Monday 29 June 2009

TIM INTERVIEWED BY RADIO BREMEN

Remenber about the Hurricane Festival in which Keane was in? There's a little interview (8.50m) with Tim by Radio Bremen which you can listen here. He talks about the feeling of working in Berlin, working with Gwen Stefani, about the show, a posible artist he'd like to work with, etc. It's well worth it!






Saturday 27 June 2009

COPENHAGEN PICS AND CLEVELAND MP3

Some of the brilliant pics taken at Copenhagen, June 23th:





some vids...

Early Winter



Again and Again



We Might As Well Be Strangers



Oh! and I also want to share all the gig in Cleveland in mp3. Thanks to Matt 91 and mchambers1980 for uploading it. Click here to download.

Thursday 25 June 2009

A BIT ABOUT BERLIN

Before start, let's see the latest Tim pic from Richard's European Photoblog


Talking about the Keane gig in Berlin the 17th of June, here you have some pics taken from the OB:






some vids from that spectacular gig:

Early Winter at Berlin



My Shadow + Crytal Ball



Tim dancing in Again and Again

Sunday 21 June 2009

KEANE OLDIES!!!

I've just found in the OB a new post referring to new Keane songs. To my surprise it was related to Keane at Bull and Gate, 10th Feb 2000. It is a quite long vid with two rare songs. I dunno the names but as quick as I know I'll post here. By the time, you can watch the old performance here. (I can't embed it because of user's request)

And for those who haven't watched the following two...just to remind you! :D

Call Me What You Like



More Matey

Friday 19 June 2009

RICHARD'S EUROPEAN PHOTOBLOG AND SOUTHSIDE FESTIVAL MP3

From KM.COM,

Some new pics from Richard's European photoblog...



and now, some links to download the mp3 of Keane at Southside Festival at Germany.


Keane At Southside Festival- Germany

Setlist:

The Lovers Are Losing
Everybody's Changing
Bend and Break
Spiralling
This Is The Last Time
You Haven't Told Me Anything
Is It Any Wonder?
You Don't See Me
Perfect Symmetry
Somewhere Only We Know
Crystal Ball
Under Pressure
Bedshaped

Uploaded by RWLover here (full gig) and also by KeaneFan 90 here (splited songs)

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS - PART THREE


Yes, it's time for the third and final batch of Tim's answers to your questions. Huge thanks again to the hundreds of you who sent in questions, sorry we couldn't ask all of them. And thanks, too, to Tim for the answers.

Do you like and practise any other Art like painting, sculpture....? LN
Tim replies: I would love to, but I rarely get round to it. I’m not great at drawing or painting, although I do enjoy both. I’d really like to get into screenprinting. I might go on a course once this touring cycle is over.
Where did you met Jesse? Sharon Müller:) from Mexico
Tim replies: He was on the crew for one of our arena tours, helping out Colin and Ant.
Keane recently worked with the Canadian-Somaili rapper K'naan. Given the diversity of your backgrounds, did you experience any problems communicating your ideas, or is music truly the "universal language?" Elizabeth from Seattle, USA
Tim replies: In my experience good musicians tend to have a mutual respect for each others' ways of working. With K’Naan it felt form the start that we were all excited to be in a room together and there was a great sense of possibilities. It’s certainly true that some (though not all) of his history and cultural background is wildly different from ours, but it’s funny how people from all over the world and all kind of different backgrounds tend to feel passionately about the same things. The songs we worked on were about quite basic aspects of the so-called "human condition" – time, fear, love, regret. He’s a cool guy and very easy-going, but also very observant and incisive in his lyrics.
Hi Tim. I really liked your cover of 'These days'. It's fantastic. Are thinking of doing another? Katia from Peru (yay!)
Tim replies: Thanks! Maybe I’ll do another...I have a couple in mind. But there never seems to be enough time...
Hello tim. you write such amazing words, i wondered if family & friends expect something poetic on their birthday cards other than "from tim" thanks always donna x
Tim replies: Probably! Unfortunately I’m always terrible at soundbites and saying the right thing generally. That’s probably why I started writing songs. If I had my way I would probably only communicate in songs. I could be like Julie Andrews or something, breaking into song whenever I have something significant to say. (Julie Andrews-related trivia factette – our first album was nearly called A Spoonful Of Sugar – Tom’s idea.)
Is there any Bside song that you really think it should have been put on the album? so you kinda regret it that that particular song was "only" a Bside song and you like "oh! i should`ve put this one instead of this one"?? coz all Keane's Bside songs are also wonderful!! Have a spectacular Day!! Feya from Indonesia
Tim replies: Well, there are a few B-sides that we all really love. Snowed Under is one of those. Fly To Me is one of my favourite Keane songs. I’ve always liked Thin Air too. But I wouldn’t necessarily put them on an album. I think it’s good to have a few gems that are hidden away and a bit harder to discover.
Have you ever been driving down the road and had to pull over because of an inspiration to write? Maggie USA
Tim replies: Yes, often. I normally call my own phone and leave a message.
Have you ever Googled yourself? (shit! I'd redie if he found this blog) Brenda from Buenos Aires
Tim replies: When I read your question I thought I’d give it a try. There’s a lot of nonsense of the internet! My Wikipedia page looks like it’s pretty hit-and-miss. People tend to conflate different events and stories to make one neat story, and it all gets a bit confused.
Hello Mr. Rice-Oxley! What is your favorite game? (I mean anything like a board game, card game, mind game, etc.) Mia (Portland, Oregon)
Tim replies: MarioKart Wii is pretty brilliant....I could lose days playing that. I’ve never been very into board games or cards, although I used to play vingt-et-un (pontoon) with my Dad when I was a kid. He had this great old set of chips, and it felt like we were playing in some smokey club in India in the 1930s.
My question is simple~Do you have a favorite book that you read over and over again? Ellie~Charlotte, NC
Tim replies: Two books I read over and over again are Revolution In The Head by Ian MacDonald and U2 At The End Of The World by Bill Flanagan. They’re both utterly brilliant. Another is Any Human Heart by William Boyd, but I find that one so emotional that I have to have a long break between readings! I’ve read Asterix In Belgium quite a few times too.

