#taaaaaake me wiiiiiiiith youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[radramblog]

Radiohead Retrospective Part 6: Ripples on a Blank Shore

Hail to the Thief was Radiohead’s last album with the record label EMI. This is probably good, seeing as EMI are a massive conglomerate, one of the biggest record companies in the world, and that doesn’t really suit Radiohead’s image. It’s not like they needed them to get big anymore.

With that lack of contractual obligation to make new music, the band was able to spend a fair bit longer on the next album, as well as do a few things on the side. Thom made The Eraser, Jonny did some soundtracks. They went on tour between recording sessions, because they weren’t really getting anywhere, and tried some of their material live. It sounds like it was a lot less stressful than the previous, label-driven work. While they would eventually resign onto XL Recordings, that’s a much smaller, independent company, and the band’s next album would be self-released anyway.

In Rainbows had a very interesting release. Much like what many a Bandcamp artist does now, the album was released as a pay-what-you-want online download, with paying 0 dollars being an option you could take. This wasn’t really a thing back in 2007, so it stirred up quite the fuss. It also helped that it was an excellent fucking album, which many hail as equal or greater than OK Computer at the top of the Radiohead Totem Pole.

I suppose, then, it’s only fair to actually talk about the album.

The album opens with 15 Step, and what a way to open an album. We’ve got the mix of real and manufactured percussion, we’ve got calming falsetto and we’ve got those absolutely lovely guitar chords. The handclaps are back, and unlike We Suck Young Blood they’re genuine and optimistic rather than sarcastic- in case the kids going “yaaaay!” wasn’t obvious, though it’s not hard to be in a higher mood than WSYB. Considering how melancholy Hail to the Thief, not to mention the other albums the band’s made, have tended to be, this feels light, airy, and refreshing.

A mix of electronic and acoustic that is a great way of introducing the album- considering the constant comparisons the record gets to OK Computer, opening with a track that demonstrates everything the band has learned in the 10 years since is just great. I’m just going to get this out ahead of time, this album is very good, and held in such high esteem for a reason.

The second track is Bodysnatchers, one of the rockier songs the alleged Rock band released in the 2000s. It’s a pretty significant contrast to 15 Step, a bass-driven, driving rock song that screams paranoia. It’s one kept moving at a forward pace by its uptempo percussion and acoustic strumming, while the other instruments just chug along in quite the satisfying manner.

Bodysnatchers’s energy feels really unique on this album, to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised if people thought it didn’t really fit. It’s harsher and edgier, somewhat reminiscent of a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard track at times, manic and energetic and layered. I’m not going to agree with the idea that Bodysnatchers doesn’t belong on In Rainbows, because the song fucks, but there is a fair case to be made for its difference.

Anyway, next up is Nude. It’s not quite as fun as it sounds. The effects on this instrumental opening make it feel almost film-soundtrack-like, somewhat reminiscent of Motion Picture Soundtrack (that might be a bit of a stretch, though). The bulk of the track is largely built around the vocal track, ethereal and dominant, with the instrumental being a relatively simple guitar/drum piece to back up Thom’s impeccable falsetto. The song rises a lot for it’s bridge, crescendoing just like back in the old days with strings and effects, with lyrics that almost chide the listener for poking fun at the song’s name, like I just did. I’m sorry to disappoint you, lads!

Nude is not a song I often find myself in the mood for, to be frank. It’s unquestionably gorgeous, but also simultaneously too much and not enough? Too much as in like, that vocal track is a little overblown sometimes as is the intro, and not enough as in, the bulk of the song is a touch boring? I don’t know, I’m ready to be strapped to a wall for that one, but I’m sticking with the take.

On the other hand, I’m basically never not in the mood for Weird Fishes/Arpeggi. I’ve always found this track extremely soothing, an absolute unparalleled vibe. The simple but sweet guitar lines just feel nautical in a way I can’t describe, comfortable in a way the actual ocean very doesn’t get me. The bass is extremely subtle, but it helps a lot to keep the track moving between modes as it builds and builds and builds and builds and just falls away…

I’ve gotten some pushback before when describing this song as “chill”, and considering the way it builds up so much in the middle third, I guess I can see how one would disagree. But I can’t describe how or why the song makes me feel the way it does, it just, does. Something about those clean drums piercing through the haze of the track, the lyricism, the vibe. It’s the vibe.

Next up is All I Need, a smooth, slow, dark track with a much lower mood than the songs we’ve heard so far- even moreso than Bodysnatchers. This is the album’s low point moodwise, pretty much inarguably, and some might argue also as far as songs go.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from a bad song. The piano chords are simple but effective, contrasted against the….xylophone, I think, but that only happens for a relatively small portion of a pretty long song. Which is largely just low percussion and vocals. I will say, the bridge is excellent, a rising cry of keys and drums against the void, which wouldn’t work nearly as well if the rest of the song isn’t the way it was. But as a whole, the song isn’t the best Radiohead has to offer, if you catch my drift.

