The King of Limbs (My Really Long Radiohead Entry Addressing All Albums Actually)

As an avid Radiohead fan I realized the other day that I probably should discuss their lastest album, The King of Limbs, so that's what I'm gonna do!
(I'll try to keep this from being too boring for non-Radiohead-ers, but no promises)

What got me thinking the most about this is that there is a satire clip from some BBC show going around the internet and Radiohead sites that shows a support group for Radiohead fans that really only like Radiohead's earlier work, mainly anything before Kid A. And I can understand how people would feel that way. Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer are more rock like, you can blast those songs and sing along (and of course you can look cool and Alt when you display your OK Computer poster in your bedroom, though I don't have one despite having 3 Radiohead posters, and I don't really want one).



And I love their early work, yes. OK computer is a fantastic piece of work, it moves and excites and lingers and is different than so much music before it. Pablo Honey is... I mean it's their first album, it grows on you, but you can tell by the raw sound and clearly stated slightly angsty rock star dreaming lyrics that it was the bands first. The Bends is really when Radiohead found their footing and figured out more what they wanted to be, with somewhat dream like but also rocking and beautiful lyrics over expertly played instruments, really showcasing what they were able to do.

Of course we have to address Kid A, which is praised for the way it changed and challenged music. An album that created a world of its own inside the music, a stark dreamscape (and yes, I am annoyingly aware how much I use the word dream, and I know I'm going to use it again, it's like I can't escape it... it's like... I'M TRAPPED IN A DREAM DREAM haha, get it? No? Not good? Sorry...). For Kid A Radiohead really started to challenge themselves and their fans, trying something new and different that not only had they not done before, but most bands at the time hadn't done before either. I love Kid A, it's a fucking fantastic album (though, I would say that about all but Pablo Honey, which is good, but not fucking fantastic, but all are fucking fantastic in very different ways). My tattoo is even art from the Kid A era (though his name, Lewis, comes from the My Iron Lung EP which is from The Bends era). Also one of my three posters is from the Kid A era.

But here's the thing, while many early fans fell out once Amnesiac came out, I wasn't even a fan yet!! That's not what I meant to say though.



Amnesiac is how I fell in love with Radiohead. See, I completely credit my music taste to my brother, and I thank him greatly for that, cause had I not stolen all his CDs I might be into artists like Ke$ha and Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber (gross, I don't like pop, except for dancing). He's who got me into Nirvana in middle school (and I was obsessed, had an entire wall dedicated to articles and pictures and a few books). And my dear brother Josiah is who I stole Amnesiac from freshmen year of high school. Now I know I had listened to that album and OK Computer, I think Kid A as well, through the start of that year, but Amnesiac is the one I remember taking the most, and I know the moment I really, truly fell in love with Radiohead, and it was to Amnesiac.

Freshmen year of high school my dad took me on a week long trip to New Mexico and Amnesiac was one of the CDs I brought and dad and I put it in the rental car CD player while we drove through New Mexico and it's stark but beautiful land late at night and we just listened to it over and over again and I fell in love. The songs sometimes feel like Thom Yorke woke up in the middle of the night from a dream and just wrote the thing down, This album is haunting and lovely and beautiful and it is what started this obsession that has been going strong now for 7 years.

Now we'll quickly address Hail to the Thief. Disliked by many for its political message, why should a British band write an entire album criticizing the American president? But I still love the album, I think it has brilliantly written songs that, yes, carry a strong political view, but they are also lovely when taken out of that context and create a world full of glittering spider webs and ships sailing through the night sky. And There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) is just a fucking awesome song, I mean really, don't even try to say it's not.

