TODO: Buy Tickets for June '08 New Radiohead Tour

Done!  ("Yoohoo!  Yay!  Yeehaa!")  Yep, I've got my ticket for Nîmes (France), June '08!!!  Now, let's wait some more, and in a couple of days…

Update: +1!  And since I wasn't talking about some additional show in Nîmes ("Surprise!"), I reiterate my previous sentence: let's wait some more, and in a couple of days…

Update 2: In a couple of days… it will be SOLD OUT :( !  Argh!  I finally didn't manage to grab my tickets for Paris concerts.  And now, after some attempts to buy some from an indirect source, I know there are very li'l chance I'd put my hands on some :( !  So, it appears there's finally no Step 3 for me either.  But wait: I still got my 2 tickets for Nîmes's, don't I :) ?

In Rainbows: 9.2/10

Average rating coming straight from my iTunes!

OK, so Radiohead's In Rainbows has landed, and it's no Kid A.  It's a beast, that's for sure, but a different monster.  It's not a revolution.  It's not an evolution.  To me, it's "just" the sum of all parts; a logical follow-up to Hail to the Thief, but with this additional pinch of magical cohesion that makes *albums* and not song containers, that li'l plus that lacks sometimes.

I'm glad not to have blogged about it the day I listened to it for the 1^st time 'cause I would have given it a perfect 10 ;) !  I would say I'd like to give it a bit more than iTunes (like 9.5); but if it *sounds* perfect, there's some more room to be filled to reach such a level.  No song is 3-star rated, all of them have at least 4 stars; *but* only 2 are 5-star rated (Nude and Videotape).  It's a bit disappointing to claim it's the Best Album of All Time ;) !  (To me, Kid A may still be a tad better—dunno yet for sure—, but it's not rated 10 either… "thanks" to Optimistic :( !)

It's very cohesive, but diverse and balanced at the same time.  Superbly produced (once again) by Nigel Godrich, it sounds more natural/warm (thanks to the return of acoustic guitars, a children choir, or a not-so-edited-Thom voice) though still decorated with electronic drums, beats, and pops.

In a few words, it's a great addition to the work they produced so far…

In Rainbows

On October 1^st, '07, Radiohead (aka the Greatest Band in the World) announced in a surprising move the forthcoming e-availability of their LP7 for October 10^th, '07; i.e. for TODAY!!!

So, we're just some hours away from discovering what this new sound is, some hours away from this special moment when suddenly—as maybe only Björk can do—all the other bands just fade into oblivion. Therefore you're right: to say that I'm excited would be a massive understatement…

I've succeeded in avoiding any material from this new album till today, and I have high hopes my *huge* efforts will pretty soon find some reward. Will In Rainbows be another Kid A? It's a risky game I'm playing right now since I've got more chance to be disappointed, but I really feel the timing is right for them to once again change the rules.

I'm now gonna try to find some sleep to calm down and ease the waiting ;) ! Pfew, it's hard…

(And of course, exactly 2 minutes after the announcement, my £40 discbox was ordered! So the waiting won't stop in a few hours, but only on or around December 3^rd, '07!!!)

Today is the day: Volta is out

Björk's 6^th album should now be available from your preferred reseller. So unless you're waiting for the limited edition (like me…), just go out and buy it ;) !


To celebrate, I'm currently listening to her May 5 concert in NYC, broadcasted from NPR.org. (Advice: Don't miss the impressive, new reorchestration of Army of Me, magically followed by her next hit, Innocence; they just flow naturally!)

WOW, WOw, Wow, wow…

It's April 9, '07 now, since a dozen of minutes, and Earth Intruders, the new single from Björk, is available on the iTunes Store! I obviously couldn't resist anymore and listened to the 30 second preview there… And, I agree: she's back for real to break it all!!! Yoohoo :) !

