Iron Maiden - Cross Eyed Mary

I have a special appreciation for cover versions. There's something about hearing an old song in a new light or seeing how one of your favorite bands re-interperets another. Here, Iron Maiden pays tribute to one of their forebears, Jethro Tull. The song was a B-side from the Piece of Mind era and got significant radio airplay. In fact, it was many Americans' first exposure to Maiden. It was popular enough that promoters begged the band to release it as a single, but they declined, not wanting to give the wrong impression of the band just for some quick success. This was probably the smart move as Maiden would go on to be well respected without much radio support and better known for their own compositions like The Trooper and Two Minutes to Midnight. A quarter-centurty on, most people don't even know about this cover.

Radiohead - Live From The Basement & "15 Step" at The Grammys

Here's a full hour of live Radiohead. The setlist is primarily derived from In Rainbows. It's not a bad CD, but I don't like it as much as the OK Computer/Kid A/Amnesiac triumvirate. That makes "Optimistic" at 34:50 the highlight for me. Even still, it's pretty cool to see one of the biggest bands in the world perform in what looks like an actual basement studio. Maybe seeing it in this venue will improve my impression of the album.


Radiohead - 15 Step (Grammy 2009)
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Even if you're not a fan of "15 Step," you'll want to check out Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, and the USC drumline performing it at the Grammys. The energy in this performance allowed me to finally appreciate the song. Radiohead seem to be above awards shows, espcially ones that take place in LA. But performing with some college-age Californians, Thom seems to be enjoying himself, even swaggering a bit on stage instead of just doing that weird headbobbing thing of his.