Thats where I live now. Decided I needed change and more importantly decided I wanted to stop driving so much. I can't help but think 2 hrs a day in a car is not good on the old body and that the time would be better served on a bike (or running if that was possible) So thats what I do now. I ride to work and ride home with an add-on. Tom and I found a route to work that is pretty decent and runs about 15 miles. So either in the morning or afternoon I can add-on and get a nice double day. Hopefully it helps me get fit for the bike. The three days I've done it so far have left me feeling like I'm training hard. This morning I rode up the Blue Hill access road. I kept my backpack on and riding my old bike I still managed sub 5 minutes. I guess that is a benchmark although the record on the climb is about 3:45 or something like that. Brentacol will let me know but I want to attack it for real on my current bike and not at 8am and not with a backpack containing a change of clothes.
There are some good people left in the world. On Sunday night I went out planning to ride a steady 40 miles. The route took me out Beacon street, past BC and through Newton and Waban. After 8 miles Beacon connects to Washington (Boston Marathon RT) and a left takes you across 128 (95N) toward Wellesley. It was while crossing 128 that I hit something in the road and blew out my back tire. Not a puncture, I actually tore through my tire so a new tube was useless. A couple of quick calls to Tom and got me no answer so I started walking. After a mile I took off my bike shoes because that was getting silly and strolled in my socks. Just as I was loosing hope and planning on calling someone who would have to go WAY out of their way on a Sunday night to pick me up a mother named Sharon and her daughter invited me into their home, gave me water, and told me to wait while some veggies were thrown in the oven before they would drop me home. Awesome. In a fear monger time when its taboo to just invite someone into your home (there was no dad present) they had no issue. She rode a bike herself and they happened to live in a house once occupied by Ted Williams (a big deal if your a Boston Red Sox fan which I'm not) I plan on sending some Reebok shoes to say thank you.
So the best bit about living here, even better than riding to work, is that the Paradise Rock Club is across the street. I plan on attending so many gigs that my concert ticket book is going to need a partner very soon. Speaking of concerts, Thursday night sees me drive to Montreal for an intimate show with Spencer Krug. Excited doesn't even touch what I'm feeling. Francine's absence will be very noticeable since she would give anything to see Spencer solo in a small venue but a loosely planned summer tour should appease her. The solo drive to Montreal will be good for clearing the head and catching up with the many phone calls I need to make.
So a good start to the week of cycling kicked off with some serious Mt. Bike thrashing by John Lawlor during my last 5 days in Ireland. There is talk of a race on Saturday and if its not a crit I'll jump in and hammer. Hammering is awesome. So is Spencer Krug. And I plan on thoroughly enjoying being in his company on Thursday night. Camilla from Sunset Rubdown will be joining him. Its all a bit too much to take really.
Peace and Love
Kel
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Out Of The Cloudburst
Spent a little over 2 weeks back home and it was great. The trip was only supposed to be 10 days with 4 of those spent in Geneva with Frankie. However, the horrible place that is the US Embassy decided to hold onto my passport for a week rather than pop it in the mail when they said they would. It sickens me, the lack of accountability and the fact that you can't even call up, only email. I had to not only change my plans to travel to GVA but had to change my flight to BOS. The delay was not because of a backlog or anything like that, its about control. They had my passport and my visa and rather than give it to me they said the protocol changed and they had to mail out passports. Obviously to someone this process makes sense. To me it makes no sense. The security risks of a passport with a valid visa going out in the mail surely must be pretty significant. Not to mention the cost and general extra layers of work. Anyway, I told the dude I was going to GVA and then back to USA on Tuesday. He assured me I would have my passport by Friday (a day after my planned trip to GVA) "Nothing I can do about it sir" is what he said. Fair enough, Frankie flew to Dublin and it was all good, even though deep down inside I really wanted to ride the mountains as planned. And the Tour Of Romandie was finishing outside Frankies house on Sunday. Either way the weekend was wonderful and far too quick. My Passport was still missing so I had to change my flight. Since the flight back is in the AM I couldn't fly out until the following day so eventually it arrived on Thursday, almost a week late and I flew out on Friday. There will be no getting the $275 off the embassy for my troubles thats for sure.
