Latest news with #BackintheGame
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
New music: Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard, PUP, Phil Haynes & Ben Monder, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard Tall Tales (Warp) Tall Tales, the first full-length collaboration between Radiohead singer Thom Yorke and electronic music pioneer Mark Pritchard, captures two prolific artists without much to prove and whole worlds left to explore. Tall Tales captures their shared, endearing spirit of experimentation in a collection of dystopian, prog electronics that will satisfy fans of both artists. Across the album, Pritchard's inventive productions and use of vintage electronic instruments serve as a perfect foil for Yorke's darker lyrics and mournful vocals. The opening track, A Fake in a Faker's World, serves as a mission statement. There, Pritchard presents a whirlwind of digital sounds, with Yorke's human voice the sole organic element. A strong middle section begins with Back in the Game. The opening lyrics evoke the project's genesis during the pandemic: 'Have you missed me? How've you been? Back to 2020 again.' As in so much of Yorke's work, the track blends emotional despair with an infectious musicality. It is anchored by the album's two catchiest tracks. Gangsters evokes 1980s video games with its use of a Mattel Bee Gees rhythm machine. This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice follows with a propulsive electronic-pop energy that falls somewhere between Gorillaz and Squeeze. The late songs gradually add analog instruments to the mix, and by the finale, Wandering Genie, the initial musical premise seems almost inverted: In the beginning, Yorke's voice was the only organic sound; by the end, it's all recognizable instruments and his voice has been digitized beyond recognition. Atop analog flute, bassoon and pipe organ, a mechanical Yorke brings the journey to its coda, repeating the single lyric, 'I am falling.' And in 2020, who wasn't? ★★★★★ out of five Stream: Gangsters; Back in the Game — Jim Pollock, The Associated Press PUP Who Will Look After The Dogs? (Little Dipper) For those unfamiliar with Toronto-based punk rock band PUP, the name is an acronym for 'pathetic use of potential,' lead singer Stefan Babcock has said. That should give listeners an idea of the snarky rejection of perfectionism at the core of this group. It should also be kept in mind when this reviewer says that PUP's latest offering is, well, not good. And compared to their previous work — it's not. But good is probably not what they were going for. The quartet has come up in the past decade as a punk-pop rock staple, combining Babcock's yelled lyrics about human fallibility with humour and catchy, head-banging melodies, but Who Will Look After the Dogs? is missing the invigorating electric guitar riffs and cohesion that made past albums so solid. The group's fifth studio album focuses on Babcock's relationships with romantic partners, bandmates and with himself. On the album, Babcock shares his vulnerable side, not the first time for the singer who has an open history with depression. Dark, self-deprecating humour permeates the album — and PUP's work as a whole — such as on the gritty Olive Garden, when Babcock asks a past romantic partner to meet up at the restaurant, ('Last time your Grandma was in a coffin') or in the bittersweet Hunger for Death. Some songs take a step back from the band's usual frenetic energy, especially the ones reflecting Babcock's romantic relationships. That is where the album can tend to lag, such as on breakup ballads Best Revenge and Shut Up. There are pleasures and missteps across the album, but the latter outweighs the former, making this one of the weaker releases across the band's animated discography. ★★ out of five Stream: Olive Garden — Kiana Doyle, The Associated Press Phil Haynes & Ben Monder Transition(s) (Corner Store) Drummer Phil Haynes has said he sees jazz musicians falling into one of two camps — traditionalists and modernists. His goal is to bridge the gap he sees as unnecessary. Within his releases are riffs that might be called traditional but are, in fact, ideas present in Ellington or other earlier artists. This album puts him in duet mode with wonderful guitarist Ben Monder. Together they explore the meaning of 'modern' within a fascinating array of acoustic and electronic moods that are 'new' yet somehow seem familiar and comfortable. It is a terrific romp. Clearly the overall impact here is electronic with sonic swirls augmenting the