The Weekly DiScussion: how's that Radiohead album treating you, then?
- Artists:
- Radiohead »
Relevant
-
"Pay whatever you feel is right..." Downloading, eating fish and fighting: DiS meets Röyksopp
- The Weekly DiScussion: Shall we party like it's 1997 again?
- The Two Weeks That Was: a fortnight with the new DiS
-
The Weekly DiScussion: the best festivals EVER
- Follow Me Around: Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste on touring with Radiohead
- DiScussion: EMI reissue Radiohead's first three LPs - bothered?
-
"Play 'Creep'!" – in fond remembrance of the Radiohead Guitar Wars
- Radiohead's In Rainbows: the fans' verdict
Here we are now, entertain us. Or don’t: whatever, we’re yours to mould in the palm of your collective hand, Radiohead; so giddy are we after the first time through of In Rainbows that our scrambled senses can only offer fractured initial thoughts. More to follow, no doubt; more from you, post here.
DiS’s Gareth Dobson puts virtual pen to virtual paper after a cursory investigation of Radiohead’s new LP, opening up the DiScussion to glean your opinions on the event release of the year.
‘15 Steps’
Scattershot drumbeats, bright jazz tones and a good hint of unhinged rock. It’s a bright and fairly auspicious start. It says: “Hey, we’re still pretty rocking, but at the same time, we’re not going to repeat none of that The Bends crap. We also really like Charles Mingus.”
‘Bodysnatchers’
The heavy, distorted warped guitar attack continues. This sounds like a more mutant, militant cousin of ‘The National Anthem’.
‘Nude’
The one that all the Radiohead faithful have been waiting for, a lush ballad that’s been knocking around for almost a decade. It’s been left largely untinkered through the ages, the same simple torch vocals present, with newly added big-screen strings and synths. It’s this album’s ‘Sail Me To The Moon’, amidst the other noise chaos of the LP. Oh, and Thom can still sing a bit. And Radiohead still write the best ‘ballads’ around.
‘Weird Fish / Arpeggi’
Peels of teardrop guitar, jazzy drums, and something that threatens to break out halfway through, huge and blissful, but never quite does, going somewhere slightly darker and twisted. Part lovely, wholly awesome.
‘All I Need’
Ponderous, heavily driven along by bass-y piano and a solo Yorke vocal; things don’t really materialise until late in the day, when a sprawl of noise hits the desk. Not the best song on the record by a long shot.
‘Faust Arp’
A menacing two-minute acoustic near-interlude that sounds almost Nick Drake-esque. Live, we envision Thom Yorke playing guitar and singing his vocals hiding under the sound desk, surrounded by mutilated teddy bears.
‘Reckoner’
One of the most played tracks on the 2006 ‘Just For Fun’ world tour. Starting and ending with a waterfall of percussion, it sounds like a slowed down ‘90s dance song with its piano strings and lush orchestration. If Radiohead ever did listen to Klaxons…
‘House of Cards’
“I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover,” croons Yorke in rather scary reference to a Texas breakthrough hit. Then we realise that it’s the other way round, which is good. A song seemingly created only of atmospherics, cut-up sounds and warped strings. Which sounds remarkably awesome. Well-loved in the DiS office already
‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’
Jokingly, we initially wrote that “it sounds like ‘Paranoid Android’ being played in the style of Robert Johnson”. And actually, it really doesn’t. Think instead something more like a psychedelic ‘I Might Be Wrong’, that erupts into a brilliantly stringed crescendo.
‘Videotape’
The now-traditional ‘weird closer’: a plaintive piano ballad with a repeated and strangely exciting percussive ‘train’ effect. The main refrain makes us want to sing “ne-on bi-ble” over it. Good use of panning though, as it sounds like someone is passing a block of varnished wood through your head.
Well, that’s the first-timer perspective on an album we are now playing again in the DiS office. You guys are probably a few steps ahead of us – we got in late, blame Ken – so do please DiScuss Radiohead’s new baby below, and post your own reviews of In Rainbows. Click here for details on that.
Not got In Rainbows? Fear not: Xfm are playing the record from start to finish from midday. Click here for information.
- Peter Gabriel to release 'song swap' album with songs of Arcade Fire, Magnetic Fields + more
- No Surprises: Radiohead to carry on releasing albums after all
- Men more likely to download music illegally, but the girls shop around...
- Year 2000 - A Playlist of Songs Wot Soundtracked the Launch of DiS
- Thom Yorke 'denies' Banksy video link-up, or perhaps not...
- Lily Allen vs. Radiohead vs. Patrick Wolf vs. The Man
- Thom Yorke confirms new singles, announces video premiere
- Leeds 2009: The DiS review Pt. 1
Radiohead
From the archive
-
Alt Country Week: Magnolia Electric Co - Leaving the City
-
The clock on the wall reads... Fifteen minutes with DJ Shadow
-
DiScover: These New Puritans
Tweet This
Share on Facebookit's bloody amazing
'nude' is better than i ever imagined.
and 'jigsaw falling into place' is a surprise highlight.
repeat has never been more used.