Since I no longer run and since no one on the planet can tell me what is wrong with my knee I've turned my hand to a spot of coaching. I never thought I'd be into the coaching game, I tried it before and while it is awesome to see people do well, I was simply not ready. My own running came first and I think when coaching, the athlete must always come first. Fortunately for me I am not working with an ordinary athlete, I am working with a good friend and extraordinary talent in Martin Fagan. We have ben working together for 3 months now and its been great. I never thought I would feel the anxiety of racing again but when Martin races I get those same feelings. I could barely focus on my Battenkill warm up because of my inability to find a cell phone reception that would provide me with the results of the Bupa Great Ireland Run In Dublin. Martin finished 3rd, out kicked by two sharper athletes. Not a bad first race and very positive for him. Last weekend he ran the Broad Street 10 Miler. This was originally on the schedule but we decided against it because of the travel/financial commitments etc. A bout of spring wind however destroyed the training and Martin thought it prudent to go to Philly and race anyway. So in the midst of some hard and frustrating training he went out and ran 46:42 for 10 miles, 17 seconds outside John Treacy's Irish record. Excellent stuff. Next up is Manchester 10k and I have no doubt that if Martin deals with the travel he will run another great race. This is a really strong field so no pressure on Martin to do anything except race. After all, the running game is about racing, not time trialing. Its about getting out there and enjoying the spirit of competition. Some of that has been lost given the focus on times. Everything is about the perfect race and hitting the time. Qualifying standards are very important, no doubt, but running happy and with a sense of enjoyment is more important. Thats the way Martin will race from now on. Fitter, Happier, and More Productive.
Peace and Much Love
Kel
Since I no longer run and since no one on the planet can tell me what is wrong with my knee I've turned my hand to a spot of coaching. I never thought I'd be into the coaching game, I tried it before and while it is awesome to see people do well, I was simply not ready. My own running came first and I think when coaching, the athlete must always come first. Fortunately for me I am not working with an ordinary athlete, I am working with a good friend and extraordinary talent in Martin Fagan. We have ben working together for 3 months now and its been great. I never thought I would feel the anxiety of racing again but when Martin races I get those same feelings. I could barely focus on my Battenkill warm up because of my inability to find a cell phone reception that would provide me with the results of the Bupa Great Ireland Run In Dublin. Martin finished 3rd, out kicked by two sharper athletes. Not a bad first race and very positive for him. Last weekend he ran the Broad Street 10 Miler. This was originally on the schedule but we decided against it because of the travel/financial commitments etc. A bout of spring wind however destroyed the training and Martin thought it prudent to go to Philly and race anyway. So in the midst of some hard and frustrating training he went out and ran 46:42 for 10 miles, 17 seconds outside John Treacy's Irish record. Excellent stuff. Next up is Manchester 10k and I have no doubt that if Martin deals with the travel he will run another great race. This is a really strong field so no pressure on Martin to do anything except race. After all, the running game is about racing, not time trialing. Its about getting out there and enjoying the spirit of competition. Some of that has been lost given the focus on times. Everything is about the perfect race and hitting the time. Qualifying standards are very important, no doubt, but running happy and with a sense of enjoyment is more important. Thats the way Martin will race from now on. Fitter, Happier, and More Productive.
Peace and Much Love
Kel
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Tour Of The Battenkill
I rode the tour of the battenkill a couple of weeks ago. It was my first bike race but everything about it being a race ended when the whistle blew. If that sounded cocky it wasn't meant to be. I was wrecked at the end but I am better than Cat. 5 so I found the early pace woefully slow and after an hour of what felt like a warm up I asked Donny Green - another Providence bike rider who is much better than Cat. 5 - to go on a break with me to get something out of the day.
