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

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

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


 

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

Monday, February 14, 2011

The King Of Limbs

This morning Radiohead exclaimed to the world that they are releasing a new album titled 'The King Of Limbs'. The album, the bands 8th studio, will be available in digital download formats MP3 and WAV from this Saturday, Feb 19th. You can also go here and pre-order a Newspaper Album with 2 clear 10" vinyls, a CD, artwork, and obviously a digital download. I Pre-Ordered the Newspaper album, and will also purchase any other limited edition releases that may follow. Word around the campfire is that the album will have 8 tracks. I suspect they will release an EP later in the year given the material they have. Some sites/blogs have started to speculate what the 8 tracks will be but I am trying to avoid playing this guessing game because I don't want to be let down. Although, I really, really, really hope Present Tense is on there. It's my favorite of the new songs played over the last 2 years. I've been on a high all day. I even ran 30 minutes at 80% on the alter-g and my knee bothered me after but I wasn't really fussed. I hammered through a hard bike session tonight and overall I am counting down the hours to Saturday. Radiohead certainly don't follow the norm with their recent album release methods and this is no different. The group has such a cult following that the announcement this morning stating the album will be available in 5 days literally crashed Radiohead sites. Some of the messageboards are still not available. Crazy. Its amazing to see how big the band is given the lack of promotion they do. The album will be released on Radiohead's own Ticker Tape imprint by TBD in North America and XL for the rest of the world outside of Asia. Hostess will take care of that release.  Its going to be a truly magical album, I have no doubt about it.
My knee is improving slowly but surely and my mood is obviously buoyed by this news which helps, I think? This week I will do another 3 runs on the Alter-G and bring my body weight to about 85% of normal. I don't want to pretend I am getting better If I'm not. Likewise I don't want to hurt myself so I'll be very careful. What about Kim Smith running 67:36 for the half marathon? Its a little depressing to think I may never run that fast again! Kim and the Guru Ray Treacy (who had another athlete go sub 4 this weekend) are doing something right. I believe she will win Boston if her training continues to improve over the next 8 weeks. OK, off to the Big Apple tomorrow morning so time to chill.

Love Kel

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Lets Exchange The Experience

Can't believe its been a week since the Boston Indoor Games. The meet was pretty good highlighted by an unbelievable Mens 3k. Mo Farah is one of the toughest runners I've ever seen. As I progress through the years I become less and less interested in the sprints. I'm not talking about the 100m Olympic final, I'm talking general sprints like the Indoor 60m. It was the case once that I stood up for everything track and field but at the indoor games I was dead bored during the sprints and engaged in conversation while watching disinterested. Sorry if I offend any of my sprinting buddies but the distance races make the meet. The 3k really saved the afternoon athletics from being a lackluster affair. The mens and womens mile races take 2nd and 3rd respectively in my picks of the meet.

It was an intense week of rehab on my right peg and we finally made some progress. I managed to coax Mike into letting me jog at 75% body weight on the alter-g. Progress has been slow and I wanted to test it to see if the pain was any different. I walked for a couple of minutes before breaking into a jog for 10 minutes. It was awesome and the first pain free run I've had since March of 09. Of course it wasn't a real run but thats irrelevant, its progress and I either have to loose 45 lbs or more realistically take the positives and keep using the alter-g with slightly more weight added each week. Yesterday I ran 25 minutes at 75% and it was magical. I understand the false hope that the alter-g can present however false hope is better than no hope and no hope is where I've been for the last 2 years.


