The Reading Leeds 2009 Music Festival wrapped up on Sunday, but the buzz about the performances from the likes of Radiohead, Vampire Weekend, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and many other indie rock heavyweights, is still lighting up the music blogs and social networks.

The popular three-day fest - commonly referred to as The Reading Fest - is one of the biggest outdoor music events in all of Europe, and regularly sells out only days after tickets are made available for purchase. In fact, the organizers are already promoting the 2010 festival.

Other notable artists and bands who performed at Reading 2009 include Bloc Party, Maximo Park, Kaiser Chiefs, New Found Glory, Placebo, Ian Brown, The Prodigy, Friendly Fires, The Rakes, Billy Talent, The Virgins, Crystal Castles, White Lies and dozens more.

The following are video and song highlights from the Reading Festival 2009:


In the video above, Radiohead briefly covers the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's track "Maps" as an intro to "Everything In Its Right Place."

"All I Need" - Radiohead (via our friends at TheMusicSlut.com)


Arctic Monkeys performing "Crying Lightning" this past weekend at the Reading Festival. Courtesy of BBC Radio One. Folks in the UK can watch more of the Arctic Monkeys' set at Reading on the BBC website.

"Crying Lightning" - Arctic Monkeys (via IGuessImFloating.com)


Kaiser Chefs performing "Ruby" last Saturday at Reading 2009 to an enthusiastic crowd. UK fans, let's face it, are just much more energetic than fans you see at U.S. festivals; just watch the crowd in the videos if you're not convinced.

View the Reading Fest's homepage.

Labels: Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Reading Festival

The web and social networks have lit up in the past few hours on the rumor that a mysterious 'new', or previously unreleased, Radiohead song has been leaked. Apparently, the song appeared on an unofficial Radiohead fan site. The music blog Consequence of Sound has reported that the song, "These Are My Twisted Words," showed up on the message board of the site At Ease earlier today without any explanation.

While there is no confirmation yet that the song is actually Radiohead, the track definitely sounds just like Radiohead. If it isn't, someone has pulled off an elaborate, and believable, hoax.

On some P2P networks, the song is accompanied by a NFO file that contains the following note:

i just wanted to reassure readers
that following representations
seeking confirmation
that before your very eyes
behind the wall of ice
that the box is not under threat
however they are set to remove
other boxes
in fact i have the list in front of me
i went to a briefing on their plans
and challenged them to tell me
exactly what the cost would be

they spoke in broad terms

Could this actually be a clever reaction by the band to 'reassure' fans following the uproar frontman Thom Yorke ignited earlier this month when he said Radiohead may never record another album? Perhaps. If history is any guide, this 'rumor' is going to grow wings really fast.

The link to the MP3 - the same link that spread like wildfire across the world in the past 36 hours no longer works, so check out the YouTube version of the song:



Follow IRC on Twitter or grad the feed to find out as soon as we do whether Radiohead confirms this is a leaked song or not.

This possible new Radiohead song comes only one week after the band released a new tribute song in honor of the UK's last remaining combat fighter from World War I, "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" (yes, that was his real name).

You can purchase the song at waste.uk for one British Pound or $1.65 in U.S. currency. Proceeds from the song purchases will go to the British Legion, according to Yorke's blog post on the official Radiohead website. Otherwise, you can stream it on the BBC's website.

Labels: New Radiohead Song, Radiohead, Radiohead Leak

Do you ever feel like you're in a tug-of-war with two of your favorite rock groups because one of them disses the other? What about if the "disser" also takes a shot at you and everyone you know in the same breath?

Well, leave it up to Robert Smith, everyone's favorite aging rocker, who had more than just his usually bad hair day today.

In an interview with Music Radar, The Cure's frontman lashed out at Radiohead, saying he "disagreed violently" with their pay-what-you want model for their 2007 blockbuster release, In Rainbows. Smith said allowing fans to determine their own price to download the album was an "idiot plan."

"You can't allow other people to put a price on what you do, " Smith said. "Otherwise you don't consider what you do to have any value at all and that's nonsense. If I put a value on my music and no one's prepared to pay that, then more fool me, but the idea that the value is created by the consumer is an idiot plan, it can't work."

Not only is it just stupid to attack Radiohead fans - many of whom are probably Cure fans as well - but it's also stupid to talk like a diva when you're an aging rocker. Never mind that Smith spit on a growing movement that will only do more to allow the best, and the least greedy, musicians and groups to flourish creativity while expanding their fan base by offering a fair price for music. The old models are gone and they might leave musicians like Smith with them. It's been happening for a decade now.
Listen to High-Quality 2008 Concert of Radiohead

If you are a RadioHead, listen to this transformational two-hour Radiohead concert broadcast recorded by NPR on August 28, 2008 at Santa Barbara Bowl. I was lucky enough to see Radiohead play in San Francisco during the Outside Lands Festival (in photo above, thanks to insdecelebs) two weeks after this featured show.

