'in rainbows'
10/13/2007 05:30 p.m.
so, you might have heard. radiohead released a new album. but really, once you get past their marketing prowess and the complete shock over the mindblowingness of it all, what are you left with? is the music worth whatever you paid for it (for the record, i payed $11.72 for my copy)?

well, we are talking about radiohead here. so yes, the music is nothing if not better than most any other band working out there; but in terms of what radiohead has illustrated itself capable of doing, the music actually comes as somewhat of a disappointment, all things considered.

There is plenty of good to go around; '15 step' starts the album strong with shades of amnesiac to it; a skittery digitized 5/4 drum pattern leads in to yorke's patented vocals, singing "How come i end up where i started?"- it's interesting, because while the music is easily the most downright funky thing that radiohead have ever recorded, and suggest all sorts of new directions for the band, but what they proceed to do over the next nine tracks is well, take a look at where they've been over the last 15 years, and try to fashion it in to some sort of cohesive statement- what results is something surprising: it's kind of boring.

the fractured beauty that permuted through older tracks like 'pyramid song' and, well, most of 'kid a' seems to have been a starting point; but this sounds like it's been endlessly refined, smoothing off most of the rough edges and created a body of work that never fails to sound pretty, but isn't always that interesting. Too many slow-to-midtempo tracks grind the pace to a halt, and when they aim for a loose, unhinged rocker ("Bodysnatchers") the pieces are all there, but the band just can't make them stick together. amateurish is never a word i've used to describe radiohead, but "Bodysnatchers" might take that title. add to that the fact that it's the only real uptempo moment on the record, and you've got a great record to fall asleep to, but one that's short on all-the-way-through replay value.

The album has three standout tracks; a pittance for your average radiohead record; and, moreover, for the first time in their career, these songs sound better outside of the context of the album as opposed to being linked to the sounds around it. The aforementioned "15 Step" is a radiohead classic; "All I need" starts as a slow burn but slowly builds until the pianos crash in for the final minute of the song and blow you out of your seat. it's as intense a moment of music as you're likely to hear all year. Finally, closer "Videotape" Again aims for the haunting beauty of 'Pyramid Song", updated to a warmer setting with an interesting looping piano chord progression and sparse drumming that never quite lines up on the beat; a dizzying chorus of overdubbed thom yorke's cascades the song in ethereal beauty; 3/4 into the song some digital elements enter the picture, and it builds into one of the most perfect songs of their careers. It really does seem that this song is the perfect distillation of everything they were attempting to put on this record; the fact that it closes the record means that this is the feeling radiohead wanted to leave us with.

I know it may be bad taste to rip on something that a group of very talented artists decided to give to the masses for free; and don't get me wrong. I think what they're doing in terms of marketing is absolutely brilliant. It's interesting though; after four years, anticipation was fierce- giving us a chance to think about how long it's been since the last one might have raised expectations beyond what they could deliver on-the element of surprise and sheer novelty of it overshadows the music itself; and maybe radiohead wanted it that way. plus, seriously. who's going to diss on a world class band giving away their music for free? One would have hoped that without a label tethering them, though, that they would have really tried to push the envelope and entirely redefine music. Radiohead have this capacity; they've already done it twice in their career. instead, they've opted for their most straightforward disc since 'The Bends", and, sad as i am to say it, probably their weakest effort this side of pablo honey. I guess you can't expect a masterpiece every time out... (except for the fact that radiohead has given us 4- some might say 5- in a row).

i'm not worried though. No matter what they do, Radiohead have attained a beatles-like aura of unassailableness. They are the best and most important band of this generation, and nothing they can do will tarnish that; which means, most likely, that their next masterpiece can't be too far off. i'm already curious about the marketing campaign.
I am currently Reflective
I am listening to radioheadvideotape