INSTANT JOY

My friend Devin posted this and claimed that anyone who watches it will find instant joy. After watching it a few times, I'm inclined to believe.

It's a video promoting a new album, but I don't know if the images you see are vintage, or if they were just supposed to look that way. I actually kind of hope this was recently filmed, because it means those dancers are still young and can still pull off those great moves.

So here it is... instant joy.

Justin Faust EP Sneak Peek from Justin Faust on Vimeo.

FAROE FRIDAY: METAL INVASION

If you live in any city in the US with a population topping 200,000, you are likely in for a visit from some hard rocking Faroese men.

The nice young men pictured above are Týr, they're a heavy metal band from Runavík. They describe their music this way: "The vikings have come to life again and are very impressed with electric musical instruments and are anxious to resurrect their heathen world."

Týr have been slowly building a reputation in Europe, and now they're trying to conquer America. They've launched an ambitious tour of the US and Canada. They're playing 28 shows over the course of one month. Týr will play the big cities like New York and LA, but will also be visiting smaller places like Allentown, Tulsa, and Rochester, NY.

In mid-March, they will play a show in Seattle, then play in Salt Lake City the next day. That's a brutal schedule, but if the vikings could paddle across the Atlantic in wooden boats, I'm sure these guys will have no problem with the tour. Their complete tour schedule can be found on their myspace page.

While hardly a metal-head, I plan on attending the Portland show on March 14th (or the San Francisco show a day earlier, if Kent gets his way). I'm also hoping to interview the band for a project I'm working on. More on that later.

This week's Faroe photo comes from Runavík. It's a fairly non-descript town, notable for having a busy-ish harbor, an alcohol store, and one of the only hotels outside of Torshavn. But we chose this town because it's the place Týr call home. It hardly seems like a place where dark metal fantasies are born... but you never know.

THE MANY MOODS OF WESLEY WILLIS

Time and technolgy have conspired to keep me from updating this space much lately. But I have come across an old article I wrote for a defunct Salt Lake City music magazine. I hope you enjoy it.

(First published in Grid Magazine, late 1996)

When I meet Wesley Willis, he is having one of what he calls his “torture hell rides.” Stuttering, twitching, and sometimes punching himself in the face, Willis is hardly a picture of composure. He speaks of his “demon” that calls him a “stupid jerk” and keeps Willis from going on his “joy ride.” The scene is, at first, more than a little disturbing. Long before I arrive at American Recordings offices to interview Willis, I know that this will not be like any other assignment I’ve had.

The “torture hell rides” are not part of some shtick. Willis was brought up in the violent projects of Chicago’s South Side. After being held at gunpoint by a friend of his mother, Willis developed paranoid schizophrenia. That’s when the demons came. “My demon is the one who spoils my joy rides on busses,” says Willis. “From 1990 to 1996, I have had a total of over 18,000 hell city bus rides with demon torment.”

Willis is obsessed with the Chicago bus system. Good and bad emotions are described as they relate to Chicagoland’s public transit. The “hell ride” takes place on city bus (mostly figuratively, sometimes literally) and often involves involuntary swearing and violent outbursts. The “joy ride,” on the other hand, represents Willis’ best mood and, in an ideal world, takes place on the PACE bus. That’s the line that runs into Chicago’s affluent northern suburbs.

To keep the demons away, Willis began composing songs, lots of them. Over 30 albums and thousands of songs during the last six years. Some deal with his demons while others tell simple crime and punishment stories. The vast majority concern rock concerts he has attended. Almost all of them are identical in structure, with the Country 8 rhythm played on a Technics keyboard while Willis shouts/sings his lyrics. Just so you get the idea, here are the lyrics to “Hootie and the Blowfish”:

This band played at the Metro. About 200 people were at the show. The rock show was awesome. It’ whupped the police’s ass.

Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish

The band played it on. The band got down as they stormed the stage. The crowd roared like a lion. The jam session whupped the police’s ass.

Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish

(two minute synth-chord solo)

The rock show as over at last. A lot of people met the band. The rock show was awesome like Check Express. It was a great rock show at last!

Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago. Budweiser are proud to be your bud.