Then we have In Rainbows, the fist album to come out after I fell in love with the band, so it was really the first Radiohead album of my time in a way. And man that album washed through my in the best way. Every song spoke to me, moved me in different ways, stuck in my head in all the best ways... I mean, I just loved it, and it's b-side... mmmm. And the entire discbox that I bought. And it was that album that I saw the tour of, my first (and only so far) Radiohead show, a show that was pretty much a religious experience for me. And I mean, I have the tour poster, the tour water bottle, I have the fabric art from In Rainbows, I have the cover of Rolling Stone poster that Thom was on after that album "The Future Belongs to Radiohead". In Rainbows was my shit, not by favorite, but still my shit.

And now... the real point here...

The King of Limbs.

I heard early last year that Radiohead would be releasing their 8th studio album that year and I could not wait. Seriously, it needed to happen. I mean, new Radiohead! And, AND my favorite number is 8, so the 8th thing to happen of anything has to be good for me, and the 8th album from my favorite band of all time? Yeah, it has to be great.

Then, on February 13/14 I stayed up till about 2am, and when I checked my Twitter feed I saw the best tweet ever. It was done, the album was done and it was online to be ordered and it would be out that Saturday and it was called The King of Limbs and it was new Radiohead and it was a newspaper album (what the fuck is that? I don't know, we'll find out in May) and it was new Radiohead and it was new Radiohead and IT WAS NEW FUCKING RADIOHEAD!

I wanted to dance and yell and tell everyone, but everyone was asleep, but that didn't matter.

And then, and then! It came out a day early (again, I found out through Twitter, so I will never hate on Twitter again) and I downloaded my WAV files that I paid extra for and...

I couldn't be more pleased.

Seriously, I don't care what anyone else says, I love The King of Limbs. It's complex, it's intricate, it creates wonderful, beautiful images in my mind. I mean, listen to Codex, really, do it, it'll take you to a place that you will never want to leave, a place you might even feel like you've been before, in real life and loved just as much then. And it flows, oh it flows so nicely. Who cares if it's only 8 tracks and 37 minutes long? Seriously, if it does what it needs to, if it moves you and if there feels like there's nothing that needs to go away then why add more? Plus, 8 tracks, hello, favorite number!!

I adore The King of Limbs, and I mean, it's really bringing Radiohead into the spotlight because no album of theirs has been this discussed and argued over since Kid A, so I think that alone makes it great in its own way. Sure, it's causing a rift between some fans, cause some hate it, others love it.

To anyone doubting it, I say, have you listened to it more than once? Because if not, you really need to. The King of Limbs is the sort of album that must be listened to multiple times to really sink it. For me it took four times for it to really, really hit me and move me. I mean, yeah, I loved it after the first time, but I loved it 10 times more after the 4th time (and yes, I listened to it probably 10 times the first day, I'm not ashamed to admit it).

I'm a little shocked by how much I had to say in this, but then again, I'm a big Radiohead fan, I always will be, I think my feelings on The King of Limbs proves it a bit. Had I fallen in love with an album like The Bends or OK Computer first there's a chance my feelings about this album would be quite different, but because Amnesiac was my first it established a grounds for me to like all their sounds, I love Radiohead because they aren't scared to change their sound as they want to. Also, they are great people who make wonderful music on their own as well as together, who stand for admirable things like their strong green initiative and avid awareness of politics and the goings on of the world.

I will close with this.
I love Radiohead, always will.
I love The King of Limbs, and I really think every one of you who reads this blog post should give it a listen, actually, give it at least two listens, and don't do it while you write a paper, do it when you can really listen to it, it won't take that much time, just a little over an hour, so you can do it. And please, enjoy, and let me know what you think! 

My Serious Problem

I feel I have a blessing/curse in the mornings before work. I am always, and I mean always, ready to go by 9:30, when really I don't need to leave till 9:45 to get to work on time. I started out waking up at 8:30 for work, which is at 10:00. But after awhile of realizing that with the way I work and get ready that I don't need that much time, I decided to give myself 15 more minutes. When even that proved to give me extra time I gave myself 15 more minutes. Now I've been getting up at 9:00 to shower, do my make-up, get dressed, spend some online time and make breakfast (and sometimes lunch). But no matter what, even if, like today, I start making breakfast on the stove at 9:25, I am still finished and done with everything by 9:30.
Honestly, it pisses me off.