The SF show was the most amazing concert I've ever been to - well worth the chance I took to have my car towed to see Radiohead play in the fog drenched Golden Gate Park with tens of thousands of people.

Labels: NPR Music, Radiohead, Radiohead in Concert, Robert Smith, San Francisco, The Cure

In response to a playlist challenge to Deerhunter's Bradford Cox's previously published playlist mix, IRC is happy to offer you the following playlist featuring what we think are a great representation of songs of interest to Deerhunter, and non-Deerhunter, music lovers.

"Did You See The Words" - Animal Collective (photo, top) from the 2005 release Feels

"Carrot Rope" - Pavement from the 1999 release Wowee Zowee

"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" - Radiohead from the 2007/2008 release In Rainbows

"Cello Song" - Nick Drake from the 1969 release Five Leaves Left

"Canadian Girl" - The Walkmen from the 2008 release You & Me


"Is There A Ghost?" - Band of Horses from the 2007 release Ceases to Begin

"Disarm" - Smashing Pumpkins from the 1993 release Siamese Dream

"Scythian Empires" - Andrew Bird from the 2007 release Armchair Apocrypha

"Float On" - Modest Mouse from the 2004 release Good News for People Who Love Bad News

"Knots" - Pete and The Pirates from the 2008 release Little Death

Download the ZIP for this playlist

What do you think of this mix? Use the comments section below.

Labels: Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Indie Playlist Mix, Modest Mouse, Nick Drake, Pavement, Radiohead, Rogue Wave, The Walkmen

Today's playlist featuring the best indie rock songs of 2008 arguably includes a couple of bands that are more 'mainstream'.

It's impossible not to feature Radiohead's In Rainbows. The veteran alt indie rockers' latest release has quickly become one of the most popular alternative/indie rock albums ever, and perhaps even more so because it was initially available as a free download worldwide.

Along with Radiohead, here is the latest playlist of the best indie songs of 2008 by less-known independent artists like Goh Nakamura, White Denim, Cassandra Castaway, Annuals and Love is Chemicals.

Listen to the songs by clicking on the titles. IRC supports and promotes great music by highlighting it for tens of thousands of people each month.


Please click on the link below to see IRC's MP3 policy.

"Tell Me Why" - Radiohead
"Suitcase" - Goh Nakamura
"Sitting" - White Denim
"Our Darkest Days and Nights" - Love is Chemicals
"Confessor" - Annuals
"Clytamnestra" - Cassandra Castaway

Check back for more playlists featuring the best indie rock songs of 2008 from now until the end of the year.

Related posts: Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. I and Vol. II.

Labels: Albums: In Rainbows, Best Indie 2008, Best Indie Rock Songs 2008, Radiohead

Some Radiohead fans will definitely take issue with the following remix of one of the biggest songs from In Rainbows - Reckoner. According to the deejay Diplo himself, he was asked by "the band" to do a remix, and apparently was given their blessing to go ahead and release it on his blog.

Listen or download the remix here:

MP3: Reckoner v2.0 (Diplo Train Wreck Remix) - Radiohead

Radiohead purists will find this remix a vast departure from the original on the history-making In Rainbows album, but the fact is that a whole new generation of Radiohead fans - especially all you ravers out there - will more likely find value in this remix.

What is your opinion, does this remix, hailed on some blogs, slammed on others, do Radiohead any justice? Give your opinion by going to this post link and then clicking on the 'Post Comment' link.

Labels: Albums: In Rainbows, Radiohead, Remixes

Labels: Festivals, Outside Lands Festival, Radiohead, San Francisco Concerts

Organizers of Outside Lands, San Francisco's three-day music festival taking place in Golden Gate Park this August, are beefing up the lineup for the west coast's newest outdoor music festival.

Today's new additions to the SF Outside Lands Festival include Beck, Wilco, Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Drive-By Truckers, M. Ward, Cold War Kids, Two Gallants, Black Mountain, Devendra Banhart, Ben Harper, Galactic, Widespread Panic, Primus, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Bon Iver, Nellie McKay, Little Brother, Manu Chao, Regina Spektor, The Coup, The Cool Kids, Steel Pulse, Lyrics Born, Café Tacuba and the Felice Brothers.

Here's a few featured artists and groups:

MP3: Wilco - Muzzle of Bees
MP3: Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place
MP3: Andrew Bird - A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head to Left
MP3: Galactic - Bongo The Dog
MP3: Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl

The latest lineup news for Outside Lands 2008 lineup adds to previous confirmed performances from headliners Tom Petty, Jack Johnson and Radiohead. More news updates as they come in.

Labels: Music Festivals, Outside Lands Festival, Radiohead

Labels: Lollapalooza, Music Festivals, Radiohead

For the first time in major music festival history, one band - the iconic Radiohead - will headline two of the three nights of the All Points West Festival, commonly referred to as APW and "Coachella East".