And that’s about it. Willis’ songs are instantly recognizable. Sure, the ad slogan at the end may change, but if you hear a song title shouted four times over a synthesized rhythm, you’re listening to Wesley Willis.

Willis started performing his songs on the streets and selling his intricate pen and marker drawings. Eventually, he started putting out CDs on his own and through indie labels like Alternative Tentacles and Oglio. And now the Warner-backed American Recordings is distributing his music. Apart from earning him some money, Willis’s music has succeeded in subduing the voices in his head. Since he began recording, the number of times he has been hospitalized has dropped dramatically.

Apart from the music therapy, the hell rides are kept to a minimum with the assistance of medication. But Willis is out of medication when I meet him. Seeing I’m in over my head, American Recordings exec Dino Paredes comes into the conference room where Willis and I are sitting. Paredes signed Willis to American earlier this year and the two seem to have a special friendship. Willis speaks to Paredes like a young child would to a father, rifling off a series of questions on subjects ranging from music sales to wind-chill factors at Lake Tahoe.

Paredes’ presence has a calming effect on Willis, but it is still almost impossible to keep Willis on a single topic. After a few minutes, I realize that my prepared questions will be pretty much useless. Willis is much more interested in making another extremely detailed picture of the Chicago skyline. After being convinced by Paredes to put down his markers for a moment, Willis begins telling me about some of his high profile admirers.

Willis: A lot of people like my artwork. A lot of people love the way I do my art.

Paredes: Like who?

Willis: But my demon in my head thinks I’m not anything.

Paredes: But who likes you, Wesley.

Willis: Rick Rubin likes me.

Paredes: Who else likes you?

Willis: Dino likes me.

Paredes: What bands like you?

Willis: Slayer likes me, Mike D likes me, Cracker likes me.

As it turns out, a lot of Bands like Willis. Rumor has it that Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has the lyrics to Willis’ song “Dave Grohl” framed in his office. Jello Biafra, Gavin Rossdale of Bush, and Kato Kaelin (who, technically, is not a band) also count themselves as friends of Willis.

As soon as I learn this, Willis goes back to his drawing. He repeats something about needing to keep his butt busy so the demon won’t take him on a hell ride. He begins speaking in more detail about his demon.

“My demon cusses at me with profanity. My demon says mean and vulgar words at me. My demon makes me beat myself upside my head. My demon makes me bust portable CD players. My demon also makes me cuss at city bus drivers. And when I cuss at city bus drivers all of the time, some of the bus drivers get so sick of my bad mouth that they call the police. And then the police come and get me off the bus. They don’t take me to jail. They know that I am a rock star. But my demon thinks I’m a damn fool…”

Then he repeats the whole story all over again. Willis is a perfectionist. If he mispronounces a word or puts the emphasis on the wrong part of a sentence, he tells me to rewind my tape and starts again from the top.

Willis is also a warehouse of information. When asked about when he played in Salt Lake City, he immediately recites the club name and day of the week that he played. Even though he has put out dozens of albums with as many as 24 songs per, he refers to each of his songs by the album it’s on and the track number, even if he hasn’t recorded it yet. During the course of the interview, he recites the titles for his next three albums and begins listing tracks for some of them.

For a while, Willis performed both as a solo artist, and with a band called The Wesley Willis Fiasco. The Fiasco provided punk backing for Willis’ songs but was a short lived arrangement.

“The Fiasco band broke up because they couldn’t handle my demon hell rides much longer. I made their asses break up,” says Willis. “They they thought I wasn’t going to play a rock and roll show in Toledo, Ohio, I hit my bass player Dave Nooks in the face, and that’s what shut the rock show in Toledo at the Underground down. Then suddenly, my whole band got into a fight. Suddenly, I sat in the chair right in the venue the Underground cracking my ass up.”

Willis begins laughing and Paredes says, “That was a bad hell ride.” Willis continues, “It was a really bad hell ride when the Fiasco band broke up. They broke up in Toledo, Ohio after I shut the rock show down. When Dave Nooks called me up on the state go sing with the band, I was so damn tormented. Suddenly I took my fist and punched him. Suddenly, Dave Nooks picked up a beer bottle and threw it at me. The beer bottle didn’t hit me, the beer bottle broke on the venue floor.”

