Radiohead has released a composition written in honor of Harry Patch, the last remaining UK veteran of World War I.

Patch died July 25 at age 111, having been one of the world’s last four survivors of the First World War, the third oldest man in the world, and briefly the oldest man in Europe. As Thom Yorke says on Radiohead’s Web site, “I had heard a very emotional interview with him a few years ago on the Today program on Radio4. The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me.”

The song, inspired by Patch’s story, was composed and recorded a few weeks before his death. Johnny Greenwood arranged the strings, Yorke wrote the lyrics, and everything was recorded live in an abbey.

The song’s feel is old-fashioned and awe-struck, the way one would imagine a dirge for every fallen soldier would sound. The lyrics are bleak and dark, evoking an old war documentary or Normandy footage. It is sparse and delicate, and powerful at the same time. The abbey’s echo can be heard in the strings, giving it an ancient, wooden feel.

“Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” is available for download at Radiohead’s site and can be previewed, 30 seconds at a time, through a somewhat irritating flash player. The cost to download is 1 UK pound, or around $1.70. All proceeds are going to the Royal British Legion.
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Pop singer Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital around 1p.m. Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest, several media outlets are reporting.

E! Online reports that an eyewitness saw the 50-year-old Jackson taken to UCLA Medical Center in an ambulance from his Los Angeles home. E! also heard from Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, who is currently in Las Vegas. He said, “People in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital … his mother is on her way to the hospital now to check in on him.” The elder Jackson had no information on Michael’s condition.

TMZ also spoke with Joe Jackson, who told them Michael is “not doing well,” as well as to one of the Jackson brothers, who said he is in “really bad shape.”

Jackson collapsed in his home around noon, and staff found him unresponsive, E! reports. The LA City Fire department handled the call, but refused to identify Jackson by name to the media.

“When the team arrived, they saw that CPR was already in progress by someone at the home. The person not breathing was transported to UCLA Medical Center and remains there,” a fire department spokesperson said.

Michael Jackson was due to perform several shows in London next month, but was forced to cancel due to contract problems.
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Overheard the Brit band Raygun filming a video shoot near my work building in Hollywood, and wandered down to watch.

Got this pic of The Adj rocking out in front of the big fan:

The Adj, axe and green screen

Hey, it was on an iPhone. They don’t zoom.

Twitter users who follow Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor might have noticed a nice bonus to being part of the Tweet generation Wednesday. The Industrial rock icon is passing out tickets and backstage passes to NIN fans who follow his Twitter feed.

Reznor announced the giveaway Wednesday morning over Twitter, then tweeted a link just before noon. Users who clicked through were taken to the band’s NIN|JA tour page, where a short form was open for a brief window of time. The first five fans who completed the form took away the NIN|JA ticket haul.

Twitter users tremor76, freezya, shockwavesmedia, ungeheier and chadrullman each received two free tickets and backstage passes to any show featuring NIN and their touring acts, Jane’s Addiction and Street Sweeper Social Club, during their upcoming tour. The tour kicks off May 8 in West Palm Beach, FL and ends June 12 in Charlotte, NC.

A repeat of the contest was announced for Thursday, so any NIN fans who are Twitter-savvy had best get on board and keep an eye out if they want to take advantage. The only requirement is for entrants to provide an ID number, presumably to identify them once they receive their ticket (though this is a guess based on how they handle presale tickets…).

Visit Reznor’s Twitter page here, and the NIN|JA tour page here.

Local LA band Army Navy just released their second single, titled “Saints.” The song is a sweet, guitar-crunching, melody-swinging power-pop number the band has had for a while, recently re-released on their self-titled debut album.

The “Saints” video will smack you upside the head if you’re not paying attention. And if you are paying attention, it will smack you upside the head anyway.

Oh, and a 10-year-old gets drunk.

I’m embedding from YouTube, because the link they’re promoting doesn’t seem to like WordPress. But here’s the link anyway: http://www.vimeo.com/4281275. There’s also an awesome interview/live performance on YouTube everyone should check out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuHqSfbPiZA

The UK new-wave / goth outfit (“Depressed Mode,” one of my favorite band nicknames) is preparing to launch its world tour, the ambitiously titled Tour of the Universe. The avalanche of awesome begins Wednesday, May 6 with a warm-up show in Luxembourg, and ends (for now) December 18 in Manchester. The group had reportedly planned to end it in Florida in September, but recently added six extra Europe and UK dates.

The schedule is below. I will be eagerly descending upon the first Hollywood Bowl show. Cheers.

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