'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' soundtrack: Track-by-track reactions

A new film in the "Twilight" franchise is more than just a cinematic event. Since the soundtrack to "Twilight" sold a stunning 2.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the vampire brand means serious business to the music industry as well.

The soundtrack to "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is released off-cycle today, rather than the typical music industry release day of Tuesday. It's out a month ahead of the film, which hits theaters nationwide on Nov. 20, and whether or not it will have the same retail impact as the music companion to the first film remains to be seen.

But this is much is certain: The "New Moon" soundtrack is definitely much more of a piece than the soundtrack to "Twilight." It's moody, music-to-get-sad-to, definitely, but music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas has put together a collection of songs that captures the drama of young love without drowning in it. Released once again on Patsavas' Chop Shop label, which is associated with Warner Music Group imprint Atlantic, "New Moon" is, on a whole, more inventive than the scattered radio-ready rock that permeated its predecessor.

Track-by-track reactions below.

1. "Meet Me on the Equinox," Death Cab for Cutie. There was reason for skepticism when it was announced that Death Cab would be composing the lead single for "New Moon." Patsavas was keeping things in the family, tapping an Atlantic act she'd worked with before (see "The O.C."). It all seemed a bit predictable, but "Meet Me on the Equinox" packs a few surprises. If the chorus of "everything ends" leaves little to the imagination, the rhythm skips an anxious beat, all while the harmonies and golden guitars lead a path out of the darkness.

2. "Friends," Band of Skulls. Despite the Death Cab opener, it's clear from Track No. 2 that this is not going to be a completely melancholic album. "Friends" launches with some fiery bursts of guitar fuzz, and comes loaded with start-and-stop stomping riffs. "My friends, they are so beautiful," sings Russell Marsden, but he delivers the line with such garage rock swagger that the lyrical cheesiness is completely forgotten. The song swings too, giving "New Moon" a combo rock 'n' roll anthem, make-out song. 

3. "Hearing Damage," Thom Yorke. When the Radiohead frontman unveiled a handful of new songs in Los Angeles, they came off as electro-dance rock 'n' roll for the art-house set. Yorke's "New Moon" tune is a little warmer than those glitchy, yet funky, rock 'n' roll cuts. The stereo buzz that permeates much of the song creates a rather warm sound, and Yorke's vocals threaten to disintegrate into a hum, which is exactly what they do in the final moments. "They say you're getting better, but you don't feel any better," Yorke sings, not exactly the reassuring lover, but not exactly distant, either. Love at its most tension-filled.

4. "Possibility," Lykke Li. Tension gives way to heartache here, and Sweden's Lykke Li could melt the coldest of hearts with this sparse tearjerker. A slight scratch in her vocals cuts through the song's intimately innocent feel. "Tell me when you hear my heart stop," she sings, while a backing choir inflects the sparse piano with gospel undertones -- a brief, largely a cappella prayer.

Live review: Thom Yorke at the Echoplex

Thom Yorke is a great dancer. This talent doesn't come up too often in his day job fronting the transcendently dispirited quintet Radiohead, where long, simmering songs tend to cover topics like wolves at one's door, impending ice ages and God being unamused by a videotape of your life.

But at Friday night's debut of his still-unnamed solo-project/ensemble at the Echoplex, he moved like Busby Berkeley at the end of days -- jerky robot twitches, stoned head-rolls, teenage sock-hop bouncing. For a man who leads what's likely to be the last rock band considered the best and best-selling at the same time, there was a sense of a previously untapped emotion in the onstage performance: Joy. For the few hundred vigilant souls at the Echoplex who managed to sneak onto Ticketweb before it exploded Friday, the feeling was absolutely mutual.

Thom Yorke fans kill Ticketweb ... briefly

 

Well that was expectantly fast.

Thom Yorke's last-minute show tonight at the Echoplex went on sale today via Ticketweb, and the site reported the gig was sold out by the time Pop & Hiss was even able to access the show listing.

For those keeping score at home, it took about seven minutes to crack through to the site, with every regular concertgoer's worst nightmare -- the dreaded "processing" page instructing users not to touch their Web browsers -- creating a virtual moat between us and the opportunity to see Radiohead's frontman in cramped quarters.

Worse, some of our office comrades who actually fought their way through Internet traffic jams and found an on-sale screen were still waiting for Ticketweb to process their requests at 12:28 p.m. -- almost 30 minutes after the on-sale time (we're good at math, to boot). Of course, with a capacity of well under 1,000, we expected as much. 

Tickets soon hit Craigslist and eBay. As of the time of this posting, Craigslist seemed to be the better bargain, with tickets selling for around $750. On auction site eBay, expect to shell out a couple months' rent for a pair, as tickets are listed for about $3,500 -- buyer beware, of course.Yorke will also appear at downtown's Orpheum Theatre Sunday and Monday, and those tix are more of a bargain -- a seat looks like it can be snagged for about $150 on Craigslist.