I know I should be pleased with my speediness, especially cause I'm not even trying to go fast. I pay attention to my make-up, I don't take super quick showers, and I give myself all the time I want online in the morning, (which, given, isn't that much time, cause, you know, it's morning) and I actually make breakfast, which usually takes enough time for me to make a lunch while the food is cooking. AND STILL 9:30, all the time, every time.

Today I finished my food, cleaned up and put away my dishes and when I saw it was 9:30, I would have yelled FUCK, but Ginny was asleep and her door was open, so that would have been just rude.

I just don't understand it, I really don't. But then again... I did always arrive at my bus stop early in high school... I think I just have a problem with always being early, in fact, I'm positive I have a problem with always being early. It's actually physically hard for me to be late...

And yes, I consider it a problem.

Internships Teach You Things! (About Babies)

At my internship I am currently working on the Lifetime show One Born Every Minute.

What does this mean? This means that my Mondays and Fridays are all about babies and labor and delivery nurses...

What does this mean for this blog? This means a blog about what I've learned from working on One Born! Lucky you! It's all about the babies today!

The biggest thing I've taken from this show is that watching labor and delivery nurses for hours and hours is not good for my health. You see... our show likes to fill spaces with "nurse moments" these are cute funny little moments of the silly things the nurses of L&D say all the time... Yeah, they don't say funny stuff all the time. In fact, they do not say funny things enough. 

I have spent too many days just watching hours and hours and hours and hours of nurse footage just waiting for something good to happen. And see, they filmed 24 hours a day for weeks at a time sometimes, so there's a lot of footage and it's not even like you can just fast forward until something good happens, cause there might be something in the middle of a conversation, or some nurse might just make an amusing face or be caught on camera picking her nose.

Needless to say, this is a boring, tedious and never-ending task (though it may finally be over, knock on wood) and it has literally haunted my dreams.

I mean it, I couldn't sleep one night because whenever I closed me eyes I saw more nurse footage and kept wondering if the moments would be good for the show. 

There is one good part of the nurse moments though, and that's when you win.

And by win, I mean when I get one of my nurse moments in the show. Even better yet, sometimes, some people (people like me) find a nurse moment so good, it's used twice! WIN FOR MIA!

I have also learned that husband/fathers-to-be go fucking crazy before having a baby.

I'm not joking here, they are so weird in the delivery room. They make noises, eat obsessively, sing, say weird ass things, will not shut up, some even go out and buy strollers while their wives are in labor and bring the stroller back to the hospital... in the box. 

My guess, they are driven crazy by the lack of attention, since everyone is all about the baby mama's, with good cause.

So ladies, if you be having babies and your man be acting all crazy, ask him to get real close, then smack his crazy face!

(that's your Mia advice for the week)

I have also learned that new borns are really weird looking. They look like little alien sea monkeys, all wrinkly and discolored and covered in goop. Gross. (but also cute)

Also, I learned that if you're going into labor and need a laugh, invite your drunk friends!

So maybe I haven't learned the best things, but hey! Babies!

Late Night Thoughts (and a dancing lizard)

Late at night, sometimes, I have the strangest thoughts.

I am happy with my situation in life at the moment, being in school, having stability even if things are teetering sometimes. But then I think about the fast that in a little over a year I actually have to start life. I don't know if I can do it. I really don't. Find a job, find a home, figure out how to live, keep reaching for what I want my job to be, where I want to be, what I want to make, and at the same time trying to live the life I really want. Find someone to love, travel, get married, have kids and show them the world I want them to know. I really don't know how on earth I'm meant to get from here to there and it scares me.

I listen to a song on my iTunes that I've never listened to before, it's from 2007 and all I can think about is what my life was like in 2007. In high school, still doing theatre, infatuated with a boy, broken hearted by a boy, and all the thoughts, all the dreams that came from 2007. I was going to be a star, write the best plays, go to the best school, have my perfect man into 2008. It's all just faded dreams now.
How should I feel about that?

