Author: joseph

From the OED: “1. a. An ovate fruit with a pale yellow rind, and an acid juice. Largely used for making a beverage and for flavouring. The juice yields citric acid; the rind yields oil or essence of lemons, used in cookery and perfumery.”

…the quietly tortured opener of Radiohead’s fourth album, Kid A: “Yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon.” “Lots of people say that song is gibberish,” Yorke says irritably. “It’s not. It’s totally about that” — the mute, vengeful paralysis he felt in Birmingham, which stayed with Yorke deep into the strange, simultaneous recording of Radiohead’s twin hits, Kid A and the just-released Amnesiac.In England, Yorke explains, “sucking a lemon” refers to “the face you pull because a lemon is so tart.” He twists his sharp features into a ferocious grimace.

“That’s the face I had for three years.”

–quoted from RS

Where can one find this “Answerphone”?

The ‘Answerphone’ fan club pack advertised in w.a.s.t.e. #8 is now complete. For £5 or 14 I.R.C.s (international reply coupons), you can be the proud owner of a sixteen page booklet containing a full biography, lyrics for Pablo Honey and lyrics for the My Iron Lung E.P.s., comments by the band on the making of The Bends, personal files and some great photos. Also a poster and a very funky chunky ‘r’ badge.

Several paintings by Stanley Donwood are for sale via artnet. Two Hail to the Thief era paintings, Hollywood and London, sell for 29,375 pounds and 25,000 pounds respectively.

Anyone know what happened to radiohead unpackt?

The translation of Dante that Thom Yorke seems to have used in this quote is Sinclair’s:

‘Now must thou thus cast off all sloth,’ said the Master ‘for sitting on down or under blankets none comes to fame, and without it he that consumes his life leaves such trace of himself on earth as smoke in air or foam on the water. Rise, therefore, conquer thy panting with the soul, which conquers in every battle if it sink not with its body’s weight. There is a longer stair which must be climbed’ (XXIV, pg. 297)

Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, I: Inferno, trans. John D. Sinclair (NY: Oxford UP, 1959)
This translation was first published in 1939.

Stanley Donwood created the art for Matthew Herbert’s Plat du Jour.. A brief essay here describes the process of food dye chromatography that Donwood used. Herbert’s album is reviewed by Pitchfork and Stylus.

In this image, John Ashcroft is listed under “Genetically Modified Foods.” As a Missouri Republican Senator, Ashcroft advocated for genetically modified foods. Ashcroft received $10,000 for his 1990s Senate bid from Monsanto, a large agricultural company focused on biotechnology. Rumsfeld was president of Searle Pharmaceuticals when it was acquired by Monsanto. Searle is now part of Pfizer.

‘ONE day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the cornyard when—whack!—something hit her upon the head. “Goodness gracious me!” said Henny-penny; “the sky’s a-going to fall’ I must go and tell the king.”‘ So begins Joseph Jacob’s 1895 retelling of the “Henny-Penny” story, a tale that also goes under the titles “Chicken-Licken” and “The End of the World.” For those who have forgotten it, in short: Henny-penny convinces several animals (a rooster, a duck, a goose, and a turkey) to help her deliver the apocalyptic message to the king. Along the way, they meet Foxy-woxy who changes the group’s direction and leads them on to “the proper way,” that is, the way that leads to Foxy-woxy’s cave. The scene that follows has all the murderousness readers expect from children’s stories:

So foxy-woxy went into his cave, and he didn’t go very far, but turned around to wait for Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey and Turkey-lurkey. So at last at first Turkey-lurkey went through the dark hole into the cave. He hadn’t got far when “Hrumph,” Foxy-woxy snapped off Turkey-lurkey’s head and threw his body over his left shoulder.

In quick succession, the goose and duck also lose their heads. Cocky-locky, only injured after the first bite, cried out before the second, fatal bite to Henny-penny, who, hearing his cry, “turned tail and off she ran home, so she never told the king the sky was a-falling.” The moral is obvious: do not follow foxes into caves.

ONE day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the cornyard when—whack!—something hit her upon the head. “Goodness gracious me!” said Henny-penny; “the sky’s a-going to fall’ I must go and tell the king.”

— Joseph Jacobs, “Henny-Penny,” English Fairy Tales (New York: A.L. Burt, 1895), pgs. 132-136.

‘Now must you cast off sloth,’ my master said.
‘Sitting on feather cushions or stretched out
under comforters, no one comes to fame.

‘Without fame, he who spends his time on earth
leaves only such a mark upon the world
as smoke does on the air or foam on water.

‘Get to your feet! Conquer this laboring breath
with strength of mind, which wins the battle
if not dragged down by body’s weight.

There is a longer stair that must be climbed.’

Dante Alighieri, Inferno, trans. Robert and Jean Hollander (New York: Doubleday, 2000).