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Wednesday Wadio: Radiohead’s “Nude”


in Musical, Wednesday Wadio

In a word, wow. I was so, so ready for a new Radiohead album. It’s been at least 3 years since the last one which I could never really get into. Upon first listen of In Rainbows at 2 o’clock this morning, however, I knew I was in the room with something very special. If you haven’t already heard, read this article about how the band has made the album available only as a download, and that they ask fans to pay them what they think it is worth. You can enter in $20, $10 – I know one cheeky bastard who entered $0 – and then you’re taken to the download page. Nobody knew they were even recording a new album, let alone releasing it in such an innovative and original way until just a few days ago. Amazing story.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbXrdOwDlGc[/youtube]

“Nude” was the first song I heard off the new album a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve included a live version of incredible quality in this post. I use the word “spooky” quite a bit in my Wadio posts, and this one is going to be no exception. Maybe I just dig spooky music. It begins with a spooky baseline and rimshot combination as Thom Yorke’s eerie, distant vocals creep in and a guitar starts to pick away in time. It grabbed me from the first 10 seconds I heard it and has so many subtle and sophisticated chord changes that it’s not going to get old anytime soon. By the time the second guitar comes in and starts playing chords the volume has increased significantly and I’ll be goddamned if you’re not seriously digging it. Have a look and a listen:

After a day of spins, we can say this is the record we wanted them to make – or at least, it’s the middle-of-the-record we wanted them to make; everything from “Nude” through “Reckoner” is warm, organic, and instant classic. Less paranoid – or focused on paranoia – than recent past. – StereoGum

Friend and PITF denizen, Taz, sent me an excited email from Munich after I wrote to him last night to find out what he thought. Always one for a creative and thoughtful response, he did not disappoint:

“Loving ‘In Rainbows’… basically a masterpiece… simply not one bum note… 3 years in the making… and the perfection shows… to be honest on first listen to the splintery fractured guitar-fueled plaintive Yorke vocal hysteria at the end of ‘Bodysnatchers’ I knew I was in for something special… Hail to the Download Thieves! A magnificent addition to the rock pantheon.”

If you’d like the MP3 for the song, Nude, if my remote woodland satellite internet connection ever stabilizes I am going to offer it here for download for a few days as I want to get the word out and spread a little love. And because the album version gets me so excited that I want to stuff a large, slimy piece of salted pork down the front of my camoflage shorts. Hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Soak it all in and if you want the entire record you can pay for it – whatever amount you want – and then download it from the In Rainbows website. Music website StereoGum has a very active thread where fans are sounding off in large about what they think of the album. Yes, I was so ready for this.

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Major Friggin’ Disconnect


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Somehow in spite of my jalopy laptop, long weekend trip and intermittent as frick internet connection I hast doth returned. Getting to Toronto in a car from here usually takes 3 hours. It took 7 on Friday night and 5 the other way on Sunday. I managed to pick the worst Canadian winter in a decade and a half, literally, to relocate to the countryside and it’s doing my head in. Dead network card in the laptop, and now that I managed to hook up an old desktop to keep me working – the internet connection drops out for hours on a whim. So there’s my excuse for my MIAness. Let’s see if I can catch up for the week so far in 5 minutes or less.

Veekend Video: Mitch continues to moisten undergarments everywhere with his latest ad campaign. See you at the Best Buddy X-Mas party, where I’ll be selling spare undergarments at the “captive audience” price of $40:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT1qt4A7xxc[/youtube]

Quotelet: The only photos I’m remotely interested in showing you are the first three official production stills hot off the press for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I was going to link to them here – alas I just found out the studio demanded AICN take them down. Oh well, here’s a photo of one of the temple miniatures made for the film instead. And Karen Allen‘s (Marion Ravenwood) knitwear store which is located in Great Barrington, MA. Good heavens she is looking lovely for 55. It seems like only yesterday I was a 7-year-old watching her nude scene in Animal House whilst rubbing myself in the pants.

Wadio: The only sweet dulcet tones you need to hear today are those of your heartstrings plucking… as you check out 11 new photos of my puppy, Shepherd Pye! He had his dew claws yanked on Friday and is apparently fat, healthy and cantankerous. I’m all for gender-neutrality,but I’ll have to speak to the breeder about the pink pussywillow and snow white blanket backdrop. Shep will be drinking mineral water and collecting Joan Crawford postcards before he’s housebroken.

