Ending Song

Today was my wifes last radiation treatment. God bless her and our family....

Ending song

No more needles,
No more knives,
Time to heal,
And stop fighting for our lives

No more storms,
No more winds,
Time to heal,
Forget the lightning and the sins

Somewhere in the middle of it all,
between the wilted flowers and babies breath ,
You understand what it means-
In the midst of life we are in death-

Somewhere in the middle of it all,
I have found my old friend,
She was hiding in plain sight,
Lucky souls, sometime mend


"No matter what happens now
You shouldn't be afraid
Because I know today
has been the most perfect day I've ever seen." t. yorke

In Rainbows: Radiohead's Paranoid Android's Orgy

This is Radioheads sex album- Never thought the lads from Oxford would get all geeky horny on you, but here it is- Tonight I downloaded the songs from their website here. You can pay for it- a penny or a pound- you name the price:

http://www.inrainbows.com/

A lot more mellow- jazzy- than anything they have ever done. More mature, with adult themes- These guys are dealing with people, not spaceships, robots and fairytales anymore. They are adults now and it shows in their music and lyrics. They are talking more about sex, though- a lot more than they ever have before- All I can imagine, when I listen to this music is Thom Yorke dressed as Hugh Hefner- all pajamas and bling.

Well maybe not- the mental image hurts my brain....

Here is my take on the songs:

15 Steps- Good, funky for a Radiohead song. Common man fighting for his bit of turf theme song

Bodysnatchers- More common man fighting against the system stuff- Nice
"Electioneering" sound mixed with Neil Young- Warm Fuzzy analogy sound.

Nude- Best song on the album in my opinion. All about the hollowness of guilt- wonderful misery.

Weird Fishes- At first I thought this was the weakest song on the album- not sure on second listening. Another song to do with desire- That's the funny thing about their songs- you initially hate them then they grow on you. This requires more listening.

All I need- Another song about desire and why you stay with someone- probably for the wrong reasons. The desire to stay safe- Builds to a nice climax at the end.

Faust ARP- This is a Beatles like tune musically- but it's all about not measuring up to expectations- going through the motions.

Reckoner- I have no idea what this song is about- Is it about someone cheating on someone else? Its the most musically advanced song they have ever done- using harmony to create a simple, beautiful song.

House of Cards- This is about cheating- and what the hell is this? Key parties? A paranoid android orgy? Its about people screwing around and living in denial. It's got a moral center to it- probably the most classical song structure here. .

Jigsaw Falling into place- This is another one about sex...this is Radioheads Barry White album, isnt it? Best I can guess it's about a one night stand. Driving beat- Grows on ya after the second listening.

Videotape- Another favorite song. Simple- a bittersweet good bye- Builds to a nice climax as it drifts off...

I would put this between OK Computer and Kid A as their strongest album to date. Might actually be better than Kid A. It doesn't show the immaturity of the Bends- however it lacks the humor of OKC and the Bends- Much better than Hail to the Thief.

I paid $10, or basically a buck a song- which is what I would give Steve Jobs if I was buying it off Itunes.

I will probably get the box set as well. Awesome album....

Good job boys-

FRANTIC USA

Sitting in my seat on the way back from Rome yesterday- I was completely shocked by the manors of the American flight attendants on the plane. For a week I was used to seeing slower, more relaxed individuals in service positions. People from the United States seem to move and speak in loud and sweeping gestures compared to Italians, Germans, Finns or Japanese. The women on the plane were brittle and nervous. They didn't seem human- frantic creatures- with an illness of the soul we suffer from here in this country.

We always seem afraid here. The fear soaks us, bends us and twists us- we are always trying to over compensate for some inadequacy- not enough money, not handsome enough, not smart enough. We refuse to be a culture satisfied with who we are.

Mostly because we don't know who we are supposed to be.

We live our lives through pop stars, personalities and sports idols. We can't just be people in this country- we have to look like, smell like, act like somebody who has higher status.

In Europe, I am not sure what status is. I am sure there are name droppers and climbers- but I didnt see any (or don't understand enough Italian to know). Everyone I met seemed pretty much who they were. They accepted their lot in life. They didn't relocate to the other side of the planet- they spent their lives within 40 miles of where they were born. Saw their mothers every Sunday. There is a sense of community there- a sense of belonging to a culture two centuries plus old.

They seemed less afraid. A good lesson to learn- one, I am afraid I didn't learn.

Less than a day after getting back- I was frantic and nervous- back to the paniced pace I left.

Welcome home, I guess....

Time to download In Rainbows from Radiohead---Brilliant! More on that next post...

Lucky

I'm on a roll,
I'm on a roll this time
I feel my luck could change.

Kill me Sarah,kill me again with love,
it's gonna be a glorious day.
Pull me out of the aircrash,
Pull me out of the lake,
I'm your superhero,
we are standing on the edge.

The head of state has called for me by name
but I don't have time for him.
It's gonna be a glorious day!
I feel my luck could change.
Pull me out of the aircrash,
Pull me out of the lake,
I'm your superhero,
we are standing on the edge.

We are standing on the edge.


I am back and on my way to Italy tomorrow...time to move on and keep at it- All that and Radiohead is back with a new album in a few days. How wonderful.

