Britpop has been having a moment again this summer, prompting investigations into why the scene fizzled out. The conventional explanations are unconvincing. Electronic music tells us why. Read full article
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Radiohead’s Kid A, released 20 years ago today, is my favourite album. There are two reasons why. Read full article
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Radiohead there, just casually adding an extra minute to a legendary 20-year-old track.
They may have declared that they are taking a “year away” from music, but they still manage to find ways of keeping fans going.
The recent launch of the Radiohead Public Library generously provides free access to a vast amount of archive material from throughout their career. The addition of this extended version of Treefingers is among the content that has been added even since the launch.
Who needs new Radiohead when you can have new old Radiohead?
I do enjoy the Ikea-style assembly instructions included when you buy a fancy Radiohead / Thom Yorke record.
Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien: ‘Cricket was my refuge’
On the associations between playing cricket and playing music.
I’ve had the odd gig where I’ve been able to slow down my breathing and my heart-rate. I remember playing this show where I could divide the bar up, a four-beat bar into 32 or 64s, and play anywhere on that beat. It was the most intoxicating feeling. A batsman must have it. The great batsmen, they have all the time in the world. They’re able to stretch time with their breathing. All the chaos that might be in your own life is alleviated, it’s about being in the moment, being in the flow.
I really enjoyed What Girls Are Made Of, which is on at the Traverse Theatre until 26 August. It tells the true story of Darlingheart, a band from Kirkcaldy who ended up touring with Radiohead and Blur, before their album tanked and the record industry spat them back out. Read full article
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How come I end up where I started?
Adriaan Pels ran the popular Radiohead fan site At Ease for 20 years. The costs of running the website got out of control before his web host unexpectedly pulled the plug last year.
I used to be a very active participant on the At Ease forums, but that probably ended when I became a more active blogger / studies took over / I got a proper job / whatever. I stopped reading the website at some point as well. I still looked in occasionally, but I could tell that Adriaan didn’t seem to have as much time as he needed to look after it properly.
I didn’t even realise that At Ease had disappeared off the internet. It’s so long since I’ve tried to visit.
But it was good to see this update from Adriaan, although I’m sorry he’s lost the whole website.
Turning 30 passed relatively without incident. But for some reason, the year I became 31 is the year I started to believe I would never feel young again. Read full article
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2017 is a year that showed that I have a lot to be grateful for. But even though I don't normally set new year's resolutions, I am setting myself three broad goals for 2018. Read full article
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After years of dilly-dallying, I have finally bought myself a new record player. But I'm still not convinced vinyl provides the superior sound quality. Read full article
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I took the opportunity to see Radiohead when they played at Glasgow Green this summer as part of the Trnsmt festival. Even though they have been one of my favourite bands for over 15 years, I had never actually gone to see them before. Read full article
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In Rainbows turns 10 – Chris DeVille, Stereogum
This article is spot-on. It didn’t necessarily feel like it at the time, but In Rainbows is one of Radiohead’s best albums. I keep coming back to it and it is a joy to listen to.
Some musical highlights of 2012 that I did not include in my top ten. Read full article
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