I'm finding it hard to have nothing to say.
Whatever and Ever Amen (1997)
This is the radio song. I remember it got big on the “air waves”. It’s a flowery ballad about (of all things) a teenage abortion. Ben would later admit, in a live album, that it was based on the true tale of he and his high school girlfriend getting an abortion. Certainly a hit in the making, but Ben has a good way with telling stories through his music.
This was the song that put Ben and his Band on my radar, but I still hadn’t figured him out.
On April 19th, Holli and I are going to a Ben Folds concert (thanks to a heads up from Mr. Britain), so I felt I should celebrate with a couple days of Ben Folds (Five).
I don’t have such a strong emotional connection to this group. I admire Ben Folds, but I own very few of his albums. However, he’s a good performer, a talented musician, and a good songwriter.
He’s also my best friend in the whole world.
Hail to the Thief (2003)
This song was a revival. Kid A and Amnesiac, while great, were claustrophobic and paranoid. As fans, we longed for a little taste of the old Radiohead: confident, a little bitter, and hard. This song announced a step back that way, but with a twist. This song really hit home for me when I watched a broadcast of their Glastonbury performance of it. The song begins a little comtemplative, a little soft, a little dull. Then with one sudden point, and a swift upstrum, the song erupts with everyone going a hundred miles an hour. Oh, what the heck.
Notable lyric: It’s the devil’s way now / There is no way out / You can scream & you can shout / It is too late now / Because / You have not been / paying attention
Amnesiac (2001)
Notable lyric: i jumped in the river and what did I see? / black-eyed angels swimming with me
In Rainbows (2007)
This song has had a long life. It’s been played live for years, and they never found a suitable way to play it in the studio. It used to be called “Big Ideas (Don’t Get Any)”, but they went with the “scandalous” title “Nude”. I didn’t find it very singular live, but I’ve really taken to this studio track. It’s like an old blanket that you wash for the first time in ages. All warm and snuggly.
Notable lyric: So don’t get any big ideas / they’re not going to happen / You’ll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking
Kid A (2000)
Notable lyric: It’s holding on / It’s holding on
If you absolutely can’t wait, here is the speech for Holli’s graduation. Enjoy!
Two golfers were out on the course. One was an atheist, and one was a Christian. Before every swing, the Christian would say a small prayer. “Dear God,” was all he would say. Needless to say, his score was very low, and after the game, the atheist friend asked what his secret was. “Oh, it’s simple,” said the Christian. “I just prayed, ‘Dear God’, before every swing.” The atheist began laughing. “That can’t possibly be it!” he exclaimed. “Why not?” replied the Christian. “Because,” said the atheist, “I said [expletive deleted] before every swing I took, and it just made me worse!” “That,” said the Christian, “is because God hates you and won’t pay attention to anything you say or do!”
[ pause for laughter ]
Fellow graduates, esteemed faculty, loving family and friends, and those appreciated others who have come to see us off: I am immeasurably proud to be addressing the who-gives-a-[expletive deleted] graduating class of Dakota State University.
I’m sure going to miss this place. NOT! Just kidding. But, honestly, we’ve been here a long time. Who would-a thought, way back when, that we were ever going to graduate. We are merely seconds from walking across this stage and never looking back. It reminds me of how things used to be…
[ stroke chin and stare into space ]
My wonderful fiance likes to say, when we’re filming his Internet TV show, Newsbleep.com, that, “There are three types of people in the world: those who pay attention, those who don’t, and I don’t remember what the third type was.” It gets a laugh like 40% of the time.
What makes attention so special? Well, for one thing, I gave this speech to my kitchen last night, and I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I am now. I’m [expletive deleted] bricks out here! It’s not because this room is eleventy hundred times the size of my kitchen, it’s because, suddenly, a lot of people are paying attention. The “who” of “attention” matters greatly. If that sexy Johnny Depp was helping me give this speech, I wouldn’t need that “Yo’ Mama” joke to get your attention. Of course, all his sexiness didn’t save that shipwreck that was Pirates of the Caribbean III: At World’s End. Am I right?
[ pause for laughter ]
“Attention” is the “currency” of “respect”, and I think I’m ’bout all broke!