As Willis’ mood improves, he tells me that some of his songs contain a lot of “evil profanity” because that’s his way of shouting back at his demon. He also tells me of the man who attacked him on bus and left a serious scar on his face. The story of the incident is detailed in the Wesley Willis song, “Now He’s In Jail.”

Later that night, Willis performs in the gallery of the La Luz De Jesus bookstore in Hollywood. He takes the stage early and I miss the opening number. By the time I arrive, Willis is in the middle of a full blown joy ride. No stuttering, no punching, no references to demons. Willis is, however, working the crowd. He makes repeated references to Bob Dole’s defeat in the recent election and suggests that the penalty for losing an election should be, well, something pretty bad. Something so bad that grid wouldn’t publish it even if I included it. Suffice it to say, if Willis’ plan were put into action, people would really think twice before running for office. And bull terriers would become an endangered species.

But the crowd is loving it. Willis invites many from the audience to come up on stage and exchange head butts (his usual form of greeting) with him while shouting “rau.” The head butts are all good and fine, but I get dizzy after about six. Some in the crowd are hardcore Wesley Willis fans and continually shout out the names of their favorite Willis songs. “Play, ‘Don’t Curse in God’s House’” shouts someone behind me. Willis begins playing lounge-sounding intros to his songs.

Then it happens, Wesley actually sings a note. His vocals are usually spoken or shouted, but for two words, Willis actually sings. It happens during his song , “The Posies” and it never happens again after that. Anyone who has heard a Wesley Willis song will think this impossible, but he actually has a good singing voice. Who knew?

After Willis plays several encores, he butts heads with veryone in the audience who will oblige. He also tries (almost always successfully) to sell copies of his CDs to anyone he talks to. Even when rapper and American labelmate Chino XL comes up to say “hi,” the first words out of Willis’ mouth are, “Do you want to buy come of my CDs?”

Chino winds up buying Dr. Wax and Mr. Magoo Goes to Jail, although he realizes the inequity. “Hey, you got all of my stuff for free!” But that’s how things go with Wesley Willis. Everyone pays. From rock stars, to music company execs, to dashing young music writers, they’re all the same to Willis.

I leave the show and head home to puzzle over some personal issues. Why do I like this guy so much? What does an emaciated pasty kid from the suburbs of Rochester, NY have in common with a giant schizophrenic man raised in the projects of Chicago? Later that night, it hits me, it’s the music. Willis literally lives to listen to music, perform music, and write music. Music saved his life. Anyone who has ever been a teenager can understand that

SPITE BASED COMMERCE

On my shelf is a copy of Kanye West's CD "Graduation." I've never listened to it, not even once, but I had several good reasons for buying it.

First, I bought "Late Registration" and thought it was quite good. It was expansive and ambitious and sounded like nothing else in hop hop at the time. And he sampled Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds are Forever." How cool is that? So it was reasonable to assume that West's next album would be good, too. Perhaps it is.

But the real reason I bought "Graduation" was to force rapper 50 Cent into retirement. You see 50 promised his album "Curtis" would outsell "Graduation." If it didn't, 50 promised to retire. I think 50 Cent is a no talent hack, so $15.99 seemed a small price to pay to keep the man from putting out any more albums.

As it turned out, I wasn't the only person to think this way, and "Graduation" handily outsold "Curtis." With that mission accomplished, I somehow forgot to listen to the album. (It got middling to good reviews.)

So it's somewhat ironic that today I made my second spite-based musical purchase and the target of my spite was none other than Kanye West.

It started when I was watching Stephen Colbert on Monday. He was complaining that the soundtrack for his Christmas special was ranked 15th on iTunes, while Kanye West's newest album was on top. Colbert read West's latest quote where the rapped dubbed himself the "voice of a generation" and declared that West needed to be taken down a peg. (Of course, Colbert would also be taken up a few pegs in the process.)

Members of the Colbert Nation were asked to buy the Colbert Christmas soundtrack at 5 PM EST on Wednesday to help knock Kanye out of the top spot and vault Colbert to number one. It was called, "Operation Humble Kanye."