The tour of the battenkill is awesome on so many levels but none more so than the fact that the route is littered with dirt road sections, some of which are very steep - both climbing and descending. Fortunately we had a dry day (although part of me wanted some bad ass Belgian rain, lick of Belgian toothpaste would have only enhanced the experience). It was on one of the early dirt road climbs that we broke away and within a few miles we were gone. Again, no disrespect to the Cat. 5 racers but Donny and I are certainly Cat. 4 level and perhaps even Cat. 3 on a course like that. So we belted away and took 2 min pulls each for the next hour. I felt so much better riding hard and had to remind myself that there was still 40 miles to go, after all I put the A in Amateur when it comes to bike racing. But still, I felt really good. Donny was stronger than me on flat road sections, this was evident in that his pulls on the flats were faster than mine. I was stronger on the hills for the same reasons. Everything was shaping up nicely for us to race in. I wanted to get an idea of what it was like to spring finish (although Donny would have destroyed me in a sprint) With 18 miles to go Donny lost his chain and I waited. We are not team mates but it made more sense to wait because we rode hard for the previous hour. On the next climb a few minutes later I was doing my turn at the front and I didn't notice that I dropped him. I just kept pushing hard (a little adrenaline from stopping maybe) and after my 2-3 minute pull I turned and there was no sign of him. (Donny actually punctured soon after which is why he disappeared) So I put the head down and slammed it home
In running - especially the marathon - we talk about "hitting the wall". Cyclists call it bonking. I thought I bonked on the bike a few times but with 5 miles to go in Battenkill I realized what I thought was a bonk was actually exhaustion, and that bonking is a different level altogether. I rode the last hill and suddenly my quads stopped working. My HR was dropping and I could not generate power. I got over the climb which left me with 6k downhill and flat to the finish. I tucked aero as I could on the downhill and put everything into the pedals over the last 5km flat. Everything meant about 21 mph and rather than make sense of the information on my bike computer I felt like I was on acid (double dipped strawberries is what I believe they were called when we were teenagers) Not that I ever took acid. I couldn't read it and actually started laughing. I was so happy to be bonking knowing that I was going to finish in a few minutes. When I crossed the finish line the town started spinning and nothing mattered to me except fluid - any kind of fluid. I lashed down some water, then Dan Action gave me a beer which I took down in a few minutes and followed that up with the best chocolate milk I ever tasted.
I've no idea why I bonked given the race was only 64 miles and I ate a huge breakfast. I'll put it down to a big effort out front, lack of muscle strength specific to biking, the fact that my training heading into the race was weak at best. The four weeks before Battenkill looked like this:
March 14th to March 20th
Monday: 60 Minutes Trainer w/ 6 x 5 min very hard efforts
Tuesday: 60 Minutes Trainer recovery ride
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 2HRs Scituate Rez - Tempo Loop 35:40 95% effort - solo
Friday: off
Saturday: 3:15 Northern Hill Loop - With Dirt Roads - Joe and Pat T. - Knee Dodgy
Sunday: 90 min Trainer Ride easy spinning to save my knee.
Total: 8:45 Hrs
March 21st to March 27th
Monday: off
Tuesday: off
Wednesday:Trainer Ride 75 Minutes
Thursday: 90 Minute Trainer ride with reps
Friday: off
Saturday: 41 Miles Very easy hilly ride. Mid Atlantic Multi Sport Group 2.5 hrs
Sunday: off
Total: 5:15 Hrs
March 28th to April 3rd
Monday: 80 Minutes Trainer Ride w/ 5 x 5 minutes Hard efforts
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: off
Thursday: off
Friday: off
Saturday: 3:00 ride with 2 laps race effort around Scituate Rez - 1:13:20 - Joe + Pat
Sunday: 4:00 Hrs slow riding - solo - about 75 miles
Total: 8:20 Hrs
April 4th - 10th
Monday: 60 min spin on trainer
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 60 min spin on trainer with 30 min tempo
Friday: off
Saturday: 75 minutes on Battenkill course
Sunday: Tour of BattenKill 3:01
Total: 6:16 Hrs
The training was minimal at best. I used to run more when I was just keeping fit. So I have to admit my confidence got a boost because if I can ride well off 4 days a week on the bike I will be able to ride very well off 6 days a week. I fully intend on getting on the hunt over the summer to get back into great shape. My constant stop/start will hopefully turn into consistent training. Biking is not bad.
