The 500 - #336 - In Rainbows - Radiohead

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 336

Album Title: In Rainbows

Artist: Radiohead

Genre: Art-Rock, Experimental Rock, Electronica

Recorded: 4 studios, including Radiohead's own studio

Released: October, 2007 (Self-Released)

My age at release: 42

How familiar was I with it before this week: A little

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes at #387 (dropping 51 places from 2012)

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

Radiohead, the English alternative band from Oxfordshire, first appeared on my radar in early 1993. Like  many others, I was introduced to them through the hit song Creep, from their debut album Pablo Honey. At the time, I was living in Brampton, Ontario, while my wife-to-be completed her studies at nearby Sheridan College.

Our apartment - one of the few shots I have.

To make ends meet, I worked as a waiter at East Side Mario's restaurant, half an hour drive away in Oakville, Ontario. East Side Mario's is a Canadian-based chain of casual restaurants that "specializes" in Italian-American "cuisine". It is to Italian food what Taco Bell is to Mexican fare -- it's not authentic, or particularly good, but it is inexpensive and tolerable.

My almost daily commute.

In retrospect, those adjectives sum up my year in Brampton/Oakville -- the city and job just didn't fit. It wasn't an authentic representation of who I wanted to be but, in the grand schema of my life, it was bearable. I got by because of my relationship, exercise, friendships and music but, daily, I was languidly managing an emotional malaise. 

Angela (my wife) and me in 1993.

My melancholy state of mind was in sync with a song like Creep, which juxtaposed straining guitar arpeggios and abrupt, aggressive power chords with Thom Yorke's lyrical exploration of an inebriated protagonist's self-destructive obsession with a woman.

Radiohead's cover to the 1993 single release for Creep 

In Rainbows is the first of five records by Radiohead on The 500. It was the band's seventh release and, much like me, the five-piece art-rock collective evolved during their 22 years of performing. On May 1, 2004, the band went on hiatus. They had fulfilled their contract with EMI and completed an 80-concert world tour promoting  their sixth album, Hail To The Thief.

Radiohead (2006) (l-r) Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, 
Ed O'Brien, Phillip Selway & Thom Yorke 

The quintet were teenagers when they got together in 1985 at the private Abbington Boarding School in Oxfordshire, a county just east of London, England. When they disbanded, in their late twenties, they each had their own families and were exhausted from decades of recording and touring. Much of this is documented in the excellent 1998 documentary, Meeting People Is Easy. Rather than showcasing the band's nightly performances at massive concert stadiums, the award-winning film chronicles the exhausting grind of a mega-band's touring schedule. Spotlighting the absurd repetition of daily interviews and the isolation that comes with highly regimented travel.

Freed of their contract and touring obligations, the band enjoyed time with their families, took on solo projects and contributed to film soundtracks and charity recordings. Then, on October 1, 2007, guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced on Radiohead’s blog: "Well, the new record is finished and it's coming out in ten days and it's called In Rainbows." The post contained a link to inrainbows.com where fans could order a digital download using a "pay what you want" (PWYW) model...including the option of paying nothing.

Screen capture of the order page at inrainbows.com

The record was also made available as a physical copy, but the digital gamble paid off. The band reported that the average price paid for a digital version was $2.26 while the physical copy went gold (more than one million units sold) in the United States.

I downloaded a copy in 2007 (from another torrent/sharing site) and did not pay for it. I also didn't give it many listens. At the time, Radiohead wasn't connecting with me like it used to and I had moved on to other forms of entertainment.

However, after soaking up  In Rainbows’ tremendously entertaining playlist during the New Year break, I have become reconciled with Radiohead, particularly since playing the live From The Basement version, which is available on Youtube and Spotify.

Multi-instrumentalist Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, drums)

With four records to discuss in the coming years, this is not the end of my decades-long relationship with this extraordinarily innovative and talented band. We’ll chat again, in about 16 weeks, when we get to album #320 Amnesiac.

The 500 - #393 - Kala - M.I.A.

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 393

Album Title: Kala
Artist: M.I.A.
Genre:  Dance, World, Hip Hop
Recorded: 2006-2007 (Multiple Global Locations)
Released: August, 2007
My age at release: 42
How familiar was I with it before this week: Two songs
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Boyz

Kala by M.I.A. (2007)

In 2009, it was virtually impossible to escape the infectiously catchy single Paper Planes from Kala, the second studio release by British singer, songwriter, producer and activist M.I.A. Paper Planes first crossed my radar when I saw the trailer for the film Pineapple Express. The song began with a cleverly remixed sample from Straight to Hell, a 1982 single from The Clash.

EP single of Straight to Hell by The Clash (1982) 

The jarring chorus demands attention. Singing children are interrupted by three gun shots punctuated by the familiar ring of a mechanical cash register. A few months later, Paper Planes was featured prominently in the Academy Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire and I wanted to learn more.  

In 2008, YouTube was still in its infancy. In fact, the free video sharing website was not yet showing commercials. "Surfing the Tube" became a popular pastime as viewers switched from televisions to computer screens for their entertainment. 

I was among the converts, regularly plugging in my headphones to allow my shift-working wife her much needed sleep. Hours were spent down this virtual rabbit-hole, watching videos or listening to music while simultaneously researching information on corresponding web pages.

It was on one of these auditory and informational explorations that I learned more about M.I.A. and her incredible journey from the Sri Lankan Civil War to refugee status in London, England, to global superstardom. Her music included powerful political messages about illegal immigration, poverty, capitalism and violence. All of this, cleverly hidden among catchy riffs, dance-hall beats and hip-hop-inspired melodies borrowed and remixed from a array of eclectic sources, including Bollywood film, punk rock, playground rhyme and even the Australian aboriginal wind instrument, the digeridoo. 

M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasm) 2013 

Summarizing the fascinating life of M.I.A. (born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasm) in a short blog post is a challenge. However, there is one interesting snippet worth sharing.

Maya was born in London, England, in 1975 to Arul Pragasam, an engineer, writer and activist, and his wife, a seamstress, Kala, who is the namesake of this record. The family moved back to Sri Lanka when Maya was six months old. Her father became a significant figure in a militant organization struggling for an independent state for Tamils within Sri Lanka. His group was connected to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Logo for the LTTE

Eventually, the family were forced into hiding, assuming false identities. Maya, now eight, attended a Catholic school where she gravitated to the arts. Surprisingly, she recalls this as a "happy time", despite poverty, hunger and the ever-present threat posed by the Sri Lankan military. Students were trained to dive to the floor when passing soldiers were inclined to fire bullets through the school house windows. Her father visited sporadically, but to protect the family, he was introduced to Maya as an uncle. She was in her mid-teens when she learned that her uncle was, in fact, her dad.

Maya and her father Arul (2007)

In 1986, the family returned to London as refugees, living in a public housing project called Phipps Bridge Estates. The area was plagued by crime and, as one of the few Asian families living there, she faced racism daily. 

In an amazing quirk of fate, her mother secured employment as a seamstress with the Royal Family. Her duties included the intricate sewing required for medals which were worn by the Royals and also awarded to citizens.

M.I.A. receiving her M.B.E from Prince William

In 2019, Maya, was recognized with an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her contributions to the arts. The medal presented to her by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, was hand-stitched by her mother. 

M.I.A. and her mother Kala following the MBE ceremony.

Maya, now 45, continues to make music and is involved in numerous charitable causes -- including efforts to bring justice to Tamils for alleged war crimes perpetrated during the decades-long Sri Lankan Civil War.