Hype of the Week examines a song currently dominating the blogwaves and weighs in with one opinion on whether the attention is deserved, or just a load of bull.

OK, folks. Time to brave the hype again, and this week it’s coming at us with both barrels. Not only do we get a new song from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, but it’s being delivered via the soundtrack to New Moon, the second film based on the popular Twilight series of books. Yeah, I’ve never read the books either, probably because (a) they’re aimed at young adults, and (b) the subject matter involves vampires.

You may be shocked to know that I’ve never been a fan of vampires. Shocked because I’m pale, I loathe the sun, I often go through epic bouts of insomnia, and I sport a set of super-pointy canine teeth. Yet vampire stories, films, and weekends have always left me unsatisfied. Wearing capes? Drinking blood? There’s no upside to that kind of lifestyle, unless, of course, you’re selling 70 million novels, in which case it’s good to be series author Stephanie Meyer. According to the intertubes, the 35-year old auth–

(spits out coffee)

35???? Holy Christ, I have accomplished nothing with my life. I could never hold a conversation with this broad. It would be a nightmare. “Hey, Stephanie, what did you do today?”

“Sold a shitload of books. You?”

“Reheated some food and watched some online clown porn. Now I know why they wear such big shoes.”

Speaking of big shoes, Thom Yorke is no stranger to meeting lofty expectations as well. Who knew that the guy who sang “Creep” would end up making something out of himself? The track he gives us here is satisfying enough, a 21st-century “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” that is more atmospheric than narrative; its five minutes of glitch pop never climaxes like one thinks it would, instead spending its last 90 seconds on earth dueling between hip-hop marching band drumming and low, oscillating pools of synthesizer drone. Shouldn’t a song tied into a film about bloodsucking be cathartic? More importantly, is this the right audience for the song?

Thom Yorke - Hearing Damage (Twilight New Moon Soundtrack)

Let me put it to you this way: A google image search for “Twilight fans” brings me this picture:

So I get the idea to go online and seek out a 13 year old girl. When I realize doing that could have me saying, “it really is for research, your honor;” I find 20 year old Katelin, a college student who came of age during Twilight’s first gleaming in high school. I ask her a few questions to see if the series and the song go together like Hi-C and Turkey:

SUM UP THE TWILIGHT SERIES IN ONE SENTENCE
A blend of vampyristic angst and teenage soap-drama.

ARE YOU A FAN OF THE BOOKS?
I will never read the books because the writings of a 9-year-old don’t exactly tickle my fancy. I had to watch the movie in two chunks in an altered state of mind in order to get through it, but now I skip through most of the parts so I can watch the few good ones.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TWILIGHT FANS?
Some of the Twilight fans can get ridiculous but most people need a fantasy world in order to escape their everyday so it only makes sense that most are crazy or undercover about their love for the series.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RADIOHEAD?
I respect Radiohead because the practice of honest music should always be respected. In seas of pop and pop/rock overplays some bands need to be respected for not following a trend and they have a decent sound.

DO YOU LIKE THE SONG?
The song was a bit redundant in the sound and form. The beginning was good with the different beats but then it got too 80’s for my tastes and I love the 80’s meets new school sound that’s been going around.

SO DO YOU THINK THE FANS OF THE SERIES WILL LIKE THE SONG? WHY OR WHY NOT?
I thought that the last soundtrack was good. I’m in love with “Eyes on Fire,” “Supermassive Black Hole,” and a few others but I’m not sure if this was a smart addition to this movie. I think the fans will like it based on what scene they hear it in and relate the song back to. It could be a good addition to the movie if it’s done right and mixed in well with the soundtrack.

And there you have it. Next time, a look at the latest cut from Deep Blue Something. I think it’s called “Breakfast At Tiffany’s II.” Or “Lunch At Tiffany’s.” Either way, I’m sure it will taste lousy.

I wish I could agree with everyone else, but I can’t.

Last year when Radiohead dropped In Rainbows on us in a revolutionary (for the music biz at least) pay-what-you-can-afford fashion, I plunked down the maximum amount so I would receive the vinyl. I could afford it, and it was a moment in history that I thought I’d like to have a piece of. This year, I dropped over a hundred dollars on a couple of (lawn) tickets to Wednesday’s show at White River. I didn’t regret or hesitate at either expense. Radiohead is probably the only band can claim to have eked more than $100 dollars from my wallet two years in a row. So clearly I’m a fan.

I’d been to just one Radiohead show prior to Wednesday night in my life: the last time they visited White River in 2003 for the Hail to the Thief tour. Suffice it to say that in that warm calm evening, pleasantly enjoying the grass between my toes as the crystal clear sky darkened, Radiohead owned me. It changed my perspective entirely about the band and their music. Thom Yorke redefined for me what it meant to be a performer. I walked into the show as an unbeliever, and I left it fully convinced that Radiohead was in fact deserving of the title “The Best Band on Earth.” Five years and one whopper of an album later, the return visit was to be unquestionably the highlight of the summer.

