Official RADIOHEAD thread

[Jeremy Blackman]

For what it's worth, I was hugely disappointed with HTTT initially, but it quickly grew on me. Was also disappointed by In Rainbows, but it grew on me. That's just how Radiohead albums work; they're usually not immediate. It takes some time to sync with them.

[Stefen]

This album just makes me realize how much I underrated In Rainbows. This is nothing more than The Eraser II.

Less Thom, please. More Phil, Ed, Jonny and Colin.

[Jeremy Blackman]

This album is indeed bassy. I had to turn my sub down so I could hear more of the song and avoid blowing out my ear drums. (I'd recommend trying this.) I do like bass, but this improved the experience.

I think the "grower" principle holds true. On the first listen, I think I was in suspense too much to actually enjoy it. The second listen yielded much improvement. I'm really liking this overall.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Amnesiac. Half the album sounds a lot like it. Particularly Lotus Flower, Bloom, and Feral.


Bloom
Absolutely love this song. The bass line (arguably the melody) gives me chills. Maybe it's the sampled drums, but "Bloom" is a dead ringer for a DJ Shadow tune. I love how the song takes a full minute to develop (or bloom), and when it does, we're hit with the first iteration of that glorious bass line, immediately followed by the vocal. Before the next minute is done, the atmospheric synths are in full force. Just beautiful. I love the orchestral break around 3:00 and how it comes back in with the bloops. The fluttering (straight out of "Where Bluebirds Fly") is also a nice touch. This is subtle, layered, genius songwriting.

Morning Mr. Magpie
This song doesn't give you much to grasp onto, so it really takes repeated listens to stick. Not sure that's a good thing. Ultimately a good song. But not a favorite.

Little By Little
I can't find any redeeming qualities in this song. Almost torture. It sounds like "Optimistic" without melody and with a bunch of random crap piled on top of it. Please tell me if I'm missing anything.

Feral
Simple, playful, fun. I like it. The bass swell (1:45) works for me. This is the pallette-cleanser, like "Hunting Bears."

Lotus Flower
This works like a classic Radiohead song. Strange sounds and rhythm resets obscure the melody of the song, which emerges and re-emerges in the most beautiful way. I definitely approve.

Codex
Holy crap, here it is. The big one. This is my favorite for sure. I'm a sucker for Radiohead's purposeful epic/beautiful songs. This is a worthy successor. It also brings out one of Radiohead's strengths—chord progressions that are original and entrancing. What a perfect song.

Give Up The Ghost
Another classic Radiohead song, but it feels new. What more could you want? The guitar works great and showcases yet another strength of the band, merging the acoustic and the electronic. My favorite part of the song, though, is the way the two separate melodies run throughout the song, play off each other, and harmonize.

Separator
The bass line is too "off" in the beginning for my tastes. This song would be dramatically improved if they fixed that. It would be perfectly nice without that, but as-is, it's distracting, and it feels like they're trying too hard to make it interesting. Not necessary. Still a really nice (if not groundbreaking) track overall, though, especially 1:50 on.


In summary:

amazing
1. Codex
2. Bloom
3. Lotus Flower
4. Give Up The Ghost

good
5. Feral
6. Separator

okay
7. Morning Mr. Magpie

try again
8. Little By Little


I do think Radiohead has peaked, and this is obviously a step sideways sonically. It's also not as consistent as it should be. Solid songwriting aside, they need to do something innovative with their next album, for sure. I wouldn't mind a whole album like "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)."

[Myxo]

Yeah, Codex is by FAR the best track in my opinion as well.

Edit: ..and I semi-agree with Blackman. What about a double album? Something along the lines of Kid A / Amnesiac but one SINGLE effort this time. Not two distinct albums.

[Jeremy Blackman]

I do like the album, as I said, but something is nagging at me.

I'm not seeing any unifying theme, musically, lyrically, or otherwise. This risks making the album forgettable. In a time when I thought concept albums were making a resurgence, why did Radiohead decide to release what can only be called a collection of songs? When it's done like this, it just doesn't feel important enough.

[Stefen]

I'm kind of holding out hope that they were just kidding and this was just Thom screwing around for a few nights and the real album, with the other guys on it, comes out Saturday as planned.

[Myxo]

Fiona Apple said something about her last record, "Extraordinary Machine", which has always stuck with me. Some critic was asking her why she takes so long to release albums. I can't find the exact quote, but she basically just said that she'll never release an album just to release something. If she has something to say, she'll say it. Otherwise, what's the point? Perhaps that is the vision here for KOL. I think they had something bigger in mind but it just wasn't ready yet. But they had these eight tracks. Why not release a little mini-album and then next year sometime, release something more complete? Just guessing. Don't be surprised if, instead of waiting 2-3 years between albums, they put out something important in 2012.

[mogwai]

Is there an admin willing to modify this thread to create a best Radiohead album poll thingie? Thanks.

[New Feeling]

I kinda hated this this morning and love it tonight.  In between lies about 10 listens and for the last few I've been having a beer for each one and blasting that shit.  Can't remember the last time I listened to an album 4 times in a row though, and I just did it with this.  This is indeed another worthy Radiohead album

[Pedro]

pretty sure this is fan made b.s.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Re: Unifying theme, the Toronto Sun made a good (and maybe obvious) point:

The lyrics are preoccupied with nature -- lotus flowers, magpies, fish out of water and whatnot -- in contrast to the music's unnatural chill. Coupled with the title -- which refers to a 1,000-year-old tree in Britain -- it suggests a man-vs-nature theme.

[cronopio 2]

Garth Jennings's pitch for that video: "It's Beyoncé meets Chris Walken!"

[Pozer]

This is nothing more than The Eraser II.

nah, it's just this easy going little album. i like that it's short. it came out on a rainy weekend here in southern california. a rainy day album it is.

purdy sure theyll be surprising us again vewy soon.

[The Perineum Falcon]

Garth Jennings's pitch for that video: "It's Beyoncé meets Chris Walken!"

It's very very close.

[cronopio 2]

Firsts impressions: Listened to it twice. Destroyer's Kaputt is a much much much more interesting album.

I don't know if all of us would be as benevolent if this were a first album from a bunch of nobodies.