While I don't know if I count as a member of the Nation, I decided to buy the album at the appointed time. After all, I may have been partially responsible for West's big ego in the first place, what with helping him win his feud with 50 Cent and all.

By the appointed purchase time, Britney Spears had already knocked Kanye West off the top spot in the iTunes album rankings, so there's a chance Kanye was already duly chastised. But Colbert fans did manage to vault his Christmas album to the #3 spot and knock West to #4.

But this time, I decided not to repeat the mistakes of the past and actually listen to the album that spite bought me.

Cobert's Christmas album is a companion to the TV show, which is essentially a spoof of star studded Christmas spectaculars of the '60s an '70s. Most songs are sufficiently funny and feature guest stars like Toby Keith, Feist, and John Legend. But for me, it's all about Elvis Costello.

Costello and Colbert end the special with a song called, "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In." It's indented to be silly, but it might actually be... well... a good song. Perhaps I'm blinded by Elvis Costello. I'll admit, he could sing the phone book and it would probably move me to tears. But he sings this joke song with such gusto that it starts to come off as sincere.

And in this era of waining faith, "There Are Much Worse Things..." may actually be the perfect anthem of the times. Nice work, boys.

PAC-MAN FEVER

Many years ago, I was driving down the QEW leaving Toronto. It was about midnight and I was listening to CFNY. On Saturday nights, they used to broadcast from a dance club (RPM?). I was getting sleepy, when the DJ began playing a techno song based solely on the music from Pac-Man. It made me laugh so hard, I nearly drove off the road.

Now, some 16 years later, somebody has taken some footage from Tron and made a music video for this song. Enjoy...

FAROE FRIDAY: WE HAVE CONTACT

I'm asked quite a lot why I'm so into the Faroe Islands. And part of the answer is this vague, undefined idea about a place nearby yet isolated, exotic yet familiar. Another more simple answer is that the Faroe Islands are pretty. Just look at this photo of Runavik taken by Erik Christensen.* (Please see correction below) With all due respect to the good folk of Runavik, the town is a rather nondescript part of a 7 mile long stretch of towns. In other words, it's nothing special. But look at it. It is still a beautiful place I would love to visit.

But there's another element to my Faroe fascination, and it's best illustrated by the events of the past week or so.

I was chatting online with someone who is basically a self-appointed goodwill ambassador for the Faroe Islands. He loves the place, and loves sharing stories about the islands he calls home.

We were talking about music and he mentioned that "Boys in a Band," had put out a new album. BIAB is quite possibly the most popular band in the Faroes right now, and they're starting to make a name for themselves on the international state. They won the International Battle of the Bands in London several months ago. And they earned good notices after their performance at South By Southwest in Austin.

So I was asked if I had heard the new album yet, and I said "no." Then I checked on iTunes, and found it wasn't available there, either. So my Faroese friend said, "wait a moment," and then said, "it's taken care of." He later explained that he had IMed the lead singer of BIAB and told him to send me a copy of the album. And today, this arrived...

Stamp nerds would be excited by this envelope because Faroese stamps are rare, so allow me to taunt all those philatelists out there...But, of course, I knew what was inside, the new CD...It's not the most flattering picture of me, I know, but I wanted the lads to see their music had safely arrived in the northwest corner of the United States.

On the back was a handwritten note from Pætur Zachariasson saying, "I really hope you'll like the album. Inside, all the band members had signed the inner sleeve of the CD. They even mailed a poster.

I'll write about the music in a week or so once it's had a chance to sink in, but I will say that the first spin is quite a fun listen. On the band's MySpace page, they say they sound like "Dylan on amphetamine." That accurately describes the speed and enthusiasm of the album. And the description also sums up the feeling of reckless fun that skitters across the 12 short songs on "Black Diamond Train." I'll write more on the music when I've had a chance to listen to the album a few more times.

I'm thrilled to have this album for several reasons. First off, it's some fine music, and I love music. But more than that, I love what it represents. A bunch of people, on a tiny island far from here, got together and did something really kind for a complete stranger. My Faroese friend knows me only from online contacts. "Boys in a Band" don't know me at all. Yet these people were so excited about their home and their music and their culture that they spent time and money to share it. That is cool beyond my ability to describe in writing, but suffice it to say that I am deeply moved by the gesture.