Gotta love this man! I'm satifisfied with this Tim's Q&As even though my question wasn't chosen. Maybe next time. Have a nice weekend!
Isaxx

Thursday 18 June 2009

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS - PART TWO


We're back with the second batch of Tim's answers to the questions which you very kindly sent in. Check back tomorrow for the final ten.

You have so many freaky T-shirts ( for example the one with the zebra on it), well, where do you get these shirts? Jana
Tim replies: I recommend a company called to-orist, and another one called graniph.
Heey! Why do you guys always finish the shows with Bedshaped? Beatriz Russano from São Paulo, Brazil.
Tim replies: It’s such a gargantuan song, with so much passion and soul-searching, that nothing else can follow it. We’ve tried, but it’s so final that it has to be at the end of something. Some songs are just like that. Atlantic always feels like it should start a section, for example.
Hi Tim, I was just wondering what you remember as being the best gig Keane has ever played at? Katie from San Francisco
Tim replies: There have been some great ones lately. The two Sydney gigs were pretty phenomenal. The second O2 show in February was very special to us because we were really in danger of having to cancel. Tom was really sick and his voice was already going by halfway through the previous night at the same venue. He got a shot of steroids the next day but it didn’t seem to make any difference. Then about ten minutes before we went onstage the drugs kicked in! Tom was still really ill but we all gave it everything we had and it turned out to be a really great show. It felt like a real victory for us.
What color is your toothbrush? Ellen Y, Seattle
Tim replies: Green and white. I need to get a new one actually, thanks for reminding me.
Do you ever read the fan comments on km.com, and if so, what sort of feelings do they generally stir? Mandy
Tim replies: Yes, quite often (I might die). I like to know whether people are leaving shows feeling happy or unsatisfied. Generally people say amazing things on km.com, and that’s very encouraging for us. I feel very proud of our fans. It’s a great community of people all over the world, and the website and forum are both intelligent, positive places still, unlike many such forums that descend into weirdness and negativity very quickly. We genuinely feel grateful for all the love and support we get on the website and elsewhere – Keane fans are incredibly loyal and very generous, and I’m glad to be a part of that.
Which is the place or country that you want to visit and you haven't? Alejandro Arriola from Guatemala
Tim replies: Oh, there are plenty. Guatemala, obviously! Peru (ok, I died). New Zealand. India. China. It’s a big world and it feels like we’ve barely got started.
Who is saying what at the end of The Lovers Are Losing? I've always wanted to know! Thanks, Grace
Tim replies: That was me saying to Tom, “We should get some Under Pressure-style finger-clicks on here”. Jake (who engineered the album) chopped it up and slowed it down, so it just says “Get some Under Pressure style” in a weird voice.
What makes a great show “great”? With so many gigs in so many cities and countries to call upon, what makes a certain gig really stand out from the rest? Greg USA
Tim replies: The first thing is feeling that we’ve given everything and played the best we possibly could. The rest is kind of down to luck and a good atmosphere in the crowd. Sometimes you just get a magical vibe on stage and in the crowd, and everything just feels exciting. You never know what it’s going to be like when you hit the stage, which I guess it what makes playing live endlessly exciting.
Do you ever get a sore neck after a gig? From, TomMelbourne, Australia
Tim replies: Yes! It aches the whole time. Sometimes I feel like my brain’s going to come out of my ears, and occasionally I get really dizzy (especially after Is It Any Wonder? and Again And Again) and can hardly stand up straight on stage! Probably not that good for me in the long run, but you just get caught up in the moment.
One of my favourite Keane songs is The Happy Soldier but I read somewhere that you won't re-release it as your views have changed. If this is true, I was wondering what the song is about? and how have your views changed? From Imyy, UK
Tim replies: That’s not the case. It’s a song about a soldier being afraid and wondering why he’s off fighting some pointless war far from his home. I suppose the lyrics are very tongue-in-cheek, which makes them open to misinterpretation. It was one of the first songs I wrote and it’s a subject I still return to a lot, for example in A Bad Dream. I think we may even release it very soon!

