Monday 22 November 2010

Murmur - R.E.M.


Before sitting down to listen to Murmur, the debut full-length album by alternative rock band R.E.M., I read some other critic’s reviews. I was shocked that an album had gotten full marks from so many critics across the board and was interested to see how it would stand up almost 30 years after its release.

The first thing that struck was its expertise instrumentally. Bill Berry’s considered drumming, Mike Mills’ melodic bass lines, and Peter Buck’s chiming guitar chords, while fitting together similarly in each song, each time provide a layered, indie pop classic with a different feel. Pilgrimage is dominated by Mills’ prominent bass line, while Buck moves from reverberating chords on 9-9 to upbeat guitar chops on We Walk and of course his famed wide open-string guitar jangles which are prevalent on most songs. Although this is notably not the case on A Perfect Circle, a song composed entirely by Bill Berry, based around honky-tonk piano and a slow drum beat, and exemplary of the band’s variation on the album.

In the same way Michael Stipe’s vocals also undergo various guises on the album. He goes from his highest register on Radio Free Europe to lowest on Catapult, while adopting almost a yodel on Moral Kiosk. However, it is his lyrics and their delivery, which gives the album its name, which are most intriguing.

While his rambles are barely audible on 9-9 and completely obscure on songs such as Sitting Still and Shaking Through, there are tantalising hints that he is not just mindlessly rambling. The ‘empty mouths’ on Talk About The Passion suggest a hunger song, while the reference to ‘Laocoon and her sons’ in Laughing may be a reference to his own art and how people interpret it.

It is these two things which make R.E.M. and Murmur so special. Instrumentally, they are a pop band. Buck’s guitar hooks and the vocal interplay between Stipe and Mills are chart friendly, however their lyrics take them above this label. They are band for artists; they know what they are trying to say but this doesn’t matter – they allow people to interpret their songs however they want.

Approaching 30 years on this hasn’t changed. These songs are relevant to the past, the present, and the future, and still hold the same mystery and emotion that they have always held. There is only so much that can be said about music like this; people have to go out and see what it says for themselves. Maybe, like Laocoon, this is an artistic ideal.

8

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-rem-murmur1/#ixzz163UpzByn

Friday 19 November 2010

Recent acquisitions...

Are You Experienced? - Jimi Hendrix


For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver


Rumours - Fleetwood Mac



xx - The xx




...classic albums, old and new.

Wednesday 15 September 2010

DRAW!

I first played Metal Gear Solid when I was about 9 years old and have recently started playing it again. I did not remember much of the game, however what did stick in my mind, and what came rushing back when I started playing again, was the first boss battle against Revolver Ocelot.

He was everything a boss should be; mysterious, sinister and iconic and as he began his dialogue I began to remember the shudders I got as a child when, at the beginning of the gunfight, he suddenly and venomously yelled 'Draw!'.


Stanley Donwood


Stanley Donwood, the man behind all of Radiohead's album covers from The Bends onwards, plus the Radiohead Bear, above, has just had his work put on show in the U.S. for the first time, in the San Francisco gallery FIFTY24SF. The exhibition entitled Over Normal is one I would love to have the chance to go and see and is sure to be enjoyable, interesting and provocative.

Desire Enlargement

Thursday 9 September 2010

This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem

This Is Happening is purportedly the last album LCD Soundsystem will make. It was always going to be a hard for a band whose first single, Losing My Edge released in 2002, was an era-defining electro masterpiece, however James Murphy and Co. only went on to bigger and better things, releasing two full length albums of intelligent, unique dance music. This Is Happening is no different.



The album starts with Dance Yrself Clean, a nearly-nine minute long collation of electronic sounds which leads into a pumping bass beat. The song highlights Murphy’s evolution into a talented lyricist; lines like ‘talking like a jerk except you are an actual jerk’ intrigue and amuse, and the album is full of lines that revolve in your mind after a listen. The following song Drunk Girls is seemingly the one and only radio-friendly song (the other eight tracks all run over five minutes, some almost double that) with its thumping refrain, and again showcases Murphy’s astute and humorous lyrics: ‘drunk boys keeping pace with the paedophiles’.

Like previous LCD albums, a lot of the best music comes from when Murphy works by himself. Both One Touch and I Can Change are done completely by Murphy (except for some yells by Nancy Whang in the One Touch refrain) and can both be considered as classic LCD tracks, building from minimal beats and glitches into an amazing mixture of sounds and rhythms which only get better with repeated listens. Sandwiched between these two tracks is perhaps the most interesting and best song of the album.

All I Want starts with a simple drum beat before a shameless rip of David Bowie’s Heroes guitar riff. Many critics may discount this song for the guitar alone; however Murphy uses it as a fan of music, rather than someone looking to make money from it. The guitar combined with a light piano chord progression and the perfectly delivered lyrics make for a beautiful song, and it continues to build with miscellaneous blips before closing with Murphy’s desperate cry of ‘take me home’.