I'm gonna see her… again

After an endless month of waiting, doubts, and even black scenarii ("Could it have been cancelled?" Or: "Will I be aware of when the sell is finally going to start?" And then: "Would I end in having a chance to grab one?", etc.), I finally put my hands on the Next Big Thing to me: a ticket to Björk's next concert in France! Yeepee!!!

As of today, I've been lucky enough to (very quickly) see her climb Cannes Film Festival's stairs to present Lars von Trier's brilliant Dancer in the Dark feature film in 2000; and then, to hear her live in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées for her Vespertine tour in 2001. Now the date is saved for her come back in the Arena of Nîmes: I'll be there on August 23, '07 to sing along with her on Volta tunes and all :) !

Once again, I can't wait…

Update: I'm gonna see her again… and again! Twice. In a row. (Almost.) 'Cause I'm weak and just bought a last-minute ticket for her additional date in the Arena of Nîmes scheduled on August 21, '07. Yeepee!!! (bis)

Make a Wish!

Some may remember that quite recently, I've been able to make an old dream come true. And today, I prepare myself… to smash another one!

Indeed, and like a couple of other examples I couldn't have dreamt of (more on them in some future posts…), I'm gonna live something I thought impossible, and in some odd circumstances too!

Note to Florian: You may think I'm gonna reiterate the li'l teasing game I played with my readers in some previous posts; but you're wrong :) ! Here, I'm gonna tell you all in this very post!

OK. So let's be more specific…

Most (?) of you know I'm a die-hard fan of Tears for Fears. (Frankly, I'm not sure I still am; but I definitely was.) It consciously (*) started in 1989, with the single release of Sowing the Seeds of Love—and more precisely with the constant airing of its terrific video by the French TV channel MCM (new at this time). I won't go into much details now, but in no time, I was hooked.

(*) Actually, it subconsciously started in 1985, with my sister playing Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World in Repeat mode in her bedroom ;) !

Alas, the duet split soon thereafter, and I haven't had the opportunity to see them live… Until today :) !!! Indeed, I'm about to see both of them live, on the same stage, and IN MY OWN CITY!!! This is simply *A-MA-ZING*! So the date is saved 'cause on Tuesday, March 27, 2007, from 08:00 PM, if all goes well (gasp), I'm gonna tick another check box in my Dreams-to-do List ;) !

I can't wait…

Update: And of course, it was a blast, as Curt said on his blog:

We arrive in Marseilles around 6.30pm, just enough time for a quick shower and an early dinner with the family before we're back in the bus and on our way to the show.

The audience tonight were fantastic, all on their feet and joining in, it was fun.

What a deal!

I recently received this e-mail from amazon.fr:


For English-speaking readers, it says: "Tori Amos: new CD at only €59,80!" Only?!? Ouch…

Update: Seems to be a li'l bit better now, but IMO still inappropriate…


Note: Don't worry, I won't do any additional follow-up on this subject ;) !

The National Anthem… to the Power of 10

Wow! I've just listened to the last live version of this (now classical) Radiohead song to date (Amsterdam, August 28^th, 2006), and I've been forced to immediately blog about it 'cause it's been so much improved since the last time I heard it played live (was in Nîmes, FRANCE, July 14^th, 2003). So powerful, so well "produced". And it's live… This is Just A-MA-ZING! I'm speechless. (And nope, I don't listen to the new songs; I work hard to resist to the temptation…)

Update: Oh, and I also heart how Thom barks the "walking" part at the end of Morning Bell…

I got it! I got it!

The Eraser is out. Go get your own copy. (Obviously I already got mine :) !) So now, please give me a couple of free days, plus tons of listenings, and I then might post my review. To be continued…

I can't wait!

As quickly mentioned some days earlier, Thom Yorke's The Eraser project is about to land in less than a couple of months from now. I have to admit I'm more than excited by such a release…


Also, today, Pitchfork is unveiling the 1st review of this forthcoming album. Of course, I didn't read the details 'cause I want the surprise to be intact when July 10th is here (sigh)… But the intro/outro parts of this article made my day :) ! I can't wait…