Wednesday 17 June 2009

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS - PART ONE


Last week, we asked you, the good readers of km.com, to email us questions to ask Tim. Hundreds upon hundreds of you did just that (big thanks to all of you). We read every single one of them and then sent Tim our favourite 30. We'll be running the answers over the next few days, starting right about now...

Have you ever been approached to compose a soundtrack for a movie and would you do it if asked? Tosh, Miami, Fl USA
Tim replies: Not a full soundtrack, but we’ve often been asked to write songs for movies. My Shadow was actually written for the closing credits of a big film.
Time To Go has the hallmarks of a classic intriguing Tim song - in that it isn't clear who the subjects are in the story. Is this particular song a recollection of someone saying Time To G' to Tim personally, or of Tim saying this to another person, or Tim witnessing someone saying this to someone else, or something else!? In short, who is the song about and what was the occasion? Jane A
Tim replies: I wrote it after a party in London a couple of years ago. I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone, and compensated by drinking a vast amount of champagne. It was a fun night with lots of dancing and great music, but on my way home I refused to get off the train because I thought we were at the wrong stop; then I tripped over and accidentally head-butted my wife, in a Superbad-stylee. It’s generally not my style to behave that way, so I guess I wrote the song as a warning to myself.
Hi Tim! I seem like a real saddo saying this but on the Everybody's Changing 1.34 into the video (the little 4 bar break) you play a C instead of a D, any reason or didn't you know!? I shall go and get a life now! Ollie Gwyther
Tim replies: Ha – I’ve no idea! Either I made a mistake, or the director just edited in a bit of footage that doesn’t sync with the music. Dear Tim, I noticed that many of your songs have to do with or mention the ocean or water of some sort (Atlantic and UTIS, obviously, but also The Lovers Are Losing, Black Burning Heart, and Crystal Ball).
Is there a particular reason for this or do you just feel a connection with water?--Kelsey
Tim replies: I’m sure a psychologist would have something to say about it. I guess the ocean has always inspired people. It’s a powerful thing to behold something so massive and almost boundless – I think it makes us think about our mortality and how small we are. When I was a kid we used to go down to Bexhill on Sunday afternoons and I always noticed old people who had driven down there and just sat in the cars looking at the sea.
Hi Tim. How do you start off writing a song? I'm trying to do so at the moment and I'm finding it really difficult getting ideas down. Could you give me any tips? Elliot, Isle of Man
Tim replies: Buy a Dictaphone, so you can note down your ideas quickly. I tend to sit at the piano, or a synth, or with a guitar, and play chords and sing over the top. Eventually (on a good day) a melody and some lyrics start to take shape. You have to be patient though, and you have to focus and work hard. The old cliché about “1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration” is totally true. My ideal is to sit at the piano for about 8 hours and play without interruptions. Sometimes I have to do that for three or four days before anything good emerges. But something good will come out eventually! The key is to not be afraid to try different ideas or styles. If you play the same four chords over and over again for hours and try singing in a bunch of different styles, with different words over the top, you’ll hit upon something eventually. And always finish a song before you give up on it.
Hi Tim! What is the hardest song you have ever composed / written and why? (I asked the same T-T, no fair!) Wouter, the Netherlands
Tim replies: Hmm. I found Crystal Ball very hard. I just couldn’t write any lyrics for it, and I tried a bunch of different things. It took me months and months. I’m still not happy with the chorus. It’s totally impassioned and a very deep song, but it comes across as simplistic, I think. You Haven’t Told Me Anything took a while too, I think because it’s a song with short burst of melody and I had a lot of information I wanted to pack in. But I kept chipping away at it and I’m really pleased with the lyrics for that one. It’s one of my favourite Keane songs.
What is the first thing you like to do when you get home from being on tour? Alice
Tim replies: Have a bath. :O :P
Just wondering about My Shadow and why it didn't make the album (although the album was still great without it). John, USA
Tim replies: As I mentioned above, I wrote the song for a film. The nature of the movie steered the lyrics of the song, but out of context I didn’t feel the lyrics were strong enough, and they didn’t seem to fit with the tone of the rest of the album. Everyone else wanted to put it on the record and I kept fighting against it. To be honest I think I was wrong on that one!
Have you ever written a song drunk? josé carlos villalobos yañez
Tim replies: I need all my wits about me to write. I remember doing some demos with Tom many years ago when we were both a bit drunk. We listened to it all the next day and it sounded shit, so we kind of learned that lesson early!
In This Is The Last Time - why does Tom always sing the first few lines specifically to you? (Love it but have never understood why). Sue
Tim replies: Probably because it’s just me and him playing at that point. It gives us a chance to engage in the middle of a gig. And he likes to wind me up by standing on my piano!

