Radiohead: Classic or Dud?

Are they really still playing Optimistic and Dollars & Cents? Why?

They're playing even older ones still, Matt! Why are you surprised at these two?

They're like the two dullest things from their back catalogue.

i was surprised by Talk Show Host in SF.

I would like to hear Radiohead cover "I Want it That Way"

They played a full cover of "Tell Me Why" in LA last night. Check the comments at At Ease for a download link.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/28/radiohead-to-broadca.html
Rumours abound that Radiohead's show tonight will be broadcasted online..

Rumors correct:

http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?a=405

"How To Disappear Completely" is particularly kicking my butt right now.

It's all about the Neil Young cover, though, people. Seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHIJcx9EB94

Okay woah woah woah woah. Is there anyone out there who might remember the early version of "Reckoner" (completely different to the version on In Rainbows)?? I had the Gorge, WA 2001 version forever, and pretty much thought it was the definitive early version - sorta like Radiohead trying to pull a Nirvana. It was a badass song, this early version of Reckoner.

But now I have heard an acoustic early version of "Reckoner" when it still had the same lyrics as this earlier grungey version and I am absolutely astounded! This is musical greatness, right here.

The thing is, though I have about 6 live versions of Reckoner now in its "In Rainbows" form and I am completely obsessed with this song, I feel no harm can come to me as long as this song is playing. It's only a minor technicality that if you really want to hear the strings at the end, you do have to surrender to the album version and leave the live ones behind. But the band really does do a fantastic job of trying to make up for the lack of strings at the end, and that's what is so exciting.

yeah, i remember.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc_3R2-TIJk

haven't heard the acoustic version. where would i find that?

Does anybody else think that Radiohead (and Wilco etc. come to think of it) have gone astray re: the write/record/play live process? In that they have songs that were seriously over tinkered with. I'd take the current Idioteque (and Handshake Drugs, for that matter) over the earlier ones, but OTOH there are the songs that had beautiful initial versions and the subsequent ones kinda died through trying too hard/losing the point of what made the song good in the first place. I'm thinking of the In Rainbows stuff first and foremost, but I'll admit that I've been listening to the YHF demos all day, so that's the train of thought I'm on. Also maybe this is more of a live vs. studio thing.

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/radiomadinside.jpg

Radiohead
Collectionanthropolopolisology
[ EMI Toshiba; 2004]
Rating: 10.0
Traveling through space at 293.37246 million billion miles per hour, traveling past star systems and glowing golden suns, comes Radiohead's latest offering. Discovering a new Radiohead release is like staring into the eyes of Jesus Christ and feeling the eternal stream of love and awe that flows from Him. I might be so bold as to claim that Radiohead is the Jesus Christ of music; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost combined into one small package featuring the limitless talent of Thom Yorke.

So how do I review such an inherently perfect, flawless recording? It would be unfair of me to simply state, "this CD is perfection in the literal sense of the word," as that would not give such a masterpiece the sufficient praise it deserves. Putting this disc into your stereo and listening to it is like having the saints pee liquid gold into your ears. A beautiful, flowing, melodic wall of sound embraces you like the mother you never had because she was a filthy whore.

Track 1, "Ale A Gator," opens up with a lush field of melodic vibraphones and marimbas trumpeting the arrival of Thom York's genius. A glassy string section envelopes the sound field and reminds me of the time I was doing heroin in the middle of Canterbury Park. Finally Yorke's angelic voice sweeps in, crooning the following incomprehensibly intelligent lyrics:

Ale A Gator, the world is your at your feet
With a gaping mouth and jagged teeth
Your eyes remind me of capitalism (the telephone is ringing)
And your love is love like loving eyes, I will be there for you

Ale A Gator
Ale A Gator
Dragging through your personal hell
Ale A Gator
Ale A Gator
Encrusted jewels and a kissing kill across your gentle forehead

Time for sleep
Time for sleep
Time for sleep
Time for sleep
Gentle Ale A Gator

Such raw, unrelenting beauty caressed my soul like fingertips running across my spine. The power, the genius, the immeasurable talent which escapes from this porous CD can easily overwhelm you without proper preparation. Teams of NASA scientists could spend hundreds of years attempting to discover the meaning behind Thom's words, but nobody is intelligent enough to properly do so except Thom himself and his alter-ego, Jesus Christ. Perhaps some day they will both do a duet together and we can finally see who's truly the Son of God.

As for tracks 2-9, I was unable to listen to them as I was so blown away by Radiohead's sheer power that I beat my CD player into pieces with a rake so it would never be defiled by another, inferior compact disc. I shall review the rest of the album once my dad flies back from the Hamptons and buys me a new SUV to play it in.

Class-fucking-ic.

even if they are good they suck, because loads of knobs like them.

― max r, Sunday, September 30, 2007 3:00 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

has anyone bought the new Remastered versions of their old albums yet? i would like to know if the sound is actually better.

today was the last day for BMG Music Club so i decided to order both The Bends and OK Computer. the three CD/DVD set only cost me $15 each...

Well then:

We're doing a show this Sunday (24th January) to raise funds for the relief effort in Haiti. The venue is The Music Box Theatre at The Fonda in Los Angeles, doors at 7pm. All proceeds are going to the Oxfam Haiti relief fund. We're trying to raise as much money as possible, so tickets will be sold by auction at this site.

