FoeWeel !!! ???

Tank Hill Sunrise, San Francisco

As spring tries to force it’s way back into the Bay Area, the tails of winter still remain and as if it is deeply saddened not knowing if it will ever return, it keeps blanketing us with rain showers.

My Brightest Diamond – Feeling Good – from the the excellent Dark Was The Night compilation, Shara Warden does her best interpretation of the classic tune that may not have been written by Nina Simone, but it was definitely made famous by her.

Phoenix – Rome (Neighbors remix feat. Devendra Banhart) – I first heard this track from the HBO series How To Make It In America, a Vice magazine come to life journey on early 20 somethings trying to make it in New York. I like this remix better than the original because of it’s dream like state which better captures the mood of the song.

The Pixies – In Heaven/Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf) – This track is taken from a live show at The Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis from 2004. A great blend of two classic tracks, with Frank and Kim’s voice working harmoniously together.

Radiohead – Fog (Original Version) – This is the original version which was off the Knives Out single, and not the Live version from Com Lag EP. A gem from when Radiohead was possibly at their peak ?

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Ocean Beach, 2009

A friend sent this over to me on FB, and………….
I figure with close to 500Gigs of music, it would be an interesting experiment.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put your iTunes/Ruckus/Napster/etc on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag however many friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got it from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Beirut – Forks and Knives (La Fête)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Holy Fuck – Pants Exploded

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Ursula Bogner – 2 Ton

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Radiohead – Paranoid Android

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda – Get Bizzy

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
The Blood Brothers – Siamese Gun

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Mochipet – Hamhockacid_Hardcoremix

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Daft Punk – Digital Love (Red Foxx’s Bmore Surprise Mix) ((ha–they live outside of baltimore))

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Fennesz – The Other Face

WHAT IS 2+2?
Sigur Ros – Við spilum endalaust (Live @ MoMA)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Goldfrapp – Caravan Girl

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Audion – Fire

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
John Lennon – Only You

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
New Order – Your Silent Face

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Beatles – From Me To You

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Glenn Gould – Bach: French Suite #6 In B Minor, BWV 817 – Gigue

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Ella Fitzgerald – Cheek to Cheek

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Sparklehorse – It’s A Wonderful Life

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Prefuse 73 – Noreaster Cheer

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Archers Of Loaf – Greatest Of All Time

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Bjork – Cocoon (Live)

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Soul Coughing – Moon Sammy

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Madlib – Get It Right

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Bonobo – In Between The Lines (Nostalgia 77 Remix) (Alternate Unreleased Mix )

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Alka – A Modest Collection Of Lint

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Aretha Franklin – It Was You (Aretha Arrives Outtake)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
The Stone Roses – She Bangs The Drums

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Aphex Twin – 73 Yips

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Burial – In McDonalds

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Tobacco – Side 8 (Big Gums Version)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The English Beat – Doors Of Your Heart

Here are three musicians that have a great chance to play the halftime show at next year’s Super Bowl…..

Why? – The Voweks Pt 2 – one of the best releases of 2008. I forgot to include them. My apologies. They are from the Bay Area, and are a perfect example that things do not need to be perfect to be great.

Telefon Tel Aviv – Street Spirit (Fade Out) feat Lindsay Anderson – this is a rare cover that was only released on a single promoting the LP of Radiohead covers. It’s nice moody piece from a band that I had the privilege to see for the Remix conference a few years back. Chris Copper, one half of TTA, passed away last week, and although they took a different direction with their new release, they will always be one of those bands that furthered my musical tastes. They made the abstract harsh pains that can be associated with quick changing electronic based music more palbable.

Flica – M – for your early morning enjoyment.

Picture courtesy of danbaber on Flickr

Radiohead
Outside Lands Music Festival
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
August 22, 2008
The Chocolate Show

1. 15 Step
2. Reckoner
3. Airbag
4. There There
5. All I Need (sound cut out for a minute)
6. Nude
7. Talk Show Host
8. National Anthem
9. The Gloaming
10. Videotape
11. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
12. Idioteque
13. Karma Police
14. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
15. Just
16. Exit Music (for a film)
17. Bodysnatchers

Encore:
18. Pyramid Song
19. You And Whose Army?
20. Paranoid Android
21. Fake Plastic Trees
22. Everything In Its Right Place

Download: Radiohead, Live @ Outside Lands

Outside Lands Festival, 8.22.08, 10:26pm

Thursday evening, The Wordless Music series came to San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre in the form of the Magik Magik Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Shwartz to play pieces by John Adams, Fred Firth, Arvo Part, Mason Bates and Jonny Greenwood. Greenwood’s Popcorn Superhet Receiver was making it’s West Coast premiere, but all of the pieces from the evening made for a powerful night of twisting your mind around the conventions of music. The evening’s most abstract piece, Save As from Fred Frith had tape recorded sampling, tin cans being thrown about on stage, crumpled pieces of paper, and a cello being played like a high guitar solo. Most of the elements from the other pieces were from the string family of instruments, but every piece had one foot in the past with one foot into the future, and each could have easily been translated from the arsenal of Aphex Twin, or Autechre’s squelched synth sounds and spastic 808 kicks.

As the night started, the founder of the series, Ronen Givony mentioned many of today’s leading abstract electronic artists and how he wanted to create this crossover between both of these worlds by tearing down the rigid classifications often given to music. What was once thought of as unconventional is now accepted as today’s norm. It’s refreshing to see things skewed using mainly tools that are part of today’s convention of music. Check out more of the Wordless Series, which is mainly in NY, but hopefully will be making more visits to San Francisco. They have some incredible artists coming up, which have been featured on this site, including Flying Lotus, Steve Reich, Goldmund, Hauschka, Stars Of The Lid and Tim Hecker.

The next day was Radiohead’s somewhat annual visit to the Bay Area. For this trip, they headlined Friday night at the Outside Land’s Festival. The evening started out with Cold War Kids, the Black Keys and then to the Laser Light Show featuring Radiohead. It was the best visual display that I’ve ever witnessed from the band and even with a few sound problems, it was a great experience for all of the senses. The unexpected hysterical laughter from Thom Yorke at the beginning of You And Whose Army was the sentiment for most of the evening. And no, text messages along with phones do not work in a festival environment which consisted of 60k people.

Radiohead, for lack of a better comparison, are the Beatles of our/your generation. They have often reinvented themselves, and have created timeless music that continues to influence artists today. I hope they break up soon, only to reform in 20 years at Coachella. Yeah, that would be perfect.

Here are some pieces from the artists featured on Thursday evening for the Wordless Series.

John Adams – Shaker Loops – 1. Shaking and Trembling – this track was part of one of the pieces that was played on Thursday evening.

Fred Frith & Evelyn Glennie – Scuttlebutt – a great collaboration of two brilliant musical minds.

Jonny Greenwood – Smear – from the Ether Festival in 2005