A Few More Notes:

  • I like the new Foo Fighter’s song (the road to ruin one) and I’m relieved as I’ve been thoroughly uninterested in everything since “Learn to Fly”.
  • You know it’s 2007 (and possibly End of Days) when CNN spends the entire day discussing the fact that Romney’s Western faith might hurt him in the election – free campaign advice: start wearing a bhirka.
  • I have killed 11 mice so far in my effort to rid our garage and the Winchester of vermin. Don’t bother with the traditional wooden traps. There are these new fangled plastic ones that force mice to lift a flap to access the bait – so gone are the days of stolen cheese lumps and unsprung traps.
  • I posted my Amazon wish list in the sidebar in case anyone wants to get me something for my birthday (tomorrow) or Christmas. Call it gift-insurance, Blade Runner begging or DVD on bended knee if you like. On a related note, I have just realized that there is nothing more obnoxious than posting your Amazon wish list in your sidebar.

Thanks for your patience, kids. Missing a day on here truly bothers me and I’m striving to get PITF back to the level of activity it enjoyed this time last year. I encourage you all to comment and participate in the Quizzlets once again. I’m one year older tomorrow, but short of freezing to death in a ditch in my Charger-coffin the blog will be around for a long time to come.

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Friday’s Quizzlet: Lemonading and Abetting.


in Monday's Quotelet

Appetizer: What is a word that you use that would not be considered common?
I say “porkies” a lot. And not because I’m enthralled with Kim Cattrall nude scenes. Alright, it might be because I’m enthralled with Kim Cattrall nude scenes. ‘Porkies’ is the abbreviation of ‘porky pies’ which is cockney rhyming slang for ‘lies’. When I lived in England, you’d frequently see adults saying to children: “Are you telling porkies again, Nathaniel?!” That always cracks me up, so I use it here in Boston, and everyone looks at me like I’ve hit my head on something.

Soup: What theme of calendar do you have on your wall this year?
I have a delightfully cute calendar comprised entirely of photos of one of my friend’s children. It’s an improvement over my mother’s frequent calendar gifts, which while good intentioned are usually comprised of things like cats with hats or Harry Potter. I have enough challenges at work – I don’t need to hang one of those bad boys up over my desk and become a laughing stock. Besides, there’s no room anymore after I put up all my Klingon translation charts.

Salad: Name 3 people you speak with by telephone a regular basis.
I’m not a big phone guy. My roomate speaks on his phone all night long. More than most 12 year old girls. He’s social, he misses his friends, I understand. But it’s foreign to me. There are few things I’d rather do less than chit-chat on the phone. “So anyway, I’d better let you go.” is how I answer it.

Main Course: If you could buy a new outfit for someone you know – who would it be and what would you purchase for them?
I’d buy Venditti a purple velour tux, because I’m pretty sure he’d wear it to his wedding.

Dessert: What is the last beverage you drank?
“Lemonade! That cool refreshing drink…” The lemonade at the Au Bon Pain downstairs is so strong, I get a large one in the morning and drink it halfway and just refill it with water all day for 10 hours of lemony goodness. Kind of like non-alcoholic swish.

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Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me How Funny Arrested Development Is?


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Tobias Fünke: O-kay, who’d like a banger in the mouth? [laughs] Right, I forgot, here in the States, you call it a *sausage* in the mouth.
Michael: We just call it a sausage.

Good lord. If you haven’t seen this show yet, tune in Monday nights at 8pm on Fox. I’d heard things, sure, but this is quality stuff. David Cross, Martin Short and even frigging Dave Thomas is in it too. I am hooked after about 20 minutes, and this exercise started as little more than a way to kill time before the Patriots game. I don’t know that much about the show, other than it’s really creative, unique – and seems to feature a lot of guest stars.

One thing I do remember, is that a’ la Family Guy – the show was cancelled and then brought back to life after grass roots, obsessive and downright creepy support from legions of fans Fox didn’t know existed until after the fact. It’s a shame the same couldn’t be said for Get A Life.

Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Just joshin’.

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Friday’s Quizzlet: Kingdom Of Buttocks.


in Monday's Quotelet

Appetizer: Whose intelligence do you find intimidating?
Definitely the artificial I, Robot/Terminator variety. I’m not easily intimidated by other, lesser humans. So luckily I’ll be long dead before the robots come. But heed my warning future generations – they will come.

Soup: Name something you’ve done that surprised yourself.
I had a mediocre party last weekend. That’s definitely never happened before. I thought I was immune to the bad party – I’ve been throwing killer benders since I was 16. It wasn’t an awful soiree. Everyone there had a good time. But it was certainly sub-par by my standards and it’s been bothering me. Sure, the weather really kicked it in the schnutz, but I thought my magical par-tay powers would somehow transcend Mother Nature. Mother Nature to David: “Grow the fuck up”.

Salad: List 3 people whom you have only “met” online, but consider good friends.
Three? People can actually have up to three online friends that they’ve never met? Here’s where my much bemoaned nerdery gets a hall pass. I have been blessed with many friends – but I’ve been in the same room with all of them. Thank God it’s not as bad as I’d originally thought. Although I did get awfully excited last night when I went to see Kingdom of Heaven with Art & Monster, and we stumbled across the Boston premiere of Return of the Sith. But with Lenny Clarke and Darth Vader in the same lobby – can you really blame me?