Anyone who had success getting tickets, we invite your stories of ticket-purchasing heroism in the comments section below. Those who failed, we want your horror stories as well.

--Todd Martens

Screenshot: Ticketweb

Thom Yorke at the Echoplex Friday night? Your official non-denial, non-confirmation answer [Update: Yes]

So there's a hot rumor that Thom Yorke and his new assembled band will be performing a clandestine show at the Echoplex Friday night before their two-night stand at the Orpheum this weekend. We reached Yorke's publicist by phone just now, and this is the current official line on the show's factual existence.

"We cannot confirm nor deny it, but we will confirm or deny it by tomorrow morning."

So coy. So cryptic. So Thom Yorke. We're not saying to get your camping gear out just yet, but there is a very conspicuous empty slot on the Echoplex's show calendar for Friday night. Maybe you should keep your Sterno in an easily reachable place, if, say, you need to grab it before claiming a spot on a Glendale Boulevard sidewalk in the next 24 hours.

[Update @ 9:49 p.m.] According to the official Radiohead website, the show will happen Friday at the Echoplex:

so yes that band thats doesnt really have a name that im working with at the moment??????
have decided to do a warm-up show on Friday Oct 2nd around 9pm at the Echoplex in Los Angeles
Its not that big, it'll be total chaos and its kind of a rehearsal but .. if you are near by..
below is a link to get tickets.
hope you get lucky with it.

Tickets will go on sale tomorrow at noon via Ticketweb.

-- August Brown

Photo by Herbert P. Oczeret / European Pressphoto Agency

Radiohead's Thom Yorke books two dates at the Orpheum with RHCP's Flea*

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke revealed Monday night that he will perform two nights at downtown's Orpheum Theater -- Sunday, Oct. 4 and Monday, Oct. 5. Tickets are on sale today at 10 a.m., but the short notice on the concerts was not Yorke's biggest surprise.

The Orpheum gigs will be a coming-out party for a new band of sorts, one that unexpectedly contains famed Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (perhaps Slash will be a surprise guest). Also backing Yorke will be longtime producer/collaborator Nigel Godrich, noted session drummer Joey Waronker (R.E.M., Beck) and percussionist Mauro Refosco (David Byrne).

Early Monday, Yorke's publicity firm Nasty Little Man sent out a release announcing the show. In case there is any confusion, this sentence was tucked in the middle: "Radiohead is not breaking up."

Yorke has released one solo album, 2006's "The Eraser," and has dropped hints that more solo material was on the horizon. The artist recently released a pair of songs, "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" and "The Hollow Earth," which will be available digitally on Oct. 6 and is currently available on 12-inch vinyl. 

He's also been spotted around Los Angeles, most notably at a surprise DJ appearance at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel. While one need not stress about of being granted access past a velvet rope at the Orpheum next week, one may need to be quick with the refresh button. The tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster, and are $47, not including the inevitable multiple surcharges.

There is a two-ticket limit, and in the hopes of thwarting scalpers, it will be a "paperless" gig, meaning fans will gain access to a show by presenting the credit card used to purchase the tickets. Yorke writes on the Radiohead site that there is no name for the group, and the act will perform new material. Although one should not expect a late night, Yorke warns, writing "we haven't got that much material yet!"

Local experimentals the Lucky Dragons will support.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Thom Yorke. Credit: Los Angeles Times

*Updated at 10:48 a.m. to include a statement from the official press release and to correct the spelling of Nigel Godrich's name, which was initially incorrectly written as Goodrich.

Lily Allen, Radiohead on opposite sides of heated British file-sharing debate

A file-sharing debate in England that could have wide-ranging effects on how music is distributed via the Internet is getting heated. Lines are being drawn between artists, with pop singer Lily Allen taking to the Internet to question the stance of the Featured Artists Coalition, a not-for-profit lobbying group that aims to educate and protect the rights of artists.

Allen had expressed support for proposed legislation backed by Lord Peter Mandelson, which could ultimately suspend users' Internet accounts if they were deemed to have engaged in illegal downloading. The FAC, which counts Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, Billy Bragg, Annie Lennox and Radiohead among its members, released a statement today that said talks with record labels to reach a compromise had broken down.

"We have negotiated in good faith with the labels all week, but they remain wedded to the idea of suspension of accounts," the coalition said in a statement. "We remain steadfast in our belief that making threats against individual music fans is not an effective way to resolve any problems associated with file-sharing. So while we will willingly collaborate together on many levels of our business, in respect of this particular issue, we have agreed to disagree."

