Electronic music newb would like advice, a good foundation.

[easydiamond]

Ok, so me and a friend have been puzzling over electronic music for a couple months. To get a background, we're big on the Radiohead to name the large influence.

Equip: iMac G5 1.9, Ableton Live 5, a few free VST plugins, Dahornet, MDA plugs (used the loopex or whatever one and figured out the whole record a sound then it's looped, played back, but I want to learn that on a broader, maybe analog, form with different effects), Fm7, Guitar Rig 1, M-Audio Oxygen 8 V2, wanting to do the midi drumpad with pedals setup eventually.

I'm tired of sitting down and not knowing what to do, at all. I know I can turn on this plug-in, hit a key on my midi controller and make a crazy-ass noise, and I can then put a beat behind it, maybe add a guitar with an effect, but I feel that I'm missing out on the bigger, better, deeper technique of it all.

I want to know how Radiohead does the crazy background vocal parts on "Everything's in it's right place" (Kaos pad, but then I watch them on youtube live and I don't know where they start.) I'd like to know how to take a vocal or anything and route it through my midi controller and screw it up, but I don't know where to start.

We're competent musicians, well, he is anyway, but when we sit there for an hour trying to figure something out it's very discouraging.

So. Advice, death threats, LINKS TO ONLINE READING MATERIAL and/or TUTORIALS, or just basics are all greatly appreciated.

p.s. if you need any more info just ask. I'd really like to get pointed in the right direction and before it's said, we want to know how they do these things so we can learn from them not duplicate. We know we aren't Radiohead and I'm not trying to sound like an ass, I'm just lost.