Big shout to Dave Kellogg, Joe Savic, Dr. Brad M, and Eddie O (who has the best blog on the internet for biking - Fast Eddy's Flandria Cafe) Read that site often and it will make you happy. These guys rode Battenkill with me and all had great efforts. Dave K was on his way to winning the 50+ race but crashed on some very soft sand at the base of a big climb 20km from the finish. She still finished 12th but missed the break off the front. He is an animal. Joe Savic had an excellent day too, finishing 35th. He was hanging on to Dave's group but lost touch on one of the mid way monster climbs. Missing the break cost him a top 20 but he achieved his pre-race goal. Eddy snagged 54th to round out the three 50+ guys in the top half of the field. Awesome. Brad finished 12th in his section of the 45+ cat.5 race. Again, top half of the field and a great performance over the awesome climbs. A great weekend.
Peace and Love
Kel
The tour of the battenkill is awesome on so many levels but none more so than the fact that the route is littered with dirt road sections, some of which are very steep - both climbing and descending. Fortunately we had a dry day (although part of me wanted some bad ass Belgian rain, lick of Belgian toothpaste would have only enhanced the experience). It was on one of the early dirt road climbs that we broke away and within a few miles we were gone. Again, no disrespect to the Cat. 5 racers but Donny and I are certainly Cat. 4 level and perhaps even Cat. 3 on a course like that. So we belted away and took 2 min pulls each for the next hour. I felt so much better riding hard and had to remind myself that there was still 40 miles to go, after all I put the A in Amateur when it comes to bike racing. But still, I felt really good. Donny was stronger than me on flat road sections, this was evident in that his pulls on the flats were faster than mine. I was stronger on the hills for the same reasons. Everything was shaping up nicely for us to race in. I wanted to get an idea of what it was like to spring finish (although Donny would have destroyed me in a sprint) With 18 miles to go Donny lost his chain and I waited. We are not team mates but it made more sense to wait because we rode hard for the previous hour. On the next climb a few minutes later I was doing my turn at the front and I didn't notice that I dropped him. I just kept pushing hard (a little adrenaline from stopping maybe) and after my 2-3 minute pull I turned and there was no sign of him. (Donny actually punctured soon after which is why he disappeared) So I put the head down and slammed it home
In running - especially the marathon - we talk about "hitting the wall". Cyclists call it bonking. I thought I bonked on the bike a few times but with 5 miles to go in Battenkill I realized what I thought was a bonk was actually exhaustion, and that bonking is a different level altogether. I rode the last hill and suddenly my quads stopped working. My HR was dropping and I could not generate power. I got over the climb which left me with 6k downhill and flat to the finish. I tucked aero as I could on the downhill and put everything into the pedals over the last 5km flat. Everything meant about 21 mph and rather than make sense of the information on my bike computer I felt like I was on acid (double dipped strawberries is what I believe they were called when we were teenagers) Not that I ever took acid. I couldn't read it and actually started laughing. I was so happy to be bonking knowing that I was going to finish in a few minutes. When I crossed the finish line the town started spinning and nothing mattered to me except fluid - any kind of fluid. I lashed down some water, then Dan Action gave me a beer which I took down in a few minutes and followed that up with the best chocolate milk I ever tasted.
I've no idea why I bonked given the race was only 64 miles and I ate a huge breakfast. I'll put it down to a big effort out front, lack of muscle strength specific to biking, the fact that my training heading into the race was weak at best. The four weeks before Battenkill looked like this:
March 14th to March 20th
Monday: 60 Minutes Trainer w/ 6 x 5 min very hard efforts
Tuesday: 60 Minutes Trainer recovery ride
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 2HRs Scituate Rez - Tempo Loop 35:40 95% effort - solo
Friday: off
Saturday: 3:15 Northern Hill Loop - With Dirt Roads - Joe and Pat T. - Knee Dodgy
Sunday: 90 min Trainer Ride easy spinning to save my knee.