+ Radiohead - Videotape (Mojib Remix)


Radiohead 2008 Tour Dates:

05-05 West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
05-06 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
05-08 Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre
05-09 Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
05-11 Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
05-14 St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
05-17 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
05-18 Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
06-06 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide
06-07 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide
06-09 Paris, France - Bercy
06-10 Paris, France - Bercy
06-12 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fòrum
06-14 Nimes, France - Arenes
06-15 Nimes, France - Arenes
06-17 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena
06-18 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena
06-20 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-22 Scheeßel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-24 London, England - Victoria Park
06-25 London, England - Victoria Park
06-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Green
06-29 Manchester, England - Lancashire County Cricket Club
07-01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Westerpark
07-03 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-04-05 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-06 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
07-08 Berlin, Germany - Wuhlheide


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Labels: All Points West Festival, Festivals, Radiohead

With the #1 album in the U.S. and other markets around the globe, Radiohead has probably received more attention from the mainstream music press and the music blogs worldwide than any other band in the past six months. And it was no accident.

Radiohead broke out and totally embraced rock fans in a revolutionary way, initially having released their classic album In Rainbows on the Internet last fall and allowing fans to decide how much they were willing to pay for and download it. (However, now you have to buy the album, but it is arguably worth it.)

Through such innovative marketing and distribution techniques, like free and name-your-price offerings of its music, specially packaged disc sets by the band members (and not a major label) and live webcasts (such as last evening's London webcast at radiohead.tv).

In addition, by setting up and regularly updating pages on various social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, Radiohead has made In Rainbows not just one of the most important albums of 2007 and 2008, but perhaps one of the decade's best albums of all.

Not only is the band remaining relevant 15 or so years after rising to fame with releases like Creep, The Bends and OK Computer, band members Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar), Ed O'Brien (guitar, vocals), Jonny Greenwood (guitar), Colin Greenwood (bass), and Phil Selway (drums) are pursuing all kinds of multimedia projects using the Internet and pushing the envelope in ways to reach fans and attract new fans as well.

But at the end of the day, the evidence is in the music. If In Rainbows sucked, it wouldn't have mattered how much the band and their two new labels promoted it. The band decided to sign on with TBD and XL Records, ditching EMI after a failed reunion with their former label.

Thom was so enraged by "lies" about what went on 'behind the scenes' that led to the rift with Radiohead and EMI, and wrote this semi-rant on the band's blog right after Christmas (left all of Thom's own writing style):

we did not ask for a load of cash from our old record label EMI to re- sign. that is a L I E.
The Times in the UK should check its facts before it prints such dirt.

whAT we WANTED WAS some control over OUR WOrK and how it was used in the future by them-that seemed REASONAblE to us, as we cared about it a great deal.

Mr Hands was not interested. So neither were we.

We made the sign of the cross and walked away. Sadly.

We are extremely upset that this crap is being spread about.

To bedigging up such bullshit, or more politely airing yer dirty laundry in public,
seems a very strange way for the head of an international record label to be proceeding.

On a happier note we took no 'BRead-HEAd' advances at all from both independent labels XL and TBD for our new record.

So judge for yourself.

AND we are really excited to be working with them. SHock!

AT least they do not behave like confused bulls in a china shop.

much love - Thom

However, the release is historic - on the level that The Bends was - and not only put Radiohead back on the rock map, it also has made their music available to a new generation of fans around the world.

It seems like every other day the band is releasing some new material, reworked and remastered recordings, announcements of concerts, alerts of new videos and live webcasts, such as the one the band performed last evening.

There was some confusion from fans in London who showed up at the Liverpool area Rough Trade shop for live, first-come, first-serve performance only to find that the location had been moved next door to the venue 93 Feet East.

Here's what Thom wrote on the RH blog about the change:

On the advice of the police and the local council, it was decided to change the venue to the larger one in the interests of public safety and due to the size of the crowd that turned up for the event. Rough Trade and the band apologise for any inconvenience caused.

While there is no official word yet on whether the webcast from last evening will be replayed, or available in full anywhere on the web, here are some great links to RH music, videos, news and more. As soon as we find the webcast, you will too. If you're not subscribed via a feed reader, choose one now or pick the ATOM or RSS plain feed.

Also, news is coming up soon about Radiohead's 2008 concert and festival tours. While no specific dates have been set, some of the 20 or so U.S. cities include Chicago, Boston and New York and San Francisco. (really!?!)

More Radiohead Links:

Contest: Contribute to Radiohead's BuzzNet rainbow and enter to win a special edition of In Rainbows.

Watch: Radiohead play In Rainbows via the AT&T BlueRoom concert and festival series.

Visit: In Rainbows website put together by Radiohead and their new official TBD Records label

Coming Soon: Music Choice will be airing the Best of Radiohead on cable from January 21 to February 3, 2008 in a tribute to the band. For more information on how to tune in, check out the Music Choice website.

Watch: Check out this YouTube clip of "Videotape" from the recent Scotch Mist performances.

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Labels: Best Alternative 2007, Radiohead