The feeling of the band being at the end of an era and moving onto new paths resonates throughout the album, and is perhaps most obvious in the next track You Wanted A Hit which chronicles Murphy’s desire for a hit single, amidst oriental electro twangs, and how he deals with the pressures of tours, interviews and fame after the hit comes.

The next two songs are arguably the weakest on the album, but still demand a listen. The ambiguous lyrics of Pow Pow and comic refrain make for a unique song while the slow, jazzy piano chords on Somebody’s Calling Me punctuated with its long synth drones also is an interesting listen. The album (and possibly career?) closer is Home and the song, just like the album, does not disappoint. It begins with gurgling electro melodies before Murphy’s lyrics perfectly slot in and continue the message begun in You Wanted A Hit; he has lived his dream, and now its time to move on and go home as ‘it won’t get any better so goodnight’.

9

If this is to be the band's last album it will be a great shame, not only for electronic music, but also for the industry as a whole. Not only did LCD Soundsystem make intelligent electro music that you could be moved by, as well as dance to, they also made music in the right way, for the right reasons. A truly great band that should be appreciated by all lovers of music.
My Top 5 Essential LCD tracks:
- "Losing My Edge"
- "Great Release"
- "Someone Great"
- "All My Friends"
- "All I Want"

Article first published as Music Review: LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening on Blogcritics.

Saturday 4 September 2010

Spike Jonze

The first time I came across Spike Jonze's work I didn't realise it. I was probably about twelve and I was watching Jackass: The Movie with some friends at a sleep over. I don't really remember what I thought of the film except that it was fucking funny and I wanted those guys' jobs.

The second time I saw Jonze's work was a similiar situation. I was aboout the same age and I had been playing Tony Hawks Underground on my Playstation 2. After reaching a certain point I unlocked a teaser trailer of a skate video directed by Jonze for the skate company he co-owns, Girl. I didn't really know what I was watching and didn't think much of the video.

However after the release of a trio sucessful mainstream films it is interesting to look back at where Spike Jonze came from, and how good some of his early work is.

Jackass has always been one of my favourite shows and I await anything new they do, as a crew or individually, with eager anticipation. While some people will say that the TV show and the films produced are a horrifying commentary on the atavistic nature of modern culture, there is a reason why the first two films have a combined worlwide gross of $163 million. Jonze, co-creator of the franchise, is clearly an innovator and not afraid to operate outside the normal parameters perceived by most film directors. People enjoy seeing things they haven't seen before, things they haven't had the courage to do, or things they are unable to do. Although critics might not be able to see it, there is a method in the madness of the Jackass crew.

Jonze's innovative nature is shown in much of his work, some may point to Being John Malkovich, others to the video he did for Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice, however it is perhaps best shown in the video I saw on the Tony Hawks game all those years ago entitled Yeah Right!.

The title says it all. In the video Jonze explores the limits of what can be done through editing, employing slo-mo cameras and clever camera tricks on a skate film which leave you wondering how he did that. True Jonze style.



Jonze has done many music videos and although he has done some famous ones such as Weapon of Choice, he also, especially in his early days, did some obscure ones. One such video is for Fatlip's single What's Up Fatlip. Again some of Jonze's best traits as a director are shown here; the video matches Fatlip's unconventional style and lyrics perfectly. A truly unique video for a hip hop song, full of Jonze's quirkiness and stupidity (sorry for poor quality).



What prompted me to write this piece on Spike Jonze was when I saw the last music video he had directed, a song by LCD Soundsystem, a band who I am listening to a lot at the moment, called Drunk Girls. On first watch it may seem like utter stupidity and an excuse to beat up a good band, however once again with Jonze's work there is method in the madness. The egging, setting off of fire extinguishers, the implied gang rape - all of these things seem digusting and wrong to the sober band and viewer, however after a few drinks the feeling changes completley, and things that seemed wrong beforehand might seem ok now, and this is what the pandas act out.

Obviously Spike Jonze is unconventional, and this may cause man to disregard him as an immature director who got lucky. I do not think this is case. He is daring, innovative, imaginative and unique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xT6cdfP_cM

One of the best films that no-one saw...


I don't know what made me go and see Danny Boyle's Sunshine in the first place, but I am glad I did. It seemed to have been overlooked by the majority of cinema-goers when it came out in 2007, but to this day it is one of the best cinema experiences I have had.

For just over an hour and a half I sat muscles clenched, teeth gritted and slack-jawed. The vastness of the scene, the enormity of the crew's task and the use of chiascuro on such a large scale all make for a film that is both scary and awe-inspiring. However what really effected me, and the reason for this post, was the music, in particular one piece by English composer John Murphy, Adagio in D Minor.