While I can't claim to be any expert on the Faroes (I've never even been there), I'm learning that personal relationships are very important there. This hardly seems surprising when you realize that there are only 48,000 people living on the islands. For better or worse, everyone knows everyone there. There is something charming about a place where a person can IM the lead singer of the country's biggest rock band. Where a person can read a story in the newspaper, send a text message to the Foreign Minister to voice an opinion, and actually get a personal reply.

I'm well aware that there are drawbacks to to living in a place where everyone is in everyone's business and it's impossible to run away and reinvent yourself. But when you come from a place where people spend too much time sequestered in their cars or in small stucco fortresses, the Faroese model can look pretty attractive.

Thanks to all who made this small bit of kindness happen. I hope I can return this kindness some day.

(UPDATE 1/20/09: Someone with more knowledge than me has let me know that the picture at the top of this post is not of Runavik but of Toftir. Hopefully one day I will travel to both places so I will know the difference. Thank you for pointing out my error.)

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Just stumbled upon this clip via greenplastic of Johnny and Thom of Radiohead covering a song from the new Portishead album. It appears to be home video taken in someone's apartment. Note to the lads: If you ever feel the need to play an impromptu concert, know that our living room is always available.

Find more videos like this on w.a.s.t.e. central

WESLEY WILLIS, ALWAYS WITH US

During the waining hours of a long workday covering the Oregon primary elections, a friend of mine handed me a sheet of paper with what was purported to be the lyrics to a song called "Matthew Workman" written by Wesley Willis. It went a little something like this...

"Right on brother
You are the reporter king
You really whoop a snow leopard's ass
Matthew Workman really whoops a camel's ass"

I laughed so hard I almost fell over. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

I first learned about Wesley Willis when I wrote for the sadly departed music magazine "grid." There was Wesley Willis CD in the office and it was everybody's favorite listen for a while. Somehow I got the assignment to write the review (I stole, the CD from the office... that's how I got the assignment) and actually had to listen to the entire album.

Wesley Willis released countless albums during his career (really, it's almost impossible to figure out just how many albums he's released), but every song is essentially the same. He chooses a subject (usually a band, but sometimes an actor or business or type of food), shouts the name four times, shouts some facts about the subject, declares the subject kicks some animal's ass then ends with the famous tag: "Rock over London/Rock on Chicago/Budweiser are proud to be your bud."

The advertisement at the end would change, but the structures of the songs wouldn't, nor would the backing track, which was a Casio keyboard playing pre-programmed chords.

I wrote the review of the album, then wrote a Gwar concert review in the Wesley Willis style. Eventually I interviewed Willis for a feature article that I'm more proud of than anything I've ever written. (Sadly, the last known copy of that story was left in the trailer of "Skippy" from "Family Ties." The story behind this fact is long and surprisingly boring.)

Willis died in 2003, but he has remained a cult figure online and in certain musical circles. Some enterprising young man has even developed a Wesley Willis song generator (you have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the song generator). All you have to do is enter some information in a few fields and the program will crank out a Wesley Willis-style song just for you.

And that's what my buddy Chris did late Tuesday to lift my sagging spirits. Ironically, Wesley Willis actually did write a song about me. It went a little like this...

"You are my friend on Los Angeles
I love you like Purina Dog Chow."

That's about as far as he got, but I was flattered just to have that.

And now that I've been shown the song generator, it's kind of like we've always got Wesley with us. So I'll end by posting a song I had generated for my friend, Scott. I haven't seen him in years, but I believe this song communicates everything I would want to say to him.

Scott Whitmore
by Wesley Willis

I like you well.
You can really rock your ass off.
You make the joyride music.
I like you a lot in the long run.

SCOTT WHITMORE!!!
SCOTT WHITMORE!!!
SCOTT WHITMORE!!!
SCOTT WHITMORE!!!

You are a database administrator star.
Scott Whitmore is the best.
I like you well.
You are my special database administrator.