We arrived late enough to have missed Liars entirely. We didn’t leave particularly late from Seattle, 6:30, but given the two hour drive time in highway traffic, we didn’t arrive on the damp lawn until 8:30. The swollen clouds threatened us from above but held their wrath as Radiohead started at 9 sharp. The on-stage lighting setup was as elaborate as I had ever seen for any band, and even those of us sitting all the way at the top of the lawn were treated to an impressive display. The visuals pulsed with the songs, creating a strange new context for the music, a cathedral of light amplifying the band’s frenetic energy. But lights can’t make or break a performance by Radiohead. That’s not why their shows sell out in minutes.

From the very first songs, I felt like something was missing. Momentum. Intention. A connection with the audience. While Radiohead isn’t known for being all that talkative on stage, a sense of brooding was present that I wasn’t expecting. Maybe it was the flow of the setlist or the nature of the songs from In Rainbows, but it didn’t quite feel like band ever got on a roll. Hail To the Thief had accomplished a sort of spooky other-wordly sense of immense natural forces at play, an irrevocable tide of tectonic powers perpetually in motion, and the performance evinced that explosive and massive friction, but this time around, as a band the pace felt curiously disjointed. Instrumentalist Johnny Greenwood seemed like the only one of the band who was fully in the moment floating in an outer space of his own making.

As I said before, Thom Yorke is a riveting character. Yet this night things felt strained and loose and unfocused. His voice sounded tired. His one of a kind dance moves built around his yowl are something to behold, yet this night his dancing seemed rote and mechanical. Greenwood and Yorke’s rendition of “Faust Arp” where Yorke had to stop twice was only the most obvious indication of things not being quite copacetic, though the crowd didn’t seem to mind him breaking into a Neil Young moment while they waited for Greenwood’s guitar to be turned on in the monitor (the reason for the first stoppage).

As the first encore began it’s fifth song and final song “Street Spirit,” the clouds could hold back the rain no longer, and the sprinkle that had persisted throughout the main set growing to a strong shower suddenly became a deluge that would have phased even the most prepared lawn-sitter. We decided that was the moment to make the trek back to our car and maybe beat the majority of the parking lot rush since nobody else seemed to be leaving.

Some of you might be saying “This is Radiohead! You never ever leave early! You should be prepared to stay for as long as it goes!” To you, I will simply say that I was prepared to stay as long as the show went on, and was willing to spend half my night in the White River parking lot waiting to leave. I could have been inspired to do just that. Enduring a torrential downpour and a hellatious trip home from an epic show would have only made the story itself more epic. But I wasn’t inspired to stay.

Had I been closer to the stage under the cover of the reserved seats things might have been different and I probably wouldn’t have left early. I can’t say for sure. But what I do know is that Yorke and Co. knocked the wind out of me five years ago when I was sitting all the way back on the lawn, and I see no reason why they couldn’t have again. I wanted just as much as everyone else to forget the monsoon that was developing around me for a few minutes and to have a reason to sing the praises of Radiohead from the mountaintops the next day. But this time it just didn’t happen.

WET.

Prepare Accordingly.

Sound on the Sound has five nights of concerts in a row this week! Usually August and the weeks before Bumbershoot are slim pickings in Seattle, but not this summer. For every night we’re already promised to a show, there’s at least one, often two other shows that we’d also love to go to.  Here’s how the week is looking.

Tuesday:

We already told you we’re heading to the Blue Moon for a special night of Acoustic Sets.

Bloodhag ::: photo by josh

If we weren’t going to the Moon, we’d be headed to the Funhouse to pick up a couple new books and get our dose of beloved literary metal from Bloodhag. And before the metal began, we’d be heading over to see The Moondoggies at a free In-Store at 7pm at the Queen Anne Easy Street.

Wednesday:

Builders and the Butchers ::: photo by Josh

Is the night I have been waiting months and months, actually years, like five of them to come…the return of Radiohead. However, if i wasn’t going to be driving to Auburn to see one of my favorite bands of all time, I’d be happily checking out one of two shows in Seattle.

We are still miffed we missed the Builders and the Butchers apparently incredible set at Capitol Hill Block Party. So we were super excited to see they would be playing Seattle soon, and then crestfallen when we realized we’d be missing them. If it were anyone other than Thom Yorke, I’d eschew the long ride to Auburn and head over to Ballard to catch these guys. If the Sunset is sold out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was, head over to Chop Suey to check out Tacoma’s The Black Whales. We haven’t seen these guys yet, but they sound promising as hell.

Thursday:

The Moondoggies ::: photo by Josh

Thursday we will be celebrating a nearly perfect local line up and the release of a great new record, with The Moondoggies and SOTS favorite Whalebones at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. If you’re not feeling some dusty rock’n'roll songs, head over to Fremont to catch H is for Hellgate, who will hopefully debut some of their killer new tunes from a their forthcoming record.

