And if I could be who you wanted…
If I could be who you wanted…
all the time.
All the time…

 

The first time I ever heard this song was when Andy performed it for me in my basement room in the Fall of 1997. I know it seems like a late date, but I had been avoiding Radiohead since “that creep song” became so overwhelmingly popular in 1993. I suppose that the impulse to avoid popular things is a product of the nineties, or perhaps the alternative scene that predated it. In either case, it’s hard to avoid. (I suspect that there was also a bit of pride, being in possession of a great many recordings, thanks to friends like Mike, that very few of my friends had really spent much time with. What can I say? I was young.) Indeed, to this very day, I often have to be dragged into things that are generally considered clever. I have some weaknesses, these mostly manifesting through television, but there we are. So, it was no surprise that I would have paid little attention to Radiohead’s first three albums until Andy hit me over the head with “Fake Plastic Trees.” Now, of course, this wasn’t the original, but Andy’s stamp of approval really meant a lot in those days. He had been a member of my ill-fated band, and I’d gotten to see his quirky genius at work on a regular basis. To this day, I remain full of a mix of admiration, affection, and trepidation when I approach Andy. I suppose I’ll always carry that around when I listen to this song. Continue reading →