Indie rock trailblazing artist Thom Yorke has released an interesting remix of the epic Radiohead indie song, “Creep” originally dropped for a fashion show in Japan earlier this year.
Yorke took his landmark hit single and made it a little bit different, slowing down the acoustic version of the track, adding some eerie synths, and expanding it from just under four minutes to a total of nine minutes.
The remix is accompanied by a wild new music video by Jun Takahashi.
Earlier this year, Yorke unveiled a new band project, The Smile, along with Johnny Greenwood and Semi of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. The singer also announced the partnership with longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.
Radiohead, along with other Oxford music groups such as Foals, Glass Animals and Supergrass, was recently sponsored by local music magazine Nightshift and raised £ 12,000. They produced “Kid A” vinyl records and financial programs for bands who are struggling to recover following the pandemic.
Radiohead fans, take note! Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have teamed up with drummer Tom Skinner for a new side project called The Smile. And in a surprise announcement from the Glastonbury Festival, the band will be making their debut today as part of the Live At Worthy Farm global livestream which premieres tonight at 7pm BST.
“Taking its name from the Ted Hughes poem, The Smile is a new collaboration between Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Tom Skinner and Nigel Godrich. For further information on The Smile as it is revealed, keep an eye on @thesmiletheband.”
Last week, we launched the first mixtape of IRC’s Best Songs of 2011 to a relatively strong response from regular readers and visitors. The first volume includes more than 30 top songs originally released in January of this year. They were chosen from dozens upon dozens of tracks emailed directly or that we found surfing a variety of music sites and blogs.
During the planning for this series, we wanted to do things differently than all of the other music sites and blogs. So, there will be a total of 12 Best Songs mixtape editions – one for each month of 2011, appearing chronologically from January to December. We asked a few other trusted advisers, and they all liked the concept.
If you felt like 2011 just flew right by, or simply fancy reliving it all over again organically, this series is a great way to experience the best indie rock songs of 2011 as they were released month to month. We’ve looked and this is the only ‘best of 2011’ playlist series that we know of that published chronologically.
More importantly, all of the songs for the Best Songs of 2011 playlist series were chosen by listeners and visitors based on the tracks that literally millions of people worldwide streamed and downloaded the most on IRC. So far, the first edition, highlighting the most popular songs of January 2011, has received tens of thousands of visits since it was published last week
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Whether it was songs like “Umder Cover of Darkness” by The Strokes, or “Bloom” by Radiohead, two hot tracks, “holing Out” and “Rubber” from one of the best new bands of 2011, Yuck. Plus, IRC exclusive release of Opus Orange’s new single, “Crystal Clear,” was one of the four number one songs of February 2011.
The No. 1 Songs of February 2011 – Reader’s Choice
The shortest month of the year was jam-packed with hot tracks that are still among the best songs of the year, eight months later. IRC regular and new visitors also approved of lead tracks off new albums by The Dodos, Panda Bear, Beach Fossils, Fleet Foxes, Generationals, Cut Copy, Holy Ghost, Real Estate, Datarock, Scattered Trees, Akron/Family, The Go! Team, Times New Viking, In These Woods, Class Actress and more.
In case you missed it, you might want to start first with Volume One, published last week, with the focus of songs released in January 2011. From all of the eventual 12 volumes, we will use the same concept to reveal the IRC Reader’s Choice for the Top 50 Songs of 2011.
* This single was originally released in late 2010, but the album, one of the best of 2011, was released on Jan. 11, 2011. Therefore, this track should have been ideally featured in Volume One of Best Songs of 2011.
For decades, it has been common practice for new singles to be released weeks, even months, before the album itself to help promote album sales. In the heyday of vinyl, advanced LPs and 45’s were sent by record labels to deejays at thousands of radio stations across the country and the world.
Nowadays, it is common for singles to be released as MP3 links, files and scripted embeds that can be streamed, and sometimes downloaded, from the web. While much has been lost in sound quality during the transition from master tapes to vinyl and especially to the common MP3 format, singles are more significant than ever before because more music consumers cherry-pick singles and buy fewer albums in the age of digital formats, iTunes and MP3 players.
On Saturday, the world finally got their hands on the highly anticipated, MP3-only album, The King of Limbs, from rock gods Radiohead. The King of Limbs is the long awaited follow-up LP to the band’s brilliant 2008 release, In Rainbows. With the release of the latter, Radiohead snuffed the corporate record label EMI by offering In Rainbows to fans for whatever fans wanted to pay. It was the shot heard around the recording industry. And fans reinforced Radiohead’s anti-corporate stance by purchasing hundreds of thousands of copies of In Rainbows in the first couple of months of its release.
This time around, Radiohead has made The King of Limbs available only from their own website, and no where else, yet without the name-your-price option, instead setting the price of the MP3 album at $9. What In Rainbows did in as as far empowering bands and their fans to connect directly with one another, we think The King of Limbs will do for elevating and building on that dynamic relationship. Just from a musical perspective, The King of Limbs is already receiving high praise from critics and fans alike.
