A head full of radios

Brethren, we live in a wonderful time of great things. We have this new fangled thing called the internets that we can use, and apparently on these internets one can find and enjoy various entertaining things. In my personal time I prefer to partake in musics. Musics are great things that move me. This post is dedicated particularly to musical nuggets of joy that are done in the name of the almighty Radiohead. Anyone who has ever looked at the music of Radiohead from a theoretical standpoint can tell you that it really shouldn't work. So much ambiance should not be capable of having so much precision, and yet somehow they just rock it like the Flintstones. And yes, I know that was a dumb metaphor. Just roll with it. To honor this, I present for your listening enjoyment covers of Radiohead songs that, on paper, simply should not work, and yet somehow are pure amazing.

For exhibit A, I ask for your forgiveness. After all, it is slightly blasphemous to infer that Hanson can cover Radiohead and do it really, really, well. However, they do. Oh, how they do!



Foe exhibit B, I present to you a piece of Americana. Chris Thile is a mandoline player in a group by the name of Nickel Creek. I've had the great pleasure of seeing this man live, and you'll have to take my word for it when I say I've never seen anyone shred the Mandolin quite like he does. He did everything from Bach to the White Stripes (which we won't hold against him). He played this cover of Morning Bell, and later I found this tasty, tasty video of him and his other bluegrass band band playing the ever loving crap out of it.



Finally, with exhibit C, I present to you a once mighty band who is now (arguably) just making stupid records just to make fun of their fans. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, may I present to you Weezer playing an amazing rendition of Paranoid Android. Bonus points to the drummer for playing the guitar.



There you have it. A band so good that you can cover it anyway that you want it and it still brings the awesome.

loves,
~taylor

ps - we loves ya

MPotW: Not Very Good Music

Boys,

We typically focus on what's good in life (Gospel, books, concerts, cultural happenings, sports, etc.). Periodically it's important to get one's taste-meter recalibrated by listening to music that is notable for its not-goodness. No, I'm not suggesting the swill you hear on Clearchannel stations. I'm talking about music that'll give your ears a clear wash:

1. The Shaggs. Yes, Frank Zappa once claimed the Shaggs were 'better than the Beatles'. He had a somewhat strange sense of humor. Their best song is probably My Pal Foot Foot, which is probably about their rabbit. The reason he ran away is because rabbits are musical creatures that can keep a tune in a bag, unlike this band. How is Foot Foot different from their drummer? Only one of the two likes beets! (get it?)

2. Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. Yes, they're married and have several albums to their names. What makes these two particularly notable is that both are actually extremely accomplished musicians whose sole goal in their musical careers was to be the best at being the worst in the industry. Every note is about a half step off, every beat is off just enough to set your teeth on edge. I used to have their greatest hits until my Mom hid the CD. No Joke.

3. Linda McCartney. Yeah, you can't marry talent, as it turns out: 

Announcements for the most amazing week so far ever

Boys,

A couple things:

1. This week we heard about things that may be faster than the speed of light. One thing that is definitely not very fast is the person who set up the incredible Fantasy Football League. The dude may or may not have neglected to set up the draft mechanism correctly. Draft time coming soon.

2. More artsy photos of people in the ward! Check it out:

Taylor McCarrey measures practice time in months, not hours. 

Bryce Youngquist's perfectly practised pensive profile pic

Holly Vance doesn't need to practice - she's got radiance down. 

Newcomer Chris Koons, shortly before running over the photographer

Missionaries! The tall dude is a rather redundantly-named Elder Partner, with a surprised former comp.

3. Ever go to the Cinerama? It's only coolest most amazing theater in a town full of cool amazing theaters. Anyway, it's a truly rare event  when you actually get to see a movie in the format (70mm - think IMAX before IMAX was invented) and now you can! Check out the Schedule.

...and on that note: 

Crowd Participation!

Fellas fellas fellaz,

Apparently, this blog is getting big. How do we know?

1. According to the page counter at the bottom, we've served over 1,000 pages. That's about 1/100,000,000th the number of Big Macs ever sold. Think about that.

