The Song Stuck In My Head: “THE BENDS” by RADIOHEAD (1995)

“Where Do We Go From Here?…

…The Words Are Coming Out All Weird…

…Where Are You Now, When I Need You?…“

… … …

“…Alone On An Airplane…

…Falling Asleep Against The Window Pane…

…My Blood Will Thicken…“

… … …

“…I Need To Wash Myself Again…

…To Hide All The Dirt And Pain…

…’Cause I’d Be Scared…

…That There’s Nothing Underneath…“

… … …

“…But Who Are My Real Friends?…

…Have They All Got THE BENDS?…

…Am I Really Sinking This Low? …“

… … …

… … …

***<><><>***<><><>***<><><>***

During My Wednesday Walk-About…

…My MP3PLAYER Was (as it almost always is) Set To Shuffle The Stream Of Tunage It Was Spouting Forth Upon Me.

I Listened To Many MANY Great Jams…

…But This Song…

“THE BENDS“

…By The Band…

RADIOHEAD

…Went And Got Itself Stuck Within My Mind.

I’ve Been Humming It AND Singing It To Myself Ever Since.

It’s A Song I’ve Known Since My High School Days…

…And It’s Been Stuck In There Many Times Before.

However…

…Today I Decided To Do Something About It.

I Figured MAYBE If I Got It Down In Words And Onto The Ole Blog It Would Release Its Current Grip On Me.

So Far?

Nope.

It’s Still There.

I’m Still Humming And Singing Along.

It’s A Classic Little Number.

It’s Also A Mainly Forgotten Little Number.

Folks Can Remember The Album Was Called…

“THE BENDS“

…But They Generally DON’T Remember It Was Also A Song On Said Album.

It’s Always Been A Personal Favorite Of Mine, Though.

I Enjoy My Music To Be Thought Provoking…

…And This One Sincerely Is.

I’m Sure Everyone Has Been There Before…

…When You’re Unsure If You Have Any Friends At All.

I Know I Have A Handful Of True Friends…

…And I Wouldn’t Take Anything For Them…

…I Just Never Get To Actually SEE Any Of Them.

BUT…

…I Do Take Solace In Knowing They’re Still There…

…Regardless Of Quality Face-To-Face Time.

When I Awoke This Morning…

…I Had Received A Message From One Of My Longest-Tenured Friends…

…And It Truly Made Said Morning.

It Was A Thank You Message That Was…

…Honestly…

…Totally Unexpected.

A Simple Message That Reminded Me There Are Still Some Peeps In The World Whom DO Consider Me A Close Friend.

Needless To Say…

…It Made Me Feel Really Good.

I Was Very Happy To Have Received It…

…And I Felt It Totally Fit With What I Was Wanting To Do With This Song.

Friends Are…

…Honestly…

…Sincerely…

…Truly PRICELESS.

I May Not See My Friends As I Once Did…

…But The Simple Fact Of Knowing They’re Still There…

…Still Part Of My Little World…

…Truly Makes All The Difference.

Some Folks Aren’t As Lucky.

The Friends I Still Have…

…For The Most Part…

…Stem DIRECTLY From My Childhood.

Those Whom Have Known Me Longest…

…Whom Have Accepted ME ME…

…Through Think And Thin…

…Good Times And Bad…

…Remain Very VERY Special To Me.

I Love My Friends.

And I Wouldn’t Take Anything For Them…

…Regardless Of Anything Else.

You’ve Heard Me Say Before That I’m NOT An Easy Person To Be Around Sometimes…

…And I’m Sure My Friends Can Easily Attest To That.

And Yet…

…They Remain.

I Honestly Don’t Know Why They Do So, Sometimes.

I Never Felt I Brought Anything Tangible To The Table.

I’ve Always Felt I’ve Caused More Issues Than I’ve Solved, That’s For Damn Sure.

And Yet…

…They Remain.

To ME…

…That’s The Mark Of A True Friend.

They’re There For You…

…Regardless Of How Great OR How Shitty You Are.

As I Stated Before…

…Some Folks Aren’t As Lucky.

I’m A Very Unlucky Person In Most Aspects Of Life…

…But I’m EXCEPTIONALLY Lucky To Have The Few Friends I Do Have…

…Because I Know They’ll Always Be There For Me.

And I’ll Always Be There For Them.

Through Think And Thin.

Through Good Times And Bad.

They’ll Still Be There.

And So Will I.

🙂

T’Is FRIDAY, My Peeps.

I Sincerely Hope It Treats Y’all Well.

Let’s Just Get Through This One And On Into The Weekend.

