In Rainbows

[The Man in Blak 0]

Well, I think it's being called the best Radiohead album ever because, in a way, it provides the most accessible look at all of the stages of Radiohead's development. Songs that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Amnesiac ("15 Step") sit alongside others that could fit rather snugly into The Bends ("House of Cards", "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"). If you look at the track rankings that people have put together on the Green Plastic message board and elsewhere, you'll notice that many of the lists are completely different from each other. It's like a big Radiohead potluck.

 

In Rainbows bridges the gap between the different artistic directions that Radiohead has taken throughout their career and, by doing so, it somewhat downplayed the divisive electro-orchestral-jazz ideal that they used for Kid A/Amnesiac, which was probably your favorite album(s).

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

I'd like to hear this but the stupid website is being all slow and unresponsive. Anyone want to hook a brother up with a sendspace link?

[Copper Feel 0]

I thought In Rainbows was good, although lacking in any kind of unified sound. The Man In Blak pointed to this as being the album's main appeal though, so maybe my cursory listen was misleading. I will probably never be able to get past the electronic elements that have entered Radiohead's music over the last 10 years, meaning that The Bends and Ok Computer will likely be the only albums of theirs that I will ever truly love.

[k thx 0]

I love Faust Arp and Reckoner.

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

I'd like to hear this but the stupid website is being all slow and unresponsive. Anyone want to hook a brother up with a sendspace link?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/pkpfkx

From me to you, Byron The Bulb. Now I broke my "no more posting in the thread" decree. But hey, while I'm here,

I'd give it 9/10.

7

 

As for bridging the conventional with experimental, HTTT did that already, and for the most part, comprised better and more realized songs. A lot of these could be salvaged, but I refuse to ever shut the fuck up about how irritating that double-time is. "Bodysnatchers" feels like it should be in a relaxed groove, like "Paranoid Android" at around "ambition makes you look pretty ugly," then Phil comes rushing in and turns it into something from On A Friday. "Arpeggi" was ethereal and blurred, and now the drums are hurrying it up before the namesake arpeggios even come in. Oh, and yeah, Kid A was my favorite album.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I realize that I'm invoking a potentially dangerous comparison, but the White Album didn't have a "unified sound" behind it either.

 

One other thing to consider, if you're not understanding the appeal of the album - the tone of the lyrics and music has shifted a little bit, as the paranoia has seemed to take a backseat to some more inviting concepts. "House of Cards" almost sounds sexy, quite possibly a Radiohead first; Thom even sings "I don't want to be your friend / I just want to be your lover", for fuck's sake.

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

I addressed the new-fangled sensuality of Radiohead already and decided I didn't like it. I'm not hard-and-fast on songs having to be told from the perspective of the songwriter himself (otherwise I'd be too stupid or headstrong to get Randy Newman), but heretofore we've been taking Radiohead lyrics as coming from Thom Yorke The Man Himself, so all this bluff and bluster about key parties is out of character and bordering on disingenuous, since by all accounts he's a 38-year-old guy with a wife and kids in a happy and normal family, and I don't think anybody has had a key party since 1977, anyway.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure about the white album comparison.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I haven't followed these songs during their various permutations (with the exception of "Nude," which I think I had on my computer as far back as 2001 when it was called "Big Ideas"), so I can't be angry about "Videotape," the album version of which blew me away. This live one's pretty fantastic too, though I'll argue on behalf of the slow build that never explodes on album, too. Going calming instead of bombastic is a riskier choice, but I think it works really well nonetheless. I think I can show love in both capacities.

 

As the album closer, I can see why they probably made the choice to go with a more subdued approach, just to provide an appropriate come down. But I've got two problems with that:

 

1. There's no need to come down from what has already been a really mellow album to that point. If anything, that's the time to go for a slow burn into one last, huge cathartic moment, which would be a perfect situation for the driving live take on the track.

 

2. Their swing at it kind of sucks. If there's one strength that Radiohead has shown on their stronger songs of the past, it's been their ability to introduce electronic elements into their music and somehow make it seem more organic. The rolling drum sample is not one of their better moments and the last loop that the song rides out on doesn't come off smoothly either.

