Radiohead Blog and Journals

Thanks to everybody who commented on my last blog post! I really appreciate you sharing your playlists with everyone and introducing us to some great new music!

As I was responding to your comments, something hit me. You guys have shown us an incredible ammount of support over the last few years. You've called your local DJs to request our music. You've come to our shows and purchased our CDs. And your votes have caused us to win more contests and get onto more playlists than I could count. Each of you has helped make what we do possible.

Last week was really cool because we had twenty people contribute to our post! But, our anlaytics show that hundreds of people read it. Why is that? I'm not sure. But I feel that it is - at least in some part - due to the fact that so often the creation and delivery of art is a one way street. I want to change that; so I'd like to invite you to take a moment to do three things:

1. Visit atris.wordpress.com (This will be more fun if everyone goes to the same page.)
2. Scroll down to the comment box and introduce yourself. Write a few words about anything you'd like. How did you first hear our music? What city are you from? What are your favorite movies? Pretend we just met at a coffee shop. If you'd like share your blog address, Twitter ID or someplace where we and other people can learn more about you that would be great too!
3. Check the box that says Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

Please don't do this for us, do this for yourself and for everyone. It takes a certain amount of bravery to put yourself out there; but it's worth it. We love to get to know people with similar interests, ideas, and opinions. And it's really cool when group discussions are started. If you have something in common with someone who posts, let him or her know! It makes me feel great to see people responding to my comments, and I love to chime back in to share my thoughts.

Looking forward to meeting you!

-Mason

Hey everyone,

What bands are you listening to? I thought it would be fun for us to get to know each other's musical tastes. If you have a moment and an MP3 player, follow these three steps and drop me a comment with what you get!

1. Turn on your MP3 Player.

2. Navigate to SHUFFLE songs mode.

3. Write down the artist and song title of the 1st 10 songs that come up.

Here's what I got. If you'd like to listen to/purchase any of these tunes just click their title to be directed to the iTunes music store.

David Bowie - Thursday's Child

Bill Evans - Peri's Scope

Tegan and Sara - Hop a Plane

Jimmy Eat World - Your House

Sufjan Stevens - Let's Hear That String Part Again, Beacause I don't Think They Heard It All the Way Out In Bushnell

Coldplay - Amsterdam

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Reading In Bed

Belle & Sebastian - Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying

Keane - Atlantic

Michael Stipe - In the Sun

Thanks to Pat Donahue, from 107.7 WACC's Notes from the Underground for this idea!

Hey everyone,

Noteflight provides an online suite of tools that artists can use to collaborate on musical scores. Think Google docs, but cooler (I know, we're biased). Check out this glimpse of the new song. I wrote it on the internet. How cool is that? Speaking of coolness, our friend Angie made us a fansite! If you click here you'll be directed to a'tris Nation where you'll find some of the many awesome banners and glitter graphics she's created for us over the years. If you like them, she's made it easy for you to embed them on your site to share them with your friends. Thanks Angie!

Please let Angie know how awesome she is in the below comment box!

Wow. Whole lot of news this week: First of all congratulations to you! Because of your votes a'tris won the first round of the Indie Show Contest! I've seriously lost count of how many of these we've won thanks to you. This win will allow us to advance to The Indie Show's finals round, so as soon as we have more information about that I'll post it here. Thanks again!

Yeah... I think I need to have this looked at. It's a four hour drive to the show tomorrow too so, if I'm to fit this into my schedule (and I believe that would probably fall into the good idea category) I have some work to do! Hopefully I'll be able to update this post with a before and after. For the moment here's the before:

Warning: the following photographs are graphic and may offend some viewers - who are musicians - who play keyboards.

-Mason

Would you like for Reza's music video for "Dark Lotus" to be on TV? If so, will you do two things for us?

1. First, will you watch the video at theindieshow.com?
2. Second, will you take a moment to register and vote for us by following the directions in the below clip?

If you could spare a couple of minutes to do this we'd really appreciate it. Voting is open through 5 April 2010 so you can vote for our music and videos as frequently and as often as you'd like :)

Hope this finds you feeling healthy,

-Mason

P.S. I just saw that we're in the Top 10 Alternative Rock artists on Ourstage again this month. Thanks guys!

Robert, Ryan, Daniel, Matt, and Clint of theendisthebeginning each put together a list of their favorite artists and songs and explained why they love them, are influenced by them, and what has made such an impression.

Hear the playlist here: MySpace Playlist

Robert:

Animal Collective- “In The Flowers”....

This song makes me feel like I'm in the Wizard of Oz - it kinda gives you that “lost” feeling. It's eerie, melodic, and the lyrics are timed in an odd fashion. It's a great song song to open up an album with.