Mike let me borrow his Game Ready machine. I find icing to be a bit of a pain but the Game Ready has changed that. This thing is awesome and has definitely helped. I might be over doing it but it works great. It ices such a large area and also compresses leaving my calf, hammy and quad feeling like I just took them out of the Boulder Creek after every use. I am using it about 4 times a day for 20-30 minutes. Colleges and Universities all over the NCAA have these machines by the boat load. Kids in college don't know how good they have it. My injury woes didn't really start until after college (with the exception of a stress fracture my freshman year) so I never needed to use the trainers room. Now PC has an awesome facility with these machines and other gadgets that help with healing. College athletes have no excuses and its certainly showing with faster and faster times being recorded every year.
I got the new PJ Harvey album and I'm listening to it now. Just getting into the second half as I write this so I have to reserve judgment until I get through the thing a couple of times. Thus far its very good. More of a low key affair despite the album title the some of the songs seem to reflect sitting in a cottage on a damp, gray afternoon. There is also a lot more melody compared to her earlier records. Her voice sounds excellent and even though I don't get the references to English history which have been regular so far the songs are lyrically rich and deep. I am eager to read about the songs. I came across another band yesterday called Minks. I know nothing about them other than they hail from Brooklyn. There are only a few songs floating around the intertubes but the ones I've heard are brilliant. I'm hopefully going to see them play with Dum Dum Girls in March. They have a Joy Division sounding baseline to their tunes and a post wave thing going on that I love. Check it.

Peace and love
Kel

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Good Old Fashion Streaking

I had mixed feelings at the Terrier Classic last Saturday. The fan in me loved watching the 3k and 5k. Especially and very specifically the seeded 3k. David McCarthy ran great and did the lions share of the pacing. He ended up 3rd in 7:53 behind Masters and Korir who ran :53 and :51 respectively. Great racing, and its fantastic to see a Friar on the brink of really big things. And then there is the bitter old man in me who wishes desperately to be out on the track racing in the 3k (or 5k or mile) . It is difficult to separate the two. I work in running so I am around it all the time and believe me that doesn't make it easier. Neither does watching great track races. I'm subjecting myself to more torture this weekend at the Boston Indoor Games. Reebok no longer sponsors the meet so I will try and be a fan and just enjoy it. I know I'll get down, especially given the distance races for men and women are the highlight of the meet with 2 3ks and the mile making up the last 3 races of the program.

After Terrier there were no mixed feelings. Mixed drinks maybe, but only very good + positive feelings. Thom McArdle had a housewarming party and it was awesome, even if it did get a little crazy. I will be moving to Boston to live with Thom in April so it was great to see my new digs, even if I didn't leave my intense conversations in the kitchen all night. I don't really remember mingling at the party, rather I took up residence speaking with one of my new neighbors Tom Coogan about life. It was a great laugh and only went downhill when we hit up An Tua Nua, a dodgy college club on Beacon Street. Even if I can't remember the music there was no stopping me throwing shapes to top 40 music. This is something that everyone who knows me knows I don't do. But there was something in the Whiskey or maybe some demons from the Terrier that resulted in too much energy and I found myself dancing with the many great people from the party. A horrible walk home mind you. And then I passed out and on Sunday, with a headache to beat the band, decided I was never drinking again.

I had a dogfish head 90min IPA last night because I was hanging with Joe Savic and talking cycling. It seems that all I do is talk about training and racing while I get fat. However, the all clear to get on my bike has been given so I will jump in head first and start jamming. Bar Biking this Sunday morning will be a nice launch pad.
The problem with Dogfish Head 90 min IPA is that its simply too nice. I really struggle to only have one. After drinking these and developing a taste for them, anything under 8% kind of tastes like water. Next week the Wild Colonial is celebrating their Birthday with some Dogfish Head Burton Baton on tap. The Burton is 10% and is my favorite beer. To call it beautiful is a disservice. Drinking one pint gives you a buzz and drinking one pint and stopping is literally impossible. I can't do it, and don't want to. I always have a minimum of 2 of these bad boys. At the Colonial next week I'll be upping that so hopefully I can punish myself on the bike before hand and develop a thirst........

I have been really diligent with treatment on the tendinopathy in the back of my knee. Its slowly getting better but I am weeks from attempting running. The eyes are still very wide and very much on the prize but in the meantime its back on the trainer and lots of one hour + easy spinning to wake up the legs and maybe reduce the bloating all over my body.



Memory Tapes is releasing a new album soon. It has no title that I know of yet but he gave us a sneak peek by allowing one of the singles to appear on an anniversary compilation for the London based label Something In Construction. It sounds good.

Love Kel