After making some disparaging comments about a misunderstood perception of “The Radiohead Model” (which Maura helpfully defined correctly) and kicking up a consequent shitstorm, Cure lead singer Robert Smith has, refreshingly, expanded on his ideas rather than backing away from them—though, regrettably, in all caps. I will retype it for you so it seems more credible.
Poor Thom Yorke. He just wants to make his music and post cryptic blog updates, and everyone has to be getting in his face, whether it’s about his band’s digital-distribution experiments or their Grammy antics. Why can’t people just leave him alone? Ha ha, because it gets them press, of course.
We are now less than seven days out from the 2009 Grammy Awards, the most important night in music that few people truly care about. We wanted to do something to pay tribute to this great institution that, once a year, reminds us that long past their prime artists are still making records people enjoy. And so, Idolator is proud to announce the 2009 Grammy Awards Awards, recognizing the most Grammy-esque things the Grammys have done in the past year.
Radiohead will make its first U.S. TV appearance since 2000 in two weeks, when the band performs as part of this year’s Grammy ceremony. The band’s 2007 album In Rainbows is up for Album Of The Year against Coldplay’s Viva La Vida Etc., Ne-Yo’s Year Of The Gentleman, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III, and the Robert Plant/Alison Kraus collaboration Raising Sand. T.I. is also expected to perform twice on the evening of Feb. 8—once with Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West on “Swagger Like Us,” and again with Justin Timberlake on an unidentified song. (I’m pretty sure that Robyn Troup won’t be around to get ogled by the two this year, although who knows—the nostalgia cycle is pretty short these days.) A list of all the announced performers after the jump.
Nominations for the NME‘s annual addition to the bonfire of British awards shows, the Shockwave Awards, were announced today, with longtime darlings Oasis scoring seven nods—including a Worst Band nomination—and Arctic Monkeys/Last Shadow Puppets frontman Alex Turner amassing six. Of course, the biggest belly-laughs come in the Hero and Villain of the Year categories. The lights of positivity in the NME‘s world are Turner, the Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Brit comedian Noel Fielding, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher… and Barack Obama, while the big bad guys (and gal) are Amy Winehouse, George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, John McCain, and Pete Doherty. (Obama, sadly, is the only Hero contender who didn’t also get a “Best Dressed” nod; he’s replaced in that category by some British “it girl” who isn’t Kate Moss or Sienna Miller.) Full slate of nominees after the jump.
So, a new version of Thom Yorke’s Grammy ad, which crafts a mosaic of the Radiohead frontman’s face from the titles of various songs that have influenced him, is out there, and keen-eyed viewers will notice a few key differences between the initial print (at left, as sourced from Pop & Hiss last Tuesday) and this iteration, which is being rolled out with a TV spot in which Yorke talks about his dreams of becoming David Bowie someday. Let’s play a little game of “catch the edits,” shall we?
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, perhaps inspired to play nice by the Album of the Year nomination In Rainbows received from the Grammys this year, has lent his visage—and his taste in music—to the award ceremony’s ad campaign, in which composites of nominated stars’ faces are created from the titles and lyrics of songs that influenced their musical development. Bjork’s “Unravel,” which Yorke has previously cited as one of his favorite songs ever, gets a nod, as does Madvillain’s “Meat Grinder.” There’s also a Liars shout-out! Anyway, a TV ad narrated by Yorke (it may sound like this, a bit) is rolling out as the broadcast gets closer, but for now, there’s a spot featuring Stevie Wonder’s musical development embedded after the jump.
What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We’re happy to announce 80 ’08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator’s year-end overview. The list is below the jump.
Prince got added to the Coachella bill some 15 days before the desert festival was slated to kick off, a move that was simultaneously totally awesome and slightly reeking of desperation. Ticket sales for the 2008 installment of the fest had been rumored to be a bit soft (a rumor that was borne out by the tumbleweeds skipping across the Empire Polo Field during Jack Johnson’s Friday-closing set), and apparently Prince commanded a lot of cash to help goose the Saturday-night till. “So what?” you might ask. “He’s Prince. He’s worth it.” I wholeheartedly agree, but at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if his set—which included a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” that made Thom Yorke a bit snitty—broke the festival (and maybe even the US festival circuit) in a way, kind of like his precipitation-inducing Super Bowl halftime show of 2007.