SCOTT WHITMORE!!!
SCOTT WHITMORE!!!
SCOTT WHITMORE!!!
SCOTT WHITMORE!!!

I like you well.
Scott Whitmore is very special to me.
Scott Whitmore really whoops a camel's ass.
I love you a lot in the long run.

Rock over London,Rock on Chicago.
Be a Pepper - drink Dr. Pepper.

FAROE FRIDAY: MUSIC AND STUFF

In my first ever post on the Faroe Islands last year, I remarked that the islands hosted the G! Festival each summer and that the festival was starting to gain an international reputation. I may have also mentioned that I wanted to attend the festival one day.

Alas, that may have to wait a while. I've read on various bulletin boards that the company that runs the festival has gone bankrupt. There is word, however, that plans are being drawn up for a G! Festival in 2009. At least that's what I gather from the postings on their website. They're in Faroese, and I don't understand much of that.

But all is not doom and gloom on the Faroese music scene. Boys in a Band are continuing to get good press around the world. And a Faroese singer/songwriter named Teitur is touring the east coast of the U.S. and getting good notices. The New York Daily News called Teitur "the Norse whisperer."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: considering there are only 48,000 people on the islands, they have an amazing number of bands that tour internationally. A Faroese jazz band is even scheduled to play in my hometown of Rochester this summer.

This week's Faroe photos come from the village of Gøta. Gøta plays(ed) host to the G! Festival and is a pretty spectacular setting for a music festival. Only 500 people live in the village, but they have their own football team. The area also figures prominently in an Icelandic saga.

As always, I hope I get to see it firsthand. (I'm looking at you, Faroese Tourist Board... whose site appears to be down for maintenance.)

FAROE FRIDAY: LOCAL BAND MAKES GOOD

I've been following this a bit, but I must again credit Faroe Man for scooping me on this story. (It's not fair, he lives on the Faroe Islands and speaks the language. How am I supposed to compete with that?)

The Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) just wrapped up in London last night. I featured 15 bands from 15 countries who had won various regional competitions.

The winner was Boys In A Band, they're a five piece outfit from, you guessed it, the Faroe Islands. I'd be lying if I said I knew much about them, but the photo they submitted for the competition had the members of Monty Python instead of the band members. So that's pretty cool.

They've got four songs posted on their MySpace page. Someone on Wikipedia described their sound as "cowboy rock of the dance genre."

Boys In A Band won $100,000 (US) and a world tour. It seems unlikely they'll find their way to Oregon. But if they do, I'll be there with bells on.

This week's Faroe Photo comes from one of the most mysterious of the chain:
This is Lítla Dímun. For what should be some pretty obvious reasons, it is the only Faroe Island to be uninhabited. But I think someone actually has their sheep graze at the top of that thing. Don't ask me how he gets them up there.

IN RAINBOWS, REVIEWED... FINALLY

I’ve had Radiohead’s latest album, In Rainbows, kicking around in my head for about a month now. That’s long enough for the hype over the unique “pay what you want” pricing to die down. Long enough for the initial shock to fade. And what’s left is great collection of songs that is bearing up well under repeated listens.

If I could say one thing about In Rainbows, I’d say it’s comfortable. Not comfortable as in middling, or safe, or predictable, but enjoyable.

Radiohead’s last three albums have been significant pieces of music, but I’ve admired them more than I’ve actually liked them. Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief all had their moments, but they weren’t albums I’d want to make a part of my life. Not like OK Computer, anyway. In the decade since that album was released, I’ve come back again and again for reasons both personal and musical.

And with In Rainbows, Radiohead has released an album one can feel comfortable spending lots of time with. Sort of like a really smart best friend who’s easy to be around. You have to pay close attention when talking with someone like that, but it’s really not that hard and well worth the effort.

Much has been made of the fact that this is Radiohead’s most rock and roll album since OK Computer. And why not? In Rainbows has plenty of guitars and Phil Selway has apparently reclaimed his job from that drum machine (and he sounds amazing on this album, I might add). But in many other ways, this collection of songs is something quite apart from traditional rock and roll. Strings feature prominently on about half the songs. And many of the tracks are gorgeous in a way I think rock and roll was never intended to be.

