The strings still sound sinister, and Colin Greenwood's bass gets a cortisone injection, but because I've never cared what Thom Yorke mewls about or the mewl itself I'm dismissing it as another example of Radiohead's facile paranoia, their projecting portent into a cliché or slogan that can't support it.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:11 (eight years ago) link
idk the lyrics struck me as blunter than usual but so is humanity's death spiral in 2016.
― I do not recall a death-free day. (map), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:43 (eight years ago) link
all the more reason to stop the mewling!
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:46 (eight years ago) link
stop it with ur thom yorke witch hunt
― Treeship, Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:50 (eight years ago) link
i'm glad they're doing what they do and this song is a decent version of it. i'll probably like and/or love the new album and listen to it in some kind of weird way, like exclusively for a month then never again, or strictly for running only. i'll definitely avoid talking about it on the internet or in public because of this band's tendency to bring out the most excruciatingly inane commentary from otherwise pleasant (or not) people, myself included.
― I do not recall a death-free day. (map), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:54 (eight years ago) link
Musically I rather like this but Thom Yorke is pretty much a caricature of himself vocally now. I can get past it though.
― ultros ultros-ghali, Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:54 (eight years ago) link
Never liked TKOL myself so if this better than that it's good enough for me I guess
― ultros ultros-ghali, Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:55 (eight years ago) link
slightly terrified that fgti's revulsion upthread is directed not at this song but at my comments :/ if so, sorry
― And the cry rang out all o'er the town / Good Heavens! Tay is down (imago), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:56 (eight years ago) link
everyone who took issue with my mischaracterization of tkol upthread: you're right, a lot of that album is sculpted from loops, i just sometimes confuse the better live versions for the actual album
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 21:57 (eight years ago) link
never be sorry hon xp
i'm also a fan of tkol, i like how casual it sounds.
― I do not recall a death-free day. (map), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 22:00 (eight years ago) link
no imago! I like everything about RH except their fanbase and singer, and I think the score for The Master is the best modern score, and obv this is not a ripoff it's more like "we both enjoy The Desert Music and Cluster"
― fgti, Tuesday, 3 May 2016 23:11 (eight years ago) link
i liked this http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1133-decoding-the-politics-in-radioheads-burn-the-witch-video/
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 03:13 (eight years ago) link
Clumsy edit at 1:36 in the new song - a very audible click as the high strings cut out.
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 09:07 (eight years ago) link
It's definitely a grower.
I've never cared what Thom Yorke mewls about or the mewl itself I'm dismissing it as another example of Radiohead's facile paranoia, their projecting portent into a cliché or slogan that can't support it.
I find it useful to see Radiohead lyrics as merely contributing to the atmosphere of the music rather than having any meaning or relevance outside of that, and they work just fine in that respect. But yeah, Thom's vocal style and lyrics are the aspect of the band's sound that has evolved the least over the years. He's still capable of coming up with a transcendent melody on occasion, though.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 09:08 (eight years ago) link
Also his lyrics can be good when he's being deadpan rather than portentious.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 09:15 (eight years ago) link
it's a shame that he's still banging on about 'low flying panic attacks' and such in the chorus of a decent tune.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 09:52 (eight years ago) link
yeah that bit stuck out like a sore thumb. sounds like it was lifted from those scrawls on the cover of OKC and comes off as self-parody.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 10:04 (eight years ago) link
haha you know that's exactly my problem with it! i was going to say. the excess of words/Thom lyrics all over those 4 albums from OKC to HTTT (and their text-heavy booklets) really diluted their impact. you read 'CATCH DA MOUSE!' inside the KID A sleeve and then 2 years later that's the chorus on a big single. it just can't help but seem like a paucity of imagination and ideas.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 10:10 (eight years ago) link
Another album that bounces between guitar-bass-drums, mopey piano ballads and cod-Hyperdub would be pretty boring at this stage.