I see, hear, feel things that remind me of Chicago.
It feels like a lifetime ago, it feels like a year completely apart from the rest of my life. The feelings there, the look, the life, it was all something that only happened there, something I will never get again. That's not a good or a bad thing. It's just... a thing. But it's a strong thing, and the idea of going back to Chicago in any way scares me. Returning can ruin images, even if the images weren't the best.

My life in London last year was in a different London from the one I saw back in 2003. Those two places are not the same in any way, shape or form.

I haven't been in a relationship since my senior year of high school, and there was nothing normal about that relationship. I don't know how to be in a relationship. I don't know how to start one, how to find someone, I've almost always been the one found.
And do you ever think about the relationships that almost were?
Every now and then I think about them, they haunt me sometimes.
The best high school couple, the one everyone would want to be friends with.
The music loving theatre school couple.
The totally mis-matched college couple that secretly hate each other.
Where would those have taken me?

I feel weird writing a blog post like this, this isn't really my blog's feel is it?
I'm saying too much, things no one knows, but maybe it's okay.

I think too much, I never know what to do.
You want something, go get it. But we all know it's not that easy, right?
How do you get it? What do you say? What do you do when you want something so bad but just don't know how, or if, or when?

Sometimes I wish I could see things the way I saw them the first time all the time, because the first time you see something is always so different than all the other times. I don't always like that. But I also love it.

All I want to do is write something that changes people's worlds.
But that's probably too much to ask.

None if this is really a problem, nothing haunts me for too long, or scares me for more than a moment, but sometimes, like tonight, it all just runs through my mind like sidewalks after the rain.

(as I have decided to post this)
I am leaving you with a little late night story.

There once was a lanky and energetic lizard.
He liked to dance all over the rivers of the Amazon, splashing water on every creature he passed.
One day this lizard was dancing up a storm and splashed a big, wet splash of water on a giant snake hanging in the tree above the river.
The snake was not pleased with this so he lunged down and snatched the lizard up in his mouth. But before the snake could swallow, this dancing lizard pried open the snake's mouth and did one final dance on top of the snake's tongue.
The lizard then waved the river goodbye and let the snake close his mouth.

The End.
Good night.

A Valentine for My Boo

It's Valentine's Day.
What does that mean?
That means a post about Lyndsi Bosco!!
(my best friend, well, one of the three)

That's Lyndsi there, the girl I am pointing at (and that me with my helmet like haircut).

Now, Lyndsi and I have a very strange relationship that's hard to explain.
We met at when we volunteered for a concert at IC and bonded over being security and then she told me she was going to facebook stalk me and friend me. Then I asked to go to Apple Fest with her and the rest is strange strange history.

Last year we spent almost every day together, and talked to each other every day.
We don't just talk about our days, we talk about everything and it's weird and... man, this doesn't explain it well.
This picture is a perfect example of our friendship.

That is seriously our life.

But still, you need more examples of our deep, deep love.
Because just saying that despite the fact that we haven't seen each other since last May, and the fact that I've been in London and LA the whole time, we still talk all the time and the same, you have to see.

But oh, that's not all we do. Not at all.
We also spam facebook with our love.

And that's not even as extreme as it gets, but it is as recent as it gets.
The point of this all is, Lyndsi and I have a love that can't be described with words.

But it is a true, deep and fantastic best friend love that you may never understand, and maybe you don't want to, but I tried either way.

What this really is though, is a Valentine for on of the three loves of my life.

Happy Valentine's Day Miss Lyndsi Bosco

The King of Limbs

I don't normally blog websites, but I have just been given the best Valentine's Day present ever...

Today Radiohead announced their 8th studio album The King of Limbs
I have been waiting for this for so long and I was lucky enough to have stayed up till right when they announced it on Twitter.