Wednesday 10 June 2009

NEWS AND VIDS

This Friday!

Tom, Tim & Richard take over Y-Rock On XPN in Philadelphia this Friday night at 9pm ET. The guys will pick out some of their favorite tunes from Blur, Grizzly Bear, Jeff Buckley and more. Plus hear some songs performed live in the studio. If you're here in Philadelphia, you can tune in on the radio at 88.5 XPN or listen anywhere in the world via the Y-Rock Webstream at http://www.yrockonxpn.org/

Pinkpop at Youtube

Yes! It is finally there. All the vids were uploaded thanks to laiswike which you can see his profile here

This is the one I love at the moment. Although some technical problems were at the beggining, I think it sounded great as it always does when this song is played live. We gotta love Timmeh!

You Haven't Told Me Anything

Under Pressure



Somewhere Only We Know




And a good interview at Tokio

Monday 8 June 2009

From KM.com,


Those of you who've been hanging around keanemusic.com for a wee while will remember that we used to have a little feature called Ask Keane, whereby you could send in questions and we'd get the band to answer the best ones. Well, we've decided to revive it. So, if you have a question for Tim, please email it to ontour@keanemusic.com before 7am (UK time) on Friday June 12th.

We'll send the most original and interesting ones over to Tim to answer. (We'll be doing the same with the others in following weeks.)

If you wanna read last Tim's Q&A just click here

Friday 5 June 2009

MORE ROB'S N.AMERICA PICS

From KM.con,

Here's the final batch of Rob's pictures from the North American tour. Big thanks again to him for sending them in.


what a view!!!!
Have a good weekend, wherever you are.

km.com and also isafanhp.blogspot.com *wink*

Thursday 4 June 2009

PICTURES FROM ISLAND50

Click here to check out a bunch of urbanimage.tv's terrific pictures from Saturday's Shepherd's Bush Empire show, including the one above and the one below. You can, of course, also see Keane fans' pictures from the show in the Live section here





videos

Under Pressure


My Shadow


You Haven't Told Me Anything...the crwod goes mad! wanted to be there :(

Wednesday 3 June 2009

ROB'S N.AMERICA PICS

From KM.com,
Recovering from yesterday, let's see what Rob has for us today:


Talking about Pinkpop (I left the link in one of the post below) you can find Spiralling and This Is The Last Time video to watch online here.

More various pics, generally from USA...




Monday 1 June 2009

HAPPY 33TH B-DAY TIMMY!!! (UK TIME)


YAY!!! The big day came so I'm very happy about it.

To express better my feelings to my favorite songwriter and pianist, I made this video which I'd like to share with you all. I think this one is better than last year's vid.
It's obvious I wish Tim all the best in his present and future cos he deserves it.

If someday for an unknown or paranormal reason Tim reads this blog...*blushed* I did it with all my love :D

Let's enjoy!


DISCO 2000 COVER ON ISLAND50 COMPILATION



We thought you'd like to know that a new 3CD compilation celebrating Island Record's 50th birthday is released today. It features Somewhere Only We Know on the first disc, plus Keane's splendid new cover of Pulp's Disco 2000 on the third disc (we've added a clip above). If that wasn't enough Keane-related excitement, there's also a rather lovely Taio Cruz cover of Everybody's Changing.

You can buy the CD from Island's official shop by clicking here. Or, download the album, or just the Keane tracks, from iTunes by clicking here.

You can download the preview here.

UPDATE: We're trying to find out from the label whether fans outside the UK will be able to download the Disco 2000 cover. We'll let you know what we discover...