In Rainbows, In Review

I hate to say Radiohead is an acquired taste, because I think it implies something that really does taste bad at first, but then you start to like it. I don't think Radiohead could ever taste bad--but you just might not realize just how good it tastes initially. I like to think of it as more of a refined taste. And it gets more savory the more you hear. When I first listened to In Rainbows I wasn't quite sure about it. I have to admit I'm one of those people that listens to little snippets of each song really fast to quickly get through the whole album and get a feel for it. After 14 years, I should know that doesn't fly with Radiohead. Even though the first listen is more instantly gratifying than some of their other albums, this one definitely gets better with each listen. I was with Jooj at first--I thought it was good, but maybe not great, but after a couple of listens, I think I would classify it as a whole as one of their better efforts, with a couple of the songs being on par with their best. The first track 15 Steps is amazing. This track could have easily come from Thief or Amnesiac with it's uptempo snares layered over a slightly distorted main beat. The best part is the jazzy guitar riff that seems to run throughout the album. And who doesn't love a song with a sample of cheering children? Bodysnatchers is the hardest track of the lot. The vocals start out almost exactly like Palo Alto from the Airbag/How's My Driving EP--one of my favorite songs of all time. It gets just gritty enough without being over the top like they sometimes get--I'm thinking of The Bends and the later tracks from OK Computer. I didn't really like Nude at first, but after a couple of listens its growing on me. It would fit nicely on a Magnet album and the very end sounds almost like Matt Hales. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is my favorite track on the album, and may turn out to be one of my all time favorites. I read one review that said that the lyrics are "deeply depressing, even for Radiohead," but then again, no one can sing falsetto about ending it all and then being eaten by worms and weird fishes quite like Thom. It's got the almost panicked drum beat of some of their more recent stuff, but it's melodic like their earlier material. It kind of reminds me of some of the tracks from The Bends, but doesn't get corrupted by the hard guitar/heavy distortion like (nice dream) or high and dry--it builds just enough. All I Need is my least favorite track. Nothing really stands out about it. Does the synth loop at the beginning remind anyone else of Nothing Better by The Postal Service? I thought so. Faust Arp is a great song. It could almost be the second half of A Wolf at the Door (It Girl. Rag Doll), with its run together, stream of consciousness sounding repeated lyrics. Reckoner is another great track. It features the jazzy guitars again--over tambourines that sound a lot like the beginning of sulk. I swear the unintelligible vocal track at the beginning of House of Cards is a sample from Cocteau Twins' Treasure. OK, I know it's not her, but it sounds a lot like Elizabeth Fraser. And who would have ever thought the lyrics " . . . I don't want to be your friend/I just want to be your lover . . . " would come out of Thom's mouth. Jigsaw Falling Into Place is a good track, doesn't really stand out. Videotape would be a lot better without the disconnected drumbeat that starts about halfway through the song.

So there you have it. My take on each track. Overall I like it--a lot. It seems to me to be kind of a mix of The Bends, Airbag, and Hail to the Thief but without some of the negatives from those albums. Leslie once told me that she wants her own iPod because "it would have way less Radiohead on it." Well, there are now 10 more tracks on it that will be in heavy rotation. My picks--tracks 1, 2 and 4. There you go.

And, by the way, if I'm on anyone's Christmas list, the £40 boxed set can be ordered for December delivery. Just FYI.

Radiohead Update

I finally got the confirmation email yesterday, and I successfully downloaded the album this morning. I haven't finished listening to it yet--I'll let you know how it is later!

Have you seen this?
I hope it's good.

Noose Flash

It's nice to see my birthplace in the noose, I mean news--especially in such a positive light. My brother emailed this story to me and I thought I'd share it. Leslie likes to remind me that I grew up in a place that was very different from a lot of places in more "mainstream" America. Thankfully it's usually not in reference to racism or other negative aspects of Southern life, but incidents like this and the whole Jena thing just serve to reinforce stereotypes. But let's face it, stereotypes are usually rooted in truth--I think that's part of what can make them so offensive. In other noose, I have to prepare a talk for Sunday. Apparently the family that was supposed to speak didn't think the first counselor was serious when he asked them a couple of weeks ago. Just FYI, don't be too good of friends with the members of the Bishopric. And never, ever give them your cell phone number.

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana (CNN) -- A Louisiana city that hosted many of the "Jena 6" protesters Thursday became the site of a racially charged incident of its own.

A photo taken by I-Reporter Casanova Love shows a noose hanging from a pickup in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Authorities in Alexandria, less than 40 miles southwest of Jena, arrested two people who were driving a red pickup Thursday night with two nooses hanging off the back, repeatedly passing groups of demonstrators who were waiting for buses back to their home states.

The marchers had taken part in the huge protests in Jena that accused authorities there of injustice in the handling of racially charged cases -- including the hanging of nooses in a tree after a group of black students sat in an area where traditionally only white students sat.

The driver of the red truck, whom Alexandria police identified as Jeremiah Munsen, 18, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor -- a reference to the 16-year-old passenger. Munsen also was charged with driving while intoxicated and inciting to riot, according to the police report.

As officials were questioning the driver, he said he had an unloaded rifle in the back of the truck, which police found. They also found a set of brass knuckles in a cup holder on the dashboard, the police report said.

