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Though I love Radiohead I would hardly call myself an expert on their music then again I wouldn’t call myself an expert on music in general. I often feel quite out of my element when it comes to talking about music, leaving it to other people, so-called “experts” or just people who live and breathe the stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I love music, but I admire those who seem at ease with the terminology, those who actually know what the beats and the notes are called. in 12th grade, I took a mandatory interdisciplinary course that combined literature, philosophy, (history of) science, art, and music, and this last was by far my weakest subject in the course. I would toss around musical terms without really understanding their meaning or application. The struggle has not improved any, so forgive me if I don’t feel exactly qualified to give a proper review, whatever that means. I am a fan speaking in layman’s terms.

Radiohead announced the upcoming release of their eighth studio LP on Valentine’s Day – a mere five days before the actual release of the album. The news spread quickly, becoming a trending topic on twitter within the hour. The album was released that Friday, a day ahead of schedule. if fans were expecting (or hoping for) a return to Radiohead’s OK Computer / Kid a style, they were almost certainly disappointed.

The King of Limbs is a ghostly acid trip, best described as the sonic representation of the images chosen for the album cover. Thom Yorke’s eerily high pitched voice coupled with the almost incomprehensible lyrics (then again, when has Thom Yorke ever been easy to understand?) and the creepy repetition that doesn’t sound quite human, The King of Limbs definitely feels other-worldly. Songs drip with melancholy and bleed into one another and into themselves. Yorke’s voice seems to be melting at times (an image I haven’t been able to get out of my head since Kid A’s “How to Disappear Completely”). overall the album feels rather abstract and a little inaccessible if only because it’s not always easy to decipher the lyrics.

Clocking in at just over 37 minutes, the album features only eight tracks. Though I was initially hoping for more (I’m sure most Radiohead fans were), the style lends itself to brevity I think – with the repetitive, loopy, echoic nature of many of the tracks, any longer would become tiresome. my favorite tracks are “Codex” and “Separator.” The former is a piano ballad, essentially sealing itself in my good books with very little effort (the song is gorgeous, but I’m referring specifically to my tendency to gravitate toward songs featuring heavy use of piano). The latter is a great final track, with the repetitive line “if you think this is over then you’re wrong,” either being used ironically or suggesting there’s more new Radiohead in the not-too-distant-future. I’m fine with either scenario. The beauty of Radiohead is the complexity of their music lends itself to multiple interpretations.

One of my friends called this album “a step back” but I disagree. I think it might be a step in a direction that some fans might not like (and don’t worry, I’m not judging – I’ve definitely been there with other artists) but the move does not come as a surprise to me given the progression of their style over the years. I can’t say this is the album I’ve been waiting three plus years to hear from Radiohead, but it’s still a beautiful effort, and I’m pleased to add it to my Radiohead collection.

The legendary Abbey Road Studios is synonymous with recording excellence, having worked with some of the world’s greatest artists including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Oasis.Immortalised by The Beatles in the title and cover shot of their last recorded album, Abbey Rd the band and many other after them have turned the studios into the most famous recording complex in the world.2011 marks the 80th anniversary of Abbey Road Studios, as the complex prepares to celebrate their rich heritage of being one of the leading recording studios the world over. Despite the extensive wealth of musical history the studio has produced over the years, Abbey Road Studios is keen to continue looking to the future and working to embrace and develop new artists and technology. The studios have announced their Online Mixing service, which is available from August. taking the form of a dedicated site, the groundbreaking concept offers musicians the opportunity to have their material mixed at the world’s most famous recording studios, by Abbey Road Studios’ award winning engineers. The Online Mixing service offers musicians a more accessible alternative to working personally at Abbey Road Studios, while still providing the opportunity to tap into their unrivalled range of equipment and skilled engineers. The mixing service offers musicians the opportunity to simply upload their music to the dedicated online mixing website, and they will take care of the rest.Since The Beatles began recording at Abbey Road in 1962, the studios have been a permenant fixture in popular culture.our World, transmitted into 400 million homes in 1967, showcased the studios in the world’s first ever global TV broadcast.Filmed by the BBC, the British section of the programme showed The Beatles at work in Studio 2, recording all you Need is Love, with producer George Martin sat in the control room taping the session.In recent years the world’s biggest acts have continued to record at the studios, with Lady Gaga and Florence + the Machine booking recording sessions.The studios have continued to feature on TV regularly, with Channel 4 series Live at Abbey Road, showing live sessions from the likes of Kasabian, The kills and The Raconteurs.Coupled with the introduction of their Online Mastering service last year, Abbey Road Studios claim to have provided a one stop shop for musicians and producers worldwide.abbeyroadonlinemixing.com/

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Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Republican presidential candidate who won the Iowa straw poll last month, might not know it, but she’s even got a band named after her.

Michele Bachmann Overdrive is a four-man rock outfit based in Great Falls, Va., that features Mike Sager, Mike Boggs, Gabriel Fry and Luke Peterson. despite the name, the guys are quick to note that they’re definitely not a tribute band.

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“Michele Bachmann Overdrive is a concept, and the concept is to have a band that captures the spirit of Michele Bachmann by being somewhat ill-prepared, not really up to the challenge ahead of it but going full speed ahead,” Mike Sager said.

The band’s motto? its website reads: “Bringing absurd Rock and/or Roll Covers to your Political Events, Leftist Rallies, Union Organizing Drives, Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Children’s Parties, Tea Party Torch’n’Pitchfork Terror Picnics (TP^3), Bipartisan Live-Action Role-Playing Fantasy Conventions, and Funerals.”

So far, the band hasn’t been too busy. its only gig was in December, but with Bachmann’s higher profile, they’re hoping that business might start picking up. (Sager said he’s “sure that her press leads have” learned of the band’s presence by now.) To prepare for its big break, Overdrive has made its set list of covers more political, practicing songs such as Cream’s “Politician,” Radiohead’s “Electioneering,” Soundgarden’s “She’s a Politician” and what Sager calls “the ultimate tribute”: Willie Nelson’s “Crazy.”

If Bachmann goes on to win the Republican nomination, it could mean big things for Overdrive. But the band has mixed feelings about that happening.

“There’s hoping for success for your band and there’s hoping for success for your country,” said Fry, adding that the band takes a “country over band” approach. Still, he hopes that Bachmann sticks around on the national political stage for a while.

“I’d like to keep her in public life as long as possible. She’s larger than life. She’s this fantastic, cartoonish figure.” And he sees some similarities between what she’s trying to do and, well, what the band is trying to pull off.

“being in a rock band is like an allegory for her. She’s that pure, voracious id. She’s running to be a public servant, but you don’t get the feeling that she wants to be a public servant. she wants the game. she wants the flashing lights. And being in a rock band, you’re ostensibly there to entertain people, but we’re entertaining ourselves far more than anyone who’s coming to see us. We’re in it for the free beer.”

So why the beef with Bachmann?

“I don’t take her seriously,” Fry said. “People like to roll the dice, people like disasters, people like to watch car crashes. they like to see Michele Bachmann do well in Iowa.”

Head to politico.com to watch our video interview with Michele Bachmann Overdrive, which features one of the band’s recording sessions.

— Patrick Gavin