Atoms for Peace: "Default"

Atoms for Peace is Thom Yorke, Flea and Nigel Godrich. The album comes out next year, and the single is out now. Good stuff.

One Little Plane: "She Was Out in The Water"

Thanks to resident office UK expert Jeff for sending this our way this morning... One Little Plane aka Kathryn Bint who currently resides in London, but is from Chicago, just turned this morning around with her beautiful new song "She Was Out in The Water." The lilting guitar and vocal melodies interspersed with the grainy beach footage is simply perfect for this cloudy morning in NYC. Her album Into The Trees comes out on Text Records in May, produced by Kieran Hebden of Four Tet fame. Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) plays bass on the track. More on this excellent new artist soon.

"Lotus Flower"

A day early! Let the wild rumpus begin. You can order The King of Limbs in any format imaginable HERE. The band figured, hey, if everything is set up and ready, why not put it on sale today? Good mentality.

Andrew's Best Albums of the Decade

So apparently the decade is ending. Have you seen this? Have you heard about this? Time Magazine says the 2000's were "the decade from hell." That's very rude of them! Shame on you, Time Magazine. I mean, the last 10 years gave us some pretty horrible things that were just the pits (9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Lady Gaga) but hey, I liked this decade a lot! I've really only been alive for two whole decades and just a smidge of a third, so the Naughty Aughties were definitely the best out of all the decades. I am very qualified to make such a statement. Moral of the story? You're a Negative Nancy, Time Magazine.

But more importantly, I made a list of my 50 favorite albums from the last ten years. Rather than painstakingly write about each one (that's what the forthcoming Best Of '09 list is for), I decided to try a little something different. Twist! I thought I'd let the artists talk about their albums themselves. It was really hard to get a hold of most of those dudes, though, so I had to do this in the form of their own lyrics. I picked my favorite lines that sum up each album's significance to me. Disclaimer: Because 10 years is a very long time, my tastes have changed tremendously since the start of the decade. But I still thought it was entirely appropriate to include albums that I dug eight, nine years ago. Even though I might not be into a few of these anymore, they meant a lot to me at the time, so that's why you'll find a few questionable choices. So enjoy this, because I did, and because it's kind of like looking through a SCRAP BOOK OF MY LIFE! Plus, lots of YouTubes. The list begins after the jump.

1. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002, Nonesuch)

"All my lies are always wishes / I know I would die if I could come back new."

2. Brand New: Deja Entendu (2003, Triple Crown)

"You are calm and reposed/ let your beauty unfold / Pale white like the skin stretched over your bones / Spring keeps you ever close / You are second hand smoke."

3. The Strokes: Is This It (2001, RCA)

"You say you wanna stand by my side / Darling your head's not right / You see alone we stand, together we fall apart / Yeah I think i'll be alright / I'm working so I won't have to try so hard / Tables they turn sometimes."

4. The Format: Dog Problems (2006, Nettwerk)

"Sometimes, when sailors are sailing / they think twice, about where they're anchoring / and I think, I could make better use of my time on land."

5. Radiohead: Kid A (2000, Capitol)

"You can try the best you can / if you try the best you can / the best you can is good enough."

6. Jack's Mannequin: Everything In Transit (2005, Maverick)

"Maybe we were made for each other / is it possible for the world to look this way forever?"

7. Relient K: Mmhmm (2004, Gotee/ Capitol)

"I've thrown away / so many things that could've been much more / and I just pray / my problems go away if they're ignored / but that's not the way it works."

8. Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American (2001, Dreamworks)

"If you were with me tonight / I'd sing to you just one more time / a song for a heart so big / God wouldn't let it live."

9. Nightmare Of You: Self Titled (2005, The Bevonshire Label)

"But I'm yours if you want it / I can be yours to spend your life with / I can be yours / we'll hide indoors / petrified of the world."

10. Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism (2003, Barsuk)

"All I find are souvenirs from better times / before the gleam of your taillights fading east / to find yourself a better life."

11. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: Pershing (2008, Polyvinyl)

"Do people, when they're older / see distances on maps get smaller / and promises of happiness stalled? / I wanna see you again."

12. My Morning Jacket: Z (2005, ATO)

"Truly, truly we have become / hated and feared for something that we don't want / listen, listen / most of us believe that this is wrong."

13. Motion City Soundtrack: Commit This To Memory (2005, Epitaph)

"These are the things I think about / when I'm alone without you / I wonder of your whereabouts / and hope like hell / you're happy where you are."

