https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hgVihWjK2c
this was the best thing to come out of it imo
― ufo, Monday, 3 June 2019 01:27 (four years ago) link
I love Thom's little pre-song stances there
― Simon H., Monday, 3 June 2019 02:11 (four years ago) link
and yes the sequencing is really something; normally putting a droning ballad like "Daydreaming" as your second track would be a pacing disaster, but it's a necessary readjustment following "Burn the Witch", which is such an outlier that it only makes sense as the opener. I bet that was a tough call!
― Simon H., Monday, 3 June 2019 02:21 (four years ago) link
Album gets so much better after the first track
It's aged well (so far) imo
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 3 June 2019 10:12 (four years ago) link
I still like it, but at this stage it's my second least favourite after The King of Limbs.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Monday, 3 June 2019 16:27 (four years ago) link
It's my fifth favourite in a ranking I just did in my head.
― chap, Monday, 3 June 2019 16:35 (four years ago) link
this album is so good that i can't even rate it.
it's like, ya i love amnesiac and kid a so much and those records changed my life so much in so many different ways. and in rainbows! that album!
but it's like, even with all that. . . i still consider moon shaped pool to be something else entirely.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 3 June 2019 16:48 (four years ago) link
its still my #2 after kid a
― be the 2 chainz you want 2 see in the world (m bison), Monday, 3 June 2019 17:32 (four years ago) link
It came out right as my 20 year marriage / 25 year relationship was breaking down so as you can imagine it hits pretty hard at times. I almost never play Burn the Witch - it's a fine song but it's not what I want when I cue up AMSP.
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Monday, 3 June 2019 23:04 (four years ago) link
I said it back then (probably said it up-thread) but "Burn The Witch" sounds like it's from another album entirely, and even though I don't dislike it, it's a total misstep as a first track.
Give this a try: start the album with 'Daydreaming,' and slot in 'Ill Wind' where it fits in alphabetically between 'Identikit' and 'The Numbers'. (Relegate 'Burn The Witch' to a bonus track, with 'Spectre'.). It makes a really fantastic record almost perfect, at least in terms of coherence and flow.
That version of 'A Moon Shaped Pool' is my second favorite Radiohead album (as a nerd who bought 'The Bends' on day-of-release and made b-side mix tapes for my friends through high-school). Heck, might be my #1 favorite...
― Soundslike, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 01:51 (four years ago) link
There should be more albums with the tracks sequenced in alphabetical order, IMO.
― Flood-Resistant Mirror-Drilling Machine (rushomancy), Wednesday, 5 June 2019 02:00 (four years ago) link
tbh I like "Burn the Witch" as opener and I feel like they drew straws to see whether "Ill Wind" or "Identikit" would make the proper tracklist cause I find them quite similar
― Simon H., Wednesday, 5 June 2019 03:08 (four years ago) link
― assert (MatthewK), Sunday, 29 November 2020 23:38 (three years ago) link
May or may not be musically related, they are known recyclers of titles (e.g. Reckoner). That is neat though!
― american primitive stylophone (zchyrs), Sunday, 29 November 2020 23:53 (three years ago) link
ooh wonder what became of "fela kuti thing"
― discourse stu (m bison), Sunday, 29 November 2020 23:54 (three years ago) link
I bet it ended up as "Feral"
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 30 November 2020 01:30 (three years ago) link
or actually "Bloom" feels a bit more Fela to me
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 30 November 2020 01:53 (three years ago) link
"burn the witch" had been floating around since at least httt, there was an early draft of the lyrics on their website at the time. thom also mentioned it on the radiohead blog a bunch of times from 2005-2007, including posting parts of the lyrics and mentioning that jonny was writing orchestration for it. there were even a few times on the in rainbows tour where thom played the opening chords to tease it in response to audience shouts for it, only to joke that they'll play it when they have an orchestra with them.
― ufo, Monday, 30 November 2020 01:55 (three years ago) link
Relistening after a long time, on headphones. What a gorgeous record, damn.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:02 (three years ago) link
Love the echoes of Jean-Claude Vannier and Nick Drake throughout.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:09 (three years ago) link
elided your line to "Jean-Claude Van Damme" for a delightful moment there
― assert (MatthewK), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:15 (three years ago) link
That, too!
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:18 (three years ago) link
All the good albums are influenced by Jean Claude Van Damme
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:31 (three years ago) link
A Moon Shaped Punch
― chap, Sunday, 21 February 2021 12:43 (three years ago) link
it can be seen as the "JCVD" of their oeuvre
― maf you one two (maffew12), Sunday, 21 February 2021 13:15 (three years ago) link
1. Kick the Witch2. Daykicking3. Kicks Dark4. Desert Island Kicks5. Ful Kick6. Punched Eyes7. Indentikick8. The Punchers9. Present Tense Situation10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Punch11. True Love Kicks
― chap, Sunday, 21 February 2021 13:34 (three years ago) link
"what new could anyone possibly have to save about this album?", he thought to himself as he opened the thread.