Total: 8:45 Hrs
March 21st to March 27th
Monday: off
Tuesday: off
Wednesday:Trainer Ride 75 Minutes
Thursday: 90 Minute Trainer ride with reps
Friday: off
Saturday: 41 Miles Very easy hilly ride. Mid Atlantic Multi Sport Group 2.5 hrs
Sunday: off
Total: 5:15 Hrs
March 28th to April 3rd
Monday: 80 Minutes Trainer Ride w/ 5 x 5 minutes Hard efforts
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: off
Thursday: off
Friday: off
Saturday: 3:00 ride with 2 laps race effort around Scituate Rez - 1:13:20 - Joe + Pat
Sunday: 4:00 Hrs slow riding - solo - about 75 miles
Total: 8:20 Hrs
April 4th - 10th
Monday: 60 min spin on trainer
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 60 min spin on trainer with 30 min tempo
Friday: off
Saturday: 75 minutes on Battenkill course
Sunday: Tour of BattenKill 3:01
Total: 6:16 Hrs
The training was minimal at best. I used to run more when I was just keeping fit. So I have to admit my confidence got a boost because if I can ride well off 4 days a week on the bike I will be able to ride very well off 6 days a week. I fully intend on getting on the hunt over the summer to get back into great shape. My constant stop/start will hopefully turn into consistent training. Biking is not bad.
Big shout to Dave Kellogg, Joe Savic, Dr. Brad M, and Eddie O (who has the best blog on the internet for biking - Fast Eddy's Flandria Cafe) Read that site often and it will make you happy. These guys rode Battenkill with me and all had great efforts. Dave K was on his way to winning the 50+ race but crashed on some very soft sand at the base of a big climb 20km from the finish. She still finished 12th but missed the break off the front. He is an animal. Joe Savic had an excellent day too, finishing 35th. He was hanging on to Dave's group but lost touch on one of the mid way monster climbs. Missing the break cost him a top 20 but he achieved his pre-race goal. Eddy snagged 54th to round out the three 50+ guys in the top half of the field. Awesome. Brad finished 12th in his section of the 45+ cat.5 race. Again, top half of the field and a great performance over the awesome climbs. A great weekend.
Peace and Love
Kel
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Diamond Skies
I am still alive, I think. Writing on the blog was something I looked forward to every night and its not like I don't enjoy it anymore. Its just that the information is somewhat irrelevant on a blog about running and music. Perhaps the blog needs revamping. Running will still be a core focus but cycling has become the sport of choice these days. Music is always present, it never hurts, and only offers happiness. A lot has happened in the last month and continues to happen today. Change is inevitable and can be very positive if the happiness is real. Problems follow but fortunately so does joy. I am feeling the joy again and coming to terms with not being able to run anymore. So new days and a better outlook moving forward.
Peace and Love
Kel
Peace and Love
Kel
Monday, March 28, 2011
No More Hanging Around
This song is essential listening. The band is essential listening. For all those who love their dark, nu-wave.
Love Kel
Love Kel
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Let Me Take Control
Thom Yorke is releasing a new single, the first hearing of which apparently took place tonight but I have yet to find both sides. Just Ego which is below and is amazing.
Radiohead's Thom Yorke has released several singles over the past years and, again out of the blue, another one set for release on Monday March 21st on Four Tet’s Text label. Rough Trade have a 12″ vinyl listed by Burial (‘Ego’) backed with a Thom Yorke and Four Tet collaboration entitled ‘Mirror’.The 12″ is available for pre-order starting Today, but the last time we checked the black label single was out of stock. According to Bleep.com, the tracks will get their first airing tonight (Tuesday 15th) on Rinse FM during the Four Tet vs Floating Points 2hr back-to-back.
While I am very happy to hear EGO and its on repeat I'll still spend all night waiting to hear MIRROR as well. I find it interesting that Thom is releasing a single right after the release of TKOL and that he is still in LA, showing up at random club nights as a DJ. Could it mean they are still in the studio recording or does it mean nothing and I am just a looser for spending so much time trying to figure out what these guys are doing rather than figuring out what I'm doing!Its important to note that I am very pissed off about not getting my copy of this record. It sold out in minutes. I am loosing my focus and should have been on this much earlier.
To touch briefly on my knee - its getting a bit better since I saw the doc and he injected me with more cortisone. He actually mentioned maybe doing another surgery, this time a fascia release. I hate to speculate but I think because my leg is short on the right side, all the cycling I have been doing may be contributing to the tightening at the back of the joint. I did get out for some 3 mile runs and while I feel fit I am totally protecting my knee and running slow. Slogging in fact.