14. The Postal Service: Give Up (2003, Sub Pop)

"I want so badly to believe / that there is truth, that love is real / and I want life in every word / to the extent that it's absurd."

15. Frightened Rabbit: Midnight Organ Fight (2008, Fatcat)

"When my blood stops / someone else's will not / when my head rolls off / someone else's will turn / and while I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to Earth."

16. Saves The Day: In Reverie (2003, Dreamworks)

"To the sunlight shining on my cheeks / and the wind sweeping me away / far away from every memory / with your face in the frame / that'll be the day."

17. Brand New: The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me (2006, Tiny Evil/Interscope)

"Is it in you now? / to better hear the truth that you have spoken / twisted up by knaves / to make a trap for fools. / Is it in you now? / to watch the things you gave your life to, broken / and then stoop and build them up / with worn out tools?"

18. Say Anything: Is A Real Boy (2004, Doghouse)

"So now i'm forging ahead / past all the plutocrats who sold me out /go sob in your bed / if life is twice as pretty once you're dead / then send me a card / I'm still the optimist, though it is hard / when all you want to be is in a dream."

19. The Weakerthans: Reunion Tour (2007, Anti-)

"I see you suddenly alive / and nearly smiling / I stop and hold my breath / and watch the way you used to be."

20. Limbeck: Hi, Everything’s Great (2003, Doghouse)

"And if my fingers should start to crack or blister / I guess that's just what happens / don't you forget the things you're leaving."

21. Radiohead: In Rainbows (2007, Self-released)

"I am a moth who just wants to share your light / I'm just an insect trying to get out of the night / I only stick with you because there are no others."

22. Days Away: Mapping an Invisible World (2006, Fueled By Ramen/Lava)

"Now you've got me thinking I'm amazing / cause I've built this all on my own / go on, tell me what you think before you fake it / and I might believe you."

23. Dr. Dog: Fate (2008, Park the Van)

"Cause love that never leaves is never ever welcome back / and i'm running out of skin thick enough to hide in."

24. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009, Domino)

"Sometimes the sun will shine / yes I am just doing fine / sometimes I'm not aware / where I am or what I care / sometimes I'm well-to-do / but I don't know what to do / sometimes I don't agree / with my thoughts on being free."

25. Green Day: American Idiot (2004, Reprise)

"And in the darkest / if my memory serves me right / I'll never turn back time / forgetting you / but not the time."

26. Why?: Alopecia (2008, Anticon)

"I'm lucky to be under / this same sky that held / the exhale from your first breath / like a ring on a pillow of clouds / by you my tongue may stutter / but my gift heart screams clear and swells / to burst between the wrapped lengths / of its bowed ribbon cell."

27. The Avett Brothers: I And Love And You (2009, American)

"I wanna fit in to the perfect space / feel natural and safe in a volatile place / and I wanna grow old without the pain / give my body back to the earth and not complain."

28. The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow (2003, Sub Pop)

"Mercy's eyes are blue / and when she places them in front of you / nothing holds a Roman candle / to the solemn warmth you feel."

29. Cursive: The Ugly Organ (2003, Saddle Creek)

"Oh, please don't barrage me with the questions / to all those ugly answers / my ego's like my stomach / it keeps shitting what I feed it."

30. Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006, Domino)

"Anticipation has a habit to set you up / for disappointment in evening entertainment but / tonight there'll be some love / tonight there'll be a ruckus yeah / regardless of what's gone before."

31. Kanye West: Late Registration (2005, Roc-A-Fella)

"Before you ask me to go get a job today / can I at least get a raise on the minimum wage? / And I know the government administered aids / So I guess we just pray like the minister say."

32. Down to Earth Approach: Come Back To You (2007, Vagrant)

"Don't be so forgetful / and just let yourself be happy for a minute / be forever grateful / that she changed your mind to a warm home from a prison."

33. Fleet Foxes: Self Titled (2008, Sub Pop)

"The world is alive now / in and outside our home / you run through the forest / settle before the sun / darling, I can barely remember you beside me / you should come back home / back on your own now."

34. Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate Managers (2003, Virgin)

"And here is your reflection / in a building uptown / a ghost inside some Madison Avenue display / like water under bridges / you're slowly passing by / as you sail between the rooftops and the sky."

35. The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America (2006, Vagrant)

"I feel Jesus in the clumsiness / of young and awkward lovers / I feel Judas in the long odds / of the rackets on the corners / I feel Jesus in the tenements / of honest, nervous lovers / I feel Judas in the pistols and the pagers / that come with all the powders."

