OK, enough old stuff for now. Now...Radiohead!

Look, I love Radiohead. I have friends who don't, but even the artists THEY like - as diverse as newgrass trio Nickel Creek and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau - have COVERED Radiohead.

So, I was looking for a Nickel Creek clip, because I want to share them, too, and what did I find? Nickel Creek doing "The Morning Bell" by Radiohead. (They did "(just)" when they played the Crest on their farewell tour last year.) But the audio sucked and it wasn't a complete performance, so I went to the next clip, and it was...Radiohead! This time, "Pyramid Song," which is brilliant, and the sound is great, so I had to post it. So sue me! (Not you, Yorke!)



When I first saw Radiohead live, in 2001, I was completely blown away. I'd heard and absorbed the records, of course - The Bends is still in my all-time British Top 20, right up there with Revolver and Dark Side and Led Zeppelin IV - but I had no idea what I was in for. I also had no idea how well these guys would take their very studio-centric music and make it breathe - fire - live. I still remember hearing them do this live for the first time, taking the song, "Everything In It's Right Place" to the stage. This video is from 2006, and it's wonderfully clear and up close - the antitheisis of overly busy concert videos. (Note that drummer Phil Selway is shaking a lemon, an homage to the repeated lyric, "Yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon," Yorke's sly dig at those who consider him too dark.)

+

OK, just one more: "Knives Out" from Amnesiac. Aren't these gorgeous, and gorgeous-sounding, videos?



Shit, I can't stop. I love Radiohead. Along with U2, they are THE complete rock band of our time, so just go with it, eh? Here's a video from 1994, when they had just one album out. This is the band I fell in love with. Simpler, more rock, and perhaps more accessible to those who don't like the electronics. This is "Dark Star" from The Bends.



And now I'm going to finish, with a lower-quality video, but of perhaps the band's most compelling moment as a rock unit: "Airbag" and "Paranoid Android" from OK Computer. Here they are live in 1997 on Jools Holland's show. Thom hadn't yet gotten over his Bono thing, but damn!