Perhaps the best example of this is “All I Need.” This was the track that caught my ear the first pass through the album, and it’s still a favorite. It starts off as little more than a simple rhythm and bass line. Thom Yorke begins singing what is essentially a love song, but with lyrics like “I’m an animal trapped in your hot car.” The song builds with glockenspiel and various found sounds. Then, with one minute left, the song explodes into a sea of shimmering white noise. Strings, keyboards and glockenspiel (Radiohead does amazing things with that instrument) compete for space with Yorke’s voice as it repeats, “It’s all wrong, it’s all right.” It’s the kind of noise you just want to let wash over you in for an hour. Absolutely beautiful.

While Radiohead lyrics can be pretty difficult to decipher, I’m pretty sure they’re singing about sex in a lot of these songs. “I don’t want to be your friend/I just want to be your lover.” is a far cry from the mostly abstract lyrics of earlier albums. It’s a little jarring at first to hear Radiohead sing about sex… kind of like when you learn that all the nerds in high school were getting laid at band camp. But it’s still interesting to hear Yorke sing about people for a change.

As for the digital format of the album, the process of downloading and paying for it were actually quite pleasant. I haven’t been bothered by the supposedly inferior bit rate. I really would like some liner notes, but that’s a minor trifle. In the end, it’s all about the music. And the music is wonderful. It’s been in my head for a month now. I like it there. I can’t wait to hear the second disc next month.

To answer the question everyone asks about the question, I sidestepped the whole “how much to pay” question by shelling out 40 pounds for the disc box. Had I only purchased the download, I would have paid somewhere between 5 and 10 dollars. And after listening to it a couple of times I would have felt like a thief.

SEATTLE, DAY 2- MY POSSE ON BROADWAY

Before we left for Seattle, we checked the weather forecasts and saw temperatures weren't expected to top 55 during our stay. No big deal, I thought. That's pretty much par for the course this time of year. Then we arrived and it was 71 degrees and I didn't have any short sleeve shirts. It was quite unpleasant, really.

But today, things got back to normal.That's the Space Needle in the typical cloudy conditions of the Pacific Northwest. I was there to check out the Experience Music Project, a music museum built by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen. The stainless steel construction made for some odd (yet fun) reflections.And they produce the perfect conditions for lame self portraits.I walked into the Experience Music Project with more than a little skepticism. This was clearly another example of Baby Boomers trying to enshrine their youths in costly temples. I rolled my eyes until I saw a door labeled, "The First 10 Years of Hip Hop." Well.. if they're going to enshrine my childhood in a costly temple, that's a whole different matter.

The exhibit was pretty amazing. There were lots of the silly looking leather outfits common among early hip hop crews. There was the original handwritten lyrics to "The Breaks" by Curtis Blow. There were displays on graffiti art, break dancing, and DJ-ing as well. There was also good information on Seattle hip-hop pioneer Sir Mix-A-Lot. While the world knows him best as the man who brought us "Baby Got Back." But he was one of the first hip hop acts to spring up outside of NYC. Very well done. I could have all day there.

Instead, I decided to go for a walk in no particular direction. I enjoy wandering aimlessly in a city. It's a great way to explore an urban area on the ground level, and it prepares me to be a homeless derelict in my later years. It was a little rainy outside, but I'm from upstate New York, so I'm not afraid of a little water.

There seems to be a pretty significant homeless problem here. While I know this is the case in all large American cities, it seems particularly acute here.

Religious zealotry seems pretty popular, too. Again, every city has "crazy bible guy" standing on a corner preaching hellfire and damnation, but they're quite aggressive here. Yesterday I was followed for two city blocks by a guy who wanted to yell at me about the lake of fire that would consume me. When the charming sermon was over, he yelled, "OK, ignore me. Forgive him, Father, for he knows not what he does. I forgive you."

So that was a relief.

Today a man was holding a large sign with bible verses on it while shouting in what I'm assuming was tongues. Not content to be ignored by pedestrians, the man shouted violently at passing cars. By the time I passed the scene, the man was standing at the door of a bus stopped at a red light while shaking his sign and shouting.