I have often wondered what the most powerful form of art is; a picture, a photo, words, a film, a song...I suppose it is a silly question to try an answer because the answer will probably be different for everyone at different times, however Murphy's piece certainly makes a strong case for music. The song perfectly communicates Boyle's message of the magnitude of the universe compared with humanity and how great an effect one man can have on so many.



Everytime I watch Sunshine or listen to the song it always has a profound effect on me. To describe the song as epic would be understatement, and it is no surprise that it also makes an appearance, very slightly altered, in another film Murphy arranged music for; Kick Ass.

Bravo John Murphy. Bravo Danny Boyle.

Thursday 2 September 2010

'This is how we chill...'


One of my favourite hip hop songs from the genres golden era of the early nineties, this four piece was unconcerned about proclaiming their gangster grit, preferring instead to 'up you on how we just chill'. A truly relaxing and enjoyable song seventeen years on, the lyrics are delivered with an ease and a flow which, combined with rural locations in the song's video, take you far away from the hustle of a big city or place of work.

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy makes good music; it’s as simple as that. His eponymous debut album, (I say ‘his’, because you get the impression that the rest of the people named on the album simply do as he tells them) was a refreshingly mature electronic album to be treasured, and his (their?) follow up does not disappoint, in fact, it thrills.



Sound of Silver begins in the same vein as the last album, with many tracks displaying Murphy’s appreciation for other bands and artists. Opener Get Innocuous! is very Bowie-esque in terms of vocals and the same can be said of eight minute long electronic opera Us V Them. Other tracks like Watch the Tapes and Time to Get Away have more in common with the new wave funky guitar styles of which Murphy is so fond.

It may seem as if LCD Soundsystem simply create music in the style of their favourite bands, put it all on an album and expect to get lauded for it, however there is more to it than this. All their songs contain something which makes the song specifically ‘LCD’, whether it be the simple repetition of drums and a bass line (as many of their tracks do) or spurts of noise from obscure instruments mid-track (cowbells on Time to Get Away or kalimbas on Us V Them). These are all things we have seen on the band’s previous album, however on Sound of Silver there are two tracks which jump up above anything they have done before.

Someone Great is the fourth track of the album. A story builds up over undulating electro whirls and rhythmic synth chords about an unspecified tragedy with Murphy’s tantalizingly ambiguous lyrics leading you on. You find yourself getting emotionally attached to the narrator and lyrics like ‘the worst is all the lovely weather/ I’m stunned it’s not raining’ stick in your head hours after listening. Many critics I have read who have reviewed the album say this is the favourite track on it, however for this listener, the next track All My Friends is really something special. Murphy narrates feelings about a life without regrets and growing up over repeating piano, bass and drums. The lyrics are poignant and precise ‘I wouldn’t change one stupid decision for another five years of life’ and the closing refrain ‘if I could see all my friends tonight’ is both euphoric and haunting.

There are other tracks on the album. North American Scum was the first single released from the album and while Murphy screeching the punky refrain is a far cry from the lyrics of the previous two tracks I described, it is an exceedingly catchy song about the Atlantic divide and also showcases evidence of LCD ‘the band’ with Nancy Whang’s very effective backing vocals.

Sound of Silver is a dance album with meaning, and although all the tracks can not live up to the two that make up the middle of the album, there is not a weak track on the album. It is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, as well as thought provoking, and while it is not a masterpiece, it certainly contains a couple.

James Murphy makes good music and he will never disappoint.

8

Article first published as Music Review: LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver on Blogcritics.

Saturday 21 August 2010

Anachronism

Born on a different cloud
I wish I was.

The gleaming suits
phonetically pleasing
hat covered hair
blue eyes.

Blue Eyes
ritualized.
Running, writing, singing,
never stopping.

Stagnating
fifty years on.

Science Fiction today is written in the past...

Over the past couple of months I have read alot of science fiction novels, more than I have done in the past. Although it was not a genre I considered to be one of my favourites, I was always interested by it. I remember going through the sci-fi section in the library and being fascinated by these bulky volumes with strange, obscure images on the front cover, although I never bothered to delve into one.

The first novels I read were arguably the first science fiction novels ever written; The War of the Worlds and The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells. My first and overriding feeling after reading both these books was one of pure admiration for Wells' vivid imagination. How one man has created so many staple ideas of science fiction in one lifetime is astounding. Indeed in just these two short novels Wells' explores the themes of alien invasions, earth being taken over by martians, humanity being destroyed and humanity destroying and human experimentation.

It seems to me that science fiction has not moved very far since the 1890s when these two books were published and I would suggest that the vast majority of sci-fi novels written since have simply been an expansion or a different take on the ideas presented by Wells.