All I Need
is probably my favourite track so far...
I thinks it's a mixed bag
there are some real zzzzz Radiohead moments but, there are some AMAZING tracks too. Weird Fishes and House of Cards probably my favourites so far..
its really subtle..
kinda makes me think of the new pj harvey album...imagine if they toured together!!
interestingly the bitrate offered for the download was only 160
does this bother anyone who can't be bothered to fork out the £40 for the full package? i know the album will be released properly in time but some people may think this lower quality is a bit of a pisstake.
^read the update thread^
long debate on that
in other news I hate all of you twats (no offence) I'm at school an hour later than usual, and it wasn't even out when I checked at about 8 AM (to the best of my knowledge)
I won't even be able to listen to Xfm
does it come with artwork in the download?
No
Whilst I would consider myself a bit of a bore about music, moaning about 160 bit rate is pushing it a bit
I really like it on first listen
In places, it perhaps sounds a little 'Radiohead-by-numbers' but I also see it as their most melodic record probably since The Bends.
There really are some lovely melodies floating around, especially on Reckoner, which I've got on again now.
Bodysnatchers sounds even better than it did on last years tour. It sounds bigger, and beefier.
A damn fine album.
160kbps
Means you'll still be fancying the cd version when they release it on, *ahem a record label.
160
is bollocks. 192 is the lowest acceptable. I am a nerd.
My Favourite songs are...
15 steps
Arpeggi
Nude
Reckoner
Jigsaw.
...which is half the album.
only All I Need and Faust Arp leave me in anyway cold. Bit of a triumph.
Awight then Diver
I'll post here instead
On the 4th listen, Reckoner makes me want to cry
prize please!
No winners here, you cheapos
Get reviewing.
Also
House Of Cards is gorgeous.
Truly stunning.
^
agreed.
Some tracks still bore me and have no hooks. Some are pure awesome.
House Of Cards
is my personal favourite, after a couple of 'one-headphone-in-so-my-boss-can't-shout-at-me' listens.
It is, undoubtedly, the best legitimate free download I've ever heard.
Still waiting for the Discbox though, which will probably be worth pulling a sicky to listen to.
First listen it's a really good calming album
I agree with the comment that its subtle like PJ's album. But I don't see the references to some of the songs sounding a bit like 'I might be wrong' or 'National Anthem'. That's the first time I'd heard 'Nude' and thought it was excellent, lives up to all the praise it had before.
First Off..
...the album is absolutely sublime, far, far better than I hoped it would be. It just sounds beautifully classic yet with all the weird atmospheres that Radiohead add to make it sound so modern. Kind of reminds me a post-modern Neil Young record in a very good way indeed. On The Beach for 2007 or something.
Case in point Videotape- to be honest, live, a bit of a shockingly coldplay-esque snoozeathon - on record - wow! make the piano sound like it is a haunted attic, add some weird percussion and it comes out as quite a different prospect entirely. See also All I Need. Faust Arp is a rare suprise that recalls Good Morning Mr Magpie in its simplicity and grace. And Arpeggi and Nude are glorious as expected. And it works so well as a whole, with a beautiful similarity of tone throughout. No complaints at all.
Regarding the 160 kbps thing, it is a little disappointing and on these speakers I can occasionally hear things go nuts when all the instruments pile in an the subtly and lushness is sadly stripped out and the cymbals sound flat. Then again, all I was thinking was "this is going to sound amazing on vinyl". I wasn't going to get the boxed set, but now maybe I will. We all know that once the boxed set comes out, the internets will be awash within hours with high bitrate files that one can "upgrade" to. And I suspect Radiohead know this too, they are in a sense "leaking" their own album. They are savvy enough to understand that people are going to get it on MP3 anyway, so they might as well offer it at "as much as you like".
Well it's ok
Sounds like where they left off to me. Bit jazzy at times, very low key (almost "eraser" like). Some terrible production in places, some amazing production in others. On track 7 right now.
Radiohead albums are best when you don't like them for a week or so, so in that sense it might be one of their best yet.
I can't see it being long before I'm listening to the new Underworld record yet again though...
Also...
didn't like "Nude" very much?!!? Not trying to be controversial, but reminded me of a whole phase of their work I hoped they'd left behind.
Also, "faust arp" so far sounds like the band covering The National with the vocal structure of "Wolf from the door" overlaying it. Or maybe thats just me...
but..
NME website offers prizes.
I wanna I wanna
mwahhhh
new Undeworld record?
single or album?
Tell me more!