It’s Time For This Lad To Take A Nice Walk Before It Gets Too Damned Hot Out There.

BE GOOD, KIDDIES!!!

Or…

…At The Least…

…TRY.

😉

😀

Did Up A Couple Quick Miles, Today. Nearly Passed-Out. But The Tunage SAVED-MY-ASS Once Again!!!

This Morning Began Like Any Other.

I Was Awake Too Damned Early…

…And Had Little To Occupy Myself With For A Bit.

Finally…

…I Says To Myself…

“Dude, Just Put Your GD Shoes On And HIT IT!”

Sometimes…

…I’m Simply Frothing-Over With Excellent Personal Advice.

At Least…

…Excellent Personal Advice For ME.

So I Popped On The Ole NEW BALANCES…

(Still The Best Walking Shoes I've Ever Owned)

…And I Hit The Dusty Trail.

The Temperature Was Acceptable.

The Humidity Level Was NOT Acceptable.

But…

…There Was A Steady Breeze.

To ME…

…Those All Added-Up To…

“Get Your Butt Out There And Kick This Pig!”

And So I Did.

THANK JEEBUS HARRY For QUALITY TUNAGE!!!

In No Real Order…

…Here Are 10-Quality-Jams From This Morning’s Walk-About-Adventure.

***\\//\\//***\\//\\//***

#10

“THE BENDS“

By

RADIOHEAD

!!! !!! !!!

#9

“PHOTOGRAPH“

By

WEEZER

!!! !!! !!!

#8

“GREEN RIVER“

By

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL

!!! !!! !!!

#7

“LET’S DANCE“

By

DAVID BOWIE

!!! !!! !!!

#6

“MY NAME IS MUD“

By

PRIMUS

!!! !!! !!!

#5

“(I’VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE“

By

BILL MEDLEY & JENNIFER WARENS

!!! !!! !!!

#4

“JUST AS I AM“

By

AIR SUPPLY

!!! !!! !!!

#3

“SHOUT IT OUT LOUD“

By

KISS

!!! !!! !!!

#2

“LAND OF CONFUSION“

By

GENESIS

!!! !!! !!!

#1

“FOREVER“

By

KISS

!!! !!! !!!

!!! !!! !!! !!! !!

!!! !!! !!!

If The Oddly-Wild Variations In My Music Styling And Taste Hasn’t Become Blindingly Obvious To Y’all Yet…

…Well…

…Then You Just Don’t Know My Personality.

I Am…

(likely)

…One Of The MOST Random Human Beings You’re Likely To Encounter.

At Least, That’s What My Friends Say.

I Don’t Have Many Of Them…

…Though I’m Starting To Feel That’s A Good Thing.

I’d Rather Have 3 Or 4 People In My World Who DO Get Me…

…As Opposed To 300 Or 400 Who Haven’t The Foggiest.

I Consider That Personal Growth.

Perhaps By Showcasing My Opinions/Wants/Needs/Lusts/Loves I’ll Be Able To Ferret-Out The Remaining Peeps Who Simply Don’t Belong.

I’m A Nut.

I’m A Nut That’s VERY Hard To Crack.

And On The Inside Of The Exterior-Shell…

…You’ll (likely) Find Yet ANOTHER Nut.

😉

But I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way, My Peeps.

Gotta Keep The World Guessing, Right?!?

RIGHT!!!

😀

“When You Were Here Before… Couldn’t Look You In The Eye. You’re Just Like An Angel… Your Skin Makes Me Cry. You Float Like A Feather… In A Beautiful World. …” — RADIOHEAD (“CREEP” (1993))

… … …

“…I Wish I Was Special.

You’re So Fu*king Special.

But I’m A Creep.

I’m A Weirdo.

What The Hell Am I Doing Here?

I Don’t Belong Here. …”

… … …

"CREEP" From RADIOHEAD's 1993 Album "PABLO HONEY"

… … …

“…I Don’t Care If It Hurts.

I Want To Have Control.

I Want A Perfect Body.

I Want A Perfect Soul.

I Want You To Notice… When I’m Not Around.

You’re So Fu*king Special.

I Wish I Was Special.

But I’m A Creep.

I’m A Weirdo.

What The Hell Am I Doing Here?

I Don’t Belong Here. …”

… … …

I Received An Email Earlier This Afternoon From An Old Friend.

In It, Said Friend Told Me He LOVED My Postings Where I Got Things On A Much More Personal Level.

He Said I Have A Way Of Explaining Myself, My Motives, My Reasons, etc etc, That Make Some Of My Work So Much More Juicy AND Tangible.

After A Few Hours Of Pondering Over This Email…

…I Decided To Just Break-Out One Of The Proverbial “Big Guns”…

…And Hit Y’all With MY SONG.