Something similiar can be said of another novel I read, I Am Legend. I Am Legend is a psychological examination of the last man on earth (or so he thinks) and his struggle to survive against hoarding sub-humans, something between a vampire and a zombie, who try to kill him. I am aware that Richard Matheson (author of I Am Legend) did not invent vampires or zombies however he was the first to put them into a dystopian earth where the majority of humanity has been wiped out. It is this idea which has been replicated in books and films countless times, and while the tune may be slightly different, the song is always the same.

Authors like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Richard Matheson seem to have taken all the fundamental science fiction ideas and used them first. Now what science fiction authors write are just imitations of these ideas. However this is not just the case in sci-fi, but seemingly in all literature. There seems to be very little that has not been done, very few new ideas, and it is rare to come across something that is completley original.

NB. I want to make it clear that just because something is not completley original, does not mean it can not be enjoyed. I am not that pretentious.

Thursday 19 August 2010

The Best Of British



Akala raps over a sample of Reckoner by Radiohead. Best British hip hop artist combines with the best British rock band. Enjoy.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

This Is Music

Most bands/artists have not made real music for a long time.

One look at the charts will tell you that the music industry is in dire straits, and has become a business run by the money-grabbing hands of shiny businessmen. While this can not be avoided, it is this process which unfortunately keeps the world turning, it has led to the large majority of music that is made, to be made with the sole aim of making money, which really defeats the purpose of the music being made at all (except, of course, for those ocherous businessmen).

LCD Soundsystem's Losing My Edge perfectly illustrates how music should be made: bands and artists should not make music so the most number of people will by their albums to keep their labels happy, it should be made for themselves. It should have meaning, it should have emotion, and it should have soul, not just a hook that everyone goes around singing and they can't work out why.

There is very little music being made today that fits into the description I have just given. However when I was travelling home on the N3 night bus yesterday I was reminded of one of the most genuine and heartfelt albums made for a very long time.



I've been a fan of Bon Iver for a long time - seeing him perform live in Hyde Park in June 2009 was one of the best live performances i've seen, physically or on video. When Justin Vernon went into a little cabin in Wisconsin what was produced was an interlude and eight of the most emotional, soulful and real songs. One listen to his album For Emma, Forever Ago and you know that this music was done for no-one but himself, there's was no dreams of money or world tours, he just wanted to tell people who wanted to listen how he felt. It is real, and should be treasured.

Saturday 31 July 2010

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

Released in 2005 at a time when the majority of music being produced was edgy electronic music, very little comes close to LCD Soundsystem’s eponymous debut album. The LP consists of two discs; the first, a full album of new, previously unreleased tracks and a second disc featuring their singles since 2002.



Anyone who listened to the band’s first produce, the double single Losing My Edge / Beat Connection will know that it promised much. Losing My Edge perfectly captures zeitgeist for independent music during the 00s, through the lyrics of the band’s leader, front man and main composer, James Murphy. Murphy describes how people change their musical tastes in order to be cool and subsequently his tastes which he lists extensively, including the likes of Can, Liquid Liquid and Daft Punk are well out of date and he is losing ground to the kids from Paris and London ‘coming up from behind’. However the fact that Murphy continues to make music purely for himself and not to be cool means he will always transcend these ‘kids’. Clearly then LCD Soundsystem are not your typical electro band and the rest of Disc 2 is made up of a combination of long, layered electro tracks such as Beat Connection and Yr City’s a Sucker full of wonderful synth melodies and shorter tracks like the funky garage rock influenced Give It Up.

The first track of the actual album, Daft Punk Is Playing At My House, gives Daft Punk their second reference from the band and tells the story of a party where Murphy played real music rather than the commercial spew they would hear if they ‘go down town’. Like Losing My Edge, this track is an example of where the band have shown that electronic music can be more than just a hook and a song built around it, it can have meaning and resonance. This is also shown on Too Much Love which talks about how you can love something one day and hate it the next, and On Repeat which suggests that music made now is just a copy or variation of what has gone before, which, as this album shows, is not necessarily a bad thing.

The album also contains some simply brilliant tracks. Never as Tired as When I’m Waking Up is a perfect homage to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the excellent Tribulations is one to satiate the danceheads, although they may struggle to find much else on this album. However I, as the band did, saved the best until last. Great Release, the final track on the album, blows the eight tracks gone before completely out of the water. After two minutes of a quiet drum beat and simple chord progression, the track evolves into a perfect ambient pop song with Murphy’s distant, echoey vocals gradually faded out.

