Saturday, January 19, 2008

RadioHead

OK,we have Richie Blackmore's,Rainbow;Alice Cooper is 'Always Chasing Rainbows' and Rufus Wainwright is 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.We have The Rainbow Coalition,and the Rainbow Warrior.So,Radiohead has hit upon something here with 'In Rainbows'.

In truth,I was expecting a more noisy cd then what,'In Rainbows' produced.Not that I minded,though,I truly like this cd.

And I mean 'cd'.I did not join the band and take this off their 'download for what you feel it's worth' website.I bought the cd for it's additional packaging.Tons of cool stickers and such...all of which only made me wish that I had access to the 'lp' version....ah,nothing like a good album cover to enjoy while jammin' to the tunes.

All of which has nothing to do with the quality of music on a cd,just the quality of the listening experience.And listening to Thom Yorke and the boys was quite the enjoyable listening experience.

I did allot of traveling this past week via the highway,so I got to put 'In Rainbows' to the test.At first{as,I think with all RadioHead projects} the cd sounded like one continuous music loop...everything sounded basically the same.But after repeated plays,I found the exact opposite to be true.

The sound became so diverse that I sometimes wondered if I was listening to the same band.'Bodysnatchers' sounded like I was listening to 'U-2'.'Faust Arp' sounded a little like early Pink Floyd.Somewhere on the cd,I swear they were playing the rhythm guitar part from 'Maggot Brain'.Damn,some of it even sounded like 'Oasis'...and I hate Oasis...but I liked this stuff.On,'15 Step' they even sounded like RadioHead!I have never heard of shuffling cards' being played as a musical instrument before.Most Awesome.

Suddenly,I got an idea of where the name RadioHead may have came from.These guys were the fans of radio.I bet they flipped through the channels like the rest of us,and that is what drew their inspiration.

Though,'In Rainbows' lacks the groups usual noise,and is somewhat short-time wise(only 40 some what minutes),I enjoyed this cd.My favorite songs,lyric wise-include,'All I Need'(I’m the next act/Waiting in the wings/I’m an animal/Trapped in your hot car/I am all the days that you choose to ignore);'House Of Cards(The infrastructure will collapse/Voltage spikes/Throw your keys in the bowl/Kiss your husband goodnight) and 'Videotape'(When I'm at the pearly gates/This'll be on my videotape/My videotape/Mephistopheles is just beneath/And he's reaching up to grab me).Good stuff.


In the end I just didn't know how to classify,'In Rainbows'.Is it Rock & Roll?Avent-guard?Contemporary Rock?Alterno-Pop?Mellow Rock?All of the above?

I just know that it was good music.I guess that's enough.

B+

2 comments:

Dharma said...

I guess that I am not understanding your rating system. How you could give this Radio Head the same B + as the previous cd is interesting considering that this is a MUCH better piece of music and should rate an A +. Better all the way around.

The Top 52 of 2008 said...

I actually enjoyed both Mary J. and radiohead around the same amount.Now,if I had a mary j. while listening to Radiohead,it might have earned the A+.

In Rainbows isa good album...but not an A+..Maybe OK Computer