A Radiohead meme for you

A friend of mine in Singapore posted this meme on his blog. So I answered it.

And since it’s officially Radiohead season again, a specialised meme for anyone who wants to be tagged:

1. What are your Radiohead memories?
2. How much would you pay for downloading In Rainbows?
3. OK Computer or Kid A?
4. What’s your most hated Radiohead song?
5. Three words to describe Radiohead’s music.
6. What do you think of Ed O’Brien’s music?
7. If you were given the chance to sing a Radiohead song with the whole band backing you up (Thom Yorke doing his crazy dancing in the sidelines), what would it be?
8. What would be a better band name for Radiohead?
9. Ok, fine, what’s your top 3 Radiohead songs?
10. Ok, fine, your favourite Radiohead line.

Radiohead at Coachella 2004

1. What are your Radiohead memories?

a. The biggest one, was watching them right after the Pixies reunited at Coachella in 2004 with Annette Ortiz (Fatal Posporos drummer) and Quark Henares (Keka director). I got so spent from the overflowing joy from all these Pixies fans, singing along to every single word, that when Radiohead came on I popped out of the crowd and lay down in the grass. I watched the green laser lights stabbing the stars in the black sky.
Drifting in and out of exhausted bliss I could only remember Thom Yorke dedicating “Creep” to the Pixies, and also singing “Karma Police.”

b. Like you, I wasn’t a big Radiohead fan until “Kid A.” Oddly enough, it was a John Mayer cover of said song that brought me back to “Kid A” and “OK Computer.” I was suffering from grunge overload when those albums came out, really getting into electronic music. Imo Quibilan burned me those two CDs. Later, I bought a pirated CD with every single Radiohead album on Mp3. It was one of the few CDs I brought with me on my transpacific journey. So I have no real memories of Radiohead and Manila, other than the “Creep” ripoff “Trip (Siopao Na Special)” by Parokya ni Edgar, which is still hilarious.

c. In 2003 I was in Korea for a three week vacation. We listened to a lot of “Hail to the Thief” then. I remember getting drunk on top shelf vodka, making cup noodles with kimchi and vodka , eating it all and throwing it up in the rain, on the streets of Seoul.

d. A boy I loved in the recent past told me that the first time he heard “National Anthem,” he was 20, riding the San Francisco BART. Crying the whole time because the music touched him so much.

e. The same boy and I would sit in my car, which has the best sound system, listening to every single Radiohead song. We would analyze every album, every half-step count, each low synth bass note, hold hands and make out. For hours.

f. Two years ago I saw Radiohead again in San Diego. I must’ve paid $100 for my crappy tickets, the most I ever overpaid (they were something like $30 face value). They performed by a pier. They performed before what looked like broken mirrors. We drove two hours from the Inland Empire to get there; afterwards, I bought Mexican candy from the gas station and ate it all the way home.

g. In college, Vincent Dancel (of Sugarfree) hung out in our apartment all the time because his girlfriend was my high school friend and roommate. He loved to sing “Fake Plastic Trees.” We also tried to be in band called Geek and the Girls, a homage to Lisa Germano. We disbanded after our first gig at FA.

2. How much would you pay for downloading In Rainbows?
I paid $0 to download it, but it came free with the box set that I bought for $80.

3. OK Computer or Kid A?
Kid A appeals to the ex-raver and folkie in me.

4. What’s your most hated Radiohead song?
I don’t think I have one I hate. The one I like the least is “Stop Whispering”

5. Three words to describe Radiohead’s music.
Addicting mind f*ck

6. What do you think of Ed O’Brien’s music?
I don’t know it. Sob.

7. If you were given the chance to sing a Radiohead song with the whole band backing you up (Thom Yorke doing his crazy dancing in the sidelines), what would it be?
“Let Down.” I used to invent harmonies for it all the time.

8. What would be a better band name for Radiohead?
I don’t know, band names are band names unless they’re like Blue October or Yellowcard or Cocksmi–ooops.

9. Ok, fine, what’s your top 3 Radiohead songs?
a. “Idioteque”
b. “Let Down”
c. “Karma Police”

10. Ok, fine, your favourite Radiohead line.
“I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover.”

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH. Kidding.

“Fitter, happier, more productive, comfortable, not drinking too much, regular exercise at the gym”

Anyway, I am still really enjoying “In Rainbows.” If you want to share your answers, email me so I can post it.