Main Course: Where is the dirtiest place you’ve ever been?
What is dirty? Is dirty a public restroom in downtown Newark? Is dirty a tasty martini with olive brine added instead of vermouth? Is dirty having to replace your red rubber ball gag due to excessive teeth mark induced disintegration? I don’t rightly know. One can only keep striving for the truth.

Dessert: What is the best example of “perfection” that you can think of?
I had to preempt the laugh of a child, Surfer Rosa and Saganaki for Vida Guerra’s hindquarters. Aristotle once said, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”. Well WORK… Work it girl! OK – I’ve quoted a RuPaul song. That’s akin to saying “Candyman” three times in front of a mirror – but instead of getting murdered by a black ghost, you just go gay. Uncannily, the antidote just happens to be Vida’s tush. That was a close one.

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Women’s Olympic Beach Volleyball: Yes, Please.


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It’s commonly accepted that beach volleyball originated in Santa Monica when nets were put up on a beach near the playground in 1920. Since then, its popularity has grown in leaps and bounds – and on September 21st 1993, the International Olympic Committee granted Beach Volleyball Olympic medal status. Much to the chagrin of feminists and sandcastles everywhere.

Earlier this year Margareta Winberg, the former Swedish minister for equality, said of Women’s Olympic Beach Volleyball “This is not sport. This is sex-fixated entertainment”. Well, duh.

She’s got a valid point. But the men play in Speedos, the male equivalent of a bikini, and I don’t hear any women complaining about that. So I looked into some statistics: Men are allowed to play volleyball in shorts and speedos, while women are not allowed to wear bikini bottoms that have side seams that are broader than seven centimetres. So the rules for women don’t set a limit on the skimpiness of a bikini, but rather the opposite – they are required to keep their attire sufficiently jiggly and revealing. Those vicious Olympic bastards.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. OK, I’m lying. I’m a big fan. Did anyone else see the issue of Playboy with the nude pics of Gabriella Reece in it? Women Volleyball players have exceptional bodies. Kerry Walsh (pictured above) has a six pack that would make Schwartzenegger jealous. Since Walsh is from California, maybe Arnold could invite her to the Governor’s Mansion and get a few quick crunch tips. That is, of course, if she could stand all the Austrian grab-ass that would be sure to ensue.

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball had pre-pubescent boys drooling all over their X-Box’s last year and became one of 2003’s top selling titles, and their fathers and older brothers were undoubtedly in the next room watching the real thing intently on ESPN8. But let’s not forget about Mom and Aunt Bunny upstairs in the den watching the men’s competition and sucking on Rocket Pops.

This reeks of a reverse double standard. I say equal-opportunity salivating is completely acceptable. If the men’s uniform was a three-piece woolen business suit, Mrs. Winberg – the Rocket Pops would be on me.

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Amanda Beard Picture – Ass You Like It.


in

Olympic Amanda, why did you decide to pose for such sexy, semi-nude FHM pics? Not that I’m complaining, but aren’t you afraid some folks will think you’re a soggy aqua-whooore? In this photo, you look like something Captain Kirk would have tried to nail after a few pulls of that bright green lunar liquor. What’s with the futuristic arse-floss?

“I wear a two-piece a lot to train in, and I wedge it right up my butt. We swim like we’re Brazilian swimmers: We have it up our asses. All the girls wear really skimpy two-pieces, and there are a lot of girl swimmers who have really nice bodies. All the time I’m like, ‘Damn, why does she have that body and I don’t?’ We train so much there’s bound to be tons of nice bodies walking around.”

It’s amazing these people get anything done. If I had to train within a mile of the aforementioned skimpy scenario, I’d never be able to leave the pool without a flutterboard held securely in front of my lap. She’s won 4 Oympic lgold medals, she holds the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, and she likes to wedge things up her butt. And I said no when Pete Avgoustis invited me to Greece.

“We have a lake house up in Washington, where my sisters, my cousins and I were having a bachelorette party. We were having fun, so we were like, ‘Let’s go skinny-dipping.’ So we all swam around in the lake naked. I’ve gone skinny-dipping in lakes, but not too much in the pool. Our pool at the University of Arizona has motion sensors on it, so if you go in at night, it calls the police.”

A swimming pool that calls the police? What will they think of next? Hopefully, a grey spandex bodysuit that calls me whenever Amanda Beard baby powders herself up and then jumps into it. I wonder if she gets competitive when she skinny dips. Like – she breaststrokes to the other side of the lake in 2.5 minutes while her drunk friends are floating around, doggie-paddling near the dock and blaming eachother for the warm spots.

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