Maybe it’s just me, but people seem to rely on music to unleash some of the emotional neediness that arises in everyday life.  We interpret as we please, and seek reassurance in the cryptic lyrics.  The haunting melodies evoke either energetic times or sorrowful times, pensive times or forward-moving times.  We chose what we listen to, but maybe we can’t always control how exactly a particular song will affect us on a particular day when we listen to it.

When I listen to Mates of State, I feel a lot of energy from the upbeat piano lines and drum rhythms.  I want to feel enthusiastic about something when listening to Mates of State.

When I listen to The National, I want to be thoughtful in a dramatic way.  It’s funny that just the lead singer’s deep voice can lend extra elegance and seriousness to the music.

When I listen to Sleater-Kinney, I want to be a brave, strong woman who is not afraid to wail lyrics, and play heavy bass and guitar riffs.

Listening to Radiohead, life becomes a mournful state, very bleak, on its way to some type of post-apocalyptic destruction that is too depressing to fully express.

These disembodied voices and instruments, due to the recordings of excellent production quality, feed a sense that there is a way to reach true perfection.  Life is shrink-wrapped and hygienic, plastic with easy-to-read instructions.  When my own perspective is messy and disorganized, I hold it up to an unreal ideal that is created by the way society wants everything certain, safe, attainable, glossy-surfaced.

So there is always a disparity that somehow demands improvement to close the gap.  Music allows us to take three minutes to feel caught up in the moment.  A good song can seem to hold your hand and help you continue on your journey.

Unfortunately, this article was not as easy as I thought it would be.  It turns out deciding on only five songs that I will listen to for the rest of my life (as in as long as the supplies on the plane last cause I’m not much of a survivalist) was not that easy.  My first list mostly represented music from the late 90’s and early 00’s but then I realized I would eventually get tired of all that angst.  I needed to diversify my list and include some more toe-tapping numbers.

My new list is better.  It includes music from more time periods.  It includes some singable songs (for when I get tired of simply talking to my volleyball) and is more of a broad sampling of Rock and Roll.  So here’s my list in no particular order and without any references to LOST.

Come On Lets Go – Ritchie Valens
Its singable, danceable, and gets bonus points for being sung by a Mexican.

Hey Jude – The Beatles
I have to include a Beatles tune though I know Hey Jude is kind of a cliched pick.  But what can I say, I really like the “Na Na Na” part at the end.  Its a good song to play if I want to bring my fellow castaways together.

Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin
I won’t be able to survive a deserted island if I can’t get the Led out.  It was between this and Black Dog.  I find this song more fun.

Ingrata – Cafe Tacuba
Talk about your fun songs.  I will waste days away trying to perfect the singing of this song.  And then doing a full long performance of it will scare the smoke monster away.

The National Anthem – Radiohead
Finally, when I just want to be alone, this is the song that will be playing in my head.  Played extremely loud, it’s oddly soothing.

Ok, so I lied about the order and the references.

Artist: Radiohead
Album: Kid A (Collector’s Edition)
Label : Capitol
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Decision: 5/5 Amazing
Favorite Tunes: All of them.

1. Background:

It’s been a big year for reissues.  Along with the Beatles’ reissues last week, Radiohead has been staggering reissues of their entire discography all year.  These special edition reissues have been double-sized affairs with the remastered original album and extra discs with live performance, b-sides, and a DVD with video performances.

When it comes to film, I’m not a fan of collector’s edition DVDs with extra material that wasn’t included with the first release so that fans have to buy their favorite movies twice.  But when it comes to music, it actually makes sense.  Remastering technology helps give listeners a new appreciation of the music they thought they were familiar with.  And the extra material wasn’t really available when the albums were released since performances and music videos don’t often happen before an album is released.  Still, I was skeptical about the Kid A collector’s edition CDs.

Kid A is one of my favorite albums of all time but I had never thought that Kid A was an album that could translate well to a live performance.  I had seen live performances of some of the songs on Saturday Night Live and on Youtube but it was never the same as the experience that was listening to the album.  So I didn’t expect much out of the extras, and the original album used the technology it had available to it so well that remastering it wouldn’t really add much to it.

2. The Substance:

This was an exceptional release of one of the greatest albums of all time.  Rarely does one get the chance to re-experience something they love for the first time all over again, but listening to the live recordings included with this Radiohead release was like hearing Kid A for the first time.  Kid A was translated to a live performance in a way that made it seem completely new but still in keeping with the essence of the original album.

3. The Decision:

5/5! So, is this album worth the 30 dollars it costs on Amazon?  A resounding Yes.  One of the greatest albums of all times is packed with new material that completely changes your perception of the music you just listened to.  Such that if you are a fan of Kid A, the second disk should be required listening, especially if, like me, you haven’t had the chance to experience Radiohead live.

A large leak...kind of...