Friday:

Sera Cahoone ::: photo by abbey

We’ll be spending another night in Ballard Friday to catch our favorite Bay Area musician, Bhi Bhiman play his second Seattle show at Conor Byrne’s. If we weren’t so head-over-heels for Bhi we’d be heading to see my favorite Seattle chanteuse (take that Jesse Sykes) Sera Cahoone. No, no hate for Sykes–I just happen to think Cahoone and her velvety haunted vocals are criminally under-appreciated in this town.

Saturday:

Starfucker ::: photo by josh

Saturday Sound on the Sound will be out of town rocking out on a river for the day, but if we were staying in the city we’d be loving every act of the Carousel Festival  we could catch. While all of the DIYvenues are hosting some great acts, we’d hang around our favorite, the Greenhouse and catch a few locals we love too — Bloodhag (9:40-10:20pm), Chk Minus (11-11:40pm), and Champagne Champage (11:40-12:20pm). The festival goes all week long, at a number of local diy venues with a ton of other great bands — Starfucker(pdx), The Pharmacy, Wah Wah Exit Wound, and many more.

Sunday:

Sleep. Sweet Sleep.

I about cried with glee when I realized that there is only one week until the Radiohead show at White River Amphitheater. Anytime you are less than a week away from seeing Thom Yorke, is a very good week indeed.

While I am traditionally less than stoked on large arena or amphitheater shows, I know from experience that Radiohead is one of the few bands in the world that can actually carry a crowd that large and still put on an intimate feeling performance. Would I prefer to being seeing Thom & Co. at The Paramount ? Of course, but it is fucking Radiohead! And Thom Yorke is a rock star literally unparalleled when he takes the stage. You’d never imagine it based on his quiet and odd demeanor, but give the guy a mic and a sold out crowd and you’ve got a world class performer. Despite playing to thousands of other fans, sitting there in the audience, you can’t help but feel like Thom is singing to you and your plight.

The band’s last performance at the then brand-new White River Amphitheater in 2003 was the best large-scale performance/concert I’ve ever seen. To this day, that show stands up as one of the best concerts of my life and few front men have ever impressed me as much as Thom Yorke did that night. Let’s hope next weeks show gives us more of the same.

Today the short list for the biggest UK and Canadian music awards were announced. I figured instead of two seperate posts, to just do an all empire-update.

The Short-List for the Mercury Prize (Best Album Released in the Past Year By a UK Artist):

Adele - 19
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Burial - Untrue
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Estelle - Shine
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee-Deep in the North Sea
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - The Bairns

Shortlist for the Polaris Prize (Canada’s version of the Mercury)

Black Mountain - In the Future
Plants and Animals - Park Avenue
Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling
Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
Caribou - Andorra
Shad - The Old Prince
Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers
Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs
Holy Fuck - LP
The Weakerthans — Reunion Tour

While I can’t say that I’m one to follow each and every Radiohead development and pore over the minutiae as it happens like a true Radiohead fan would, this new song which debuted recently, features just Thom at the piano, and has been continually running through my head since I first heard it. It is called “Super Collider.”

HT: Ear Candy

No Grizzly Bear on our leg (dammit!) and they will be at White River on August 20. Here’s the full details:

August 1 - Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL
August 3 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Indianapolis, IN
August 4 - Blossom Music Center - Cleveland, OH
August 6 - Parc Jean Drapeau - Montreal, QC
August 8 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park - Jersey City, NJ
August 9 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park - Jersey City, NJ
August 12 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
August 13 - Tweeter Center For the Performing Arts - Mansfield, MA
August 15 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
August 19 - Thunderbird Stadium - Vancouver, BC
August 20 - White River Amphitheatre - Auburn, WA
August 22 - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival @ Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA
August 24 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
August 25 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
August 27 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre - Chula Vista, CA
August 28 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA

With the exception of the festivals (Lollapalooza, All Points West, Outside Lands), pre-sale for the above dates will begin April 9 with general on-sale following April 12.

Support for the headline dates will be Grizzly Bear August 3-15 and Liars August 19-28 (as well as the first run of U.S. dates in May).

Grizzly Bear to open for Radiohead on their West Coast Leg? Tour dates to be announced on Monday?

Please, oh, please let it be so. If this wasn’t already the tour of the Summer, it now most assuredly is.

HT: LineOut

This might be tempting….3 day passes are on sale this Sunday for the Outside Land’s festival in San Francisco. I’d consider buying the pass just for seeing Radiohead and a show in San Francisco’s hallowed Golden Gate Park. The festival is August 22nd and 23rd, which is getting admittedly close to Bumbershoot time. But, Radiohead….

Though Jack Johnson’s name should be NOWHERE near the top of that poster! Try Regina Spektor, Primus, Andrew Bird, Wilco in that top billing spot instead!

3-Day Passes only go on sale Sunday at 10am PST. Hooray for a show being sold out of the west coast! No waking up three hours earlier to get tickets out of an East Coast based company.