guitar. Monder weaves a wide range of moods with lingering chords and drawn out effects. There are a series of brief interspersed tracks titled Ben I etc. or Phil ! etc. that are tiny solos. They add a neat flavour to the longer tracks while tying the album together. The longer tracks, such as Untitled Ones, are quite slow and meditative with gentle melodies that never jar or seem forced. As Haynes wishes, the familiar is captured within a contemporary package. The title track, Transition, has a harder edge with Haynes' drum driving a recognizable tune. A highlight is Too Easily, a version of the classic tune I Fall In Love Too Easily that is pure delight. Monder and Haynes move around the melody and each other with grace and melancholy. As the tune slides in and out of the solos it completely relates the lyric instrumentally. The blend of unusual drum sounds with a guitar feature is often haunting. The final track, Epilogue, exemplifies this and seals off the album beautifully. Highly recommended. ★★★★½ out of five Stream: Too Easily; Beyond — Keith Black Bartók, Enescu, Kodály, Martinů Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (Onyx) The orchestral music of Eastern Europe is celebrated with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra artfully led by its new chief conductor, Carlo Tenanof. First to bolt out of the gate is 20th-century Hungarian composer Bartok's Dance Suite, Sz. 77, its six movements propelled by forceful syncopated accents and ear-cleaning tonal clusters. Tenanof maintains a taut rein, ensuring its densely packed orchestration and kaleidoscopic, often shifting textures spotlighting individual players remains clear, from its opening I. Moderato, through VI. Finale: Allegro. Another highlight by Bartok's close friend and musical colleague, Kodály, is Dances of Galánta. The nearly 17-minute work was inspired by the Roma dance bands of (now) Slovakia. Tenanof's expansive approach brings sweeping romanticism to this five-movement pleaser, its unabashedly lyrical themes evoking the ethos of traditional 'verbunkos.' By contrast, Martinu's Frescoes of Piero della Francesca, H. 352 reflects the composer's visit to Arezzo to see the famous 15th-century frescoes the History of the True Cross in the Basilica of San Francesco. Its finale, III. Poco allegro, is particularly compelling with insistent rhythm motifs and clear passagework in the winds. Last but not least is Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 with its halting opening bleeding into more fulsome textures and dancelike rhythms. One can only wish to hear this work performed live, with the orchestra's well-paced, no-holds barred delivery practically leaping off the album and full of fire from the Old Country. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Dance Suite, Sz. 77, III. Allegro vivace; Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 — Holly Harris
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard Release New Song 'Gangsters': Stream
The post Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard Release New Song 'Gangsters': Stream appeared first on Consequence. Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke have released the next single from their upcoming album, Tall Tales. It's called 'Gangsters,' and features a trippy, bizarre visual directed by Jonathan Zawada. The third single follows previous releases 'Back in the Game,' and 'This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice.' 'Gangsters' features Yorke's distorted and pitch-shifted vocals atop a bed of squelchy and buoyant synths. It's a ghostly affair, with an accompanying music video that depicts a town square in disarray. Tall Tales' accompanying feature film will be screened for fans on May 8th worldwide. Head over to the film's website to find a theater near you and check out the trailer here. The album will be released on May 9th via Warp Records. In Radiohead related news, Yorke and co. are now partners of a new limited liability partnership (LLP) called 'RHEUK25 LLP,' which may mean they're gearing up for a tour soon. Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard Release New Song 'Gangsters': Stream Jaeden Pinder Popular Posts Wife of Weezer Bassist Scott Shriner Shot By Police, Charged with Attempted Murder Kanye West Says Wife Bianca Censori Left Him After Trying to Get Him Committed Bill Burr Confronted Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder at SNL50: "I Hated Your Band" Perry Farrell Didn't Want "Boy Band" Green Day on 1994 Lollapalooza Billy McFarland's Fyre Fest 2 Permit Only Allows for a 12-Hour Listening Party with 250 People Mariah Carey Mortifies Teenage Son By Crashing His Twitch Stream Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Radiohead's ‘The Bends': 10 Things You Didn't Know
When Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood stepped into New York's tiny Mercury Lounge in November 1994 to play an acoustic duo show, their band was known for a single song that they'd already grown weary of playing: 'Creep.' They'd been on tour for two solid years in support of their debut LP, Pablo Honey, and by this point they had a handful of new tunes they planned to include on their next record. 'It was the first time that Thom and Jonny had played our songs to a live audience in this way: Thom thrashing an acoustic, and Jonny playing furiously on his electric,' the band wrote in a fan club newsletter. 'The new songs were brilliantly received, with one lone request for 'Creep' being shouted down by the rest of the crowd.' More from Rolling Stone Inside Thom Yorke's Amazing New Album with Producer Mark Pritchard Hear Thom Yorke Team With Mark Pritchard for New Song 'Back in the Game' My Life in Radiohead: Bassist Colin Greenwood Looks Back - and Ponders His Band's Future That lone voice spoke to an overwhelming fear within the band that they'd go down in history as nothing more than the 'Creep' guys. 'It was a complete crisis situation,' Yorke told Billboard in 1996. 'No matter what we came up with, we were thinking, 'My God, people are going to hate us.' After 'Creep' and the fatigue from all the touring, we were scared shitless, really, and people were interfering. We had to claim our creative freedom.' Released on March 13, 1995, The Bends marks the band's first truly great album, a cohesive set of songs built around washy, U2-style guitars and disquieting lyrics that foreshadowed the themes they'd explore two years later on OK Computer. They'd also get widespread exposure when Bends songs 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'My Iron Lung' appeared on the Clueless soundtrack — with protagonist Cher Horowitz labeling the band 'the maudlin music of the university station' — forever erasing the chances of Radiohead becoming one-hit wonders. Here are 10 things you might not know about the alt-rock classic. Yorke chose producer John Leckie based on his work on post-punk band Magazine's 1978 record Real Life. During the first two months of recording, the singer began each morning with tea and a four-hour solo piano exercise. 'New songs were pouring out of him,' Leckie told NME last year. 'He's an early riser, and at the time he had a lot of energy. You'd avoid interrupting him.' However, after the mega-success of 'Creep,' the band experienced a tough time in the studio. 'The initial sessions for The Bends were quite stilted,' drummer Phil Selway told Rolling Stone in 2017. 'Some good stuff came out of it. Like 'Just,' 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'Planet Telex.' So it wasn't all bad, but there wasn't an ease to it.' 'Bless John Leckie,' added bassist Colin Greenwood. 'He was very patient with us. We were aware that what we were going to release would have scrutiny after the first record.' Their label, EMI, envisioned a fall 1994 release date — which proved unrealistic. 'I think that maybe they didn't want to become this sort of pop band that the label would have them be,' engineer Nigel Godrich said. 'People from the label would visit and it got very uncomfortable.' The band went on tour to diffuse tension, exposing fans to Bends material. They finished the album upon returning to England. For 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)' — originally titled 'Three-Headed Spirit' — Yorke claims he drew inspiration from The Famished Road, a 1991 book by Nigerian author Ben Okri, which Yorke read while on tour in North America. Released in 1991, the novel tells the story of Azaro, a child who communicates with the spirit world. 'He's haunted by people who try to kill him off and send him back to where he came from so he can't affect the human race,' Yorke said in a 1993 interview. 'It's a very weird book, and I liked it so much that I wrote a song about it.' Talking to Third Way in 2004, Yorke also mentioned that the song was inspired by R.E.M., whom they'd open for in 1995 on the Monster tour. 'It was just a straight rip-off,' he said. 