The lead up to the release of The King of Limbs was insignificant compared to the massive million-dollar marketing campaigns that surround artists who have a fraction of the talent that the four members of Radiohead possess. It was apparent the band did not want a big fuss to be made around the release of the album. To that point, the release date for The King of Limbs was only announced on Valentine’s Day, five days before it’s official release. There was no advance single or NPR album stream. As with millions of other fans, we had been eagerly awaiting the web-only release of The King of Limbs all week, almost like little kids counting down the days to Christmas morning. But in fact, some savvy Radiohead heads discovered the band actually made the album available sometime on Friday.
And there they were – all eight fresh tracks from Radiohead sitting in our iTunes, waiting to be played. For whatever reason, Radiohead’s albums have the distinction of sounding better over time – like a fine, fruity wine. That said, it took only a few seconds of the first song to recognize the quintessential and intricate sound of one of the most beloved modern rock bands on earth. And, in a rush to put words to what we were hearing, we pretty much messed up our first hurried attempt to present an off-the-cuff, and somewhat intelligent, review of the album. We should have known better – Radiohead’s albums are way to layered and complex to summarize after just a couple of hours of listening.
Radiohead – Little By Little
It takes many, many spins over a number of months, even years, to begin to formulate a sensible review, but, not because their music is necessarily cryptic, but in fact because it is so magnificently arranged and recorded by each member of the band. Radiohead is so ahead of the rest of the music paradigm – and has been for years – that fans, writers and musicians are still studying (and copying) the band’s previous album when a new one drops. Just who do you expect to be at the top of the best albums of 2011 lists in nine or so months from now?
The first track here is Thom Yorke performing “Lotus Flower” during a solo acoustic show in Los Angeles in January of 2010.
“Lotus Flower” (Live 1/24/10) – Radiohead from The King of Limbs
The Strokes Build Anticipation for New LP with a Killer Single
Last week, New York‘s quintessential garage rock band, The Strokes, released the first track from their much anticipated new LP, Angles, due out March 22nd. The track, “Under The Cover of Darkness,” does not disappoint; it’s electrifying guitar rock just as we expect (and hope for) from The Strokes, backed by a catchy, shuffling rhythm, and a superbly addicting chorus. We realize that many of you have either heard the track or purchased it; but, we’re including it anyways for those who have yet to hear this awesome track.
Above is the official cover for Angles. We are seriously jonesing to hear the rest of the album. Hopefully, it will be released in a couple of weeks as an album stream on Spinner, NPR or even The Strokes’ website. Pre-order Angles from Amazon for only $11.94.
You may also want to check out the The S-25 Songs Mix in which The Strokes were the featured band.
Also, here’s behind-the-scenes footage of the band (minus Julian Casablancas for some reason) during recording of Angles. Why is the director whispering?
The New York rock band have also announced that a new, non-album single, “You’re So Right,” will be released as an exclusive Record Store Day vinyl edition on April 16th. The track will also be featured as the official B-Side to “Under Cover of Darkness,” which drops officially as a 7-inch single on March 1st.
Opus Orange Gives IRC Exclusive New Track
If you’ve been a regular reader of IRC for the past year or so, you may be familiar with the music of successful Los Angeles music composer Paul Bessenbacher, aka Opus Orange. In 2009, we were the first indie website to premiere the music of Opus Orange after hearing one of his songs on a Johnsonville Sausage commercial. Since then, our love for Opus Orange has only grown with each new release, and all seven OO songs we’ve published during the past 18 months have been big hits with our readers and visitors.
So, it’s with great excitement that we premiere a brand new, unreleased single from Opus Orange titled “Crystal Clear.” Let us know what you think. We call it ‘deliciously upbeat indie pop,’ perhaps OO’s best single yet.
“Crystal Clear” – Opus Orange, single 2011 – IRC Exclusive
We’ve been digging this spanking new track from The Raveonettes, complete with a percussion heavy, lo-fi indie rock romp that makes the track as exciting as the anticipation of the duo’s upcoming fifth album, Raven in the Grave, set to drop on April 5th. Pre-order here.
“Forget That You’re Young” – The Raveonettes from Raven in the Grave
Okkervil River’s Rondevu With “Mermaid”
Pitchfork premiered the new Okkervil River single, “Mermaid” last week, the first single from the popular indie band’s upcoming album, I Am Very Far. We have yet to hear any news of an Okkervil River tour to the support the May 10th release of the band’s newest album. One show is scheduled for June 7th at New York’s Terminal 5.
“Mermaid” – Okkervil River from I Am Very Far – out May 10th
The Submarines Come to the Surface with New Track
Every since one of their songs was included on a popular and frequently viewed commercial touting the new iPhone in 2008, The Submarines have built a fan following across the States and Europe. The Submarines are currently putting the final touches on their latest album, Love Notes/Letter Bombs. We’d love to know what you guys think of this advanced track, “Birds.” Pre-order the album on Amazon.