[ pause for laughter ]
Picture a lion tamer with a whip and a chair, as the stereotype goes. As he cracks the whip, the lions around him roar with hunger, eager to attack but fearful of his technique. They picture juicy man-steaks, eager to tear the tendons and muscles from his still beating heart, devouring him whole. Now picture those same lions, that same tamer, but the lions are lounging in the sun, yawning, tails flicking carelessly, lapping water. A lion tamer is worthless if the lions don’t give a [expletive deleted].
As graduates, we’ll be given special attention today: on this very stage moments from now, after the ceremony with our friends and family, and in every job interview for the rest of our lives. Being a college graduate is a privilege that carries with it responsibility. Whether we realize it or not, we will forever represent Dakota State University in our actions and our words from this day forward. We are now a product of the attention that we have given and received, paid out and invested, and hopefully that will show through as we march off this campus to our new futures.
The past is dead and gone. The future is hidden and mysterious. Today is right now and that’s why they call it the present, because it is a gift.
Thanks.
The Bends (1995)
This is a story song. I don’t like the video for it. The video for Just has a good story, even if the song is a little lacking in that quality. This song has a good story, but the video was kinda lame. The guys riding around in shopping carts. What? *sigh* The song is great, though.
Notable lyric: But I can’t help the feeling / I could blow through the ceiling / If I just turn and run
Ok Computer (1997)
Nothing seems more musically impressive, to me, than complicated rhythms. I always had the most fun in band with songs that had multiple key signatures. “1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4…” This song has a melody like that. It reminds me of the stars sparkling, how random it can seem. I started conceptualizing a music video for this song a long time ago. It was 3d. A little girl is left at a dock, I think. I might still have my sketches somewhere. There’s also this moment at the climax where Thom is singing two parts at the same time that gives me chills almost every time.
Notable lyric: You know, you know where you are with / you know where you are with / floor collapsing, falling / bouncing back and one day / (I’m gonna grow wings)
Airbag / How Am I Driving? EP (1998)
This song was originally titled “Ok Computer”, the name of the LP that preceded this EP release. Of course, the song was later changed to Palo Alto, which holds, as its slogan, “The City of the Future”. I love how friendly the refrain is. People are friendly in Silicon Valley because the weather’s great, and they know that they are smarter and more well-off than you are. Thanks for asking.
Notable lyric: But, I’m okay / How are you? / hanks for asking / thanks for asking
In Rainbows (2007)
Radiohead is at their most poignant when they’re at the piano. This is one of those songs. It is one of those songs where the instruments themselves conjure the images spoken of in the song. As Thom sings about “videotape”, the drums tap out a syncopation familiar to those who have used VCRs before. You can see a grainy, long-ago-taped image playing on a screen. And going dark.
Notable lyric: When I’m at the pearly gates / This will be on my videotape / my videotape / Mephistopheles is just beneath / and he’s reaching up to / grab me
Amnesiac (2001)
There are a handful of songs by Radiohead that the uninitiated might find “weird”. This is one of them. For the vocals on the song, Thom sang them forwards and recorded it. Then he listened to it backwards and memorized it. Then he sang them backwards, recorded it, and flipped it for the vocal track on the song. The beautiful part of this song, which has such a distinct, studio-heavy sound to it, is that they completely reimagined it for concerts, turning it into a fantastic piano piece.
Notable lyric: while you make pretty speeches / I’m being cut to shreds / you feed me to the lions / a delicate balance
The Bends (1995)
Notable lyric: don’t get my sympathy / hanging out the 15th floor / changed the locks three times / you still coming reeling through the door
Ok Computer (1997)
Typically, Ok Computer is the Radiohead album that people know, for good reason. This song, like the album, is solid. It features a complicated guitar-picking melody, which turns into a distortion-happy rock out wave, which turns into a floating, sing-song. This is the rock epic of Ok Computer. Clocking in at 6:24 and featuring guitar solos, breakdowns, changes in tempo and pace, and (of course) a messed up music video, this song has something for everyone.
Notable lyric: That’s it, sir / You’re leaving / The crackle / of pigskin / The dust / and the screaming / The yuppies networking / The panic, / the vomit / The panic, / the vomit / God loves his children, / God loves his children, / yeah!