'I've ripped them off left, right and center for years and years and years and years.' The video for the album's greatest song is a strange one: Yorke sits inside a shopping cart and glides down a grocery-store aisle, passing by neon-colored products and unique customers, including The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus. The actor was 26 years old at the time, having just followed his then-girlfriend to Los Angeles by way of Spain. He found himself appearing in music videos for extra money, including Björk's 'Violently Happy' and Keith Richards' 'Wicked as It Seems.' 'They literally pay you $150 and you're there all day long,' he tells Rolling Stone. 'I was happy to get it at the time.' 'I remember it well, actually,' he says of appearing in the video, directed by Jake Scott. 'They were like, 'Can you push this cart down this aisle?' I goofed around, kind of went a little overboard. I'm playing with ribbon on a string, I think. They liked it and kept it. I remember talking to the band and thinking they were all just super cool. I was already a Radiohead fan, like everybody else in the world. They were all just normal dudes.' 'It's one of the great albums of all time,' Reedus says of The Bends. 'That song in particular is one of those songs that reminds me of that era. I remember those days. It was back when you lived in an apartment the size of a closet and you were, like, loving life.' Artist Stanley Donwood has designed every Radiohead album cover for the past 25 years, starting with The Bends. He began by designing the artwork for the 'My Iron Lung' single. 'We probably made something like 50 attempts at the single and they were all terrible,' Donwood told Rolling Stone. 'We hired a VHS and went out and filmed stuff on the video camera. We would then take out the cassette and play it on a VCR and take photographs of the television and then go to the photo-developing shop in town and get our photos developed and scan the photos and use that. We wanted the degradation you get from that process. At the time, it seemed like the modern world. It was quite something.' For the album artwork, Donwood first thought of shooting a real iron lung. 'We were up against a deadline for the cover,' he recalled. 'Somehow, I don't know how we did that, but we snuck a video camera into a hospital, which I'm sure you're not supposed to do. I think at the time I'd heard that they actually had an old iron lung. It's a very boring object. It's just a big metal box. You pressurize someone that can't breathe properly. It must have been horrible. I didn't film the iron lung because it was just this grey box in a dark room. They don't use them anymore.' Instead, Donwood captured a photograph of a TV screen showing a video of a resuscitation dummy. 'It's got those metal nipples,' he said. 'I've never had direct contact with them. I've seen them on the telly when someone's heart has stopped and you give them an electric shock to restart it. It's to practice mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The expression on the dummy and the angle we filmed it from, it looked somewhere between agony and ecstasy. It's an ambiguous expression.' Godrich, a young engineer at the time, produced 'Black Star' while John Leckie was at a wedding. He'd go on to become the band's producer on the rest of their albums to date. ' 'Black Star' is a beautiful song and that went really well,' Colin Greenwood recalled. 'We used to hang out with Nigel and he was amazing. We love him so much.' 'Thom called me a few months after I thought the album was done and asked if I could record them in their rehearsal space,' Godrich remembered. 'We did three or four songs, including 'Black Star.' It felt like the adults were away and we could work without any restrictions. It also became very, very clear that Thom is a very, very gifted writer. I remember he'd just written 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' [which would appear on OK Computer] while we were doing The Bends. He'd sit there with his little book on his knees turning the pages. This wasn't 'Anyone Can Play Guitar.' It was much more on-point.' After attempting to record the song in a studio, the band used a live recording from a performance at the London Astoria. The crowd noise was taken out, and they re-recorded Yorke's vocals. 'We just happened to record it onto a 24-track tape and having not done a very good version in the studio, we thought that it sounded much better from this concert,' guitarist Jonny Greenwood told Glamour Guide for Trash. 'So we just used that.' The album's lead single, 'My Iron Lung' is also the band's response to the success they achieved with 'Creep,' and the bitterness they felt about it. Over its signature guitar riff, Yorke quips: 'This is our new song/Just like the last one/A total waste of time.' ' 'Iron Lung' was supposed to be just another nail in the coffin, the final nail in the coffin of the previously song that shall remain nameless,' he told B-side Magazine. 