Radiohead and the USC Marching Band make Grammy magic!

Just as Nostradamus predicted, this year’s Grammy Awards were as boring and fast-forwardable as usual, but there was one live performance that truly rocked our world. You guessed it…our boys from Radiohead did it again.

Not only did Thom Yorke and company take home two awards (one for Best Alternative Album and one for Best Box or Limited Edition Package) for their rocking “In Rainbows” album last night, but they also performed for the first time on the Grammy stage with the very able backing of the USC Trojan Marching Band. I know it sounds crazy, but, holy crap…it was awesome!

While several of the other performers last night sounded kinda shaky in that big old Staples Center, Radiohead and that badass marching band sounded freaking amazing. And you just know those USC dudes — who wore matching “In Rainbows” tour t-shirts like the super soft one I bought earlier this year at the Hollywood Bowl –were loving being up there with the premiere act of the night. Seriously, it was kind of magical.

I could have done without presenter Gwyneth Paltrow’s strange, 80’s street whore ensemble, but hey, she introduced our favorite act of the night, so, I can live with it. I do wonder though if she had a hand in those fugly-ass military jackets her husband, Coldplay front man Chris Martin, and his band have been wearing this year. Love their music, and glad to see them get some Grammy love last night, but, wow…those jackets gotta go.

Oh yeah, also very excited to see Adele pick up the Best New Artist Grammy. Yay! Finally someone good and musically relevant wins in a category that usually celebrates the greatness of such luminaries as Paula Cole, Hootie and the Blowfish and the Starland Vocal Band. And best of all, the Jonas Brothers went home empty handed. Ha ha, suck it Jo Bros!

Anyway, dying to hear what the rest of you thought of the show, so, comment away, amigos. And in the meantime, kudos again to Radiohead for making our night! You know, they were so good, I think I’m gonna go undelete that shit and watch it again…

“In Rainbows” Album Art!

With the upcoming release of the CD version of Radiohead’s previously download-only album — the staggeringly beautiful “In Rainbows” — I was thrilled to see that the band has finally released pictures of the actual album cover art. Yeah!

True to form, the bold cover art was designed by frequent Radiohead collaborator, Stanley Donwood. Wow…all those crazy cool colors on the outside kinda makes me wanna buy the album (again!) just to see the artwork inside.

Still no new pictures of the more expensive Radiohead Discbox version of “In Rainbows”, but I did find this rocking pic of the contents (and coolly futuristic container!) of the brand new, limited edition Radiohead Box Set.

Containing all seven of the band’s full-length EMI-era albums — Pablo Honey (1993), The Bends (1995), OK Computer (1997), Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001), I Might Be Wrong (Live/2001) and Hail To The Thief (2003) — the Box Set also features new packaging for the albums but retains the original album artwork and liner notes for each CD. Very cool.

Available on Amazon.com for a limited time at the super low price of $71.99 (that’s like, $10.28 per album!), the set is a must have for any new Radiohead fan. I say new, because any true fan has all those albums already (that’s right!) and probably doesn’t need the box set. Or do they?

I mean, seriously, that white “Star Wars” box they come in is pretty damn cool…