Fingernail on 16/10/2007 at 07:26
Claiming to be super-picky about music sort of implies that everyone else who might like it is quite happy to just nod along to anything with a beat, or is just jumping on the trend bandwagon.
It's also a bit like refusing to eat anything other than cucumber sandwiches.
ercles on 16/10/2007 at 11:36
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
Would
In Rainbows be the ideal place for a Radiohead novice to begin their listening? I've heard individual tracks before and are quite fond of
Street Spirit and
Paranoid Android, but never really stopped and gave any of their albums any time.
Just in some sort of effort to pull this one back on topic, no Scots, I would probably go for OK Computer. It's most often reffered to as their best cd, and to be fair it is fucking brilliant, but a lot of hardcore Radiohead fans seem to get a bit sick of randoms spouting about it ad nauseum so it suffers from tall poppy system. Kid A has some incredibly wicked groove songs that rely on more electronic loops and less of the guitar that featured in OK Computer and The Bends (Pablo Honey doesn't deserve a mention, it's pretty terrible really).
It was said before in this thread that this song connects more emotionally than past efforts. Songs like How to Dissapear Completely, Exit Music (for a film) and Like Spinning Plates were all pretty emotional in my books.
The one thing that immediately with this album was how laid back it all was. I really like the subdued tones on the album, Thom's voice lends itself really well to these sort of colours.
Toxicfluff on 16/10/2007 at 12:09
Quote Posted by ercles
Like Spinning Plates
Incredible song, one of my favourite Radiohead tracks... so all over the place in time-signature and out there in sound, yet still so immediate.
Stitch on 16/10/2007 at 14:22
Quote Posted by ercles
The one thing that immediately with this album was how laid back it all was. I really like the subdued tones on the album, Thom's voice lends itself really well to these sort of colours.
Well said. The album resists the build-up/climax framework with which Radiohead paid their mortgages, and
In Rainbows is ultimately a better album for it. It's a relaxed listen and yet there's a certain unresolved tension that sticks with you, down to the last seconds as each layer is stripped away to reveal an off-time click track struggling with Selway's drums.
It's their most assured release as a band perhaps ever, and thankfully lacks the glitch electronics that have restricted their last three albums to early 00's time capsules.
In Rainbows is unmistakably Radiohead and yet sounds like nothing else they've ever done before. It's an absolute triumph.
Yeah, I really didn't see this one coming.
Aja on 16/10/2007 at 19:57
I wouldn't say that their electronics relegate them to the early 00s. I never heard them when they first came out, but compared to what current bands are doing with electronics, Radiohead's past albums are still innovative and influential
But I agree that In Rainbows is better because it focuses on analogue instruments. I was expecting a return to Kid A, with weird jazz sections and heavy electronics, but in the end they've obviously made the right decision.
I may have a penchant for blowing things out of proportion ;) , but I was spot-on when I called In Rainbows their finest work to date. It just keeps getting better.
Stitch on 17/10/2007 at 00:10
Quote Posted by Aja
but I was spot-on when I called In Rainbows their finest work to date
whoa there son let's not say things we can't take back
ercles on 17/10/2007 at 01:16
Yeah I'm not sure I'd say this is their best release, it's a tough one really, like I said previously I'd probably still say OK Computer was their "best" cd as a whole, but probably not my favourite (that changes depending on the prevailling winds).
To be honest I also wouldn't say that this cd was any different to what I was expecting considering this follows The Eraser, which is quite similar to this in the laid back vibe.
polytourist97 on 17/10/2007 at 21:57
I think the album is very similar to the Eraser, but with a full band having a go at the songs. They're both pleasant and interesting listens, with a few BRILLIANT moments. Ultimately I don't find myself really feeling a need to listen though. Contrast that with Ok Computer/Kid A/Amnesiac where I HAD to listen over and over again.
And on a semi-unrelated note, am I the only person who thinks Pablo Honey is not bad? Sure, it's not as layered and complex as their other albums, but there is still some great songwriting present, particularly in the second half. "Lurgee" is one of my favorite Radiohead songs. I will concede that "How Do You?" is probably the band's low-point. That or "Backdrifts".
Fingernail on 17/10/2007 at 22:56
Pablo Honey is ok; for a debut album, it's fine. It has some good songs on it. I do quite like You, and Blow Out especially, but you can tell that it's a band that haven't quite finished developing. Nonetheless, it does point the way towards The Bends.
Stitch on 18/10/2007 at 01:02
And therein lies the problem with The Bends.