36. Ben Folds: Rockin the Suburbs (2001, Epic)

"Next door there's an old man / who lived to his nineties / and one day passed away / in his sleep / and his wife, she stayed / for a couple of days / and passed away / I'm sorry / I know that's a strange way to tell you / that I know we belong."

37. Northstar: Pollyanna (2004, Triple Crown)

"And there's God / there's me / there's Saturn / there's me / and forget everything in between."

38. Punchline: Action (2004, Fueled By Ramen)

"With the world in my hands / could I change it if I want? / and who are you to answer that for me / if by chance, or a cheater/ I'd leave it up to neither / confidence rules present tense / and it could shatter all my dreams."

39. Wilco: A Ghost Is Born (2004, Nonesuch)

"And the sun gets passed from tree to tree / silently, and back to me / with the breeze blown through / pushed up against the sea / finally back to me."

40. Midtown: Save The World, Lose The Girl (2000, Drive-Thru)

"Regrets are worthless / they misconstrue the past in sight and sound / and as lines recede / no one speaks a word of his lust / a word of dreams that've been left to rust / the TV's on and everyone stays calm."

41. Blink-182: Self Titled (2003, Geffen)

"My head is made up of memories / most of them useless delusions / this room is bored of rehearsal / and sick of the boundaries / I miss you so much."

42. Ryan Adams: Gold (2001, Lost Highway)

"Well, everybody wants to go on forever / I just wanna burn up hard and bright / I just wanna be your firecracker / and maybe be your baby tonight."

43. Rufus Wainwright: Poses (2001, Dreamworks)

"Can't expect the world to be your Raggedy Andy / while running on empty / you little old doll with a frown."

44. Vampire Weekend: Self Titled (2008, XL)

"Oh your collegiate grief / has left you dowdy in sweatshirts / absolute horror!"

45. Taking Back Sunday: Tell All Your Friends (2002, Victory)

"Think of all the fun you've had / the finest line divides a night well spent / from a waste of time / and think of all the days you spent / alone with just your TV set / and I / well I can barely smile."

46. John Mayer: Room for Squares (2001, Aware/Columbia)

"Friday evening we've been drinking / 2 AM I swear I might propose / but we close the tab / split a cab / and call each other up / when we get home / falling asleep / to the sound of sirens."

47. New Found Glory: Self Titled (2000, Drive-Thru/MCA)

"Here's to us fools / that have no meaning / I tip my glass to you / let's toast the night away to friends / and forget about tomorrow."

48. Audio Recording Club: In the End, We Are All Light (2007, Self-released)

"Doing 80 / down the highway / as Jim Adkins sings the lullabies into my head / he swears he’s one small instrument / and every car I pass along / is one more car closer to home / to everything I know and love / cause that’s all I’ve been thinking of."

49. Fall Out Boy: Take This To Your Grave (2003, Fueled By Ramen)

"My smile's an open wound without you / And my hands are tied to pages inked to bring you back / Tonight the headphones will deliver you / the words that I can't say."

50. Race The Sun: The Rest of Our Lives is Tonight (2004, Fidelity)

"Farewell pleasant town / hope you sleep well tonight / again we'll race back to you / fight to get lost in your streets / cheat toll booths as locals / engrave our names in park benches / we'll find an alias."

New Radiohead Single, Support the Royal British Legion

Harry Patch, from LA Times.

So, yeah, there is a new Radiohead single available for download here on their website, titled "Harry Patch (In Memory of)" for one British pound. Patch was 111 years-of-age when he passed and served in WWI. Quite a cool dude. All proceeds go toward support of the Royal British Legion, in which Patch was a member. You can pay that, not sure of the exchange rate, $1.75, and be a hero or you can just keep clicking play on the streaming player to continually hear 30 seconds of the song at a time and be an asshole. The song is well, nice -- that's the best way to describe it. It's a classical piece with Thom Yorke crooning over strings, but a bit one dimensional. Hear for yourself.

Crocodiles Vs. Alligators: Let The Debate Begin

[mp3]

Alligators: "Where Does It Hide?"

Listen, we don't pretend to know the difference between crocodiles and alligators. They look exactly the same, they both dwell in swamps, and they're both ornery because they got all them teeth but no toothbrush. We do, however, know the difference between Crocodiles and Alligators: The former is a No Age-approved duo drenched in fuzz who take cues from Jesus and Mary Chain and have drawn deafening buzz around here lately, and the latter is a Washington-based psychadelic pop band who call The Zombies kindred spirits. One listen to the first minute of "Where Does It Hide?" and you'll be transfixed. The melody here is so immediate that the mid-song transition to Radiohead-esque histrionics is just icing on the cake. 

