Filed under: Music
Image: Amazon
I don’t usually write about a lot of the albums that I buy, mostly because I’m lazy. So when I overcome my laziness to write about something like an album, it’s usually something pretty special, or I’m really bored and I’ve got nothing better to do. In case though, it was the former.
For the uninitiated, In Rainbows was an album that received much publicity when Radiohead decided to release it not in record stores, but as a download on a dedicated website that allowed people to pay whatever they wanted for the album. The results of that experiment are unclear, because there were no official figures released regarding the amount of revenue generated. But the reason I liked this album so much was not because of its ground-breaking business model.
I usually describe most of the albums I listen to using words like “melancholic”, “grand”, “fresh”, or occasionally, “shit”. In Rainbows called for something on an entirely different level.
“Beautiful”
Yes, In Rainbows is beautiful, and I like songs that make me wanna slit my wrist, jump off a building and sing Don and Drew songs all at the same time. The textures Radiohead tried to create on this album were simply astounding. The song that impressed me the most was ”15 steps”, which is so well-crafted, you don’t quite realise that it runs on a 5/4 time signature until you really listen for it. But almost every song had a feel to it that was both haunting and captivating. Usually, an album that sounds like that tends to get a little old at the end because the listener gets a bit tired of listening to the same stuff over and over again, but this album didn’t have that. Every track sounded different from the one before, but each retained that spine-tingling and attractive quality, except for 2 of them, which is still pretty good for an album. My only gripe is that it only has 10 tracks. But if you’ve got nothing else that’s good enough go onto the album, why bother putting it in, right?
And if you’re thinking of asking me to send you their songs over MSN or something, hold that thought, go down to the record store, and BUY it. I’m not a staunch advocate of respecting intellectual property, but Radiohead really deserves this one.
Filed under: Ramblings
After nearly 2 weeks of hunting for Agnes’ birthday presents, I told Clare that if my nails got painted during the birthday party, Agnes’ is gonna be so dead.
My nails got painted.
Agnes is still alive.
Oh, and Clare painted my nails.
Hmmm, maybe she wants Agnes dead…?
I digress…
So we celebrated Agnes’ birthday last weekend, and it was a pretty cheery occasion. I’m not too fond of parties, which was part of why I didn’t have a party on my 21st birthday. The other part was because I was lazy.
So like I said, it was a cheery occasion. Agnes painstakingly opened the gifts that had we so painstakingly prepared – we wrapped each of the 21 presents in layer upon layer of newspaper, so that Agnes would have to spend as much effort unwrapping them as we did putting them together. The end result was an Agnes who was so happy, she played drinking games until she got drunk.
All this was at a holiday bungalow called Aloha Changi, and a few of us remained after the party and spent 2 nights at the chalet. We woke up late, slept even later, and did all sorts of mundane things like riding bicycles around Pasir Ris Park. Personally, I like mundane things, because they provide me with an opportunity to relax. We played bridge too, but I didn’t include that in the list of mundane things because it’s officially the most stressful card game I’d ever played. Desmond, Clare, Bella and Agnes are a competitive bunch, like myself, and the game became so tense, it was actually kinda funny. In the end though, it was the company that made the stayover so much fun, and any thoughts I had (on the night of the party) about leaving on the afternoon after the first night, were all but forgotten.
But it all ended as quickly as it had begun, and now, I’m wrapping up this post sitting in my room, dreading the start of the new sem, and thinking about how I’d spent the13-week break, among other things.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed your birthday, Agnes, ‘cos I sure did.
