While it’s impossible to evaluate a Radiohead album on first listen (or first dozen listens), I can tell already that I’m going to be listening to The King of Limbs for years to come. On immediate listen, my initial favorite is Codex, but the complexities of all eight tracks deserve to be digested over time.

Consider several things though, because I do believe Radiohead is going to release more music soon. The eight tracks of The King of Limbs runs at 37:29, while the LP release is comprised of two 10″ vinyls. If today’s version of The King of Limbs is pressed on two 10″ vinyls, there will only be two tracks per side. I suspect that today’s release was just the first 10″ vinyl.

Adding to the suspicion is that Thom Yorke ends the eight track release with the lyrics, “If you think this is everything, you’re wrong.” The song is called Separator, also hinting that more music is coming.

So I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that another eight tracks or forty minutes of music is coming.

Related Posts:

• September 19, 2010 — Radiohead Discusses the Release of Their New Album
• May 20, 2009 — Gareth Pearson covers Radiohead
• November 30, 2008 — From The Basement: Second Series begins December 3
• October 20, 2007 — Radiohead: 01 and 10
• October 10, 2007 — Radiohead: 1010101010

Neil Young – Harvest
My emotions swell when I hear Neil Young singing about packing it in and buying a pickup to take it down to Los Angeles, to find a place to call his own. That “lonely boy out on the weekend, trying to make it pay,” is such a relevant lyric for today’s economically struggling youth. I find the stripped-down nature of Harvest to be such a refreshing album to pull up. It’s one that makes me tear up as the slide guitar weeps with Neil. 39 years later, Harvest is at the top of my list of astonishing albums. “It keeps me searching for a heart of gold. I’m getting old.”

Neil Young – Out On The Weekend

Miles Davis Quintet – Workin’, Cookin’, Relaxin’, Steamin’
During a two day recording session, the Miles Davis Quintet recorded twenty-four songs that would be broken down into four albums:Workin’, Cookin’, Relaxin’, Steamin’. The albums were slowly released over several years, but taken as a whole they add up to 2.5 hours of some of the best recordings in jazz. Miles Davis Quintet was comprised of unknown artists, who would each become heavy hitters in jazz: John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones.

Their rendition of My Funny Valentine is astonishing (it has since appeared on 1,300 albums). Their take on the classic song It Never Entered My Mind is one of the most melancholic and stirring recordings I’ve heard. I find these four albums to be relevant because it reflects the abundance of music and creativity we’re seeing today. They’re inspiring for artists that wish to record frequently. Since more and more artists have recording studios in their basements, they’re capable of tracking more often, and release numerous albums each year. I find these albums to be relevant because of the increased opportunities to record.

Miles Davis Quintet – It Never Entered My Mind

Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
When Bob Dylan recorded The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963, it was his second album with Columbia Records. While his debut album only sold 5,000 copies, and Columbia considered dropping Dylan, he was still an unknown artist in 1963. Under pressure to record a successful album, the twenty-two year old was writing his own songs and was developing into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time. With this album Dylan began to venture into writing ‘protest music,’ and toured with Joan Baez to support the civil rights movement. His appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival catapulted his career, crowning him as ‘the voice of his generation.’ The songs in The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan are still relevant as they address issues such as nuclear warfare, racial discrimination, and corrupt politics… issues that still plague us 47 years later.

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan opens with Blowin’ In The Wind, a song that asks questions that few were willing to voice in `63. Dylan asks, “How many years must some people exist before they’re allowed to be free,” and, “How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?” When Dylan wrote the these songs, the protest movement had not yet taken root, but in 1964 25,000 people marched on Washington DC in protest of the Vietnam War. He would sing this song on the stage when Martin Luther King would deliver his famous, “I have a dream” speech. Dylan’s message was a catalyst in the anti-war and civil rights movements, but he would walk away from three years later. I find all of this to be relevant today as protests take root across Europe, and people are becoming vocal in the United States. Just as in today’s society where the US government has kept us in perpetual war, Dylan wrote, “You that never done nothing’ but build to destroy. You play with my world like it’s your little toy.” These songs are just as relevant today as they were when they were penned.

Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

Van Morrison – Moondance
Van Morrison is one of my favorite artists, and Moondance is one of his masterpiece albums. It is a timeless album that has become very personal to me. The songs are reflective and hopeful, and have caught me in moments of retrospect. Van Morrison reflects on his childhood in the opening track, And It Stoned Me, and his relationship with his wife in others. The depth of Into the Mystic has kept me mesmerized in late nights.

Brand New Day is a song of hope after being deeply disappointed:

“I’ve been lost and double crossed, with my hands behind my back. I was longtime hurt and thrown in the dirt, shoved out on the railroad track. I’ve been used, abused and so confused, and I had nowhere to run. But I stood and looked and my eyes got hooked on that beautiful morning sun.”

Van Morrison – Into the Mystic

What were some classic albums you listened to in 2010?

Related Posts:

• November 4, 2008 — Puddlegum is back
• September 24, 2010 — Bob Dylan to release The Original Mono Records and The Witmark Demos
• March 31, 2010 — An Unintended Vacation
• January 28, 2010 — Steve Jobs’ Ballad of a Thin Man
• March 30, 2009 — Bob Dylan: Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
• August 21, 2008 — Bob Dylan: in person

Junip is preparing to tour North America in November with nineteen dates planned across the continent. Led by Jose González, the Swedish band has been posting track by track reflection videos, talking about the songs and the process of recording Fields. It’s a wonderful album if you haven’t checked it out yet.
Junip – Rope and Summit

Ivan & Alyosha are releasing Fathers Be Kind EP on February 1st, 2011, and this is the first song from the EP they’re sharing. Tim Wilson of Ivan & Alyosha recently had a child with his wife, and this EP reflects, “the age-old struggle of trying to balance the desire to make music with the pull of home and family.”
Ivan & Alyosha – Glorify

Rubblebucket began with Kalmia Travers and Alex Toth, and soon turned into an eight piece act. They released their Triangular Daisies EP last week, and are currently touring the East Coast.

Rubblebucket – Triangular Daisies

Rubblebucket tour dates:
10/27: Syracuse, NY @ The Wescott Theater
10/28: Saratoga, NY @ Putnam Den
10/29: Philadelphia, PA @ Blockley Pourhouse
10/30: Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
10/31: Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome w/Hack Interactive
11/01: Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome w/Hack Interactive
11/02: Unity, ME @ Unity Center for the Performing Arts
11/03: Newmarket, NH @ Stone Church
11/04: Boston, ME @ The Middle East
11/05: New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom w/Hack Interactive
11/06: Northampton, MA @ Peral Street Club Room
11/07: Washington, DC @ The Red Palace
11/08: Baltimore, MD @ The 8×10
11/09: Carrboro, NY @ Cat’s Cradle
11/13: Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival

Related Posts:

• April 19, 2010 — Jose Gonzalez fronts Junip; New full-length and EP

Andrew Bird has an instrumental album coming out on October 25, called Useless Creatures. It was previously released with the deluxe edition of Noble Beast. Fat Possum was kind enough to share Hot Math with us.
Andrew Bird – Hot Math

The Heavy released an EP yesterday, called How You Like Me Now. They handed us a copy of the EP, as well as their single, That Kind of Man.
The Heavy – That Kind of Man (1.1)

Sean Flinn & The Royal We released a new album yesterday called Write Me A Novel. Check out the opening track to this folksy beauty, Patient Heart. Write Me A Novel is tremendous, by the way.
Sean Flinn and The Royal We – Patient Heart

Portland post-punk band, Wow & Flutter has a new album called Equilibrio!, released yesterday on Mt. Fuji Records. Here’s the lead single, Scars.
Wow and Flutter – Scars

William Ryan Fritch has a new album “of filmic works,” Music For Honey and Bile. Fritch composed the album, and recorded, “Piano, organ, wurlitzer, pianet, guitars, pedal steel, drums, saxophone, percussion, marimba, cello, violin, viola, bass, contrabass, mandolin, banjo, hammered dulcimer, vibraphone, trumpet, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, programming, erhu, sarangi, and other various knick knacks.”
William Ryan Fritch – When the Ground Is Numb

