Radiohead. What to say about Radiohead? Acclaimed? Undoubtedly. Talented? Hard to deny it. Revolutionary? Some may say so. Revolutionary or not, their latest release, In Rainbows, is bound to change a bit in the music industry. The album, arguably the most anticipated release of the 21st century so far, has been the hot topic in news worldwide, both music-oriented and general (hell, it made CNN). Radiohead told teletext.com, a reliable UK news source, that the album was to be out in 2008, which was a let down for many fans. Speculation for the album's release dated all the way back to an early 2006 release, although it has been confirmed by the band that the album was not completed, mixed, and mastered until August 2007. Nonetheless, Radiohead's dedicated fan base (many would render it the most dedicated to a band today) was restless, to say the least. On Radiohead's blog, Dead Air Space, the section entitled Hodiau Direkton normally features artwork from British artist Stanley Donwood, who creates the art for Radiohead's albums and promotions. In the summer of 2007, Hodiau Direkton was shut down and read "Hodiau Direkton will be back in September." It was not until late in that month that the fans would get an update.
Finally, on September 22, 2007, the fans got something; although it wasn't quite what they expected. It was a collection of boxes, with what amounted to eyes, arms, and mouths. At first it was dismissed for just another odd piece of art from Donwood, but was soon deciphered to be a message in the worm buffet code. The first message read, "YES WEARE STILL ALIVE." While it wasn't much of an update, per se, it was indeed something. In the following week, seven more messages were posted, with the last few referring to a meeting. Since it was assumed that Radiohead was now taking their album to different record labels to sign a deal, all was well and us Radiohead fans were happy knowing that the pursuit of a release was underway. What came next, nobody expected.
Around midnight, GMT, Radiohead lead guitarist and songwriter Jonny Greenwood posted on Dead Air Space:
"Hello everyone.
Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days;
We've called it In Rainbows.
Love from us all."
*heart stops beating*
This is how I discovered the album, but for many others it was not in this way. I have a tab on Firefox for Dead Air Space, which links directly to the blog, instead of the enter page that is reached by only entering radiohead.com (as opposed to radiohead.com/deadairspace). Upon typing in www.radiohead.com, I was redirected to a new website: inrainbows.com. From that point on is history. In shock and awe, I read of the album download that stated that "you choose the price" to pay for the album. And oh yeah, that thing about 2008? Forget it. 10 DAYS. Of course, I also looked into the discbox option, which includes the album, a second disc of more new songs (which was just as important to me seeing the tracklisting, which was full of songs I had known from listening to live bootlegs from the 2006 tour), both discs on vinyl (swoon), digital photos and artwork on the enhanced bonus CD, and all of it is in a hard cover. This is gold. By the way, it costs 80 dollars. But of course, this, to me, is priceless. So I buy it, and order my download for free (hey, I ponied up for the discbox, that's good enough). Now comes the longest 10 days of my life. Now, as I sit at my computer awaiting an email containing my activation code for the free download, I guess I might as well actually write a track-by-track preview.
The songs are linked to youtube videos of live performances
1. 15 Step
This song starts with a simple (well, I say simple, but it's in 5/4, for you music nerds), beat with handclaps. After seeing pictures of Radiohead visiting a children's school with recording equipment and clapping children, some are guessing that we will hear those claps on this track. Add Jonny Greenwood's groovy guitar riff to the beat, and you've got a kickin' opener.
2. Bodysnatchers
In my opinion, the most rockin' song on the album, this song is driven by Yorke's powerful riff throughout the song, and features some of the best supplementary guitar by Jonny of any of the songs on this album.
3. Nude
Once a sullen, organ-lavished ballad from the OK Computer/Kid A sessions in the late 90's, this song has been revamped for their 2006 tour and is now more sparse, trimmed down, and offers what may end up being Thom's (lead vocalist) best performance on the album.
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Referred to as only "Arpeggi" during the tour, this song includes some powerful drumming from Phil Selway and some excellent soundscapes from Jonny Greenwood. A personal favorite of mine.
5. All I Need
Perhaps the closest thing to a "ballad" on this album, All I Need features Yorke on the piano, and proves to have the most "epic" climax of any of the new songs. Expect to hear some masterful string arrangements from Jonny on this one.
6. Faust Arp
The lone track on the album that was not played on this tour (at least under this name), many believe this to be the song heard on producer Nigel Godrich's "A Bit of Tape From the Studio" post on Dead Air Space in June '07, which was a one-minute or so long clip of edit parts of miscellaneous songs from the sessions, all of which were identifiable as songs from the tour, save the one clip.
7. Reckoner
This track dates back to the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions, and is undoubtedly the heaviest, grittiest Radiohead track in existence. Driven by a powerful, distorted riff from Greenwood, this song will punch you in the face. In a good way.
8. House of Cards
Contrasting from the previous track, this one will put you in a trance. A simple song, the hallmark of this track is the absolutely angelic singing of Thom Yorke.
9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Referred to on tour as Open Pick, this song is built upon the guitar playing of Yorke, Greenwood, and rhythm guitarist Ed O'Brien. O'Brien's backup vocals have since been replaced by strings (as heard on the aforementioned clip from Nigel), and the guitars have gone acoustic. This song almost has a funky feel to it at times.
10. Videotape
The final cut on the album is lead solely by Yorke's piano. His lyrics are the most haunting and heavy of the whole album, and this epic track is a more than ideal closer for the CD.
The album as a whole has a similar flow as 2000's Kid A, preserves the energy of 2003's Hail to the Thief, and can be expected to exhibit the perfectionism used in the making of the 1997 classic, OK Computer. A formula for success? We will see. To check out the album, visit www.inrainbows.com to order the download for whatever price you'd like, or to purchase the discbox.
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