21 April 2012

Radiohead, Großer Sendesaal des SFB, Berlin, Germany July 4, 2000


Radiohead's back on the road, and it's looking like I'm going to have to take a ride if I want to see them. Which I'm not going to do. Part of me thinks that this is the year that I really need to drop everything and go, but I can't. No time.

I have to write. Have books to finish. And it's Thom Yorke and company who are keeping my ass motivated. They stay on top by maintaining a sharp focus, and that's good enough for me.

I read that they're rehearsing 75 songs for their 2012 shows, including a bunch of new stuff written at rehearsals this winter.

I read that before the band wrote "Creep" they, "...rehearsed in some town hall every day, including Christmas Eve. It was insane. There was no concept. We were working on songs some nebulous future reason we had not clearly thought through."

I read something Thom Yorke said that really gets my blood pumping. He said, "I understand why we did all those shows. If we hadn't, we wouldn't be where we are."

I read something Jonny Greenwood said, that I try to remember when my motivation is low. "What's different about us was that right from the beginning our obsession was songs.

And finally, I read something Ed O'Brien said that I think applies to writing as much as it does to music. "It wasn't a bunch of mates, more like a bunch of co-conspirators. We had this common goal. That's what it was all about, dreaming it up. All this stuff we have now--there was never any doubt it was going to happen. And it did, because the material world caught up."

More than once I've heard that writers can't compare themselves to musicians, that writing is not making music and selling books isn't the same as selling songs and I used to think Bullshit! because creation is creation. Over and over I keep getting sucked back toward musicians as sources of inspiration because they talk about creation, whereas writers talk a lot about writing. Verbs, nouns, techniques.... I went to school to learn all that, I want to hear what successful creators have done to get where they're at. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, I don't know. Maybe it's because writing isn't as immediately exciting as music, and the process doesn't seem like it could possibly be as clever. Either way, I love pulling energy from guys like Radiohead and The Clash because so much is written about the way they CREATED.

Download this show at Sugarmegs. Just do it. Especially since it's all rainy out today. Great sound quality.

Radiohead
Großer Sendesaal des SFB
Berlin, Germany
July 4, 2000
STEREO VERSION

01. Optimistic
02. Morning Bell
03. Karma Police
04. The National Anthem
05. In Limbo
06. No Surprises
07. My Iron Lung
08. Dollars and Cents
09. Bishop's Robes
10. Talk Show Host
11. Kid A
12. You and Whose Army
13. Airbag
14. Lucky
15. How to Disappear Completely
16. Paranoid Android
17. Everything in its Right Place
ENCORE
18. Egyptian Song
19. Exit Music
20. Knives Out
21. Big Ideas (aborted due to tech problems) Nice Dream

Source: Appears SBD based on quality and separation of instruments / audience. If not SBD, then it's an excellent Audience recording. Received CDR as a trade>Converted through Rio Music Manager> FLAC. Best Source known.

This show was before the official release of Kid A.