complicated intertwined synthesized lines. Radiohead is definitely famous for this, but usually with "real" instruments. His vocals remain as good as ever, sliding up to the high register with ease on nearly every track. This album definitely is a branch off from the usual sound of Radiohead, but it's not a bad thing.

The second track, titled Guess Again, is definitely one of my favorite tracks. The intro includes an ever so famous catchy piano intro, and the sultry entry of his voice happens right after. The electronic back beats and rhythms create a nice contrast from the smooth piano line. My favorite lyrics from this song are as follows:

As one door shuts
Another opens
Guess again!Do you think your mind blows up?
Do you think your mind blows up?
Guess again ......

Overall, I just really like this song.

The fourth song on this album is another one of my favorites, titled The Mother Lode. A rhythmically driven beat and uptempo keep this song driving. The "melody" so to speak is passed between a series of synthesizers, going back and forth throughout the entire song. With large instrumental breaks, this song is good for driving around, relaxing with friends, ect.

Also, this album comes with an unusual album cover as expected, considering the fact that Radiohead always has one.

Overall, this is a very good album. Different than Thom's previous releases, but in a good way.


Namaste,
Carly

Seasons Greetings!

Hello!
My name is Carly and I reside in Seattle, WA. I have known Michael for 5 years now and he and I starting bonding over our love for music. Because Michael will be gone for 2 years, I am honored to say that I will resume posts on this blog while he is away (hopefully you are all okay with that).

I would say that Michael and I have a similar music taste. I enjoy almost all genres, and I am constantly surprising myself by getting into new styles, artists, and musical ideas. You can expect my reviews to contain a variety of music. My first post will be up soon!

Also, feel free to comment with any songs or artists you would like to me review.

Namaste,

Carly

I'm leaving soon

In December I will be leaving on a 2 year religious mission and I won't be able to post while I'm gone. Because of this I'm adding a friend as a writer. My Friend Carly is now a writer so there will be content for you to read while I'm gone! So everyone say hi to Carly, you'll be seeing posts from her soon. She has a great taste in music and I'm confident she'll do great things!

Cheers,
    Michael

Someone Great

Someone great, an amazing song that gets me every time. From the lyrics to the overall feel of the song, it is a masterpiece.

In my opinion, the mood that is set beneath the lyrics is more important than the lyrics themselves. The feeling behind the instrumentation, the way the artist uses the sound of the song to convey emotion is what makes or breaks the song for me. LCD soundsystem sets the mood perfectly. Just the overall feel of the song sets the mood so well for the lyrics, and carries that feel throughout the rest of the song. The band somehow creates a bright yet melancholy feel, the brightness of the chimes, but the slow, dragging of the synthesized bass.

I'm not gonna pretend that I know what James Murphy was thinking when he wrote the lyrics to this song, but I will say that whatever he meant, he really meant it. Nothing about this song is shallow. You can feel the emotion flowing through Murphy as he sings. That is my favorite thing about music, someone can write a song and have it be very close to their heart, and then a listener can have it just as close to their heart for entirely different reasons. Music is the one thing that everyone can love and relate to, and that's what makes me love it so much.

To tie in that last bit, I dare you to listen to this song
REALLY listen
and not feel something.

Music transcends all. If there's anything that I know with a surety, that last statement would be it. I love music and I love this song. I hope you can listen, feel, and enjoy it just as much as I do.

Cheers,
    Michael

Here, Have a post!

I'm the worst kind of person... I know I've promised so many things and not followed through. It tends to be a pattern if you look back at my blog. I think I'll just quit making promises, I'll post when I feel the need to write my feelings about music down. It was never my intention to turn this blog into a chore so I'm not going to. I have a hard time writing when I feel like I have to instead of wanting to. So I'm not making any more promises, I'm just going to post when I feel the need.

Also... a HUGE thank you to everyone who has read my blog, I have over 1250 hits and that's way more than I ever expected to get. I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten. I hope you enjoy my posts, I do my best to just speak from the heart. I love you all!

Cheers,
    Michael