Friday, December 21, 2007

The First Listen.

Yesterday I got my "In Rainbows" boxed set in the mail. Well worth the $90, to say the least. The package is impressive. I'll try to get some pics up later, although they are all over the internet already, I'm sure.

What has me perplexed at the current moment is the unique experience of listening to a new album from your favorite band for the first time (the boxed set came with an "In Rainbows II" album, with 8 other tracks I've never heard). For me, listening to music is a powerful experience that grabs hold of my soul and squeezes tightly, so it's odd that when I listen to a Radiohead album for the first time, I'm almost "zoned out," like I can't believe it's actually happening. But I never forget the first listen. It morphs in my mind over time from and event that was a bit unbelievable to one that takes on mythical proportions. The first time I heard "OK Computer" I was in a Best Buy parking lot in Houston, TX, in my 1987 Dodge Ram Charger with Alpine head unit and Eclipse speakers mounted in mini-boxes in the rear seats (the Dodge had no rear speakers from the factory); I put the album in, and I'll never forget the first crack of electric guitar that struck my ears from "Airbag," telling me that the album was a different animal than "The Bends."

I wonder how I'll reflect on this one years from now.

1 Comments:

Blogger Adam said...

The people want pics!

10:09 AM  

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