No, I Honestly Don’t Know Many People Who Would Claim This Song.

But Most People AREN’T ME.

I First Heard The Song “CREEP” On The Radio In Early 1994.

I Liked It, Yes.

But I Hadn’t Discovered “RADIOHEAD” Yet.

This Was The ONLY Tune Of Theirs I’d Heard To That Point.

It Wasn’t Until 1997 That It Became MY Song.

It Was 1997 When I’d First Entered Into The “Dating World” And Quickly Learned I Had NO CLUE As To Exactly WHAT I Was Doing.

But, Honestly, “CREEP” Was Only My Song Then Because I ENJOYED IT So SO Much.

It Was 1998 When The Pieces Started Falling Into Place…

…And The Song Began To Take On A Whole New Meaning To Me.

I Was Utterly Convinced I Was LITERALLY The Biggest Creep-Douche-Bag ON EARTH.

I Was Struggling To Find Others Who Were Interested In ME…

…And In THAT WAY (*wink wink nudge nudge*) Ya Know?

I Couldn’t Mange To Hang-Onto Anyone For More Than A Couple Weeks.

I Did Manage To Get Myself Engaged Some How…

…Although Said Engagement Lasted About…

…Ohhhh…

…2-MONTHS’ish.

All The While…

…Failure After Failure…

…It Continued To Build And Build Within Me That It Was Totally ALL MY FAULT.

And Then Something Horrid Happened.

I Sincerely…

…AND SERIOUSLY…

…Began To BELIEVE IT ALL.

And Then I Began To Change.

Suddenly…

…The Nice Guy With The Bad Bad Luck…

…Became A Total Prick…

…And Became That Thing He Was Already Sure He Was.

The Song “CREEP” Then Became “BRADLEY’S PERSONAL ANTHEM” And I Started Treating EVERYONE The Way I Was SURE I’d Been Treated For All Those Years.

When Someone Would Tell Me “I Love You, Bradley” I Would Calmly Reply With An “I Love You, Too.”

And Then I’d Get What I Felt I Needed/Deserved…

…And Then I’d MAKE VERY SURE The Other Person Was Left As Brokenhearted As I Was SURE They Would Have Left Me, Given The Chance.

I Really, REALLY Did Become The Person In The Song.

I Was Charming.

I Was Sweet.

I Was Playful.

I Was Evil.

And I Hurt A Lot Of People.

It Took Me A DECADE Before I Began To Truly Realize What All Damage And Hurt I’d Left It My CREEP’ISH WAKE.

It Cost Me Many Friends.

It Cost Me Many Relationships.

It Cost Me Plenty, And In Plenty Of Different Ways.

I’m Honestly Still Repairing Some Of The Damage.

There Are Two Gentleman In My Life Now…

…Good Friends From Those Earlier Days.

I Do Love Both Of Them.

I Do Know They Both Love Me.

But The TRUST Isn’t There, Anymore.

And I’m Pretty Sure It Likely Never Will Be Again.

I Know I Could Trust Them With My Life.

They Know They Could Trust Me With Theirs.

But Trusting Someone With Your Heart Is A Whole Different Ballgame.

And It’s A Ballgame I’d Likely Be Warming The Bench For The Duration.

I STILL LOVE THIS SONG.

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THIS SONG.

Not Because Of Who I Was, Or Am, Or What The Song Used To Mean, Or Currently Does.

Just Because It’s A GREAT SONG…

…And It’s Come Along On This Journey Of Life With Me.

And To ME…

…That Makes It A Worthy Companion.

And I’ll STILL SMILE When I Hear It Play…

…EACH And EVERY TIME.

😉

“…She Looks Like The Real Thing. She Tastes Like The Real Thing. My Fake Plastic Love. But I Can’t Help The Feeling, I Could Blow Through The Ceiling, If I Just Turn And Run. …” RADIOHEAD (“Fake Plastic Trees”) (1995)

“…And It Wears Me Out…

…It Wears Me Out…

…It Wears Me Out…

…It Wears Me Out…”

RADIOHEAD's 1995 Album "THE BENDS"

“…And If I Could Be Who You Wanted…

…If I Could Be Who You Wanted…

…All The Time…

…All The Time.”

… … … … … … …

… … … … …

… … …

Do Y’all Remember When Listening To RADIOHEAD Was Actually Considered “IN” And/Or “COOL”???

Yeah…

…MEEE ALSO, My Peeps!!!

And YES…

…To Some Of US…

…Doing So IS STILL “IN” AND “COOL”!!!

hehehe

😉