It has been a big couple of weeks for leaks.  Radiohead and Weezer both experienced song leaks last weeks with varied results.  Radiohead’s song, “These Are My Twisted Words”, was a very good song reminiscent of Kid A, which is my favorite Radiohead album by far.  Weezer’s leak a few weeks ago was less successful musically.  “The Girl Got Hot” was just more run of the mill Weezer from the Green Album rather than brilliant Weezer from Pinkerton (will we ever see that Weezer again?).

More telling than the quality of the songs, though, was the reaction to the leaks or the almost non-reaction.  Leaks have become almost commonplace these days.  Its the price of doing business in these modern times.  And both bands seem to have come to terms with that.

It would be understandable for a band to want to control the material that is released by them.  A release of a track that hasn’t been polished or is unrepresentative of the album they are about to release could damage them.  And if their best work is released before the entire album is complete, it could take some of the shine away from the album when it comes time for it to be reviewed.

Don't blame the fans! Blame Bono!

But you can’t blame the fans of a particular band for wanting to hear everything that is released.  A few years ago, my brother and I were debating this very issue.  One of his then favorite bands’ message board moderators had begun kicking people out who shared leaks of the band’s upcoming album.  My brother was one of those kicked out, but he was taking it in stride.  I was arguing with him that the fans, such as those who frequent a message board devoted to a band, should be the last people you punish for trading leaks with other fans.  The word fan comes from fanatic, which means that you are going to show such devotion to the band’s music that you don’t really care about the rules.  It may be only Rock ‘N Roll, but we like it, damnit.

The better way to approach the problem is to do like Weezer and Radiohead just did.  Both bands have always been more enlightened when it comes to their material so their reaction to a leak is not surprising. Weezer has always had extra material floating around that is sometimes better than the albums themselves.  Radiohead has found great success by giving their songs away and letting their fans pay what they want for them.  When their songs leaked,Weezer just accepted it and moved on.  They released a different and better song (thankfully) as the first single for their new album, Raditude.  Radiohead has embraced and started to offer the leaked song as a high quality, free download on their site.  They have embraced it so much that most believe that they are the ones behind the leak.

If that’s true, then Radiohead has finally discovered how a properly motivated fanbase, and a well placed leak can do for your work.  Even if its just a publicity stunt, its one that worked:  It got people talking about Radiohead during a summer with no new Radiohead release.

Here’s the source for the first photo done by Matthew Bowden! And here’s the source for the second photo!

Go read the bloody thing!!!!

Radiohead is powerful. It’s amazing stuff. It’s moving and uplifting. Forceful and exciting. It grabs you by the shirt collar and says, “Hey. It’s time to pay attention.” Radiohead is the visual and physical equivalent of Kurt Vonnegut’s trademark phrase, “Listen:”.

Radiohead was almost able to save last night, but it was just far too miserable.

If you were alive last night, and in the state of Virginia or Maryland, or in the District of Columbia, you may have noticed one thing: It was raining balls.

As of the time of this post, it is still currently raining. Of course, now it is not nearly as bad as it was last night.

If you were there, then relive the night with me.

Listen:

You guide your car through traffic cones and large rocks, rain falling steadily around you, and find a parking space in the already full parking lot. You open your door, and it begins: The moment you step out of the car, your feet are already soaked. The rain is unforgiving. But you’re prepared with your oversized poncho, an umbrella and some towels in a backpack. Or maybe you just came in shorts and sandals (and come dressed this way some people did).

The walk to the venue seems to be more annoying than it should be, as you try to avoid large puddles on the gravel path. You can’t avoid the large puddles. The Earth is now a large puddle. Small rivers flow down the hill as you and many others rush towards the front gates. What are you rushing towards? An escape from this misery?

How many times did you think about turning back? The car is far from view now. Your shoes are far from being dry. The rain continues to pour down. You find your ticket, rush past the Attendants and into the venue, only to find that, damn, it’s still raining. In fact, it’s raining even harder.

Up some slick stairs, and, finally, you’re on the lawn of the Nissan Amphitheatre. And for those of us who were not lucky enough to nab seats by the stage, the lawn is now your home. However, the lawn has dissapeared. In its place is this vast muddy slope, leading you towards the front, but beckoning you to move too quickly and fall into the muck.

You look around you and see that everyone is soaked. At least you’re not alone. Some smile, some laugh. Some are just too drunk and high to notice what’s going on. Some are annoyed and tired. Cold and wet. At least Radiohead will come on soon.

1 Hour Later, Radiohead comes on. They play “All I Need”. It is amazing. But it is a slow song, and so is the next. The third song comes from OK, Computer, but it’s not one of your favorites. Then “15 Step” comes on. Thom does his trademark dance. Things are looking up. But the cold front has come in and you feel horrible. The rain is coming down even harder. You look around you. There’s no reason to be out in this.

As you walk away “Weird Fishes” plays. Great song. Radiohead delivered, but the rain didn’t allow the audience on the lawn the chance to give back. It was miserable out there. Maybe next time will be better.

“C’mon, rain down on me…” – Thom Yorke