2. We got some fan art! Check out this little diddy:

This may or may not be an original Banksy. I'm thinking it's more like a Tyler Stout or possibly a Brian Robinson. In any event, I think we can all agree that's some solid font selection. Kid, next time I say let's go some place like Bolivia.....

3. We have a European fan club. Check out this photo of an actual French/Swiss/Kiwi cosmopolitan in her Fiat 500 with U1EQ society reporter Bob Glass: 

Sadly, our European fan club is moving to Madison, WI in the near future. She shall be missed. This has been a bad week for Bob Glass, as both Arielle Pettitt and the Fiat 500 are leaving by the end of the week. 

Stay classy, U1EQ. Oh, and set this page as your home page so we can get above 2,000 page views. 

Famous People Endorse U1EQ, or something

Peace and blessings,

So we're all sophisticates in the U1EQ - you know, people that have their finger on the beating pulse of society. Call us classy. How classy, you ask? Check this out:

Yes friends, that's our very own Bob Glass with comedy genius Richard Ayoade, better known as Moss. Bob picked an opportune moment to wear an ironic shirt, in true Seattle style. Might as well be wearing a short that says "you've probably never heard of them". Who's Richard Ayoade, you ask? You could say he's like Al Gore: 

This is from a britcom called "the IT Crowd". It's so cool, stars of the show flock to members of the U1 just for the photo-ops and in Bob's case, hair styling tips. 

How about rock stars? Check out this photo of the author with none other than Jimmy Buffett: 

I'm on the left wearing a shirt that apparently was salvaged from the wardrobe of 'the Simpsons' Broadway Revue'. Rumor has it Mr Margaritaville (that's not me) was never the same after this experience. It looks like the only guy in this shot that really enjoyed himself is the dude in the green shirt. Does it look like has a massive head? Apparently this photograph was taken before sideburns were invented. 

Right then: Announcements. 

1. This Saturday and Sunday: Stake Conference. Temple Session (for all those endowed) at the Temple at 7AM  Saturday. Yes, that means getting up on Saturday morning. And yes, that means YOU. 

2. Priesthood on Saturday. I am sure Christian announced this on Sunday. I think it's at 4 or 7PM on Saturday. Definitely Saturday, in any event. 

3. Conference Sunday. 

4. Ward/Elders' Quorum Fantasy Football! See below. Be sure to mark your calendars appropriately: the 22nd of this Month (a Thursday) at 8PM is the draft. Fabulous prizes. 

5. With Mormonism being the flavor of the month in the Republican party, expect lots of press coverage, for better or for worse. Here is an example of responsible reporting in the face of bigotry, via the Church Newsroom. Bon Appetit. 

Let us all concentrate on feeling love and empathy for others this week and on being obedient to the commandments. Oh yeah, and let's do our home teaching. Dodgeball on Friday, anyone?

Announcements for this Labor Day weekend

Brethren,

Big things await us. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Honorable Dan Schwab has the lesson on Sunday. No pressure, Dan - just make sure this is the best work you've ever done or else your car will be the fabulous prize for the item below. Here's the topic.

2. The University First Ward of Zion will be hosting a Fantasy Football League. The Elders Quorum, frankly, is on the spot here because the ward's most fanatical Football fan is Tryna Lott, by a long shot. You can try to outfox her, it will not end well. We're inviting the Relief Society to join in on this. There will be a fabulous prize for the winner, but we know not yet what. Technically it'll be decided in January, when we'll have a budget again! Here is the page, and we need YOU to sign up to compete. The draft is on September 22 at 8PM.

3. This Sunday is Fast Sunday.

4. Next Sunday is Stake Conference at the Stake Center.

5. New home teaching routes are imminent. You are forewarned.

MPOTW: Patriot Songs for Labor Day

Howdy Folks,

Well, it's Labor Day weekend, which means three things:

1. Summer's about over.
2. America.
3. Bumbershoot!

Let's explore all these themes.

First off, Justin Townes Earle played Bumbershoot last year and he was amazing. Here's a gospel-y song he wrote that sounds decently Labor day-ish.