'But it just wasn't that at all … we released it because we found it very exciting when we listened to it.' Yorke wrote the somber 'High and Dry' at the University of Exeter in the late 1980s, with his short-lived former band Headless Chickens. 'As far as I can remember, the words were originally about some loony girl I was going out with, but after a while, they got mixed up with ideas about success and failure,' he told Billboard in 1996. 'It was an old demo we thought was rubbish, you know, too Rod Stewart or something. But when we came back to the track one day, it seemed like a mirror showing us all the things we had been through.' Jamie Thraves was approached by Radiohead's creative director, Dilly Gent, to direct the video for 'Just.' He had written a 10-page script with dialogue for an upcoming short film, but plans changed when he heard the Bends track. 'My story and the song suddenly exploded in my head and collided, like they were meant to be together,' Thraves told Rolling Stone. 'There was literally an explosion in my brain and I went blind for a split second, dazzled. I also felt an absolute chill race up my spine when I realized the ending of the story would work perfectly to the ascending guitar solo.' The ending Thraves is referring to is the moment when the man in the video tells the assembled crowd why he's lying on the sidewalk — he mouths his words but there's no sound. So what's the reason? 'I haven't told anyone in 25 years,' Thraves said. 'I had no idea the video was going to cause so many people to ask what the man said. At the time I simply felt I had no choice but to subtract what was said, it created the magic. To reveal the answer would kill the video. I will probably take the answer to my grave unless a rich billionaire Radiohead fan wants to buy the secret from me. Please don't make me tell you. You don't want to know.' There are some incredible Bends B sides, particularly 'How Can You Be Sure?' and 'India Rubber,' both from the Fake Plastic Trees EP — two songs that, sonically, would have fit perfectly on the record. 'How Can You Be Sure?' is a dreamy acoustic track that features the background vocals of the Julie Dolphin's Dianne Swann. 'India Rubber' relies on fuzzed-out guitar and synthesizers, but two minutes in, things get weird with a maniacal laugh on loop. On the band's message board, Colin Greenwood revealed it was actually the voice of his brother. 'It's Jonny laughing at one of his own jokes as usual that he's nicked from Stephen Fry,' he said. The album's penultimate track has long been overshadowed by the greatness of the 'Street Spirit' finale and the simple fact that the band hasn't played it live a single time in 30 years. Similarly, 'High and Dry' hasn't been performed since 1998. All other Bends tracks have been performed at some point in the 2000s — even 'Bones,' a lesser-known song that was last played in 2006. The band performed the Pablo Honey song 'Blow Out' on their A Moon Shaped Pool tour in 2018, so one can only hope they'll bring back 'Sulk' at some point in the future. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke Announce Collaborative Album Tall Tales, Share New Song: Stream
The post Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke Announce Collaborative Album Tall Tales, Share New Song: Stream appeared first on Consequence. Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke are teaming up for a new collaborative album. Tall Tales is the name of their first record as a duo, and it will be released on May 9th via Warp Records. In the meantime, the two Englishmen have dropped a new song titled 'This Conversation is Missing Your Voice,' which you can listen to below. The chameleonic electronic producer and Radiohead frontman previously collaborated on a track from Pritchard's 2016 album Under the Sun titled 'Beautiful People.' Last month marked their second official collaboration 'Back in the Game,' which Yorke had been performing during concerts throughout 2024. Along with the album, visual artist Jonathan Zawada (considered an honorary member of the project) has created an accompanying short film to Tall Tales, which has been in development alongside the record for many years, according to a press statement. Both videos for 'Back in the Game' and 'This Conversation is Missing Your Voice' will be included in the full film, plus it will be screened for one-night-only in movie theaters worldwide. Selected theaters and more details are expected to be revealed soon. 