The Beach Boys- “Let's Go Away For Awhile” ....

Just can't get enough of his song - it always leaves me wanting more. I like the horns and when the snare kicks in - it has some dope reverb on it that sounds so good.  The song is also one of those instrumentals that makes you want to add your own lyrics.

Radiohead- “Wolf At The Door” ....

"The flan In the face! The flan in the face!"

Thom Yorke kills it on this song

My Morning Jacket- “Lay Low” ....

The Z album always puts me in my “place”, but this song is the absolute climax. I love how halfway through the song they just jam out.

Ryan:

The Cure – “Disintegration"....

This song is just amazing, no further explanation needed.  Who would have thought that a song could pretty much repeat the same thing the entire time, and still be so great???  I have listened to this song on repeat for hours on several occasions.

Sigur Ros - "Untitled #8" ....

A song that is completely soothing, and yet slowly builds into one of the most intense songs of all time.  

Faith No More - "Kindergarten"....

My favorite track off of Angel Dust. The vocals are very rhythmic and melodic, yet the  rhythm section and guitar riffs are heavy, at a time when the combination was a rarity. This song helps me vent when I get frustrated.  Yet another song/album that I could repeat for hours. 

Pink Floyd - "Echoes"....

Floyd is one of my biggest influences.  This song showcases pretty much everything I love about them.  Eerie vocal harmonies, Gilmour's erection-giving guitar playing, with a badass drum and bass groove.  You gotta love 10 minute songs that keep you interested the entire time.

Daniel:

Nine Inch Nails – “The Day The World Went Away” ....

When I was younger, I felt like Trent Reznor was speaking to directly to me via the chaos of the music and through the subtle sounds and ambiance. 

Glassjaw – “When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros”  ....

Every song on that album pulses with rage and revenge, from the lyrics to the overall feeling and soul.

Pedro The Lion – “Magazine” ....

“Magazine” is a good "life lesson" song and it has an awesome beat.  Dave Bazan is pissed and showing it, yet his melody is nonchalant.

Velvet Underground - “Femme Fatale”  
....

Typical heart-breaking song about 97% of women.

Matt:

The Police - “Walking on the Moon”  ....

My earliest childhood experiences of music were listening to The Police with my dad. I think it is rare to love a band the same at 31 as I did at 7 years old. These guys were playing their butts off and had such a unique sound, yet could present a song so powerfully.

Rage Against the Machine - “Bulls On Parade” ....

Whenever I need to be reminded of what GOOD, passionate rock music is I look no further...

Rolling Stones - “Moonlight Mile” ....

My favorite track off of Sticky Fingers. It stops me dead in my tracks every time I hear it. Just a beautiful pop song. No drum machines or computers or auto tune....just raw expression.

..

Sigur Ros - “Godan Daginn 2008” ....

This song takes ahold of me like few can do. I can’t concentrate on anything else when I hear it, I HAVE to listen to it. The song sounds like we are inside the songwriter's heart at it's most fragile moment in his life...

Clint:

Failure – “Another Space Song” ....

Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards were my personal Lennon and McCartney as I was developing as a guitarist and songwriter.   I’ve read reviews that have described Failure as “hyper-melodic,” which is a nearly perfect description.   Fantastic Planet was a brilliantly written and produced record - densely layered, intricate, and sonically HUGE.  The latter 3rd of the album is my favorite, and “Another Space Song,” in particular, takes the album to it’s interstellar peak.  The otherworldly guitar lines, vaporish feedback, growling bassline, and KA’s detached vocals are a fitting depiction of the song’s lonely protagonist calling out from the depths of outer space.   Similar to Hum’s Downward is Heavenward, this album still sounds years ahead of its time and will undoubtedly inspire stargazing, effect pedal loving geeks like myself for years to come.

The Smashing Pumpkins – “Shame” ....

Adore was the album that brought me into the Pumpkins fold.  Sonically and production-wise it’s nothing short of beautiful, and thematically the record is centered on love and all it’s variations.  There’s a sincerity and tenderness in the songs on this record, particularly “Shame,” that I’ve seldom found in modern music, and whether your a fan of Billy or not, on some level you have to respect his willingness to put himself out there as unguarded as he is on this album.  I can’t think of another album that has hit the deepest core of my being as Adore has done, and if there was a single album that had a direct influence on master machine, at least for me personally, it was this one.

Have a Nice Life – “I Don’t Love” ....

