Tim Sings a Song

And it's really not terrible. At all. Without further ado, here is Mr. Rice-Oxley singing Jackson Browne's "These Days" in a hotel room in Rio. Terribly depressing song.

On a Day Like Today

So some time ago, I found this absolutely magical performance of Keane's "On a Day Like Today", live in Amsterdam. It was released only on the UK version of Hopes and Fears, and when I found it on iTunes, I originally rather disliked it. But after seeing this live performance, and hearing Tom's earnest (and f-bomb-containing) explanation, I fell in love with the song.

And then YouTube informed me that the user had removed the video.

But not to fear! I found it again. So, from good ole 2005, "On a Day Like Today". It's not immediately the most interesting song, and Tom starts out a touch shaky, but it's an absolutely hypnotic, gut-wrenching, hopeless song. So the usual cheerful stuff. Oh, and for some reason, there are bubbles around 3:50. Seriously:

Anya Marina acousitc performance

Anya Marina is a strange cookie, but after seeing her live, I absolutely adore her. Oh, and she was the only one of the 3 performers who stayed for photos AND came over to our side of the bushes. That sounds bizarre. Anyway, this is an acoustic performance of "Vertigo".

Why We Need Strangers

These videos are short, blurry, and difficult to understand. Nevertheless, they absolutely prove why we need to own the documentary 'Strangers', pronto.

This is Tim's voice the whole way through. I did a Google Search and apparently this is somehow related to a Martin Short sketch/song. Notice Tom mouthing the words in the mirror in a disinterested manner:

EDIT: Apparently Ba-Ba-Ba-Broadway! is the title of a musical comedy Martin Short released 2 years after this documentary was made. So...maybe unrelated.



And you're sooooo smart, too. Definitely 11/10:



Just wow. In case you, er, can't tell, this is "Everybody's Changing":

Welcome Back. With A High Note.

I've said in the past...or at least, I've thought- that the world of classical music may have lost a possible star when Tom Chaplin decided to do that Keane rubbish. But watch this video. At the end, he sings the largest and most beautiful sundae...er...high note I have ever heard. HA! That phrase actually fits for once. Anyway, here's Keane recording 'Perfect Symmetry' (or rather, Symmotry) in Berlin last year:

Most Awkward Duet ever.

Tom Chaplin and Pete Doherty are kind of like a before/after picture. Every time the camera pans on Doherty here, I thank Neil Patrick Harris- because you KNOW this is somehow his doing- that Tom's over all his problems, because GOOD GOD he could be like this now. Case in point:

Poor Tom looks frightened and uncomfortable, as he well should; it can't be fun to stand a few feet away from a living reminder of a time Tom's referred to as "hell", "brainwashing", and a "cult"- namely, rehab.

Epic.

Only NPH could pull of a 2-minute commercial for, er, giving out free candy with such POW. Watch. It starts out corny, then....hahaha:

Minidoc Part 4

And finally, the conclusion of Tom's profound, disturbing, and silly L.A. documentaries, all from last December.

Why We Love 'Em

This is why everybody loves Jason Mraz.

LA minidoc part 3

The third part of Tom's L.A. minidocs, made way back in December. I always think he sounds eerily McCartney-esque on some songs, so it's actually quite unnerving how similar he can sound on purpose:

Comparison

Ok, so it isn't exact, but take Adam's performance a week and a half ago on Idol- I couldn't find a Youtube vid because Fremantle is being stupid, but you remember the eerie blue lighting, slightly evil sound, etc.?



THIS is what I thought of IMMEDIATELY, albeit without the freeze ray or evil death whinny:

Great Michael Interview

FINALLY, some promotion! Looooove the dancing.

Johns extra
by krunkyou

Busking

Tom really likes this busking thing, doesn't he? This time, it's in Buenos Aires. I love the confused people in the square.

Some Funny Keane Pics

By the way, none of these are photo-shopped.

Alright. I've grown to appreciate Jesse Quin, the unofficial 4th member, ever since that dying-cow noise he made in Tom's documentary. But you HAVE to admit there's something a little strange going on here.


I mean, I don't want to say he feels about Tom the way Tom feels about Bono, but...

Tim replies with a Dick Solomon face.


And I don't mean to be silly or anything, but...AHAHAHAHAHAHA LOOK AT TOM'S FACE!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHA.
He looks like he just watched Michael's elimination from Idol. Yeah, I went there.

I don't know what I love more about that picture: the crazy facial expression OR the fact that the web address contained the word "FLAB". I'm not kidding. I think somebody should be offended, but I'm not quite sure who.

Heeeeee.

I was trawling through Youtube in a mostly futile attempt to find clips from Mickey Blue Eyes for Layne when I came across this:



Yep, still as funny as it was then.

A Progression

Sorry, for those who don't appreciate Keane...wait. No. I'm NOT sorry. Anyway, here's a little progression I put together. I just think it's fascinating how they, particularly Tom, have gone from this in 2003, (shy, awkward, round-faced, floppy-haired, and rather off-key):



to full-fledged rock stars covering a Queen/Bowie song in 2007. Yes, they actually messed up a couple of times here, but it's a near-impossible song from every aspect, and Tom had real stage presence here, goddammit.



And, just because, a very sweet acoustic performance of 'Try Again' from 2007, complete with string quartet:

The Secret of the Shiny Hair

So this is what happens when a teleprompter malfunctions at the taping of Demetri Martin's show. Most comedians would wait backstage until the teleprompter gets fixed. But Demetri decides to entertain the audience by getting out his guitar and singing an impromptu song. (A capo, by the way, is a thin wooden thing you strap onto the neck of a guitar to block off strings, thus creating a higher chord.) He really is a strange, strange bird:

Important Things with Demetri Martin	Wed 10:30pm / 9:30c
Coolness - Behind the Scenes - Q&A Song
comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

If I

This is a long special. Be warned. I hate how unreceptive the audience, too. But I think it's a fascinating look into the world of Demetri Martin, circa 2004.

Also, the pants. Do not be frightened. All will be explained, around Part 3, I think.

A teaser...

Soon I'm gonna post Demetri Martin's 6-part "If I" performance, which was inspiring and funny to say the least- it certainly made me feel less, er, special. Special in the weird way. Anyway, here's a little preview- it's Demetri's 224-word palindrome, entitled "Dammit I'm Mad". If you don't know what palindrome is, think perfect symmetry, in a non-Tom-Tim-Rich way. Or try to spot it:

Dammit I'm mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I'm in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level "Mad Dog".
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider… eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one… my names are in it.
Murder? I'm a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash,
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I'm it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I'd assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
"Sir, I deliver. I'm a dog"
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I'm mad.


The best part, in my opinion, is something I'm very proud of myself for figuring out. You know what the point of symmetry is, the exact center of the palindrome? "I".

Union Chapel

Sorry, this is probably more interesting for the greater Keane aficionados amongst my readers.
I recommend watching in HQ, full-screen- very good quality. Just a few observations:
1) Tom HAS gained some of that weight back, hasn't he? Hm.
2) This is Union Chapel. Yep.
3) Tim's backing vocals have improved so much over the past few years, it's unbelievable.
4) They're singing Perfect Symmetry in a church. PERFECT SYMMETRY. The spineless dreamers hide in churches, and there is no heaven waiting for you song. In a CHURCH. Epic: