We Consider the New Radiohead Album / This Week in Local News

Music geeks across the land were quick to download Radiohead's The King of Limbs when it appeared, earlier than expected, last week. And the Twitter-consensus (no doubt based on a judgment reached quickly while listening on a laptop) was that this was yet another masterpiece.

Pitchfork has yet to weigh in. We imagine they are in discussions as to whether it's possible to award an album higher than a 10.0.

But what do the boys think?

Richard: "Personally, I'm waiting until May when I can hear it as it's meant to be heard, in the $48 dollar 'Newspaper Album' version featuring (according to the website) 'Two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve' and 'many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.'"

Chip: "Radiohead reached their artistic peak with The Bends and since Kid A are just making funny noises and laughing when critics hail it as genius."

In the absence of Pitchfork's purple prose and praise, we turn to Rolling Stone's track-by-track breakdown for this description of the song "Little By Little":


"A steady bass pulse and an Arabic-scented melody unspool over junkyard gamelan beats and backward loops."

Chip: "Isn't it a bit politically incorrect to say that this song smells like an Arab?"

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Yesterday's top local story was the mysterious "indefinite suspension" of Tyshawn Taylor, who admitted to reporters that he'd been a "bad boy." Speculation is rampant, and here's our best theory: we know that Sherron Collins was in town over the weekend, and we're guessing the two went on a Collins-style cock-flashing elevator spree. We'll believe this until someone tells us different (Chip: "And then I'll still continue to believe it.").

The unconfirmed rumor of the day (via Twitter) is that the LJ-World's Cathy Hamilton, better known to most of us as "Boomer Girl," will be the new Director of Downtown Lawrence. Congrats, if true. Who knows the vibrant, youthful downtown arts scene better than Boomer Girl?

Chip: "I hope she makes her first order of business getting us a downtown Olive Garden in the Borders building."

And our personal favorite story of the week is that our Twitter friends at 715 restaurant, renowned for their variety of swanky rabbit and goat dishes, are now serving a "fried bologna crostini" ("housemade moradella on rye toast with mustard--crazy good," says the website).

Richard: "As a southerner, I consider myself the resident local expert on fried bologna. I like it Oscar Mayer-style, with biscuits and gravy. But I'll certainly give this a chance and try to broaden my bologna-palate."