I think the next song, Faust Arp, is kind of underrated. I mean, I know it’s the least listened to song on the album on Spotify, I’m looking at the numbers, it’s not close. That’s kind of to be expected with a song that, at least for Radiohead’s scales, very short, at just over 2 minutes long. But it’s a beautiful little acoustic/string piece that I really enjoy. Short and sweet, I suppose. You can call it interstitial all you want, and it’s not going to compare to song number 7, but it’s a good song, dangit.

Oh right, song number 7. Reckoner. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I didn’t think Radiohead captured quite the beauty of Pyramid Song again for a few more albums. Reckoner is that lightning captured in a bottle once again. This song is incredibly emotional, and undeniably excellent.

The song feels like it’s on separate layers, spaced and airy drums with a very light guitar strum, Thom’s vocals meandering somewhere in between, struggling to be heard. And then you get to 1:20, and the piano kicks in, and it brings the tracks together, giving the song an incredible fullness as the lyrics “You are not to blame…” begin. The song keeps going like this, adding in background vocals for a bit, before dropping almost entirely, for the bridge. The rising string, the backing vocals singing the album’s name, and the way the song’s mood subtly shifts afterwards- it’s so beautiful.

Anyway fun fact the bit where the background lyrics start singing “In Rainbooooows” is apparently exactly 61.8% of the way through the album, and that’s the golden ratio, baby. It has apparently been confirmed to be accidental, but it’s still really fun. I do enjoy when silly maths things end up in songs- Lateralus by Tool, for example, is pretty much completely written around the Fibonacci Sequence, from its lyrics to its chords to its time signature.

Tangents aside, our next song is House of Cards, a song I’ve kind of fallen off of as of late. It’s a lot like a less melancholy All I Need, or a less tightly wound Faust Arp (but without them strings), though the reverb on this song gives it a much spacier feel. There’s something really tense about the ambient noise in the background as well, making it hard to truly settle into the song’s groove. I don’t know, I used to like this song, but I’m not sure what it is about it that’s missing now. Sorry to disappoint, I suppose.

By contrast, Jigsaw Falling Into Place is one that took me a while to get into, because I think I just never gave it a chance. I dunno, I think much like with In Limbo it just kinda slid out of my brain every time I heard it. Well, it’s bloody clung on now, hasn’t it? This song is loads of fun! It’s a real groove, fun lyricism and great drums and Thom very notably not singing in falsetto for like half the song before it shifts gears and oh there it is! It’s another one of those great songs with a slow build, what with the backing vocals slowly getting louder and rowdier and the guitars getting more intense and yeah.

Oh also, that video is fun, if a little disorienting. I still can’t believe how many of these music videos I just…missed entirely.

Our final song, Videotape, is significantly less fun. Let me put it this way, lots of people think it’s a suicide note in song form, and it’s not, it’s just someone’s last message as they pass away after a long long life. On the other hand, it does fit the word Mephistopheles into the lyrics, and I think pulling that off is pretty fun.

Videotape has relatively simple instrumentation- piano chords, with a syncopated percussion coming in about a third of the way through. Much of the soundscape is dominated by that piano and the backing vocals. The song is tragic, undoubtedly, but it’s a warmer kind of tragic than previous albums have gone out on- the soft piano giving it a heart that tracks like Street Spirit (Fade Out) and Motion Picture Soundtrack somewhat lack. It’s sad, yes, but peaceful, and comforting. The closing line is beautifully haunting- I know today has been the most perfect day I’ve ever seen.

Not so much on my end, weather was shit and my brain decided to have a depressive episode in the afternoon.

Thus ends In Rainbows. Unless you count the bonus disc, something I desperately need to acquire in CD form despite the fact that it appears to barely if ever have been released in that format. I brought up comparisons to OK Computer earlier, and I’m not entirely certain that they’re that justifiable, conspiracy theories about a threaded playlist notwithstanding. Yeah, it’s deliberately the 10 to OKC’s 01, but the style and tone are just so utterly different. 10 years is a long time for an artist, let alone a musician, and let alone a band that did Kid A.

I’m not going to comment on whether I think In Rainbows is better or worse than OK Computer. It’s the eternal question, seemingly, and you’re not going to find an answer here. They’re not really comparable, in my eyes- apples and oranges. The cold technology of a late 90s PC and the natural beauty of a cascading rainbow.

But if In Rainbows is OK Computer, then The King of Limbs must be Kid A. This comparison I think I can understand better, which I suppose we’ll discuss next Tuesday. Adios?