 

It's still a very good song, but it's great in spite of those changes when it could have been a mindblowing closing number, in my opinion, and that's where a lot of the frustration amongst the Radiohead faithful comes from.

[The Man in Blak 0]

so all this bluff and bluster about key parties is out of character and bordering on disingenuous, since by all accounts he's a 38-year-old guy with a wife and kids in a happy and normal family, and I don't think anybody has had a key party since 1977, anyway.

 

What in the world are you talking about?

 

And I wouldn't go so far as to say that In Rainbows is as good as the White Album - I'm not even sure it's even that much better than Amnesiac, honestly - but I think the comparison works somewhat when you consider each album's place in its respective catalogue. Both were stripped down affairs that assimilated all of the band's previous influences into one place. Both are marked by production/distribution controversies (the former with the all-digital "name your own price" approach, the latter with the blank white album cover and the DYI-ish "outtake" approach to many of the tracks). Both arguably never approach the high points established by previous albums with a single track (though "Videotape" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun" come very, very close).

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

I don't want to hear Thom Yorke sing about swinging anonymous sex!

 

Look, I can't talk about this stuff anymore. I had a nervous breakdown at school today in my death class because somebody complained about taking an exam. I just gotta walk away from any and all communication.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

What the heck is a death class?

[snuffbox 0]

Don't have a stroke, Czech.

 

[snuffbox 0]

Anyone else notice the Moby hook in 'House of Cards'?

[Kinetic 0]

My feeling after about five listens is that it's their best album since Kid A.

[Gary Floyd 0]

I don't know about getting it, since apparently, the download doesn't come with the bonus tracks.

[BX 0]

Whats to stop you from getting the bonus tracks when they're released?

 

 

[Gary Floyd 0]

Whats to stop you from getting the bonus tracks when they're released?

Wh, good point. I'm just a bit impatient sometimes.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

EDIT: Wait, yes it does, it's Coldplay

 

A lot of stuff on here sort of sounds like what would happen if Coldplay started taking their cues from Amnesiac instead of The Bends. I'm not impressed. Really, at this point I'm not even sure if it's better than the truly mediocre Hail to the Thief, which at least had "A Wolf at the Door" and "There There."

 

Also Thom Yorke singing "I don't wanna be your friend/I just wanna be your lover" is straight up embarrassing.

 

[snuffbox 0]

The new Radiohead album sounds like Coldplay trying to sound like an older Radiohead album rather than a really old Radiohead album.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

One listen down, and I'd agree that it's their best album since Kid A. That's not the highest of praise, considering how I felt about Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief, but I like it okay.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

And it doesn't sound like Coldplay. You people are retarded.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

I do not get this band at all.

[snuffbox 0]

I was mocking your biggest fan, inc.

[Copper Feel 0]

They do seem to be moving away from this approach somewhat, but I have to wonder if Radiohead will ever make a return to releasing fully musical albums.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

I was mocking your biggest fan, inc.

Yeah, I wasn't including you in my "you people are retarded" comment. Fucking what the hell, Coldplay?

[snuffbox 0]

'Fully musical album'?

[Copper Feel 0]

As opposed to electronic.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

I was mocking your biggest fan, inc.

Yeah, I wasn't including you in my "you people are retarded" comment. Fucking what the hell, Coldplay?

 

If you can't hear strains of Coldplay in "Arpeggi" and "All I Need" you must be deaf. Now, it's not as prevalent as I made it sound last night (eg songs like "15 Step" and "Videotape" obviously don't sound anything like Coldplay) but it's there.

 

Anyway, after giving this a few more listens I like it more than I initially did. I'll even go so far as to agree with the "it's their best since Kid A" sentiment that seems to be so popular in this thread.

[snuffbox 0]

I'm deaf.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

I'd say making Coldplay the point of reference for melodic, chiming guitar chords is a display of ignorance, if not outright stupidity.