The band released their debut LP Piggy & Cups late last year on startup Applehouse Records, but we wouldn't be surprised if major indies come calling soon. They've already got one power player in their corner: Piggy was recorded at Death Cab For Cutie drummer Jason McGerr's studio in Seattle. Grab the mp3 above and order the album here. 

Your move, Crocodiles.

Bella Watt - "The Mirror Test" Release Party - 11/6/08

Bella Watt - "Night of the Living Dead" - mp3

Before we get started, in the interest of full disclosure - Bella Watt have been long-time friends of Stark. We've cavorted with them at parties and their old drummer once knocked over our Christmas tree and passed out on our floor. Yet, our friendship does not take away from the epic scope and detail found within their second release, The Mirror Test. The band will celebrate the record with a party and show at Ace of Clubs tomorrow night.

Lead vocalist/guitarist Itai Sol and producer/guitarist Aaron Argon have carefully crafted each track on The Mirror Test with additional arranging and writing from bassist Jeff Arancherry. Layering arpeggiated guitars on top of progressive bass lines and compact drum patterns, Bella Watt have crafted a record dense with detail and substance. It takes more than one listen to grasp the shifting time signatures and subtly-synthesized electronic touches. Yet, these factors are what make Bella Watt unique and worth putting in the effort for.
More from Bella Watt after the jump...



One of the more intriguing elements of Bella Watt is the shared vocal duties of Sol and Connie Ha. While Sol is responsible for the lyrics and handles the lion's share of vocal duties, Ha adds distinct harmonic-flourishes that fill in the sound and add further texture to the group's dynamic. Ha's vocal abilities are clear; Bella Watt uses them tastefully and rarely let her fly into the stratosphere - even though she easily could. Highlights include Ha's lead vocal lines on standout tracks "Resting Potential" and "Grand Inquisitor."

The Mirror Test is not a light cheery affair. It's dark and rich with detail and texture. While at times recalling Radiohead, Bella Watt do well to forge their own sound -- employing shoegazey guitars, intricate-rhythmic patterns and flashes of hope in lyrics thick with imagery and emotion. The Mirror Test is a strong second effort from a band that works hard on their craft and their product. It's clear that they will only give you their best and in a market full of half-hearted releases, that's everything a consumer could ask for.

Oasis Steals Idea from Deerhoof - Credited as "More Innovative Than Radiohead"

Deerhoof - "Chandelier Searchlight" - click for mp3 via VIRB
Earlier in the year, in a truly creative and inspirational marketing move, Deerhoof released their first single in the form of sheet music. Now here comes Oasis and issues THEIR first single on sheet music. I guess they don't just rip off the Beatles exclusively. What makes it worse is that The Irish Times picked up the story and called Oasis "more innovative than Radiohead." Despite the success of their first two records, Oasis hasn't been able to market their way out of a paper bag in the past decade, let alone make a good record. Moves like this are the reason America hates you Oasis.

Love,
Stark

See after the jump for Deerhoof's new video for the song "Chandelier Searchlight." Their LP Offend Maggie is out now on Kill Rock Stars...highly recommended. NOT recommended --Oasis' crap new record.

Live Webcast of Radiohead's U.S. Finale TONIGHT

Straight from the lips of Colin Greenwood to your ears via Dead Air Space, Radiohead is set to stream their entire performance live across the world tonight, marking the end of a "brilliant tour" (he said it, and we agree.) The band is capping their highly successful U.S. tour in support of In Rainbows with a set in Santa Barbara, California at The Bowl. From the band's official Web site earlier today:

--------

Hello! To celebrate the end of a brilliant tour, we're going to webcast the last show here in America. We'll be playing live in Santa Barbara, at the Bowl. It's one of our favourite places to play; I think we've ended tours there before, once even playing a cover of ' cinnamon girl '. It's not too big, in fact it's very intimate, a small arena with a dirt floor, set in pretty countryside. It should be a special night, for lots of reasons, and we're going to try and share as much of it as we can on the webcast. Nigel, our producer, will be helping out getting it to you, so if it goes wrong....It's live!

Thank you so much to everyone who's come and seen us this year; it has truly been the most special and exciting tour for all of us.