Despite some weaker tracks such as Thrills and Disco Infiltrator the worst that can be said about the album is that not all of it lives up to the promise of the band’s earlier singles. The band combines an unusual array of musical styles and instruments ( a favourite being a cowbell which finds its way onto most tracks) to produce an electro album which future musicians, let alone electronic artists, should all gain inspiration from. It seems that LCD Soundsystem are the thinking music fan’s electro band, with the meaning behind some songs more prominent than the music itself, and in a time where the meaning behind a lot of music is money, this is something to be treasured.

8

Saturday 10 July 2010

MY top 10 radiohead tracks

This was not an easy list to make and i based my choices on three factors:
1. Enjoyment
2. Power of Meaning
3. Composition

I don't care if you disagree...

10. Bodysnatchers

Controversial start? An obscure song off an average album? Wrong. A song that highlights Radiohead's ever changing styles from an album that does the same along with a catchy riff and some beautiful harmonies (see 2.12).



9. Bullet Proof...I Wish I was

Again another choice which some may find strange, but after listening to all of the Radiohead's back catalogue, this track sticks out, for this listener, as one of the most beautiful, mesmeric things the band has ever done.



8. Karma Police

Recognise this one? A classic from a classic album. The change of key on 'For a minute then' is truly astounding.



7. The Bends

Another more well known song about the band coming up for air after the never-ending touring and interviews after the success of Creep. Amazing guitar work from all three guitarists, Jonny in particular, something which this live performance really shows off, and also one of the most beautiful endings to any song i've ever heard (maybe better to check out the album version for that).



6. Fake Plastic Trees

Thom Yorke said he broke down in tears after recording this track, and after listening to this live version thats pretty much where I end up every time. Greenwood's guitar at 2.45 is breath-taking, 'it wears me out refrain' is haunting and the whole song is awe - inspiring.



5. Blow Out

A golden oldie. The mesh of noise at the end foreshadowed what an amazing band Radiohead would turn out to be and their experimental nature, and showed their willingness to try things that no-one else was doing. The dreamy pop at the beginning isn't bad either.



4. Planet Telex

From the first atmospheric seconds of the band's second album, you knew they had a made an amazing record and had done so in no way any other band could have done. Like Blow Out, a marker of what was to come.



3. Everything In Its Right Place

After producing two of the greatest guitar albums ever made, the next song they commit to CD is an electronic classic. They completely changed their style and still made something heaps better than anyone else.



2. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Simply the band's most powerful song. Haunting. Scary. Beautiful.



1. Paranoid Android

After sitting here for ten minutes this is all i can come up with to describe paranoid android: unique, unrelenting and one of the most musically complex songs ever written.




There you go, hope you enjoyed :)

As for albums, im not going to try and justify this choice:

1.The Bends 2. OK Computer



3. Kid A 4. In Rainbows
5. Amnesiac

6. Hail To The Thief








7. Pablo Honey

IN RAINBOWS - RADIOHEAD



In Rainbows, the seventh album by Radiohead, is remarkable for many reasons, not least its unique distribution. On the 10th of October 2007 the album was independently released by the band as a digital download, the first of its kind, whereby customers could purchase the album for whatever price they saw fit.

While the marketing of the album was a step in a new direction for the band, the music is less so, however this is by no means a bad thing. Once again the band’s music presents a wide variety of styles and instruments; ranging from electronic beats and string arrangements to celestes and Jonny Greenwood’s beloved ondes martenot, and the songs present to the listener almost an amalgamation of what makes the band so special.

15 Step, the album’s opener, starts with Kid A-esque drum beats and handclaps before a jazzy, fluid guitar melody floats on top of it. This combination of driving drums and complex acoustic guitar is something of a motif within the album, also present on the impressive, atmospheric Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, as well as Jigsaw Falling into Place which with its brisk guitar and rapid piano, combined with Thom Yorke’s soaring falsetto leaves the listener breathless at close.

As with most Radiohead albums there is again evidence of the bands rock roots and this comes with the second track on the album, Bodysnatchers, which starts with an unclear, sludgy guitar riff similar to OK Computer’s Electioneering, until the songs breaks into an acoustic number with twangs of guitar and electronic drum beats over it.

What follows Bodysnatchers is something that die-hard fans will have been waiting for since the time it was recorded in 1997 during OK Computer. Nude had been a favourite request at live shows and it is presented beautifully on In Rainbows. The song starts with atmospheric electro sounds before soft drums and a simple bass line rhythm begins. Enchanting guitar melody and strings follow leading the song to a truly beautiful climax.

String arrangements are another facet of the band’s music which have become more and more prominent and are combined with acoustic guitar on Faust Arp, and simple guitar chords on the slow ballad House of Cards. They are also present on possibly the standout track of the album, and one of the bands most hypnotic and beautiful tracks to date, Reckoner.