So back to listening. Check out the tune, its really beautiful. Maybe better than 6 of the tracks on TKOL? I shouldn't say that. My energy is all over the place, and my knee is hurting, and I'm tired.
Love Kel
Radiohead's Thom Yorke has released several singles over the past years and, again out of the blue, another one set for release on Monday March 21st on Four Tet’s Text label. Rough Trade have a 12″ vinyl listed by Burial (‘Ego’) backed with a Thom Yorke and Four Tet collaboration entitled ‘Mirror’.The 12″ is available for pre-order starting Today, but the last time we checked the black label single was out of stock. According to Bleep.com, the tracks will get their first airing tonight (Tuesday 15th) on Rinse FM during the Four Tet vs Floating Points 2hr back-to-back.
While I am very happy to hear EGO and its on repeat I'll still spend all night waiting to hear MIRROR as well. I find it interesting that Thom is releasing a single right after the release of TKOL and that he is still in LA, showing up at random club nights as a DJ. Could it mean they are still in the studio recording or does it mean nothing and I am just a looser for spending so much time trying to figure out what these guys are doing rather than figuring out what I'm doing!Its important to note that I am very pissed off about not getting my copy of this record. It sold out in minutes. I am loosing my focus and should have been on this much earlier.
To touch briefly on my knee - its getting a bit better since I saw the doc and he injected me with more cortisone. He actually mentioned maybe doing another surgery, this time a fascia release. I hate to speculate but I think because my leg is short on the right side, all the cycling I have been doing may be contributing to the tightening at the back of the joint. I did get out for some 3 mile runs and while I feel fit I am totally protecting my knee and running slow. Slogging in fact.
So back to listening. Check out the tune, its really beautiful. Maybe better than 6 of the tracks on TKOL? I shouldn't say that. My energy is all over the place, and my knee is hurting, and I'm tired.
Love Kel
Sunday, March 6, 2011
And Now I'll Set You Free
Where did the last three weeks go? Nothing really happened, nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Blogging, like most things, has its ups and downs. One of the downsides is when a few days pass and those days turn into weeks and so on. Given a new Radiohead album I assumed I'd be on here everyday sharing discussion and opinion. But life takes over, persistent knee injury, work, travel, bike riding, socializing and some sleep in mixed in. I've also been reluctant to discuss The King Of Limbs without listening to it 20 or 30 times. So without getting to philosophical or deep I am going to share my short opinion on the record.
Despite only being a few minutes shorter than some other Radiohead records The King Of Limbs has more of an EP feel to it than the long player I expected. I know Radiohead stated that the LP was something of the past but In Rainbows felt like a long record and coupled with the B-Sides their was so much joy. From the off I was disappointed by only 8 tracks. Its not a slight on the band, rather just me being a selfish fan wanting more. This view had me take a look at myself and the other Radiohead fans that have complained about the record. Sometimes, because of our devotion perhaps, we expect nay demand from our band. But really its our choice to follow Radiohead. No one told me it was cool to like Radiohead (although a few years later it seems that is very much the case) I just do. I loved The Bends, I loved OK Computer more. After Kid-A it was a case of fanaticism. But Radiohead don't make music to satisfy me, they make music they want to make, and they put out records and EPs that they are proud of. Who are we to say we want more, or question why certain songs were left off. That was my initial reaction. Where is Present Tense, Open The Flood Gates, Super Collider, Judge, Jury, and Executioner, The Daily Mail? Me Me Me. Its not about me its about a band who are so comfortable in what they do and the direction they are going that with no fanfair they released 8 tracks that they obviously love and while it may not be In Rainbows its still very good. In fact if I knew nothing about Radiohead I would think this album is better than I do now. I suffer from expectation and hope. Expectation is fair, hope is a lost cause.