'Mark sent me a large file of Mp3s of ideas during lockdown,' Yorke said in a statement. 'There were so many great ones I knew straight away that i had to drop what i was doing. It felt very much that i had not been anywhere like this before both as soon as i put my headphones on and started trying to find the vocals, words and sounds, but also, as it progressed, watching Jonathan respond so freely and spontaneously with all his video and artwork ideas. It was mental, and i feel lucky to have been involved. I am looking forward to this finally coming out, Tall Tales is very important to me. I hope people get it, and get to hear it!' As of late, Yorke has been focused less on Radiohead and more on side projects, including The Smile, which is rounded out by Radiohead instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet's Tom Skinner. Yorke recently came under fire after a show in Melbourne where he angrily left the stage following a verbal confrontation with a pro-Palestinian protestor. Pritchard's last full-length was 2018's The Four Worlds, and has released music under several aliases since the '90s including Reload, Link, Harmonic 313, and more. He officially relinquished his stage names in 2013, releasing music solely under his birth name. Though Pritchard has been signed to Warp since as early as 2005, Tall Tales marks Yorke's first release through the label. Pre-orders for Tall Tales are ongoing. Check out the album artwork and tracklist below. Album Artwork: Tracklist: 01. A Fake in a Faker's World 02. Ice Shelf 03. Bugging Out Again 04. Back in the Game 05. White Cliffs 06. The Spirit 07. Gangsters 08. This Conversation is Missing Your Voice 09. Tall Tales 10. Happy Days 11. The Men Who Dance In Stags' Heads 12. Wandering Genie Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke Announce Collaborative Album Tall Tales, Share New Song: Stream Jaeden Pinder Popular Posts Tool Apparently Booed for Disappointing Set at Their Own Festival Dead Kennedys Legend Jello Biafra Joins Cavalera Onstage for "Nazi Trumps F**k Off": Watch Gene Hackman and Wife's Causes of Death Revealed Monty Python and the Holy Grail Returning to Theaters for 50th Anniversary Hamilton Cancels Show at Kennedy Center Faster Pussycat Singer's Fiancée Dies After Falling Overboard on '80s Cruise That Band Was Playing Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thom Yorke Shares Fiery Live Performance of 'Back in the Game' with Mark Pritchard: Watch
The post Thom Yorke Shares Fiery Live Performance of 'Back in the Game' with Mark Pritchard: Watch appeared first on Consequence. Thom Yorke has unveiled a thunderous performance video for his 2025 release, 'Back in the Game.' The clip captures Yorke running through the track alongside frequent collaborator Mark Pritchard, who is featured on the studio version of the song that arrived in February. Watch the engaging performance below. The footage, which was recorded at the Sydney Opera House during Yorke's 2024 time on the road, captures 'Back in the Game' in a definitively raw format, highlighting the menacing, nightmarish tone of the track. With the assistance of pulsing lights, projections, and a constantly shifting backdrop, the song arguably hits even harder than the studio version. When Yorke begins his lengthy vocalizing toward the end of the song, the acoustics of the Opera House make it feel that much more amplified. Upon its release to streaming platforms, 'Back in the Game' was named our Song of the Week, with our own Jonah Krueger characterizing it as an 'eerie, ominous electronic banger' that boasts 'one of the best music videos of the year thus far.' There's no word yet on when Yorke will return to the road after wrapping his 2024 solo trek, but one thing remains certain — he doesn't care about those requests for new music from Radiohead. Thom Yorke Shares Fiery Live Performance of 'Back in the Game' with Mark Pritchard: Watch Mary Siroky Popular Posts Jon Stewart Calls Out Elon Musk for Flaking on The Daily Show Interview Faster Pussycat Singer's Fiancée Dies After Falling Overboard on '80s Cruise That Band Was Playing Gene Hackman and Wife's Deaths Ruled "Suspicious" as Investigators Find No Signs of Gas Leak Mike Myers Debuts Elon Musk Impersonation in SNL Cold Open: Watch Gene Hackman, Oscar-Winning Actor Dead, at 95 Queens of the Stone Age Announce US Tour Dates with The Kills Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