In Rainbows, while it may not seem like the best thing the band has done, really epitomizes what makes them special. After seven albums the band can still make beautiful, original music and after listening to In Rainbows a few times it is clear that there is something special about every track, something worthwhile to write about a record, so much so that two of the best tracks on the album All I Need and Videotape did not get mentioned in this review. There is no way to really sum up Radiohead or the music they make, all that is clear is that they are unique in what they do in this time and all music lovers should pray that they continue to make music because we need them now, more than ever.

9

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Hail to the Thief - Radiohead

Over the course of their career Radiohead have constantly experimented with the type of music that they make, expanding the musical spectrum of what a rock band can explore, from the conventional anthemic rock of The Bends to the synthesised, electronic beats of Kid A. The band’s sixth studio album released almost three years after the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions seems to be the bridge between these two styles.



Listening to Hail to the Thief there is evidence of styles from every era of the band’s history. Backdrifts and The Gloaming both incorporate the digital tools and atmospheric sounds prominent on the previous two albums; however the song Myxomatosis with Jonny Greenwood’s fuzzy, stomping guitar riff shows a return to more conventional guitar work found on earlier albums. The ondes martenot also continues to make its way into the bands music, present on Where I End and You Begin and We suck Young Blood.

The band clearly have many facets to their music and their musical blend is shown off in two of the most impressive songs on the album; opener, 2 + 2 = 5 and There there. The former kick starts the album with some intricate Greenwood guitar work over a light drum beat before progressing to a loud rock climax, while the latter sees each band member working on their own harmonies and interacting with each others by way of synths, drums, guitars and Yorke’s falsetto.

This may all sound very exciting however it does mean the album lacks any clear focus and continuity. Radiohead used to vary their style from album to album, however here they do it from song to song, and subsequently the album suffers. Unlike previous albums, Hail to the Thief doesn’t demand to be listened to – there’s no masterpiece, no talking point and no ‘wow’ factor. Although all the songs are immaculately produced and full of intricacies in both rhythm and melody, making for enjoyable listening, there is very little reason to go back and listen to the album again and therefore can only really be recommended for die-hard fans. However there are some highlights provided by I Will, Yorke’s haunting response to air raids in The Gulf which killed Iraqi civilians, is truly powerful and the serene Sail to the Moon.

Hail to the Thief seems destined to be the halfway mark in Radiohead’s career. The combination of the band’s styles found on the album while not providing as many moments of brilliance as in the past, nevertheless promises that they will continue to push the limits and experiment and make beautiful music, with an amazing album closer, in true Radiohead style, A Wolf at the Door.


7

Sunday 23 May 2010

Amnesiac - Radiohead



During the recording stage of Kid A, Radiohead produced well over 30 songs and rather than releasing a double album, which none of the band members were in favour of, they released their fifth studio album just sixth months after the release of their fourth.

Amnesiac is therefore very much a continuation of what the band did on Kid A; the album is for the most part dominated by electronically produced music and ambient sounds, as Kid A was. Jazz influences are also evident, most obviously in the album closer Life in a Glass House which Thom Yorke (on piano) recorded with British trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton, along with a clarinet and trombone, producing a funereal, New Orleans jazz-style number.

As with Kid A the band continued to experiment with the way they made their music and what they used to do so. Songs such as Packt like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box and Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors are made up of different electronic textures and sounds and Yorke’s lyrics are cryptic and mysterious. Challenging songs have become a facet of a Radiohead album and Amnesiac is no exception, however there are more radio friendly tracks.

I Might Be Wrong despite its electronic feel revolves around a jazzy guitar riff written by Jonny Greenwood and is one of, if not the most impressive tracks on the album. Knives Out is also a more guitar dominated track, sharing a similar chord progression to arguably the band’s most well-known song, Paranoid Android.

Despite these brief glimpses back to the band’s old style, there can be no doubt that both Amnesiac and Kid A are more about experimenting and trying new things. Songs such as Dollars & Cents, which are dominated by a string arrangement written by Greenwood and a simple bass melody and little else, would never have been found on their 90s LPs. The same can be said of the ominous, bluesy guitar instrumental Hunting Bears which follows. The epitome of Radiohead’s invention though, comes with the penultimate track Like Spinning Plates, a song which is built up over a reversed electronic version of an unreleased track, and also sees one of Yorke’s most hypnotic vocal performances.

Amnesiac is a hard album to sum up. While not as musically accomplished as Kid A, in each track there is something to treasure, whether it be the wailing ondes martenot on Pyramid Song or the Release Me refrain of the new version of the Kid A track, Morning Bell. It is clear that both albums were part of the same project and it seems that the material on Kid A is the best of what was produced from this period – the stuff they had to produce to follow up OK Computer, while the material on Amnesiac is rawer, more organic– the stuff that they simply, produced.