Webcast details to follow...
x

Colin

-----

So many options tonight. Do we watch Barack Obama's history-making speech in Denver, officially accepting the presidential nomination from the Democratic party? Or do we plunk ourselves down in front of a computer, preparing to be blown away at the sheer spectacle of Radiohead (albeit on a 15 inch screen?) And there's always the option of watching the Phillies hammer the Cubbies (at least in my mind...) Stark reccomends a combination of all three. Find a room with a TV, tune into the DNC, take your laptop with you and watch the concert, and follow along with your baseball game of choice by way of ESPN. Hooray! Details on how to watch this ol' Webcast after the jump.

Might come in handy.
If you've got a mac, download flip4mac for your quicktime player, or download VLC.

If you're on windows, make sure your windows media player is working or download VLC.

Saturday at All Points West

ALL POINTS WEST

LIBERTY STATE PARK

Jersey City, NEW JERSEY

8.9.08

WORDS AND PHOTOS by ANDREW DANIELS

This past weekend marked the inaugural All Points West festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. Originally intended to be the "Coachella of the East" when the event was first rumored earlier this year, Goldenvoice/AEG instead delivered a less-than-stellar lineup when the performers were announced. The bill read like two Radiohead shows and one Jack Johnson show, with a bunch of indie acts ranging from notable to "who?" in the support slots. However, that didn't stop thousands upon thousands from entering the park via the Light Rail (more on transportation later) over three days; after all, it's Radiohead. It was the band's first festival appearance in the Tri-State area in what seemed like years. I was on hand for Saturday's edition, and needless to say, they didn't disappoint. But how did the other bands fare? And what about the festival as a whole?

You'll find more amateur photo and show reviews after the jump.

Much has already been made of the fact that there was no parking allowed on premises; if you wanted to get into the festival, you had to arrive to the grounds either by ferry from Manhattan ($30) or by the Light Rail system in Jersey City ($3.80 round trip.) We chose the latter.



When all was said and done, it took us approximately one hour to take the train through three stops to the Liberty Science Center and walk a mile to the festival. That's okay. It prepared us for the day ahead of being on my feet for 12 hours straight, and it provided for some gorgeous scenery:



We finally made it into the park by a little after 1 p.m., fresh in time to catch Your Vegas on the smallest stage, Queen Of The Valley. The Leeds five-piece was energized to be playing one of their first American festivals, even if an audience almost non-existent, as most of the day's crowd had yet to shuffle in or was checking out the rest of the festival's digs. The band was pleasant enough, if not a bit too conscious of adhering to the rock star handbook. Lead singer Coyle Girelli sounded like a mix between Dave Gahan and Stephen Christian of Anberlin, and the rest of the band employed U2 theatrics to get the set moving.

We proceeded to move to the Bullet stage to check out Sweden-by-way-of-New York blues band Alberta Cross. Really, really dug them. Slow moving country rock that's vintage Neil Young. Nearly every song prominently featured the Hammond, and that's never a bad thing. I believe they've either already completed an upcoming full length on Ark Recordings, or are very close to it. Look for that one.

Chromeo, Chromeo, wherefore art thou Chromeo? We ventured to the main stage, Blue Comet, to check out the party boys from NYC deliver the day's most entertaining set. Playing tracks culled mostly from last year's Fancy Footwork, the duo charmed the audience (many of which had begun to stake their place in the crowd for Radiohead, who wouldn't go on for another six hours.) Lead singer Dave 1 -- professor of French at Columbia -- charmed with his goofy white boy/Jew shtick, while sidekick P-Thugg absolutely slayed on the vocoder. The crowd was eating up everything Chromeo had to serve, myself included. The highlight had to be their take on "Momma's Boy", a standout from Fancy with a killer synth line right out of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." Check out the track's brand new video here.

Emily Haines and Metric took the main stage after Chromeo, and we caught a few songs, but The Felice Brothers were playing the Bullet stage at the same time, and I had been dying to see them. It was the definitely the right choice; this band will slowly but surely take the country by storm. Their rustic brand of Americana is infectious, and their performance felt like being in an old barn drunk on moonshine. The three brothers from Upstate NY - Ian, Simone, and James Felice - all traded off on lead vocals. Ian's gruffy voice is a dead ringer for Dylan's, while Simone and James have slightly more polish. They were joined by a bass player who only goes by the name of "Christmas", and a washboard player/fiddler named Farley. They played songs from their excellent self-titled Team Love record from earlier this year, and very nearly stole the day from Radiohead. But that, as Liberty State Park would find later that night... was an impossible task.