"how foolish my thinking has been, indeed!", he said aloud upon reading the contents of the new answers.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:05 (three years ago) link
9. Present Tense Situation
On reflection this is not up to my high standards. I might need some help with it.
― chap, Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:23 (three years ago) link
Tense Kick
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:40 (three years ago) link
Timecop 2: Present Tense
Presenting Punch
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:41 (three years ago) link
presentensity
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 21 February 2021 19:06 (three years ago) link
Punch head
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Monday, 22 February 2021 06:44 (three years ago) link
Some classics from the back catalogue did hint at this new direction -
Every kick in its Right PlaceRoundhouse of CardsSubterranean Spinkick Alien
― chap, Monday, 22 February 2021 09:50 (three years ago) link
It goes back even further. Who doesn't remember Creep Up On Your Adversary And Sweep The Leg
― maf you one two (maffew12), Monday, 22 February 2021 10:45 (three years ago) link
Yeah their second album also hinted at the influence
(Nice Kick)My Iron FistBullet Proof... I know I AmBlack BeltStreet Spirit (Punch Out)
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 22 February 2021 12:48 (three years ago) link
When Thom Yorke’s first solo album was announced critics and fans where nervous about the title “The Eraser” hinting he was going for a Schwarzenegger influence to separate his own brand, but relaxed when the tracklist rolled out and Black Eagle, Punches for Peace, And it Kicked All Night meant the Van Damme influence was still firm in his heart.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 22 February 2021 13:03 (three years ago) link
A Punchup at a Wedding
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 22 February 2021 13:04 (three years ago) link
Street Spirit (Punch Out)
― ✖✖✖ (Moka)
Sorry, stupid autocorrect. This is actually called “Street Fighter (Punch Out)”
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 22 February 2021 13:04 (three years ago) link
Kyxomatosis
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 22 February 2021 13:06 (three years ago) link
Pop (Your Shoulder Out Of Joint Then Snap Your Neck By Twisting Your Head Between My Palms) Is Dead
― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Monday, 22 February 2021 13:36 (three years ago) link
The Kick Of Limbs
― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Monday, 22 February 2021 13:37 (three years ago) link
Kick A
― american primitive stylophone (zchyrs), Monday, 22 February 2021 16:54 (three years ago) link
Don't get my kicks hangin out the 15th floor
― billstevejim, Monday, 22 February 2021 17:47 (three years ago) link
I missed this back in May but it's a great little reflective (!) piece: https://www.gq.com/story/radiohead-a-moon-shaped-pool-secret-goodbye-five-year-anniversary
― assert (matttkkkk), Saturday, 6 November 2021 21:06 (two years ago) link
Very nicely put. Whether 'A Moon Shaped Pool' was Radiohead's last or not--I agree it feels final. For me, it rekindled my love for the band, so critical to my import-only-single-chasing youth, after the previous several (actually, large chunks of everything since 'Hail To the Thief') had left me somewhat cold. It felt like mature work, less busy chasing something its constituents wished to be (i.e. avant-garde electronic act, "funky," non-melody-based, rock-out anthemers) and just felt like they are. And yet it felt no less complex than they'd been post-'Bends,' just more coherent. It felt freed--of expectations, of expectations to defy expectations. Somehow the successful fruition of 'True Love Waits'--far more poignant, as sung by an older man in the midst of loss of love, than in the youthful earnestness of its earliest incarnation--does indeed feel like a "completion" of the band.
(My feelings about the album are colored by how I listen. I've ultimately decided to remove 'Burn The Witch' and think of it as an excellent b-side, as it's a false start to the mood, tone and sound of the album; and I add 'Ill Wind' inserted in alphabetical order, which fits perfectly.)
― Soundslike, Sunday, 7 November 2021 00:06 (two years ago) link
Agreed, I suspect most people skip BtW (as good as it is in isolation).
― assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 7 November 2021 01:45 (two years ago) link
i skip BtW as well
― just staying (Karl Malone), Sunday, 7 November 2021 01:48 (two years ago) link
lol, i was watching this video linked to in that piece above, about the secrets of the video for "Daydreaming", and after having to turn it off part-way through (try to guess if you end up watching it, and I'd like to know what's after it!), I realized that I had the exact same experience with this video a few years ago, turning it off at the same point
https://vimeo.com/178823364
― just staying (Karl Malone), Sunday, 7 November 2021 02:06 (two years ago) link
um... "inspired by the subreddit"?
― maf you one two (maffew12), Sunday, 7 November 2021 02:49 (two years ago) link