Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Yes.

The more I listen to this, the more I feel like Thom Yorke may actually be the worst thing on this record?

I love the detailed, minimal production - so QUIET, all these silences and little underdone moments, recalling yeah Villalobos, Nicolas Jaar, etc. But Thom just can't crank things back enough, can't undersing enough (or doesn't, here) - he's overdoing it, for a record this understated.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/Screenshot2011-02-21at191808.png%3Ft%3D1298315964

Zoomed right in; if it's there, it's really, really minor. Maybe your ears are more sensitive than mine - I've only listened to it about 4 times so far, and only twice off a really good set of headphones, but it's not struck me.

Fucking Photobucket piece of shit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/Screenshot2011-02-21at191808.png

it doesn't seem like an overly squashed master to me (although it does sound shitty in my car; just low end and vocals, with all the detail in the middle getting wiped out).

It's odd that you can't hear it. At some of those peaks it distorts so much that it actually clicks at points. Tried it with different headphones, different programs, through my ipod, through a stereo, etc. Same sound every time.

The clipping probably comes from Radiohead using an unregistered version of WinRar making the archive files they sent out.

I'll listen again for it specifically circa 8pm when Em's gone out swimming.

x-post I think this would have been great minus York. Like, they could have released this as an instrumental EP, then released an album that fleshes out a few of the more promising sketches into stronger songs and drops them into a more compelling album.

that waveform doesn't look clipped or squished much at all, compared to like 90% of major label pop/rock records

There are audible distortion clicks at 0:31, 3:01, and 3:15, approx.

Do we really gotta wait for the print edition to come out before we read any reviews? a bit tired of critics giving music a pass because it's a "a grower", which is def not an attribute to be ignored but not reason for giving the album a great review either.

Um, it came out Friday with no warnings or promos. Give it some time, reviews are coming.

i hear the ones at 3:01 and 3:15 in the left channel but they're so perfectly on beat that i almost want to say its not digital clipping but someone tapping along in the studio or something. don't hear anything at 0:31

kel: did you not see the same-day reviews? often within an hour or two, basically a single listen? there are plenty of ppl out there treating this as NOT a grower if that's what yr looking for!

3:01 and 3:14/15 it clips in the left channel, pretty much in time to the beat (perhaps why I'd not noticed). The distortion 0:31 in is on Thom's voice I think, and dealable with, for me. Tiny moments of clipping I can tolerate if the rest of the elements don't run and bleed into each other massively, which is what I really hate, but yeah, it does seem like really clumsy mastering. Pointless.

xpost.

Basically, I can't wait for a vinyl rip.

I run headphones off my iMac through a DAC and my main CD player is a Rega Apollo = basically makes digital music sound less digital.

Well, I'm looking forward to it more because their mastering for vinyl tends to be quite different. A lot more range. I'd bet anything that the GUTG distortion won't be present on the vinyl version.

ilxor: I read the Guardian's but rly am more curious to see what "taste-makers" like p4k have to say about it. Radiohead's discography iirc is a unanimous 9.0+ thru-out. 10.0's at times. The Guardian's review doesn't really have a real opinion on it other than that, like most ops here, is a grower.

I'm not disputing the fact, I just tire of the band being able to get off by it's reputation and not the album's content absent of all else.

What, like you do with Wilco?

You're confusing me w/ someone else.

My apologies; I'm not around here often enough these days to keep track of who everyone is.

Anyway, a few more listens - this album REALLY sounds like Caribou and Four Tet at points, which I think is why I'm enjoying it.

http://sickmouthy.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/more-thoughts-on-the-king-of-limbs/

Yerr there was a point in ilxor history where members were renaming themselves "kellypolaris"/"kelspolaris" and such. Can't even remember when, it seems way past the point where I orig got 51'd

hilarious choice of images w/ the blog

Haha, thank you; one does one's best to match the image to the content...

erm haha i mean excellent, not hilarious; i just chuckled at the literal black swan for the black swan article and then realized i am a very dull human being

I ran this through MP3Gain before playing it ever (I use an ipod so I have no choice) and I'm hearing the same distortion, but honestly, apart from the on-beat taps mentioned above, it just sounds like Yorke's voice track was handled horribly during recording or engineering. It doesn't have that ceiling-mash sound from which so much '00s music suffers.

pretty sure that the vocal distortion you guys are talking about is intentional, i don't think it's caused by mastering or ia supposed to sound super clean

I assumed that to begin with tbh. This album (Ghost in particular) is clearly not meant to be highly polished. Oh and I cbf going back to this album either.

MP3Gain before playing it ever (I use an ipod so I have no choice)

you can just use your volume knob when you need to.

uh

You guys should listen to the latest Stephen Tobolowsky podcast to hear how he inspired the name of this band.

Twitter now seems to be full of people going "oh, it's really good".

I thought In Rainbows was absolutely worthless but on first listen I kinda like this! go figure.

I only really like about 3 songs on IR; the first 2 and Reckoner. The rest is OK, apart from the last tune, which bores me to tears.

One reason it's growing on me is that a lot of it's very beautiful on a pure ear-candy level. It develops the sleepy, sensual feel of In Rainbows, albeit without the hooks.

The hooks are there, just extremely understated.

Is it a hook if it doesn't hook you?

yes

sorry, it's a hook if it doesn't hook you. if it doesn't hook me, then it's not a hook.

If a hook doesn't have a fish on the end of it, it's still a hook.

http://thaddeus.snark404.net/vid&photo/three%20legged%20dog.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV4xhsYvU2g&feature=related

listening to the album this way^...halfway through Magpie; liking it so far, why are people whining about this?

sorry I don't mean to be a jerk & write ppl itt off as whiners; I just don't get what's wrong with this album...? First side at least sounds like the band taking one of the eerie highs from Side One of Kid A and stretching it across four songs kind of...?

One reason it's growing on me is that a lot of it's very beautiful on a pure ear-candy level. It develops the sleepy, sensual feel of In Rainbows, albeit without the hooks.

Yeah I'm hearing this too. It's just a very good sounding album, lack of songwriting besides

*Obama voice* let me be clear...

I do like this album, and I've listened to it repeatedly since Friday.

Buuuuut...

I think the underlying songwriting is some of radiohead's worst in a long time, but the production, the attention to detail, the "sound" of it, etc, is good enough to cover up the flaws. For example, "good morning mr. Magpie" is essentially a really polished turd. I remember hearing the early live versions of it and being disappointed with the tune itself. Well, they didn't really change the tune much, they just added a bunch of really cool production. And it comes out ok! It's not like I skip it or anything, it sounds alright.

Now, the obvious criticism of that criticism is that if you take, say, a four tet or burial or flying lotus song, and look at the underlying structure, you're not exactly going to find a song you can play around the campfire either. But those artists seem comfortable with working with loops, whereas radiohead understandably sounds like the residue of their more guitar oriented albums still hasn't worn off. Something just sounds a little off.

None of that makes sense, sorry. Still struggling with what I think if this new one tbh

just say 3/5

3/5 never forget