In anticipation of CMJ, U.S. Royalty is sharing Equestrian! from their upcoming album, Mirrors. Here’s a list of shows they’re playing at CMJ:
10/21 – 9pm – Steven Alan In-Store  (103 Franklin Street)
10/22 – 9pm – Official CMJ Showcase at Trashbar (256 Grand St, Brooklyn)
10/23 – 10pm – Red Bull Space (5 Watts St. @ Thompson St.)
U.S. Royalty – Equestrian

Related Posts:

• September 10, 2010 — Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz
• February 2, 2010 — Watch TW Walsh live mix new David Bazan
• October 5, 2009 — Lowell Brams and Sufjan Stevens: Music For Insomnia
• September 13, 2009 — Sufjan Stevens: The BQE film, Run Rabbit Run and a tour
• May 22, 2009 — I never wrote a letter to my home…
• May 20, 2009 — Royal City unveils unreleased album
• November 30, 2008 — From The Basement: Second Series begins December 3
• August 13, 2008 — Asthmatic Kitty Announces “The Noisemakers”

Last night Husband&Wife celebrated their CD release show at The Bishop, complete with a cake, balloons falling from the ceiling, and an energetic show. With this show they kicked off a short Midwest tour. While the digital version is already available for download on Bandcamp (and you can stream the entire album), the CD is officially released on October 26th via XRA, and a vinyl pressing will be released by Lower Peninsula Records.

Unlike their previous three albums where the vocals were mostly split, all but two of these songs are sung by Mike Adams. As always, these songs are personal reflections, honest to the point of being painful yet relatable at the same time. The songs have a driving rock sound, reaching that ‘wall of sound’ at points, and catchy melodies that hook you in a good way.

Before the band began their show they announced that Will Rose was leaving the band, drummer for the band. Will Rose and the band members run their own record label, Crossroads of America Records (XRA), and the list of artists they have worked with is expanding into quite the resume: Either/Or, Frank Schweikhardt, Rodeo Ruby Love, Alexander the Great, Chemic, Doug Burr, Starflyer 59, Metavari, Away with Vega, Maps, Canterbury Effect, Richard Swift, DM Stith, J. Tillman, and many others.

Fans of the band will be excited to know that on January 25, 2011, Mike Adams At His Honest Weight is releasing a full-length solo album, Oscillate Wisely, with Flannelgraph Records (distributed through St. Ives Records). Accurately described as being in the veins of Starflyer 59′s Fell In Love At 22, this slow-core solo album reveals Adams’ low-fi roots.

Husband&Wife – Proud Flesh
Mike Adams At His Honest Weight – Bad Weather

Husband&Wife tour dates:
Oct 16 2010 – Village Green Records – Muncie, IN
Oct 17 2010 – The Berkley Front – Detroit, MI
Oct 18 2010 – The Strutt – Kalamazoo, MI
Oct 19 2010 – Dreamland Theater – Ypsilanti, MI
Oct 20 2010 – help us book this date – Chicago, IL
Oct 21 2010 – Frank’s Powerplant – Milwaukee, WI
Oct 22 2010 – PEORIA THEATER (All Ages) – Peoria, Illinois
Oct 22 2010 – Peoria Theater – Peoria, IL
Oct 23 2010 – Bentley’s – Champaign, IL
Oct 24 2010 – Lanhuck’s – Evansville, IN
Oct 25 2010 – Stephen’s House – Marion, IN
Oct 26 2010 – Carabar – Columbus, OH
Oct 28 2010 – Southgate House (Parlour) – Newport, KY
Oct 29 2010 – Pint & Slice and Dash-In – Ft. Wayne, IN

Related Posts:

• November 3, 2009 — Frank Schweikhardt: Life But No More
• January 22, 2010 — Husband&Wife: Don’t Stop zero inch
• November 2, 2009 — More about the Bloomington music scene
• January 26, 2011 — Sleeping Bag: Slime
• October 21, 2010 — Monahans: New song every month
• September 26, 2010 — Bro. Stephen releases EP and embarks on tour
• September 14, 2010 — J. Tillman: Singing Ax
• February 5, 2009 — Husband and Wife: Dark Dark Woods
• October 17, 2010 — Blessed Feathers: American Sands, Earthly Treason
• July 17, 2010 — Hello World.