Allen, meanwhile, is rallying in support of the government. In a post on her recently launched blog It's Not Alright, she notes today that she is not looking for a fight with the FAC, yet still questions the group's argument. Writes Allen: "The FAC seems to be viewing the government’s proposed legislation as an attack on freedom and liberty, but stealing’s not really a human right, is it?"

Thom Yorke announces 12-inch single release date

The Radiohead camp seems to be in all systems go mode these days. First, there was the symphonic benefit track “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” in early August, followed by the more traditionally Radiohead-sounding “These Are My Twisted Words” not two weeks later.

Now there is news of yet two more forthcoming tunes, these under the guise of Thom Yorke solo tracks. “FeelingPulledApartbyHorses” and “The Hollow Earth” are the song titles, with the music to be initially released on 12-inch vinyl single format.

“FeelingPulledApartbyHorses is written & played by Jonny and I and is a radical rework of an old tune that's been kicking around without a home since 2001? i think,” says Yorke via press release in his customarily typo-ridden style. “The Hollow Earth is a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time.”

The vinyl single will be released Sept. 21 via the band’s W.A.S.T.E. online store, or in “good” record stores, Yorke says, “if you are lucky enough to have one near you.” The songs are scheduled for digital release on Oct.  6.

--Scott T. Sterling

Photo: Thom Yorke performing with Radiohead during the 2009 Frequency Festival in Austria last month. Credit: Herbert P. Oczeret 

On Radiohead's 'Harry Patch (In Memory Of)'

This is how it works in Radiohead's world these days. Things seem quiet and then, sure, a brand new song is out and available at 320 kbps for a pound (that $1.70 for those on this side of the Atlantic), with proceeds benefiting the British Legion.

So, we can't name our price this time around, but is it still worth the coin?

Full of swooning, end-title strings, this is not the Radiohead for those wedded to the band's skittering glitch-rhythms or Jonny Greenwood's shape-shifting guitar. In fact, there's no guitars, drums or "rock" elements at all.

This is Radiohead in symphony, Thom Yorke's angelic voice on a battlefield's midnight clear. Dedicated to Britain's last survivor of World War I (and not an impressionistic callback to microtonal composer Harry Partch), the song sounds exactly like the elegy it is, with Yorke's most pointed anti-war sentiments coming through the helpless last words of a veteran to a war that was thought would "end all wars." 

Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Bon Iver targeted for 'New Moon' soundtrack

If reports out of San Diego's Comic-Con are correct, "Twilight" sequel "New Moon" will have an exponentially stronger soundtrack than the first film in the franchise. Director Chris Weitz is quoted as saying Radiohead's Thom Yorke and indie singer/songwriter Bon Iver are booked for the sequel to the vampire soap opera, both supposedly contributing new songs.

Although when it comes to blockbuster soundtracks, the word "new" is sometimes redefined as a "new recording of a previously unreleased track." Nevertheless, Weitz's targeting of Yorke and the warm folk-pop of Bon Iver are a good sign, as the original "Twilight" soundtrack ranged from the silly (actor Robert Pattinson's coffeeshop-safe tunes) to the obvious (current mall-punk faves Paramore with typically tuneless single). 

The director tells our friends at HitFix that Yorke will be turning in his song for the film on Friday. "Unless it's sounds of him belching, I think I'll put it in," Weitz said. Radiohead, of course, is no stranger to the "Twilight"-verse, as the band's Grammy-endorsed song "15 Step" played over the film's end credits. 

Grammy rehearsals with Radiohead: 'There's a surreality to it all'

EXCLUSIVE

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards are Sunday night, and the rehearsal schedule for today is stacked with big names -- U2, Paul McCartney, Coldplay and Stevie Wonder -- but the day got off to an especially compelling start as Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead strolled in, shook off the rain and performed "15 Step" to the impressive accompaniment of the USC marching band.

Radiohead has racked up a fair number of Grammy accolades through the years (the band enters Sunday with five nominations for "In Rainbows," including its third career nomination for top album) but trophy galas are simple not its scene.

"I've called through years but the answer was always a polite no," said Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the show since 1980.

This year, the answer was yes, and there was crackling energy in the venue as the band ran through its  number.

Yorke arrived looking more like a fan than a star with his scruffy leather jacket, bed-head hair and khaki-colored backpacker. He danced a little jig in the aisles as USC's Spirit of Troy warmed up with -- of course -- the Fleetwood Mac hit "Tusk."

The crew of the show is hard to impress, but by the third take it was all eyes on the stage as Yorke gave an animated interpretation of the song, one that somehow sounds both cerebral and tribal.

"Can you make my voice sound a little bit less shiny," Yorke asked the sound team. "Take the top off -- I like the idea of belting it out with these guys."