The passenger told police he and his family are in the Ku Klux Klan and that he had KKK tattooed on his chest, the police report said. He also said that he tied the nooses and that the brass knuckles belonged to him, the report said.

The report, filed by Officer F.R. Drewett, said he and another officer were standing with protesters awaiting their bus back to Nashville, Tennessee, when one of the group told him about a truck driving with nooses hanging off the back.

The truck was circling around town, repeatedly driving past groups of demonstrators, the report said. The officers pulled the pickup over and arrested two after searching the vehicle.

At least one of the nooses was made out of an extension cord, according to the police report. The driver and passenger are white, according to the police report. An entry in the report lists "Bias Motive: Racial Anti-Black."

Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy said those involved were "from around Jena" and not from the same parish as his city. Roy said he is looking into whether the incident was a hate crime. A photograph of the truck was sent to CNN by I-Reporter Casanova Love, 26, who said he is in the U.S. military. He's visiting his family in Louisiana and said he witnessed the event. After the arrests, Roy came out to address the crowd and apologized, saying he does not condone racism, Love said. Love added, "If the police had not stepped in, I fear what might have happened." Love explained why he sent the photo to CNN: "People need to see this. It's 2007, and we still have fools acting like it's 1960." Roy said the matter is "not indicative" of Alexandria and that local authorities will look into it "completely, thoroughly and transparently." Some protesters saw another truck with a noose hanging off it, but authorities did not find the vehicle, according to the police report.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

You may or may not have heard, but the Houston Museum of Natural Science is the first stop on Lucy's first tour of North America. This is only the third time "she's" ever been displayed--the other two times were in Ethiopia where she was found. Many people are not happy that she's been removed from her African home to be paraded around the US, but I am more than excited about it, and I can't wait to go see her. So a couple of days ago, I picked up Audrey from school and she was recounting a conversation she had with Braden (more about him in a subsequent post) in which she was telling him about the things she likes at the HMNS. "I was telling him that I like the skeletons of the woolly mammoth and the pterodactyl the best because I like the kind of scary things. Scary and ancient are the kinds of things I like." At that moment, without thinking I said, "Yeah, we need to go there soon because Lucy is going to be there." Her--"who's Lucy?" Me in my head--"how do you explain the concept of an early hominid to a six year old whose only frame of reference is a very literal understanding of the biblical story of The Creation?"

When I was about seven or eight years old, I remember my best friend's dad used to always like to talk to me about human evolution. They had some books about (ironically) Lucy, and he loved to tease me, in a good hearted sort of way about weather or not man evolved from monkeys. Back then, I was a strict Creationist, since I hadn't learned anything about evolution up until then. I don't really remember when I even was taught about evolution, but I don't ever remember thinking that it didn't jibe with my religious convictions. There was never a question of whether or not evolution has and continues to occur, because the evidence in the fossil record is pretty compelling. The organisms that are represented came from somewhere, and it just isn't coincidence that they show a pattern of change, right up to the flora and fauna found living today. I guess I've just never understood the point of view that evolution goes against the story of the creation found in Genesis. Or even more implausible, that the evolution of other animals occured, but somehow humans didn't evolve from earlier hominids.

I'm not saying that I have all the answers--it does put the story of the Creation in a precarious place. I can't explain how Adam and Eve were the first people. Some have hypothesized that earlier hominids didn't have spirits or something, and I don't know about that. I do believe that Adam and Eve are the parents of the human family, but I don't know what came before, or how the human family arrived at that point in time.

"Lucy is a skeleton that's millions of years old that was found in Africa. She was kind of like a human, but she lived a long time before humans were on the earth," I said. "Cool," was her reply. When we got home she ran to tell Parker "Parky, we're going to go see a skeleton at the Natural Science Museum that's millions of years old that was kind of like a human but not a human. Cool, huh?" Then later that night she came up to me and said, "what did they talk like if they weren't really like people?" The wheels had been turning.

I'm sure she will have a lot more questions after we actually go see Lucy. I'll keep you posted.

A sad commentary . . .

So I'm in desperate need of some new material to post. I thought I had a lot to post about, but now that I've got a forum, I'm kind of struggling. I guess it's easier to come up with responses than original material, thus the multiple accusations that my comments sections are more entertaining than the actual post. So here we are--this post is all about the comments. Leave your best observations, questions, comments etc. and we'll see just how entertaining this can really get. Especially if we can get some anonymous (or anyonomus for you Mike) comments to roll in.

Pedernales Falls

Okay, I realize I've been slacking in the blogging department. I guess I just don't have the talent for it. Anyway, you probably read over at the 'chain that we went to the Hill Country for the Labor Day weekend and we had a grand 'ol time. One of the highlights was going to the Pedernales Falls State Park. It is an area where the Pedernales River spills over some large limestone slabs. Needless to say Audrey and Parker loved it. You have to go down a series of stairs then pick your way through a fair amount of brush to get to the water. Every time we would get to the spot we were going to, Audrey would decide there was something else she HAD to see. We pretty much had to drag Audrey back to the car to leave. When we got back to the car, Parker kindly informed us all that "we're not really supposed to go see waterfalls on Sunday." Anyway, here are some pictures.