“Birds” – The Submarines from Love Notes/Letter Bombs
Popular Indie Film You Won’t Miss Me with Indie Soundtrack
On May 17th, the critically praised indie film, You Won’t Miss Me, will be available on DVD via Factory 25. The film, an official selection at Sundance and SXSW, and a Gotham Award Winner, is a kaleidoscopic film portrait of Shelly Brown, a 23- year-old alienated urban misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Starring Stella Schnabel, featuring Rene Ricard, and introducing other notable New York personalities, the film gives pathos to the frenzy of the youthful desire for acceptance.
Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote about the film: ” This powerful, iconoclastic pic could gain a cult following,” and Nick Pinkerton of Village Voice, said the film “has a pure, 180-proof burn.”
The film’s theatrical run began in New York City in December 2010, followed by a substantial national tour. The soundtrack contains original songs by Stylofone, a band featuring members of Amazing Baby, MGMT and Standing Nudes. The following song is one of the tracks from the soundtrack.
Julian Lynch, the respected and rising one-man band from Ridgewood, New Jersey, has completed recording for his third album, Terra, slated to drop on April 24th. Growing up in Ridgewood, Lynch learned to play clarinet and guitar, and in high school, he performed in bands alongside future members of Real Estate, Titus Andronicus, and Family Portrait. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin in the fall of 2008 to begin a master’s program in Ethnomusicology.
“Terra” – Julian Lynch from Terra – out April 24th
Lovett Releases New Single from 2011 Release
Lovett has composed and scored a variety of independent films including The Signal which premiered at Sundance in 2007 and received the award for Best Score at the 2009 Brooklyn International Film Festival for the song, “The Last Lullaby.”
With an extensive background in film music, Lovett’s own original songs naturally possess the same kind of lush, visual translation as his previous artistry. “Eye Of The Storm” is the first of a thunderous series of nine cinematic music videos – one for each track on Lovett’s debut album Highway Collection, set for release on March 15th.
Directed by Chris Alender of Soapbox Films, the video is more accurately described as a short film, one transporting viewers into a richly detailed steam punk world where a lone skycaptain pilots an airship through the celestial heart of a raging storm.
“The Fear” – Ben Lovett from Highway Collection
Edward Sharpe Member Alexander Ebert Sets Solo Debut
Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros will release his self-titled solo debut LP on March 1st. Also check out a fresh track from singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow‘s widely praised debut album, Early in the Morning.
“Truth” – Alexander Ebert from Alexander Ebert – out March 1st
“If I Had A Boat” – James Vincent Mcmorrow
Nodzzz Return with Their Sophomore LP
The San Francisco garage rock, poppy post punk band Nodzzz spent much of 2010 writing and recording the songs for their upcoming release, Innings. The band will tour the West Coast of the U.S. in late February, and during March in the U.K. The album is expected to be released early this coming summer.
“Time (What’s It Going to Do?)” – Nodzzz fromInnings
It’s almost mid-summer. People everywhere are enjoying the sun and staying cool from the heat, taking part in summertime activities like going to the beach, having BBQs, playing baseball, surfing at the ocean, swimming in pools, riding bikes, watching movies, and in general, making the best of the long, hot days.
Summer is a season of celebration, recreation, relaxation, family and friends, and of course, listening to music, whether you’re just hanging around the house, driving about town, jogging or bike riding with headphones on, or at a party with friends.
So far, we’ve put together and posted two massive summer playlists this year. The huge response to the first two mixes was a clear message for more summer mixes. Therefore, we gotta give the people what they want, man.
The first two mixtapes included songs from all eras and genres of music, but for today’s summer mix, we’re sticking with just alternative and indie rock bands. This mix is also more pop-oriented than other tapes, and it’s likely that even the biggest indie music nerds will hear artists in this mix they never knew of before.
In the coming weeks, we’re going to let loose more summer mixes that are already well along – there are so many hot songs that we’re going to get to you. In the meantime, this mix and the firstand second mixes, should keep y’all busy for a while – nearly 150 songs between the three of them, not counting last year’s summertime playlists you might also want to checkout.
If you like these mixtapes, let us know by reTweeting, Facebooking, Digg’ing, Stumbling, and however else you can think to make us feel good and share these mixes with more people that you think will enjoy them – that’s why we do this; we love sharing great music with others.
As with all the playlists on IRC, just click the first song and the entire playlist will stream non-stop until the end. You can also do Save As to download MP3s you like most. We hope you enjoy this mix, from start to finish, as much as we do. Fire it up!
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”.
Get the full story (released on 2/21), plus the full lineup, ticket sale dates and prices, transportation and the whole skinny at a new site ironically called CoachellaEast.com.
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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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 still 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.
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.
Radiohead fans, take note! Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have teamed up with drummer Tom Skinner for a new side project called The Smile. And in a surprise announcement from the Glastonbury Festival, the band will be making their debut today as part of the Live At Worthy Farm global livestream which premieres tonight at 7pm BST.