And people saying Twitter is stupid.

You should buy it.

The King of Limbs

Not only is this new Radiohead, it's the 8th Radiohead album.

8 is my favorite number.

I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight.

The Name Conversation (Just for the Record)

I want to talk about names. 

Why?

Well, we all have them. If you don't have a name, you're really not a person now are you? I mean seriously, what am I going to call you? What's your mother going to call you? Your grandma? Your teacher? Your boss? Your significant other will just call you Honey Buns, so you don't have a problem there but I mean really, you have to have a name. Otherwise you only exist to yourself, your mother and your Honey Buns. 

But I got a little off track, because the names I want to talk about are mine.

Most people call me Mia (or Mia Hanson if we're doing last names). I even call me Mia! Go figure. I mean, Mia is me, I am Mia. 80% of the people in my life probably only think of me as Mia, sometimes even my mother only thinks of me as Mia, so you know it's really stuck in there.

But the fact of the matter is not only is that not my real name, it's not even my only nickname (cue the WHAAA?(s) and OOOOO!(s)).

Let's start with going over my official (as in government stuff and all that nonsense) names.

My birth certificate has me down as Amelia Boadeccea Lenore Fjerkenstad.

My first passport has the same thing.

Then I got a name change form and my name became Amelia Boadicea Lenor Fjerkenstad Hanson.

That's my current full name. 

Amelia, cause that's the name my parents liked.

Boadicea because my father wanted to name me after the Celtic Queen of the same name.

Lenor because it has been on my mother's side for generations (but wasn't her middle name until after it was mine).

Fjerkenstad cause that's my father's last name

And Hanson is my mother's last name.

BUT THERE'S MORE!!

All my passports, since the 2nd, plus my driver's license, list my name as Amelia B Lenor Fjer Hanson cause they can't fit my freakishly long name.

When it's necessary to use my real name, I go by Amelia B Hanson.

Despite the fact that my name is actually, legally and factually Amelia, all my life I have to remind teachers and classmates that I am Amelia during role or when I hand in papers, and I still have to remind my mother to call me Amelia when making appointments or talking to doctors.

Now the nicknames!!

Mia - my parents had two nicknames in mind when they had me. My father wanted to call me Amy. My mother wanted to call me Leah. But then there was my brother, who was unable to pronounce the name Amelia because of the tricky little L, so he decided to call me Mia, and I have forever since been known as Mia to all.

Mia Pa Pia from Nicosia - My dad likes to make up rhyming nick names for his children. My sister Angie was Angelica Pelica the Teenager from Hellica. Josiah didn't get one cause I guess nothing works well with the name Josiah. Mine lasted longer than Angie's because it's not age reliant, and cause Nicosia is a real place and, let's face it, Hellica... not real.

Hanson - When I was little I played with the girl directly across the street from us all the time, and her father decided that he would call me Hanson. He still does. I don't exactly approve, but what can I do?

Miss Mia - My sister likes to call me this one from time to time, has for awhile and still does. Plus I've heard it plenty of times from various others. 

Mimi - This is a more recent development. I don't know when exactly it started happening, but in the last few years both my best friend Julia and my brother Josiah have started calling me Mimi. And the thing is, they don't see each other or talk, but it started with both around the same time. Hmm...

Mom - Another recent trend as of my sophomore year of college, my younger friends and the people I have lived with in England and LA have decided that I am mother them the most, so I am mom. Yay...

Saint Paul - The most recent development, at my internship I am currently helping the producers of the new Lifetime show, One Born Every Minute, and the executive producer of that show just so happens to be from Minneapolis, so once that guy found out where I was from... I haven't had a name besides this.

These last two I don't feel like explaining for whatever reason, but I will say who gave them.

Pipe-breaker - The girls

English Girl - a boy

So... there you are! I guess you have options as to what you want to call me now, but before you think of it, I'd rather you don't.

I'm good with Mia, thanks!