Author: Dylan

At Ease reports that comedian Chris Hardwick and his band mate Mike Phirman have recorded a “Radiohead bluegrass medley” under the moniker Rodeohead. Songs included are Everything In Its Right Place, The Bends, 2+2=5, No Surprises, Optimistic, You And Whose Army, Karma Police, Knives Out, Creep, Morning Bell, The National Anthem, How To Disappear Completely, Fake Plastic Trees, Nice Dream, Paranoid Android Planet Telex, Just, and Subterranean Homesick Alien.
You can hear it for yourself (and you would need to) here.
(Thanks to At Ease.)

NME reports that Radiohead won the award for International Achievement at the Ivor Novello Awards today in London. These awards honor British songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
Other awards went to Will Young, Amy Winehouse, Errol Brown, Goldfrapp, Dido, Jamelia, and Gary Jules.
The BBC asked Jonny why the band bucked their usual trend of not showing up for awards ceremonies. Jonny said, “This award ceremony is more about song writing which is something we enjoy very much as a band – watching songs change and having Thom turn up with songs that we can either finish up or ruin.”
“That’s the most core process for us, in terms of being in a band, so anything that celebrates that is great.”

Radiohead’s (former) label EMI announced massive cuts following another nasty year. Still clinging to the theory that music downloading, not the tremendous heap of crap they fling in our direction, is responsible, they take great pains to note that “sales are up in the U.S., where the music industry has aggressively cracked down on illicit online trading of music and more consumers use legal download services”. Hmmm.
What this means, though, in addition to the 1,500 jobs cut (many in A&R), EMI plans to trim its roster by one-fifth. Meaning that artists that don’t sell well right out the gate will be dropped, without being given time to develop. Which means a band like Radiohead, or an artist like Norah Jones (two of EMI’s biggest acts), would likely be dropped after lackluster sales of their first albums. Which means that the next big seller won’t come to bear. Which means sales will go down. Which means they’ll have to cut more artists.
It seems like a bit of a downward spiral, but shhhhh…don’t tell ’em! Let’s see how this one ends…
Appreciate a catch-22 when you see it (and read the original article) here.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Artsfest Film Festival 2004 has delivered the goods, and will presenting the US Premiere of Bodysong on Sunday, May 30th, at 10pm. Not only are they the first to show the film, but they’re presenting it on an IMAX screen- that means a huge picture and an awesome sound system. If there’s a way to watch this film, this would be it.
So, who do you have to know to get in? Nobody. Tickets are free, but here’s the catch- there’s only 200 of them, and they’re first come first serve. Bodysong will be screened at the Select Medical IMAX Theatre inside the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts. Plan your line-waiting accordingly.
More information on the festival is available here.
(Thanks to Caleb.)
UPDATE: It seems the Artsfest folks were a little bit excited- turns out that Bodysong was shown during the Coachella festival earlier this month. Still, since is the first official showing in a movie theatre, let’s let ’em call it the premiere anyway!
(Thanks to Matt.)

Here’s what we’ve missed, major news wise. Thought there’d be more, but it has been a bit of a slow month…
Com Lag Goes Worldwide
Despite massive stickers proclaiming it to be a “strictly Japan-only release”, Com Lag is available pretty much everywhere. It reached #48 on the Canadian charts.
Jonny to be BBC’s “Composer-in-Residence”
Jonny has been hired by the BBC to produce modern classical pieces for the BBC concert orchestra. This has caused a bit of huff-puffery amongst the stodgy set, as Jonny has not officially been trained in classical music. Although he does not take up the three-year post until next year, it is understood he will write for BBC festivals, the Proms and possibly theme tunes. Jonny replaces Anne Dudley, a classical performer. Radio 3 is expected to broadcast most of the new work.
Phil, Colin, and Ed back Bill Nighy at Oxford Playhouse
Members of Radiohead were joined by a star-studded cast at the Oxford Playhouse on May 23 as they covered ‘Love is All Around’ (that ditty from Love Actually, which was a far larger hit overseas than it was in the States) for charity. Multiple other stars, including Steve Coogan, Griff Rhys Jones and Hugh Laurie, Mel and Sue, Jamie Theakston and Rory Bremne joined the boys onstage. Reviews were quite good.
‘The Bends’ Performance Featured on Jules Holland DVD
Radiohead’s performance of ‘The Bends’ is featured on the new Later With Jools Holland DVD, Cool Britannica (note: uncool name). The tracklisting-
01. Ash – Shining Light
02. Blur – Tender
03. British Sea Power – Remember Me
04. Catatonia – Bleed
05. Coldplay – In My Place
06. Cornershop – Brimful Of Asha
07. Doves – The Cedar Room
08. Echo And The Bunnymen – Nothing Lasts Forever
09. Elastica – Connection
10. Elbow – Fugitive Model
11. Embrace – All You Good Good People
12. Feeder – Just The Way I’m Feeling
13. Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
14. Keane – This Is The Last Time
15. Manic Street Preachers – A Design For Life
16. Morrissey – Boy Racer
17. Oasis – I Am The Walrus
18. Paul Weller – Sunflower
19. Primal Scream – Movin’ On Up
20. Pulp – Disco 2000
21. Radiohead – The Bends
22. Spiritualized – Come Together
23. Starsailor – Good Souls
24. Stereophonics – More Life In A Tramps Vest
25. Suede – So Young
26. Super Furry Animals – Something For The Weekend
27. Supergrass – Caught By The Fuzz
28. 22-20s – Devil In Me
29. The Beta Band – Human Being
30. The Charlatans – Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over
31. The Darkness – I Believe In A Thing Called Love
32. The Libertines – Up The Bracket
33. The Verve – The Drugs Don’t Work
34. Travis – All I Wanna Do Is Rock
Not a bad lineup at all. You can pick it up on June 7th.
At Ease Message Board Dies and Comes Back
Some of us are actually forced to leave the house for human interaction. We come back quickly, chagrined to have learned that not everybody cares for Radiohead and that debating the merits of SHN versus MP3 at the bar will usually get your ass kicked, proper.
Again, sorry to have been gone so long. We missed you proper.
(Thanks to At Ease, CUTW, Treefingers, and everyone who wrote in and got no response.)

After a very very very long and protracted battle with Time Warner Cable, I finally have a steady internet connection and access to all the e-mail I’ve been unable to check for roughly a month now- all 732 pieces. We’ll sort through, and be back later today with a massive news roundup from the past month. Steady updates will begin presently.
We certainly missed you…