There was an hour to kill in between The Felice Brothers and Animal Collective, so we spent it walking the grounds to take in the full experience. Since APW was billed as a festival for music and the arts, there were various exhibits and tents on site highlighting work from both well-known and novice artists. My favorite structure?

Around 5:00, we mosied back over to Blue Comet to check out Animal Collective. Awe-inspiring? Hardly. I may be in the small minority of those who find the noise-rock outfit more noise than rock, largely devoid of melody. I can roll with these guys for about ten minutes until it becomes tedious. I'm not calling them over-rated, but I just don't see the appeal. However, there were definitely parts of the set that moved me, particularly the closing "Brother Sport", which I connected to immediately. Or maybe it was because I knew the end was approaching. Don't kill me, Panda Bear!

Our party split up after Animal Collective was finished and The Roots were prepping to take the Bullet stage. Although it pained me to miss the Philly hip hop pioneers, they were playing at the same time as Kings Of Leon on the main stage. My brother and I stayed back to catch the Followill brothers' set and hold down a spot for Radiohead, while the others ventured off for The Roots. From what I heard, they delivered a furious, largely improvisational set, complete with tuba solos. However, I did catch a glimpse of drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson while signing autographs in the Virgin tent. Check it:

Anyway, onto the Kings. They ripped. What a great festival band in this atmosphere: perfect for delivering crowd pleasing rockers, expert musicianship, great Southern hospitality. At this point, the audience at the Blue Comet stage was rapidly increasing by the thousands, and songs from Aha Shake Heartbreak and Because of the Times served as the catalysts to mass sing-a-longs. One of my favorite moments of the day occurred when lead singer Caleb Followill, master of the creaky and wavering voice, let the audience emulate him during "Fans." The band also debuted a new song from their upcoming Only by the Night called "Sex On Fire" -- streaming now on Myspace -- and that's what their set felt like. Sex on fire. Props to MVP drummer Nathan, who never let up for the set's hour-plus duration.


And so the anticipation began. It's been more than a decade of fully appreciating Radiohead's music that I've waited to see the band, and the 45 minutes we spent packed like sardines in a tin can (sorry, I couldn't resist) amidst a hot, sweaty and tall crowd was the equivalent of an eternity. Plus, the overwhelming smell of marijuana from every direction certainly didn't help. It grew darker, and the band's stage set up was unveiled: a 3D curtain of long vertical glass strips. An amazing sight to be seen when unlit, and even more jaw-dropping when in use. Finally, as everyone in the audience collectively looked at their watches when the time reached 8:30, and subsequently back at the stage, everything went black: The moment had arrived. Drummer Phil Selway began playing the groove to "Reckoner", and guitarist Ed O'Brien complemented him on tambourine, steadily crescendoing until the rest of the band came in. They were spot-on, effortlessly locked in with each other while Thom Yorke's ethereal falsetto on the song's chorus took center stage. It was an unbelievable way to open, and they retained that energy for the rest of the night. The song selection felt perfect; In Rainbows was scattered in its entirety, and every album with the exception of Pablo Honey was represented within the confines of two hours. It's hard to pick a highlight when every song sent shivers down my spine, but their pulsating take on "The National Anthem" and the so-quiet-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop subtlety of "Exit Music (For A Film)" were standouts. Seriously, there's something magical when an entire park of 30,000 people goes completely silent. Stunning. Complete set list, courtesy of Stereogum:

01 "Reckoner"
02 "15 Step"
03 "The National Anthem"
04 "Kid A"
05 "All I Need"
06 "Nude"
07 "Weird Fishes"/"Arpeggi"
08 "Where I End And You Begin"
09 "The Gloaming"
10 "Faust Arp"
11 "No Surprises"
12 "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
13 "The Bends"
14 "Bangers & Mash"
15 "Everything In Its Right Place"
16 "Exit Music (For A Film)"
17 "Bodysnatchers"
----
18 "Pyramid Song"
19 "Videotape"
20 "Airbag"
21 "Fake Plastic Trees"
22 "There There"
----
23 "House Of Cards"
24 "Planet Telex"
25 "Idioteque"

By all blog accounts, the band's performance on Saturday overwhelmingly topped a still-incredible Friday show, and I'm glad I got to witness it. Simply seeing Radiohead made up for everything: lackluster line-up (spring for bigger bands next year, Goldenvoice), transportation frustrations (getting out of the festival via Light Rail was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE) and claustrophobic conditions. However, because of five guys from Oxford -- is it really a stretch to call them the greatest band in the world? -- the debut of All Points West was a success. Thanks for making my life, Radiohead.