Auction starts Thursday 21st January 08.00 pm PST
Auction ends Saturday 23rd January 11.00 am PST

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/09004434FC1C86AC

We're in the middle of recording at the moment, so you'll be catching us on the fly.... but if you're up for it, then we are too.

When the past catches up to you.

U.S. tour wisely avoids northern cities in Feb and March:

02-27 Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
02-29 Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
03-01 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
03-05 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
03-07 Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center
03-09 St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
03-11 Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
03-13 Broomfield, CO - 1st Bank Center
03-15 Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena

But, on the plus side, with them shunning Chicago or anything close (not driving to St. Louis for these guys), means I keep my streak of 15 years of listening to Radiohead and not seeing them live intact.

Same. Have never seen them live in about 16-17 years :-(

Its really only a sore spot because I was supposed to go their big 2001 outdoor show at Hutchison Field in Chicago, but I was kept at work for a huge deadline.

how much was asking price for tix in the past? v surprised they're coming to denver (or at least 20 miles outside denver)

Strongly considering going to the Austin show.

broomfield is definitely the coolest place radiohead has ever played.
are radiohead good live?

Dud. I loathe this band. They were acceptable until Amnesiac, then they shot their wad and became the most overhyped group of twats in the biz.

yeah? i've never been a huge fan, but i think they're good and fairly consistent! in rainbows might be my fave record by them. but that's just me.

woah afriendlypioneer isn't afraid to speak his mind

Dud. I loathe this band. They were acceptable until Amnesiac, then they shot their wad and became the most overhyped group of twats in the biz.

― afriendlypioneer, Monday, 7 November 2011 16:29 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

A strange tipping point to choose - don't think they really changed outlook/style/priorities around this time?

are radiohead good live?

They tended to stick to the studio arrangements as closely as possible the times I saw them, so there were few instances of unexpected fireworks. Oddly, it was the mostly electronic songs -- particularly "Everything In Its Right Place" -- that strayed furthest from the album versions, and were the highlights of the last show of theirs I saw (which was 2001).

Thought they became unbearably cheesy w/ Amnesiac and the following albums were just bland-to-bad in my view. Sorry for speaking my mind. The thread's called "Classic or Dud," right? Just one man's opinion... doubt I'll affect their record sales.

never be sorry for speaking your mind, freedom of speech and all that

Escape Goat OTM. A lot of their more recent post-Kid A songs, especially the electronic ones, have had a tendency to sound half-finished on record. Live they really fill out and come into their own.

In Rainbows sounded fuller and fresher live, agreed. The band was fitter, happier, more productive.

Still dud though.

not contesting your POV afriendlypioneer, but how was Amnesiac and everything after it any more cheesy than Kid A (or OKC for that matter?). How is it "cheesy", even? Was it Yorke's increasing quasi-political remarks, or their earnestness to experiment?

that weirdo live album they did in 2001 was pretty neat, especially because I agree that they've sounded a little weak after Kid A. Still think "Hail to the Thief" is pretty underrated, "In Rainbows" is good, "The King of Lambs" is kind of a dud

I like my lamb cooked on the rare side.

Anyway, tylerw, they're wondrous live. Don't let the ~Taylor Swift is SO deep~ crowd lead you to think otherwise.

I like my lamb cooked on the rare side.

― Turangalila, Monday, November 7, 2011 11:10 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

If you can’t put a butterfly in a jar
If violence mars your final hour
If you make others feel like jam
Poured on a piece of charbroiled lamb

Anyway, tylerw, they're wondrous live. Don't let the ~Taylor Swift is SO deep~ crowd lead you to think otherwise.

Don't let the flat zings crowd deflate you.

feel like "Jump Then Fall" could be a Radiohead title.

Hmm, might try to go to the Atlanta show.

The shitty thing is this time around they're like, stadium-level shows. Which is a nightmare.

I saw them in Houston on the Amnesiac tour and at Coachella after Hail to the Thief and both shows were great. I'm sure this tour will be much more low-key, but the Frank Erwin Center is the perfect place for me to see them. It is very tiny for an arena, so these types of big rock concerts end up feeling much more intimate, which I think works well with the more quiet direction they've taken on the last couple albums.

The shitty thing is this time around they're like, stadium-level shows. Which is a nightmare.

They were playing huge places in 2001, too. The show I saw was at a horse racing track outside of Boston. 39,000 out of the 40,000 people present couldn't see shit.

They're great live, but yeah, yuck at Stadium shows. I was at the glorious 2001 chicago show (while jon was working overtime! sorry man, that's awful) and was one of those kids who showed up 12 hours early to get up really close. totally worth it. saw them on the Hail to the Thief tour a few times, in more stadium-esque locations, and it was a bit of a let down comparatively.

they don't improvise much live (although comments about them stretching out their electronic songs more otm) but they still have room to stretch their legs a bit on most of the songs, often via jonny's solos. this upcoming tour might be pretty awesome with two drummers - many of the songs could sound quite a bit different.

haven't been to the place they're playing in colorado but it's not huge, as far as i can tell. not intimate, but not a baseball stadium or anything. i think the roller derby happens there.

this upcoming tour might be pretty awesome with two drummers - many of the songs could sound quite a bit different.

Yeah, I was thinking that this could be a good reason why this tour could be worth catching. I'm hoping for another U.S. tour later in the summer or additional dates. Really be kinda surprised if they completely skip out on NYC/Chicago/L.A.