I've listened to it three times
and really like it
BUT
I'm very disappointed by the drumming. It sounds so weak. On videotapes it seems he's banging a fisher price drum all the way through. I hope this is due to low quality mp3s. The drums should be higher in the mix and much more powerful. And Thom's voice is mixed too high on a couple of tracks (Nude especially).
Other than that it's a pretty solid album. Will wait until I get a decent version to finally judge.
hello
this is gREAT (with a lowercase g)
the intro for nu-Nude is gorgeous
ALL I NEED
Is already one of my favourite ever Radiohead songs.
i LOVED
the live version of videotape, but am left rather disappointed by the new version.
Artwork
Any news as to where I can obtain artwork?
bet you didnt know
they're touring aswell?
All I Need
builds into a crescendo of awesome-ness
that's the single worst
article i've ever read.
pablo honey's their favourite album. fucking disgrace.
fuck that.
bbc cunt. get some fucking ears
did so
seeing them next week.
Just didn't realise the album was out on MONDAY!
worthless indeed
maybe next time he'll think about spending more than £0.00...he already did, when he spent £9.82. dick.
oh and i didn't get my e-mail this morning. i paid £3.45. to not get the new radiohead album.
oh it went
to my junk box...doesn't bode well
I wouldnt have agreed..
but it's feeling more and more like 'Hail to the thief' the more I listen to it.
In a good way.
I'm on 'Reckoning' at the moment.
So far, this album is awesome.
Well worth the 10p I paid for it.
Well, I didn't want to be like the rest of you 1p scumbags. I'm TEN TIMES BETTER. ;-D
Good sign/bad sign
Good sign - I love it enough to want that second cd NOW NOW NOW.
Bad sign - Some tracks leave me feeling unsatisfied, like some potentially amazing ideas haven't been fully realised. Namely Weird Fishes, Jigsaw and Bodysnatchers. Feels like they're wilfully not unleashing that fuck-off 5th gear.
Maybe I'll come round.
Yes
I think its one of the standouts. A lot more focused than some of the other songs
Actually,
delete Jigsaw from that list. Tis a ruddy belter.
I tell you what though
Kid A is awesome!
kid a...
my initial thought is that while there are more 'proper songs' on this that are up there with the best of them than there have been in a while, it doesn't hang together as well as an album as either kid a or ok computer.. it seems more a collection of songs than a whole, and if even one of those songs lets it down then the album suffers. whereas in my eyes kid a manages to have treefingers and STILL be an ace album.
or should that be...
'in my ears'... although i like the artwork too so 'eyes' applies. and there is no artwork for this yet, which doesn't help.
Drumming
Who said the drumming on Videotape was crap, listening for the first time now and I really like it.
.
15 Steps is one of the best things I've heard this year, fuckin fantastic
Sick and tired of
reading about people bragging how they have paid nothing or next to nothing for the In Rainbows album. I'm willing to bet that these are the same people who continuously bitch and moan about record labels killing the music industry and screwing musicians etc This was an opportunity to poke one in the eye by seriously reflecting on what the value of a particular album is.
It's gotta be good
because I just got my telecaster and worked out the lead bit for reckoner. Any album that makes me want to be creative (although currently it is to simply just playing along with) has got to be pretty good.
Not too sure about the whole 160 thing. Think I maybe looking for it, but I do think as a whole unless you turn the album up A LOT you can't get a look at the entire picture.
Personally I think the album is great. Not a classic (yet) but they have well and truely found their sound. Reminds me a lot of when I heard animal collectives "strawberry Jam" for the first time. You really get a sense that both bands now know EXACTLY what they want to get from a record and they know how to recreate what they hear in their head down onto cd (or mp3)
As far as I am concerned Radiohead have always been an interesting band and whether you like the album or not you have to admire what they are attempting to do. Musically you cannot argue with what they have to offer and the way they have presented it has been both innovative and exciting. Everytime I have read a paper this week at some point this album has been mentioned, which I think is an excellent thing as it is going to put pressure on majors to reconsider how they distrubute music.
10 great songs and a topic of conversation. That's what music is about.
only thing is...
now that they're making me listen to it in mp3 format, itch comes on before i realise the album should have finished. it's the equivalent of making the US edit of "stop whispering" a secret track. ruined the album for me. for. ever.
I wasn't going to get it
(shocker I know) but I liked having this early mini-breakdown of the album (cheers DiS) and downloaded it this evening. Am very much liking so far, despite not being the hugest Radiohead fan in general. I'll need to listen a few more times, but currently much enjoying Faust Arp and Reckoner.
after reading these comments
I've now decided, that this album is like a more upbeat and lively type of style, that the last three have. I love hail to the thief, I love Kid A, it was my first radiohead album!
amnesiac is good but I don't like it AS much.
every different version of nude, I think is a different, great song, in itself.