Creep

Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls making Creep a love song in a bar- Starts out slow, but worth the wait- a lot of fun...

True Love Waits

Google has this thing that alerts you to blogs and websites with keywords that you are interested in- It's kind of cool and kind of annoying at the same time.

Every day I get about ten emails from Google on Radiohead subjects- Most are garbage, sites for freedown loads that are niether free or easily downloadable, and a lot of blogs- One blog caught my eye because it mentioned lyrics from one of the truly saddest songs that the "R" band ever produced. Its from a post grad called Wind-Up-Bird in NY. I guess she has been offically "tagged" by me:

http://metwee.blogspot.com/

It's a song called True Love Waits- and unlike a lot of Radiohead songs, with the exception of "Spinning Plates" (the Rwandan Genocide)- the lyrics are from a news story that Thom Yorke read in the paper. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, The Clash (Charlie Don't Surf), Pearl Jam (Jeremy), just to name a few examples have all made songs from news stories (or movies), but Radiohead has always been more internal than external in their observations. They look at how they feel about something and then make the observation through that filter.

Not to say that True Love Waits doesn't share that same obscure point of view- The beginning of the song mentions "dressing like your niece" and "washing swollen feet" which make little or no sense to anyone but Thom Yorke, the singer and songwriter.

But like most "R" songs it circles the campfire like a wolf, then goes in for the kill towards the end.

It starts out with a common turn or phrase, turned on it's end: I'm not living, I'm just killing time. Which is how we all feel some days. We are slogging from one place to the next- not really living our lives- and with a unspoken hopelessness that all we are doing is killing time, waiting for it all to end.

Then a refrain of the chorus, Just don't leave, Don't leave which isn't really a chorus- in Thom Yorkes voice, it's a wail of longing and desperation. Then the kicker-

And true love waits,

In haunted attics,

And true love lives,

On lollipops and crisps,

Which at first glimpse you read as, big deal? Haunted attic's- what is he on about? Lollipops and Crisps? Is this a snack food jingle???

But like most of the "R" songs, they have a much deeper meaning. You have to work a little to get it, they are always like a small puzzle- which is the "fun" part of their music.

From GreenPlastic.com- The best Radiohead site on the planet:

According to Thom, the line "On lollipops and crisps" is from an article he read: "I read an article about a child who was between 5-8 yrs old who was left on his/her own for a week in a house when his parents left on hoilday and he lived on lollipops on crisps. True"

Then it hits you like a ton of bricks- He is singing from the perspective of a young child- That no matter how abandoned you feel as an adult, there is still a part of you that loves so much, the child inside of you- you will go through anything, even starvation- waiting for that love to be reciprocated.

When he sings the chorus again, you understand that feeling so much more. The wail becomes a lament. Is it for lost love, abandonment? You never really know-

You may know what true love is- After listening to this song, you know where true love comes from and how delicate it is-

Radiobucks?

From the ugly rumour department-

Fact: Radiohead doesn't have a label. They dropped out of their agreement with EMI last year. They have been working on their new release for about a year.

Rumour: They have signed with Starbucks. To fans, this is like Jesus signing with Walmart for distribution newly updated version of the Bible

Like the logo though-

UPDATE 3-30-07: The band denies- it. No surprises!

Nordic Walking

Happy St. Patty's Day! You remember how I mentioned that Nordic Walking looked 'dorky'? Well, for the last two days I have been "dorkily"(is that a word?) walking around the neighborhood.

This sport ROCKS!!

For some reason, the walking in Finland resonated with me, maybe not at the time- but as some people know, that is how I mentally process things. I need to creep up on it.

In Finland, I was cranking without the shin splints and joint pain I normally feel with outdoor walking. Indoors, on a treadmill everything is good, outdoors it really hurts on everything from my feet to my hips. A lot of this is because I was an ex-swimmer, my upper body was always stronger than my legs. Now I can use my upper body when I walk. SWEET!

I got these poles yesterday- I have taken two walks- I averaged about 2 miles per. Two things- I didnt feel the usual pain in my hips when I walked up the hill, the second is that my lats felt the burn because I was walking pretty fast. I cranked on OK Computer on my Ipod and watched the spring time clouds pass overhead as I moved through the development. Some people driving took a double take, I am sure that this is the first time this has been seen in this part of the world.

My life is shaping into this weird combination of insanity and wonder lately. This is a healthy symptom I suppose. Between the Veganism, Contra, Radiohead, Carbon Emission Worry Wort and now Nordic Walking I am sure I fit some demographic.

Maybe I am becoming European. Its like Euro-borg, "La résistance est futile"!

Travel

"Transport, motorways and tramlines
Starting and then stopping
Taking off and landing
The emptiest of feelings"- radiohead

Off again tomorrow- for the next two weeks, more or less (will be home next weekend)- Chicago, Milwuakee, Buffalo and Washington DC. The last two weeks have been great- but as with most things, there is a price to pay! The price for being home is being away-

Plan to keep this updated- Some fun stuff planned, alright ONE fun thing planned- A contra dance in Chicago tomorrow night- Will post pics and stuff of it next....