More Radiohead Blogging

I don't know if you're all as into Radiohead as me. It's quite possible. They have a lot of fans. That's why tickets to their shows sell out so quickly, sometimes before they're even available for sale.

If you're not, feel free to go read and then vote on the Braffy nominations. (Next round of noms coming soon! Including the vote for Worst Robot Artificially Alive!)

If you are, then it's an extremely busy and exciting time. Not only are the band touring presently, a tour I will actually get to go see later on this month, but there are not one but two albums coming from key band members in the coming months.



First up will be Thom Yorke's solo effort, The Eraser, which he, like, totally promises doesn't signal the impending break-up of the band as solo efforts by frontmen so often do. It's already available online in its entirety, either via illegal peer-to-peer downloading or semi-legit mp3 blog dissemination.

I've been listening to little else for the past few days, and it's really terrific, if somewhat unsurprising, stuff. Yorke doesn't really switch genres or tinker with his sound. He basically just simplifies and pares down what you'd get if Radiohead played these same songs. Having said that, the album does capture the woozy, acid-laced vibe of some of the better tracks of "Amnesiac" and really grew on me after a few listens. The spartan anthem "Black Swan" will provide back-up atmosphere to the closing credits of Richard LInklater's animated Phillip K. Dick adaptation, A Scanner Darkly. Just so you know...

After Yorke's album debuts this summer, the new Radiohead LP will hopefully hit in the fall. Most of those songs can be found in live versions around the Web as well. My favorite thus far is "Bodysnatchers," which you can find here, along with all the other new songs, via A Reminder. Apparently, their setlist this tour will be about 1/3 new songs. Hells yes. I can't freakin' wait.