Tribute

Okay, I hate cover/tribute albums. I don't even like covers, save for a rare few. Most of the time it's nearly impossible to do a song and improve on what made the original great. The notable exceptions to this are as follows:

Galaxie 500- Ceremony (orig. by Joy Division/New Order)
Pavement- The Killing Moon (orig. by Echo and the Bunnymen)
Dinsosaur Jr.- Just Like Heaven (orig. by The Cure)
Superchunk- 100,000 Fireflies (orig. by The Magnetic Fields)
Death Cab For Cutie- All Is Full Of Love (orig. by Bjork)
The Postal Service- Suddenly Everything Has Changed (orig. by The Flaming Lips)

Having made that statement, a friend of mine recently let me borrow a CD called "True Love Waits: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead." The premise is fairly simple: a classically trained pianist takes on some songs by one of today's most challenging, artistically viable bands. The result are spotty; while O'Riley is a fantastically gifted pianist, several of his interpretations fault on the side of being too bombastic, nearly obliterating the natural gentle beauty of the songs in a rush to get to the point of the song. A notable exception to this is his inclusion of "Black Star," off of 1995's landmark (and nearly perfect as a whole) album, The Bends.

Whereas the original "Black Star" was in itself a bombastic pop/rock song detailing the touchingly bewildered narrator's (presumably Yorke) inability to get through to the woman he loves, O'Riley's interpretation brings out the gentle melancholy that, while inherent in the song, may have been buried behind the blaring guitars. What's left is at once inherently human due to both it's sadness and fragility and it's curious sense of optimism. By stripping the song of its' lyrics, a whole new emotional dynamic is revealed that, in context to the original song (or perhaps in spite of), is heartbreaking.

Not much else to report. My band played a show last night. The show was hilarious for all the wrong reasons, but was nonetheless a good time. Cool Hand Luke was good. The chick who sings in Rhema played a solo set. She's as cute as a button, and has an amazing voice. My best friend John came up last weekend, and we had some fun, and took some pictures (which will be locked in a secret vault I have reserved specifically for incriminating evidence).

Thomas got me into Friendster. It's amusing.

"Adaptation" is a brilliant film. Deal with it.

I promise to not do another post about Radiohead. At least until the next time. At least this one was short, eh?

The Not-Including-Radiohead-Or-Radiohead-Related-Items-Playlist:
Sufjan Stevens- Michigan
Sufjan Steven- Michigan (Outtakes)
The Early Day Miners- Placer Found
Brian Eno- Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Flake Music- When You Land Here, It's Time To Return
Curve- Doppelganger
Guitar- Sunkissed
Portishead- Portishead
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Take Them On, On Your Own
Dntel- Something Always Goes Wrong