I remember when many of my friends ripped on Kid-A. Lots of Radiohead fans found the album to be very divisive and ended up turning their back on the band. For me the albums affect has been monumental. And I continue to look back and wonder why so many fans disliked it. I am seeing that same series of events happen right now with The King Of Limbs, and I for one am not going to take some disappointment and let it overshadow the fact that this is still a great record. Coming in at 38 minutes it sees Radiohead in leftfield like never before. Even tracks such as Like Spinning Plates or Worrywort had a melodic feel that was very Radiohead despite the limited instrumentation and more experimental sound. A new sound is every evident on the track Feral which is like a dubstep tune with chopped up and looped Thom Yorke vocals. Something completely different but still very beautiful. See what I'm saying about hearing this album as a neutral. Morning Mr. Magpie is a let down for me, only because I loved Thoms acoustic version on The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time. For years I wondered if we would ever see this song see the light of day so naturally I was buzzing when it was listed as one of the tracks. It starts off amazingly but then the loops get too much and I feel it looses its greatness. It may be the first time that I am genuinely disappointed in a recorded version of a Radiohead song. If that is as low as the album gets however its not a bad thing because the track is still decent.
The second half of the record is exceptional. Its only 4 tracks and I have addressed that so looking at it as the second half of the album its as good as anything Radiohead have released. Lotus Flower is magnificent. It will be in contention, along with Codex as my favorite track this year. I have included the video of Lotus Flower below. The parody videos are actually quite funny but for me its one of the best videos I've ever seen. Some people think Thom Yorke is an egomaniac and I think they're nuts. This is how he dances at every live show. His expression of love for the music reminds me of everyone from Kate Bush to Ian Curtis. These are artists that couldn't control the beauty they create and Thom is an excellent example of wearing the passion. The video makes me smile. Codex may even be better. A straight up, melancholy Piano number that harks back to Pyramid Song and Videotape. There is no one that won't like this song unless Thom Yorke sounds to you like nails on a chalk board sound to me. The lyrics are sorrowful and very beautiful. An epic track. We've heard Giving Up The Ghost a few times before. Thom banging his microphone and looping the sound to create a drum loop. The recorded version pays tribute to his live version and unlike Mr. Magpie captures the beauty of the live stripped down version and takes it to a new level. Separater closes the album. Thom is very soulful and four tet sounding drums loop provide a very jazzy soundscape.
The internet has been rife with theories about the closing song "separating" this collection of songs from a King Of Limbs part 2. I bought into it but deep down inside I don't suspect we will see anything soon. Maybe it will be a Kid-A/Amnesiac thing and those other songs I mentioned will be released in a few months. Or maybe its completely coincidental. Either way I have decided not to have expectations or hope.......
Pitchfork Media gave this album a 7.9/10. I like the site and respect some of their reviews and while I didn't agree with everything in the review I did agree with the writer when he said; "A trawl through message boards and social networks leaves the impression that many disappointed fans are still struggling to make sense of the gap between the greatness of the thing they got and the genius of the thing they thought they might get. It's in that gap, when assessing the album overall, that it's easy to get tangled up". This is exactly how I felt. However, The King Of Limbs is a great album and if Radiohead want to go in this direction, shorter records, more experimental, more Thom Yorke, its fine by me. I can't wait to see how the full band perform these songs. Lots of good stuff to look forward to.
Only Pablo Honey is worse than this for me but when dealing with Radiohead something has to be worse than the other stuff and that is not a reflection on this album as such, rather its a reflection on how great the band is. There are very few artists that can produce an album like this so when I say 8/10 after saying its one of my least favorite Radiohead albums you get the picture.
Peace and Love,
Kel
Despite only being a few minutes shorter than some other Radiohead records The King Of Limbs has more of an EP feel to it than the long player I expected. I know Radiohead stated that the LP was something of the past but In Rainbows felt like a long record and coupled with the B-Sides their was so much joy. From the off I was disappointed by only 8 tracks. Its not a slight on the band, rather just me being a selfish fan wanting more. This view had me take a look at myself and the other Radiohead fans that have complained about the record. Sometimes, because of our devotion perhaps, we expect nay demand from our band. But really its our choice to follow Radiohead. No one told me it was cool to like Radiohead (although a few years later it seems that is very much the case) I just do. I loved The Bends, I loved OK Computer more. After Kid-A it was a case of fanaticism. But Radiohead don't make music to satisfy me, they make music they want to make, and they put out records and EPs that they are proud of. Who are we to say we want more, or question why certain songs were left off. That was my initial reaction. Where is Present Tense, Open The Flood Gates, Super Collider, Judge, Jury, and Executioner, The Daily Mail? Me Me Me. Its not about me its about a band who are so comfortable in what they do and the direction they are going that with no fanfair they released 8 tracks that they obviously love and while it may not be In Rainbows its still very good. In fact if I knew nothing about Radiohead I would think this album is better than I do now. I suffer from expectation and hope. Expectation is fair, hope is a lost cause.