To be fair, HttT and maaaybe Amnesiac are the only ones of their albums that could be configured like that, really.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 13:19 (eight years ago) link
Hail To The Thief is the best one though
― And the cry rang out all o'er the town / Good Heavens! Tay is down (imago), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 13:26 (eight years ago) link
Not my favourite, but I do like it.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 13:30 (eight years ago) link
I think my main issue with Radiohead over the years is that they're yet to make as 'solid' an album as OKC again. Each new release feels shakey, cobbled together, less of a singular 'statement' than their more traditional albums - 'experimental' in the sense that they seem to be seeking around for something that they're never quite reaching. In retrospect, Kid A does feel like a consistent album with a beginning, a middle and an end. But albums like HTTT and In Rainbows suffer from weird sequencing choices, which means that the majority of newer RH albums I hear, I tend to skip to my favourite tracks and rarely listen to as a suite.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 13:58 (eight years ago) link
IR is immaculately sequenced imo
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 13:59 (eight years ago) link
You don't think In Rainbows is coherent? That's quite surprising.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 13:59 (eight years ago) link
Seconded.
xpost
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:00 (eight years ago) link
Radiohead can do whatever they want as long as I never have to hear "Karma Police" again
― ejemplo (crüt), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:00 (eight years ago) link
Actually I often don't bother with the last two tracks on ir as they are my least favourite ones, but the first seven are a fantastic run, perfectly ordered.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:01 (eight years ago) link
the problem with In Rainbows is that it is dull as fuck
― And the cry rang out all o'er the town / Good Heavens! Tay is down (imago), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:01 (eight years ago) link
I still stand by my thoughts that IR sounds like a really good ambienty/chillouty kind of album with two heavy rock tracks stuck to the front of it. I almost always skip straight to track 3, no matter how good those two opening tracks are.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:04 (eight years ago) link
It's a good avant-rock single with 8 tracks of nothing stuck on the end
― And the cry rang out all o'er the town / Good Heavens! Tay is down (imago), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:05 (eight years ago) link
you are silly.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:06 (eight years ago) link
although i agree with the first bit of that
you are both wrong
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:07 (eight years ago) link
Nude is their second best song.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:09 (eight years ago) link
"Avant-rock"
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:10 (eight years ago) link
Wire vernacular?
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:11 (eight years ago) link
I'm listening to Burn the Witch again. I think the first go round I was concentrating too much on the video. Definitely like the orchestration on this. Wouldn't be surprised if they'd been listening to Owen's stuff, but they've never been great at hiding their influences/
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:12 (eight years ago) link
Bodysnatchers is the heaviest track on ir, yes. But 15 Step is no heavier than Weird Fishes or Jigsaw, to my ears.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:17 (eight years ago) link
jigsaw and videotape have always felt like the weakest 2 tracks on IR but on the whole it is immaculately sequenced and a wonderful album
― marcos, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:18 (eight years ago) link
house of cards is one of the best things they've done imo
i *might* allow reckoner
― And the cry rang out all o'er the town / Good Heavens! Tay is down (imago), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:21 (eight years ago) link
Jigsaw is lovely.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:44 (eight years ago) link
I mean, I like p much all the tracks on IR but Bodysnatchers is an outlier and without any other tracks in that style, it throws IR out of whack.
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 14:46 (eight years ago) link
"jigsaw" was my immediate favorite for that record and, when i revisited it yesterday, still is. such a groove
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 15:10 (eight years ago) link
uh from that record*
i can never forgive jigsaw for fading out jonny's guitar solo
― I look forward to hearing from you shortly, (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 15:10 (eight years ago) link
Jigsaw is one of their best songs, the last minute is bliss
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 16:04 (eight years ago) link
so many great codas on IR. Thom's vocals in the last part of 'Nude' are among his all time best 'ooooooooooooh's
― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 16:06 (eight years ago) link
I mean, I like p much all the tracks on IR but Bodysnatchers is an outlier and without any other tracks in that style, it throws IR out of whack
I think of 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi' as its counterpart, not as blown out but another uptempo live band-format track.
― sam jax sax jam (Jordan), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 16:09 (eight years ago) link
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.),
Thom's weirdly strained vocals ruin it.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Wednesday, 4 May 2016 16:47 (eight years ago) link