While I'm not afraid of a little water, my shoes are. My one hour stroll came to an end once my socks got soaked through. So now I'm holed up in my hotel room waiting for things to dry out. Tonight we'll have dinner with some of Julie's clients, then we'll meet up with friends on Broadway, a street Sir Mix-A-Lot rapped about.

Seems appropriate.

Seattle is a nice place, but I'm still not in love it with it, though. Perhaps the perspective from locals will change that tonight.

IN RAINBOWS, IN THE HOUSE

I just downloaded the newest Radiohead album. It was a hassle free project. They sent an email at 11:10 PM, and 5 minutes later I had it on my iPod. The download was quick. No problems.

I'm listening to the first song, "15 Step." Sounds very different from the last three albums. I like it. More later.

UPDATE: 12:40 AM: It can take a long time before you can really assess how good a piece of music is and if it will really become a lasting part of your life. So I'm a little hesitant to write anything about In Rainbows now, but here are some first impressions with the promise of more thoughtful stuff in a week or two.

It's a more straightforward rock and roll album than we've heard from Radiohead in quite some time. That's not to say the band isn't still pushing the edges of the form, but there's less electronic noodling than in albums past.

In Rainbows feels less like a coherent statement than previous albums. Each song sounds quite distinct and separate from the others. I may go back on that statement in a week or two, so don't hold me to it.

Strings. A surprising number of songs feature string arrangements, and to an often dramatic effect. The "lush" sound suits them.

The early highlight of the album for me is "All I Need." It's a slow build then ends in a burst of glockenspiel and strings. (If you need to hear what brilliant things Radiohead can do with a glockenspiel, might I direct you to "No Surprises" on "OK Computer.) The string section sounds a lot like Sigur Ros. It may be a love song, although it includes lyrics like "I'm an animal trapped in your car." It is at once catchy, beautiful, mysterious, and perhaps sad. I've listened to the whole album once. I've listened to "All I Need" six times.

That brings me to another point: I miss the liner notes. Perhaps that really is Sigur Ros on "All I Need." I'd like to look it up.

I'm mostly through a second pass of this album, and it's quickly growing on me. There's a lot going on in these tracks. This may well be a great album.

I've really got to get to bed. But this album is well worth listening to, and you can't say you've been overcharged.

RADIOHEAD MOMENT

A wacky work schedule makes it impossible to write any long form piece, but I can't go to bed without taking a moment to marvel about the news of Radiohead's newest album.

One of the most influential rock bands in the world has announced that they're releasing their latest album via their website. It will be available via digital download and fans will pay as little or as much as they wish.

Where to start?

First, the news that their long awaited album will be released in a week is very exciting. I saw Radiohead in Los Angeles last year when they were road testing many of their new songs. Since then I've been anxious to hear his album. The band has a great back catalog, but their new songs were some of the highlights of the LA concert. This could be one of their best albums yet.

But then there's the distribution method. They're doing a complete end run around record labels by distributing their own album electronically. Physical versions of the In Rainbows will eventually be available. A special edition CD/vinyl version will come out in December, and a traditional CD will hit stores sometime in 2008. But the album will be out there, on the Internet, next week.

In an interview on public radio last June, Thom Yorke said he had no interest in starting a revolution that destroys the record labels. In fact, the prospect of trying to self-distribute this album practically gave him a headache (too many band meetings, etc.) But with this week's announcement, Radiohead may just have fired the first shot in that revolution. The major labels' only hope is Radiohead doesn't have enough bandwidth to deliver the goods next week. (It seems almost certain that excessive demand will crash their server... but I'm far from a tech expert.)

As for price, I'll be interested to hear what people pay. I have a hunch that Radiohead will make out quite handsomely from this arrangement. Their fan base tend to be music nerds who aren't afraid to pay for music. And even if a person pays only $5 for the download, Radiohead will likely see far more money from that than from a $17 CD. Indeed, the $80 CD/vinyl set appears to be selling better than the variable priced download.

When I start downloading the tunes next week, I may well be listening to the sound of the music industry being turned on its ear. But I'm much more excited to hear the songs.

Counting the days.