thinking. or not.

so i was sick all week, which somehow gave me time to think. and i thought a lot about music and creativity and life and the big ideas. but it was probably all as useless as those deep thoughts i once had under the influence. magnificent at the time, but inane when things were back to normal.

the useful thing i did was make a playlist and cd of the newest radiohead songs, the ones people THINK will be on the 7th album. even if they are not, i'm having a great time listening to the "new" radiohead album.

and liars. ever heard of liars? i don't know anything about them. didn't read up on them. but i listen to their album, "drum's not dead" a lot. it's vaguely tecno, good drums, strange lyrics. a nice departure from anything else.

on itunes right now: it was "a visit from drum" from the aforementioned album, but now it's "ocean breathes salty" from modest mouse.

what would life be without music? not life. that's what.

radiohead overload

okay, i have photos on my walls, photos on my computer desktop, nearly every known radiohead cd and ep and single, a lot of vinyl, and almost every book. I just got a new one today - Welcome To The Machine: OK Computer And The Death Of The Classic Album. It's so cool! The author, Tim Footman, basically goes through every single track on OK Computer and talks about it from all different angles. Musically, how it was recorded, the lyrics . . . and then the larger picture: references, influences, and things that can be connected (like movies and poetry) even if they weren't the intent of radiohead.

what a treat to read it this afternoon when i should have been grading papers. all the more work for me at school tomorrow, but tonight, i am going back to the book to read about "Let Down."

yaaay for the obsessions of other radiohead fans!

when you were here before

creep is playing. the most maligned radiohead song. too bad, it really is a cool song. and it has only 4 chords, all the way through, or really three, cuz one is a minor. so okay, it's early stuff and doesn't compare to how to disappear completely or 2+2=5 or a long list of other songs. but it is beautiful in its own way and taken out of the context of how it almost made them one-hit wonders.

Tribe: isn't that a good name for a cool, hip, handsome guy? that's the new guy in my novel, my main character's ex-husband. i like him so much, i almost had her get back together with him.

it's march and about halfway through, and then there is april, then may. june - for school - almost doesn't count since we get out so early. so 2 months + until summer. i can't wait. i really want it this year. my summer will be driving rylan to summer school, waiting for a radiohead concert that we hope will take place this summer and going to japan in late august. and lots of reading and lots of writing.

damn. i want to be there now!

but as they say (whoever they are): be HERE now. see how neatly that ties in with the title?: when you were here before.......

the anticipation is ridiculous

radiohead have (has?) drastically revamped their website, which leads one to believe that an announcement about LP7 and a tour is imminent. i have to believe that this is so! the pundits at Mortigi Tempo (radiohead experts all) have suggested this is true.

on itunes: Pop is Dead. Funny old radiohead song. i have a playlist of 35 radiohead b-sides and i play it over and over, loving every song, even Pop is Dead with its goofy metallic bells and whistles and Thom's ironic voice - okay, more ironic than usual.

poetry is needed and is below. as far as my novel goes, an agent liked it but wanted more work, so i did more work - i am going to re-read it with the extra stuff put in, then send it back to the agent. maybe .... someday .... my novel will be published: This Is What You Get. how cool would that be!

Charles Simic again, one of my fave modern poets:

It wasn't even snowing! Everyone I met
Wore a part of my destiny like a carnival mask.
"I'm Bartleby the Scrivener," I told the Italian waiter,
"Me, too," he replied.
And I could see nothing but overflowing ashtrays
The human-faced flies were busy examining.

last stanza of St Thomas Aquinas

arcade fire

yes, i know they are not radiohead. i do listen to other music. sometimes. i just downloaded a live show of theirs, off the npr website. i would love to see them live, i've heard they are very compelling - it becomes a religious experience.

other music -- went to see Silversun Pickups (good, fun, noisy), OK Go (beatle-esque, fun and did a great cover of ELO's "don't bring me down") and Snow Patrol .... who i had pegged as lightweight crooners based on the one song i knew - chasing cars. a good song, but it turns out they rock a little harder than that song implies. i didn't know any of their other songs (well, i sort of knew one other), but i had a great time. they were enthusiastic and loud and strong. their real drummer was off with a broken arm and their substitute was an incredible pounder of the skins. great drumming!

a music extravaganza for me in these couple of weeks: this show above, a trip to the house of blues for an educational experience with some students (not as great as it sounded like it would be), and next week is My Chemical Romance. we have floor tickets, so i'm hoping to watch the MCR fans go crazy to those anthemic songs. should be a kick to watch. oh, and Muse, later in April. IF ONLY RADIOHEAD would release a tour schedule. and an album. aaargh.....

poetry another time.