I just wish my speakers were better, ad more worthy!
is there a way to donate to the in rainbows site, if you tihnk you've underpaid, I'm not satisfied with the £7 I put in, infact, I think I'd happily pay £20 in total.
I think I'll end up getting the box set, I better not do birthday presents with half the family though...
Faust arp
anyone else noticed how this is the definitive two and a bit minute tribute to the Beatles??
it starts as Julia (from the white album), then thom comes in with his vocal, throwing you off balance for a sec, before those GORGEOUS george martin-esque strings come in and knock you back.
its like what coldplay were trying to do all over their x&y album, but failed... its so beautiful, and so understated...
my only fear is this sudden release with no real forewarning for the new-old direction might just be making everyone say nice things out of sheer surprise - its so fresh to hear a radiohead album, with guitars and 'proper' songs...
for me, its their first album since ok computer that sounds like the band who actually did ok computer!
and - for the record - i loved kid a, and liked bits of amnesiac and hail to the thief, so im not one of those 'bring back the guitars' luddites... its just a revelation. i didnt think they had it in them...
here here/hear here
yeah... on my speakers, with my ears (theyre posh studio speakers, and ive got pretty good ears) it sounds pretty damn good for mp3. itll be better on vinyl though, no doubt.
id go so far as to say nigel godrich has moved up a notch or two in my book, and is now the best producer ever. its as if he realised this was potentially his last chance to record a 'proper' (as he sees it; he was a bit confused by the 'experimental' past few albums) radiohead album, and so hes thrown everything hes got at it, pulled out all the stops,
i cant say how well the music will stand the test of time (who can?) but ill go out on a limb and say that the production will be celebrated by music techies like myself for decades to come.
just listen to what he does layering those different reverbs, as dyad mentioned above on videotape... its going on throughout the album, and its bloody brilliant.
all hail to nige!
Lmao
I stopped reading at "I should have sent a cheque to EMI so they can find the next Radiohead".
deary me
the how low can you go competition is retarded.
the above article is even more retarded. makes me wonder if it wasnt written by someone from EMI...
first off, i suspect radiohead were in fact paying a lot of people money, even fat record execs to buy new cars for.
if they make a lot of money out of it, i wouldnt be surprised if a fair bit went to charity.
and as for music NEEDING RECORD LABELS TO DISCOVER BANDS!?! has this retard not yet encountered the internet, besides buying two copies of the album for £9.82?? (which, incidentally, does indeed halve the price he feels its worth, so he's got a fair deal, surely??)
twat.
and dont get me started about 'get back to your best'... fucking hell!?! and as for ok computer taking HOW MANY LISTENS before he liked it!?
maybe he's actually deaf.
It's so weird,
I'm on my third listen and the first track sounds totally different to how I remember, almost like I'd never heard it before.
thirded
it's not uniformly amazing, it has quite a lot of moments where it doesn't really engage me
New Radiohead Album....
...where? when? what have I missed ; )
Got in from work very late last night so didnt get a chance to buy it, wont be making the same mistake tonite.
Heard Mark&Lard play Weird Fish/Arpegi on my way home and it sounded liek a continuation of Hail to the Thief which is no bad thing imo : D
sounds like
a band that's run out of tricks
amazed
i'm amazed with in rainbows - for sure the album of the year! Radiohead are the best!!
in rainbows is awesome....
...so don't misconstrue this comment.
but Jigsaw Falling Into Place? Somebody likes Broken Social Scene.
Brilliant song all the same.
ah
for sure crazy time!
woah
alot of people into radiohead then.
Very good.
It's good. Very good. Like every album Radiohead have released since OKC it's gonna be a grower, but there's some songs on here that are destined to become classics. Nude is just beautiful, and Bodysnatchers shows you can buld something awesome out of something that starts off so generic and boring. Only listened to the first few songs at the moment, but they've all impressed me.
-
The Jens Lekman "read and DiScuss" link points to this page.
in rainbows is awesome....
Fab, mature post funk muse for the Aldi bores!
woah, just got to jigsaw..
...and darn tootin, it does sound a fuck of a lot like broken social scene.
on first album i am yet to detect a gash number.
i have also been dancing around my front room like a loon.
Did radiohead do something qute recently?
like release a new album?
still
listening and listening........
Totally Beatles
Thought it was more like "Blackbird" though.
It's probably my least favourite song on the record because to me it's the most obvoiusly-derivative.
My favourite at the moment is Arpeggi which I just think is grogeous gorgeous gorgeous!!!
In Photos: Arctic Monkeys @ Wembley Arena, London
In Photos: The Flaming Lips @ The Academy, Manchester
In Photos: Moby @ The Palace Theatre, London
In Photos: Tegan & Sara @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Last.fm
SoundCloud
MySpace
Friendster
RSS
Comments
- Post a new comment on this article