8

Monday 3 May 2010

KID A - RADIOHEAD

As a band Radiohead have always pushed the perceived alternative rock boundaries when making their music, whether it be the opening atmospheric sounds on Planet Telex or the changes in time signature and key throughout Paranoid Android, however after listening to their fourth studio album Kid A it is clear that this is what should be earmarked as their transitional album.



The album sees the band abandon their three guitar set-up in favour of keyboards, strings and brass and even an ondes martenot, and drums replaced by drum beats produced on digital tools like Cubase. The lyrical style has also changed with Yorke now adopting Tristan Tzara’s technique for writing Dada poetry where he cut up phrases and drew them from a hat; a technique most evident on the songs Idioteque and In Limbo.

Understandably the band’s influences for this album changed dramatically from their previous works, with the band exploring underground styles such as Krautrock in songs like Treefingers and Kid A. Despite the band’s increasingly wide spectra of styles, there are still some guitar dominated tracks such as How To Disappear Completely which focuses on the pressures of touring with the refrain I’m not here/ This isn’t happening and the most radio-friendly track on the album, Optimistic.

Kid A does take some getting used to. The band have left behind key elements which were so prominent in their other albums and I don’t believe there are many bands who could make a record worth any comment after doing that, however Radiohead have managed to succeed spectacularly. Everything In Its Right Place, the opening track on the album, with its ascending chord sequence alongside a steady, synthetic bass drum, is one of the band’s most astounding songs to date and immediately shows the band’s seamless shift from guitars to synths. Other highlights include The National Anthem with its addictive, repetitive bass line written by Yorke when he was sixteen and the all-too-short climax of Morning Bell.

Kid A shows Radiohead at the peak of their powers. No matter what style they choose it seems they are always able to produce special music. They defy genre, a fact which other bands need to realise isn’t a bad thing, and Kid A is the last of a trio of albums which should rightfully cement Radiohead as one of the most influential and important bands of all time.

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After finishing the album the band drew up a unique marketing campaign. The album was advertised primarily over the internet with short films called 'blips' being put to the bands music and distributed freely online. Most of the 'blips' were animated inspired by Stanley Donwood's album artwork portraying nature reclaiming civilization from uncontrollable biotechnology and consumerism. A video for the amazing Motion Picture Soundtrack was released composed entirely of 'blips' and can be viewed below...

Sunday 25 April 2010

OK COMPUTER - RADIOHEAD




OK Computer is the third studio album from British band Radiohead and, while the majority of the music is still guitar dominated, it marks a progression to a more expansive sound drawing on a wider range of influences than their previous albums, setting it apart from the majority of Britpop and alternative rock sounds at the time.

The album not only indicates a progression of the band’s musical style, but lyrically as well. When writing the first two albums it seems the band were content on using introspective soul-searching as their main reference point, however on OK Computer the cryptic lyrics address much bigger, salient issues about life in the 1990s. Let Down with its soothing, arpeggiated guitar melody deals with transport and being in transit, but not in control, passing the world by ‘crushed like a bug in the ground’, with the electric piano at the end highlighting the band’s desire to experiment with other instruments, and succeeding. Subterranean Homesick Alien, which also makes use of the electric piano, tells the story of an isolated narrator who longs to be abducted by extraterrestrials to see ‘the world as I’d love to see it’ , showing the band identifying with the social disconnection of the common majority in the 1990s and the malaise they felt.

OK Computer is an ambitious album which sees the band tackle big ideas with a style that was very different from the majority of music being produced at the time and, while the first half of the album is a masterpiece of song-writing and composition, after Thom Yorke’s computerised voice stating what he saw as slogans of the 90s in Fitter Happier, the album does take a dip. Although, in typical Radiohead style all of the songs are well-formed and well-written, they just don’t live up to the first half of the album or indeed the band’s previous album The Bends. Electioneering, despite its catchy riff, would not be out of place on the band’s distinctly average debut Pablo Honey, and songs like No Surprises just seem too light and simple after listening to the astounding first half.

Despite some weak points there is no doubt in my mind that Radiohead’s third album while it maybe not their best, is definitely their most important. The band refused to retread successful formulas which the majority of bands in Britain were doing at the time. After showing signs of it on The Bends in the songs like Planet Telex, on OK Computer the band took up ground that no-one was claiming and made a record that was completely new and different to what was being made by their contemporaries. Their daring to try something new and their skill at their craft is most evident in their longest, most ambitious and impressive song to date in Paranoid Android, a song written in four parts, each part written by a different member of the band containing changes in key and tempo and time.

OK Computer, although it may not be best album ever recorded, must surely rank high as one of the most important recordings of all time. It showed bands it was OK to try new things with their music and go against what they are programmed to do to please their labels and you can bet that without this album the music industry would be a much duller place.