I remember when many of my friends ripped on Kid-A. Lots of Radiohead fans found the album to be very divisive and ended up turning their back on the band. For me the albums affect has been monumental. And I continue to look back and wonder why so many fans disliked it. I am seeing that same series of events happen right now with The King Of Limbs, and I for one am not going to take some disappointment and let it overshadow the fact that this is still a great record. Coming in at 38 minutes it sees Radiohead in leftfield like never before. Even tracks such as Like Spinning Plates or Worrywort had a melodic feel that was very Radiohead despite the limited instrumentation and more experimental sound. A new sound is every evident on the track Feral which is like a dubstep tune with chopped up and looped Thom Yorke vocals. Something completely different but still very beautiful. See what I'm saying about hearing this album as a neutral. Morning Mr. Magpie is a let down for me, only because I loved Thoms acoustic version on The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time. For years I wondered if we would ever see this song see the light of day so naturally I was buzzing when it was listed as one of the tracks. It starts off amazingly but then the loops get too much and I feel it looses its greatness. It may be the first time that I am genuinely disappointed in a recorded version of a Radiohead song. If that is as low as the album gets however its not a bad thing because the track is still decent.
The second half of the record is exceptional. Its only 4 tracks and I have addressed that so looking at it as the second half of the album its as good as anything Radiohead have released. Lotus Flower is magnificent. It will be in contention, along with Codex as my favorite track this year. I have included the video of Lotus Flower below. The parody videos are actually quite funny but for me its one of the best videos I've ever seen. Some people think Thom Yorke is an egomaniac and I think they're nuts. This is how he dances at every live show. His expression of love for the music reminds me of everyone from Kate Bush to Ian Curtis. These are artists that couldn't control the beauty they create and Thom is an excellent example of wearing the passion. The video makes me smile. Codex may even be better. A straight up, melancholy Piano number that harks back to Pyramid Song and Videotape. There is no one that won't like this song unless Thom Yorke sounds to you like nails on a chalk board sound to me. The lyrics are sorrowful and very beautiful. An epic track. We've heard Giving Up The Ghost a few times before. Thom banging his microphone and looping the sound to create a drum loop. The recorded version pays tribute to his live version and unlike Mr. Magpie captures the beauty of the live stripped down version and takes it to a new level. Separater closes the album. Thom is very soulful and four tet sounding drums loop provide a very jazzy soundscape.
The internet has been rife with theories about the closing song "separating" this collection of songs from a King Of Limbs part 2. I bought into it but deep down inside I don't suspect we will see anything soon. Maybe it will be a Kid-A/Amnesiac thing and those other songs I mentioned will be released in a few months. Or maybe its completely coincidental. Either way I have decided not to have expectations or hope.......
Pitchfork Media gave this album a 7.9/10. I like the site and respect some of their reviews and while I didn't agree with everything in the review I did agree with the writer when he said; "A trawl through message boards and social networks leaves the impression that many disappointed fans are still struggling to make sense of the gap between the greatness of the thing they got and the genius of the thing they thought they might get. It's in that gap, when assessing the album overall, that it's easy to get tangled up". This is exactly how I felt. However, The King Of Limbs is a great album and if Radiohead want to go in this direction, shorter records, more experimental, more Thom Yorke, its fine by me. I can't wait to see how the full band perform these songs. Lots of good stuff to look forward to.
Only Pablo Honey is worse than this for me but when dealing with Radiohead something has to be worse than the other stuff and that is not a reflection on this album as such, rather its a reflection on how great the band is. There are very few artists that can produce an album like this so when I say 8/10 after saying its one of my least favorite Radiohead albums you get the picture.
Peace and Love,
Kel
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