Thoughts? Let's get some Chet Atkins in here to show us how patriotism is done. That guy's more 'Merican than Steve McQueen driving a '68 Mustang into an Apple Pie. With Buzz Aldrin. Here's ol' Chet to show us how it's done:

Fed up with dudes? Let's get some ladies in here - how about Neko Case (Tacoma native, BTW) at Bumbershoot covering Bob Dylan? Now that's some serious Americana:

Bon appetit my friends! Enjoy Labor Day weekend.

Ward Campout, etc.

Fellas,

First off, you're doing things right and you're okay. We constantly wonder if we're doing life right and where our place in the cosmos is; yours is right here and you're good. Each of us has things we can improve, but cut yourself some slack. I'm ok. You're ok. We're doing a'ight.

Laird Bennion with Jeramie, treasured Sunday School President and Globetrotter. 

Trevor Crump in a heroic pose. Note EQ emeritus Brennan in the background. 

Kelley Cade shortly before her departure to Gotham. 

Ken Snider and Arielle Pettitte

Bishop Metcalf with Kelley's dad, who was fun to talk to. Looks kind of like a Bond Villain in this shot. Doesn't help that he lives in a hollowed-out volcano with a Shark tank. 

Holly Metcalf posing perfectly. 

...And Christian not posing perfectly. Stephanie has her game together here. 

EQ emeritus Layne Mohlman shows us how tough love looks in human form. I had to stand on top of 6 phonebooks to get this angle on him. 

Announcements and other things that will expand your mind(s)

Brethren, 

First off, some announcements!

1. Wednesday night we need to do a quick move. This is a sister we've helped move in the past and it should be relatively easy. Here's the info: 

Where: 19708 15th Ave NE #19 Shoreline, WA 98155

When: 7:00 on Wednesday

Who: A sister named Christine, who's a close friend of Susan Butterfield's. 

Contact info: Either call me or do some math beneath. 

Christine's phone number's square root is: 

45,422.6482

In other words, multiply the above number by itself (including all the junk after the period) and you'll find what you're looking for. 

 2. I'll be asking around about home teaching numbers. Not that it's a surprise or anything. 

3. How are your listening skills? Since we're men, the answer is probably lousy. That's what I was told after someone had to repeat the question. Anyhoo, Here's why that's bad: 

And since he has a British accent, he must be right, right?

MPOTW, Righteous Guitar Edition

Boys,

We enjoy things that are virtuous, lovely, or of good report (if I remember the quote correctly). What's that mean? We like good stuff. We're men of taste and refinement. That means we're connoisseurs of good books, good movies, amazing guitar solos and awesome moments in sporting history, such as this legendary Tiger Woods ad:

Interesting note: this ad wasn't planned - it was shot while Mr. Woods was waiting to shoot a different and really lame ad for Nike. Anyway, I think it's virtuous, lovely and of good report. It also makes me feel like I should sell my clubs and stop pretending to play golf.

Anyway, this MPOTW is about virtuous music, which means virtuosity! Let's go with guitar. As usual, we'll have three picks, you vote on the winner in the comments.

First off: did you like Tron 3D much? This guy did:

Killer fretwork! Now if only the movie was as good as this guy is at guitar. Points for originality, but no further points awarded - he didn't solo. How important is a scorching solo? Ask Doug Rappoport, guitarist for Edgar Winter:

Fits the bill for killer solo work (extra credit for the Baba O'Reilly riff), but a little too planned out for the genius award. I'd like to point out that this contender is definitely of good Rappoport, so that counts for something (pun). Final contender of the evening:

This is the gold standard - Hendrix's Woodstock Improvisation. Note the bass-face to end all bass-faces. It looks like his skull's gonna melt off. Still, this was all extemporaneous - nothing planned, yet it changes modes, keys and times more often than the Mariners' offensive lineup this season. And unlike the Mariners, Hendrix's magnum opus here works! It's amazing. Truly lovely and of good report.

Thoughts? Let's get some votes here, fellas.