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THE BENDS - RADIOHEAD

The Bends, released in 1995, is the second studio album from English five-piece Radiohead. The album marks a notable shift in aesthetics and themes the band deals with and a move away from the introspective grunge style which primarily dominated their first studio album, Pablo Honey.



After the success of their first single Creep, a self-loathing elegy of lead singer Thom Yorke’s feelings as a young man, in not only the UK but also America, and the near-constant touring the band had to undertake, this album seems to be a reaction to the pressures of producing a superior follow up and being at the sharp end of a the sexy MTV lifestyle which was emerging at the time. These feelings manifest themselves most lucidly in lead single My Iron Lung which contain the lyrics ‘this is our new song / just like the last one / a total w.a.s.t.e of time’. After starting with an alluring guitar melody, the song begins to breakdown with thrashes of Jon Greenwood’s guitar seemingly expressing the band’s frustration at the Iron Lung which once gave them life as a band but is now leaves them suffocating after its success.

The album also seems to mark the beginning of a change in style immediately noticeable from the atmospheric keyboard sounds on the first track, Planet Telex. The subsequent piano chords instantly indicate this is something different from the band’s debut and Yorke’s cryptic lyrics and Greenwood’s psychedelic, broken guitar sounds leave the listener ravenous for more. However what follows is not a continuation of the euphoric, soaring electronic sounds of Telex, but a much more Pablo Honey-esque, guitar dominated track, in The Bends. This eponymous track continues the band’s exploration of the quiet / loud dynamic but marks a progression both lyrically and musically leaving the listener wondering whether this can be the same band that produced the largely bromidic collection of rock songs that is Pablo Honey.

Other highlights on the album include the simple but beautiful ballad High & Dry which again deals with the disillusionment after success, Just with its addictive, ascending riff and also sees Greenwood showcase all his (considerable) talents with an astounding guitar solo, and Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was, probably the most beautiful song on the album.

The Bends, then, seems to defy belief after the modesty of Pablo Honey. There is so much to say about each song not only about its composition, but also about the lyrics in each. While they all might not carry the weight of meaning of Fake Plastic Trees or in particular the album’s culmination Street Spirit (Fade Out), there is something about each song which will provoke thought and contemplation. This is what makes the album so special; not only is it the quality of music that makes you what to replay it, but also the tremendous meaning each song has, and this power continues to grow with every listen.

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PABLO HONEY - RADIOHEAD

Pablo Honey was released in 1993 and is the humble origin of a band that would go on to be one of the biggest and most important in modern music.

Listening to the album’s lyrics it is clear the main influence for songwriter Thom Yorke is the American grunge movement of the early 1990s with the majority of the Yorke’s lyrics portraying the default grunge mantra of teenage angst and isolation, similar to post-punk American bands such as Pixies and Sonic Youth.



Unlike future Radiohead works, the majority of the album was written using only guitars and drums; however the usage of these guitars varies throughout the album. Thinking About You sees Yorke sing an emotional lament over simple acoustic guitar while How You Do is an upbeat pop rock anthem which ends in a mesh of jerky piano and guitar screeches. The album bustles between beautiful, harmonizing guitar melodies and areas of chaotic euphony, never quite settling on a single style and this is perhaps most evident in standout track Creep.

It seems that Creep covers everything Yorke is trying to portray in the rest of the album. The song starts with a soft guitar refrain and quiet bass over which Yorke mocks himself and others like him with self loathing lyrics ‘I want a perfect body/ I want a perfect soul’. The song then explodes into a full-blown indie anthem with Jon Greenwood’s resonating guitar crunches and Yorke’s refrain ‘I’m a creep/I’m a weirdo’. The song reflects Yorke’s self-lacerating rage about not fitting in as a young man, presumably while at Exeter University, and has become an anthem and a rallying call to the disaffected youth of today.

Pablo Honey then, appears to be something of a mixed bag. While tracks like Stop Whispering and Prove Yourself are perfectly listenable and enjoyable, it is only really Creep which has any resonance after listening to the album. The album also has pitfalls in the form of the clichéd Anyone Can Play Guitar and tracks like Ripcord and Vegetable which would be at home on any below-par Britpop album. However the album ascends the bracket of standard Britpop due to the combination of mellifluous harmonies and melodies of bass and guitar and Thom Yorke’s soaring voice.

Therefore while the album may not live up to the tag some critics have given it as the British Nevermind, Pablo Honey is nonetheless a solid rock album. All the songs are well written and it is clear that all five members are talented musicians and, in Thom Yorke there is a very intelligent songwriter. Radiohead clearly have potential and in the album closer Blow Out we see the five-piece in all their glory – Yorke’s haunting voice floating above light guitar before morphing into a staggering mesh of bass, drums and Greenwood’s shrieking guitar – greater things to come, surely.

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