I discovered Have a Nice Life at random not that long ago, and they became one of those bands that hit me at that exact right moment - you know, when you discover a new band and their songs become sort of your own personal soundtrack for that particular point in your life?  I was going through a particularly morose time and feeling rather isolated, and their songs are a pretty suitable companion for those feelings - stark, woozy, slow-moving, and grandiose.  Their album title, Deathconsciousness, says it all.  “I Don’t Love” is a concrete heavy slab of “woe-is-me” using Kevin Shields-styled “guitars in a vacuum” combined with brutal production values borrowed from Swans and their offspring.  I am a big fan of bands that wear their inspirations on their sleeves, but combine them in a way that creates something entirely its own thing, which these guys have done superbly.  I really, really hope it’s not the last record they do.

The Beach Boys – “I’m Waiting For the Day” ....

Brian Wilson was a genius with his arrangements and vocal harmonies, and you don’t need to look further than this song.  Plus the fact, he remains the master of  the “boy chases girl - boy may/may not get girl” pop song that reminds you just how it feels to put it all on the line for that girl of your dreams.  When the snare drum and the “You Didn’t Think...” refrain comes in at the end of the song - you can’t help but get the chills, because you know just how far he is willing to fight in order to win her over.

Hear the playlist here:

MySpace Playlist

Thanks again to everyone for your votes! Our appearance on Fame Games was a big success. Check out what the judges had to say after the break.

By the way, if anyone else wondered what "tickle my tittler" meant urban dictionary gives us the following definition:

1. Tittler - A small alcoholic beverage that is intended to stop after just one. Usually followed by many other tittlers. Usually consumed by people on shift in the restaurant business. tit-ler

"Hey Cypress, is it time for a tittler yet"?

So apparently one of the judges did not believe that our music tickled his small alcoholic beverage. :)

If you feel that you can't stop after voting for just one a'tris song there's good news! Thanks to your support, "Chasing Rabbits" will make its Fame Games debut this coming Monday, 28 September! I can't tell you how excited I am to see that one getting this type of exposure.

Some songs take days to write, some take weeks; "Chasing Rabbits" took months. My writing partner, Michael Kreher, came up with the foundation for this tune and I knew he was on to something the moment he first shared it with me. Even in its early form, CR held a lot of potential; but I didn't know where it wanted to go until I watched a speech that Sam Harris, the author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, gave at AAI 07. If you would like to get some more insight into the source material for this song please visit samharris.org.

To help "Chasing Rabbits" advance please use the following links to vote and review for it!

More news to come!

-Mason

Last time I blogged I asked you guys if you'd like to help us get another tune of ours back on Fame Games by voting for your favorite song. Thanks for responding in a big way! "Black Bird's Song" is now going to be receiving some major exposure as, thanks to you, it will be appearing on Monday's Q show! I'm so glad to see that you like "Black Bird Song"; it's a personal favorite of mine.

For those of you who aren't on Twitter, the guys and I have been tweeting about some really great news this week and I wanted to share some of that with you here. Currently "Automatic Doors" is #1 on Ourstage's Alternative Channel for the second week in a row! There are all kinds of cool prizes to be had for monthly winners so thanks for helping us hold steady at the top :) Two more weeks to go, w00t!

In other cool news, a'tris is currently Globally ranked #71 on ReverbNation's Alternative chart. Just to give you some perspective, over 250,000 bands use ReverbNation to promote their work so we feel really good about that :)

Thanks again for your support!

-Mason

We all know by now that people get a lot of their music for free, whether it be from illegal downloads or streaming songs online. And we all know the negative effects this has on the music industry. But one positive aspect that is usually cited is that with free music comes a greater awareness of music. This is because people are more likely to listen to bands they've never heard of if they don't have to pay.  But does even this positive side effect to streaming and downloading have a downside? This article sites an interview where Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood says it does.

According to him, people may have thousands of songs, but just use it as background music and no longer pay as much attention to it.  To a certain extent I can see his point. I have about 6400 songs on my iTunes and a lot of that is music from friends that I haven't listened to yet. I always mean to check it out, but when it comes time to choose something to listen to, I'm drawn towards the familiar.  So what I'll often do instead is put on an album I haven't listened to while I'm doing homework.  Since I don't know the lyrics, I am less likely to get distracted and will actually get work done. But because I'm doing work, I'll frequently not even notice when songs change and nothing sinks in, so in some cases it's as if I still haven't ever listened to it.

However, there are also times when something is so good it will stand out to me, even if I'm multitasking. For example, over the summer I was cleaning my room so I set my iPod on shuffle and vowed to not skip any songs in order to be exposed to the music I have from my friends. At one point "The Quiet Things The No One Ever Knows" came blasting through the speakers and I stopped what I was doing to look at my iPod so I could see who it was by. I've been hooked on Brand New ever since. In fact, I'm streaming their new album Daisy from their Myspace as I write this. Go check it out!

So what do you think? Does multitasking while listening to music lessen the enjoyment and awareness of the music, or is it just the way of our generation?