Radiohead's The Universal Sigh

To celebrate the physical release (HAHA) of The King of Limbs, Radiohead announced that they'll be releasing a newspaper called The Universal Sigh, to be released in several locations worldwide a couple of days ago. Funny how when they say worldwide, Asia is never on the list :P

As I'm obviously nowhere near a physical pickup location (and I can't exactly ask people I know who live in some of these locations to do me that kind of favour when they're not fans to start with), I had to scour the interwebs for a PDF version (which is fine by me, since the physical paper version would just end up as clutter anyway), which is not that hard to find since it's the hot thing at the moment and you know someone somewhere would have the digital version. If you have the extra pocket change, there are copies on eBay going for astronomical prices. 

I usually don't care (really) for this sort of publicity stunt (let's call it what it is) - but I was a little envious of the people who saw Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood (who does the artwork) giving them out on the streets of London. That's about it. 

I'm not sure whether I'll find the physical copies of The King of Limbs CD here in Malaysia, and whether I'll like the price when I do find it (The price of In Rainbows here is double the price in Singapore!). Knowing me, I might pick up a copy the next time I'm in a HMV store in Singapore. 

Related articles

• Read Radiohead's Newspaper The Universal Sigh (stereogum.com)

Radiohead's Lotus Flower video

Radiohead tweeted the link of the first music video off The King of Limbs, called Lotus Flower. You can watch for yourself...

The sight of Thom Yorke dancing like he's having a fit and in what appears to be in JEGGINGS was so bizzare I wasn't paying attention to the song. Now I have to hear it again and NOT get distracted by the video.

Anyone got their copy of The King of Limbs yet?

New Radiohead album - The King of Limbs

I saw a news link on my Twitter stream that Radiohead's got a new album coming out called The King of Limbs. It was announced on Monday, Valentine's Day, post Grammys and less than a week to wait before it actually comes out. Yay.

The DRM-free digital download would be made available this weekend on Saturday, 19th February - US$9 for the MP3 version and US$14 for WAV version. 

There's also gonna be "Newspaper Album" version, that consists of...

• 2 x 10 inch clear vinyl records in a purpose built record sleeve CD
• Many large sheets of artwork
• 625 small pieces of artwork
• Full colour plastic cover to hold everything together
• Album download (WAV or MP3) 

MP3 version would be US$44 and the WAV, US$49, inclusive of shipping for both formats. The rest (aside from the album download) would be sent out on 9th May. So people are basically paying so much for the album download this weekend and hope that the rest arrives later.

First glance at the album cover - a bit creepy and spooky at the same time. 

There's also no official tracklist, but word on the street is that it'll be an 8-track album (as in 8 songs, not that old format). I learnt since the In Rainbows brouhaha not to listen to any new live songs they've been playing in their hiatus; til today I still like the earlier version of Videotape that I've gotten attached to than the album version of the same track.

I personally can't wait to hear it when I can and I don't really have expectations for what it'll sound like, as long as I like it.

Preorder at thekingoflimbs.com.

Related articles

• ArtsBeat: New Radiohead Album, 'The King of Limbs,' Will Hit Web on Saturday (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)

PS. WTF on the internet browser requirements on the site - "Internet Explorer 6.0, 7.0 or 8.0 (Please note that the site doesn’t support Firefox)" - REALLY?!

Radiohead songs

First, there's the song Harry Patch (In Memory Of), and now the "leaked" track These Are My Twisted Words, the former a song for charity and the latter... not that hard to find.

Harry Patch (In Memory Of)

'i am the only one that got through
the others died where ever they fell
it was an ambush
they came up from all sides
give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves
i've seen devils coming up from the ground
i've seen hell upon this earth
the next will be chemical but they will never learn'

From the post on Dead Air Space...

Recently the last remaining UK veteran of the 1st world war Harry Patch died at the age of 111.
I had heard a very emotional interview with him a few years ago on the Today program on Radio4.
The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me.
It became the inspiration for a song that we happened to record a few weeks before his death.
It was done live in an abbey. The strings were arranged by Jonny.
I very much hope the song does justice to his memory as the last survivor.

It would be very easy for our generation to forget the true horror of war, without the likes of Harry to remind us.
I hope we do not forget.

As Harry himself said
"Irrespective of the uniforms we wore, we were all victims".

Recently the Today program played the song for the first time and now it is available to download from our website.

Please go to http://download.waste.uk.com to download the song

The proceeds of this song will go to the British Legion.

To peace and understanding.

Thom

******

these are my twisted words
when i feel you still walking
i know i should not look down
but i'm so sick of just talking

when are you coming back
i just can't handle it
when are you coming back
i just can't handle it

when are you coming back
i just can't stand it
i just can't handle it

Radiohead at the Grammys

It's been announced that Radiohead's gonna perform at this year's Grammys....here's the TV promo.

Radiohead's Reckoner video

From Dead Air Space... the new video for another favourite track from In Rainbows...

Radiohead - Reckoner - by Clement Picon

Radiohead's new video - House of Cards

Radiohead's new video House of Cards - no cameras and lights. The "video" is made out of 3D visualizations of lasers and other data.

Personally, not my favourite song on In Rainbows, but I guess in terms of music video technology, it's pretty canggih lah.

Here's the details as on the Scientific American website.

MC/scotch_mist/TGIF/5th blog-versary

FINALLY called in sick today.

Was just channel-surfing when I found MTV Asia is currently playing Radiohead's New Year webcast, scotch_mist (found out it's supposed to be the Scottish term for a "light, steady drizzle"), which is a pleasant surprise. Not that I haven't seen it, but it's nice to watch it on 29" screen when you're home alone as opposed to watching on one's laptop.

There's also supposed to be another repeat broadcast tomorrow afternoon (5 p.m. Malaysia), so check your local listings if you've not seen it.

Oh, and happy 5th blog-versary to me.

random stuff

1. So I finally found In Rainbows here in Victoria Music the other day. My eyes nearly bulged out when I saw that it's RM69.90. What the hell, man!! This record started out without a record label and how that they do (XL Records), it costs so much?! Lucky I already got it for a birthday present from my cousin (who got it for me at HMV in Singapore), which at S$19.95 (RM45.70) is significantly cheaper.
   
2. AND... I finally got round to sitting through Heima, the documentary/movie of sorts where Sigur Rós went back to Iceland the summer of 2006 to perform in a series of free-access, unannounced concerts all over the country with the homecoming one in Reykjavik. I don't mind going there during the summer months; after watching that episode of No Reservations of Iceland in winter, I wouldn't want to go there at that time of year. Nor eat the traditional dishes, for that matter - I'd try it, but I doubt that I'd finish.
3. It's been raining a lot in the evenings since the campaigning for next week's election started. If not every evening, then it's every other. Is it mere coincidence or global warming? I not sure.