16 Responses for "Happy Radiohead Day!"

1. The Goat October 10th, 2007 at 11:32 am 1

   My favorites on first listen were “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” and “All I Need.”

   It’s amazing. God I love these guys.

2. The Goat October 10th, 2007 at 11:33 am 2

   Big ups to KB for sending me a copy after having problems with my download from radiohead’s site.

3. Aaron October 10th, 2007 at 12:01 pm 3

   Just downloaded it, and I’m spinning it for the very first time as we speak. Right now, I’m listening to the second track, “Bodysnatchers.” This song rocks harder than anything they’ve done since The Bends. They’ve finally plugged their guitars back in! Woo hoo!

   My only quibble so far (other than longing for a higher bandwidth version) is that I’m greedy. I want more! Just ten songs! I don’t want to wait until December for the bonus material!

   How much did you dudes pay for it, by the way?

4. The Goat October 10th, 2007 at 12:06 pm 4

   $10 US here

5. Kables October 10th, 2007 at 1:41 pm 5

   $9.

6. Woeful October 10th, 2007 at 5:33 pm 6

   I just downloaded it. I tried this morning but had a problem and got a new link… Haven’t listened to it yet though. Can’t wait!

7. A.Ho October 10th, 2007 at 7:55 pm 7

   I haven’t downloaded yet. I’m contemplating buying the boxed edition, of course I could download and pay $0.00, and buy the goods later, but that messes with my internal senses.

8. Aaron October 11th, 2007 at 10:12 am 8

   So, after 24 hours and several more spins, what are your impressions? I’m not sure what to make of this album. Kid A was an attempt to radically change their sound (in my mind, a failed attempt, though I know Kables will never agree with me on this issue.) Hail to the Thief felt like an attempt to take the elements of Kid A that did work and integrate them with their signature sound (a successful attempt, to my mind.) But In Rainbows feels like neither a radical departure nor a career summation. It’s also, by far, the most subdued album they’ve ever done. The first two songs burst out of the gate, but after that the intensity lets way off, and never really returns to its former level.

   Which isn’t to say I don’t like this album; I do. I’m just not sure where this one is going to rank in the Radiohead Pantheon. It’s certainly not going to knock OK Computer from its lofty perch, but I already like it better than I ever liked Kid A.

   Of course, it will probably take several hundred listens for everything to sink in and for the true depth of the album to be revealed, but that’s true of everything this band’s ever released (except for the debut album, but we’ll give them a mulligan on that one. They were young.)

9. Woeful October 11th, 2007 at 11:45 am 9

   OK… After listening to it, on headphones and then again in the car I think that “In Rainbows” is a solid Radiohead album, but it lacks a single. There’s no Creep, or Karma Police, or Bones to be found. I would put “In Rainbows” on the bottom rung of their rather amazing ladder. I’m not saying it isn’t good, nor am I saying that I don’t like it. What I am saying is that it doesn’t go that extra mile… But even at a mile short, it’s better than most others best attempts. My favorite album is “The Bends” which I feel is one of the best albums of all time… Followed closely by “OK Computer.” Now here’s a tidbit to make a lot of people feel old; one of our high school interns overheard me talking to a coworker about the album and didn’t even know who Radiohead is! I was like you’ve never heard Radiohead!? I though about it for a second and said, “Oh yeah, they haven’t released an album in four years.” She would have been 11 at the time. Oops!

10. Kables October 11th, 2007 at 12:02 pm 10

    Too soon, too soon.

    I listened to Pablo Honey in high school. I’m sure most of us here are old enough to say that. (And some are older than that!)

11. Kables October 11th, 2007 at 2:22 pm 11

    “Jigsaw Falling into Place” rocks.

12. Aaron October 11th, 2007 at 4:30 pm 12

    I had just graduated from college when Pablo Honey came out. It’s a good album, but certainly didn’t give any indication of what was to come. Today, I put it at the bottom of their list. The first six albums, to me, rank thusly:

    1) OK Computer
    2) The Bends
    3) Hail to the Thief
    4) Amnesiac
    5) Kid A
    6) Pablo Honey

    As Kables said, it’s probably too soon to rank in Rainbows. If all of this band’s very different albums have one thing in common, it’s that they take a long time to adequately assess. I had to guess, I think it would be slotting in somewhere around 5 or 6. But as Woeful wisely pointed out, even Radiohead’s worst is better than 99% of anyone else’s best.

13. Woeful October 13th, 2007 at 5:15 am 13

    Yeah… Pablo Honey isn’t exactly a great “album” but Creep is such a good single it was worth it for that alone. Taken as an album, Pablo Honey is probably on the lowest rung. The only reason I suggest that “In Rainbows” should be near the bottom of the list is the lack of any true single. Sadly, if it were any other group any of the tracks would be hit singles, but no one track rises high above the others here. My favorite is “Reckoner,” with “15 Step,” and, “Nude” not far behind. It’s a great album, and I encourage everyone to pay a few dollars for it even if they aren’t huge Radiohead fans, just to support what they’re doing. I paid $6.50, and it is well worth it and then some!

14. Aaron October 13th, 2007 at 7:33 am 14

    Yeah, I didn’t mind paying $10 for the download. It’s good music, and I took great joy from knowing all the money was going to the band and none of it would end up in the pockets of thieving record company middlemen. RIAA can go eat one.

    For what it’s worth, I would nominate either “15 Step,” “Bodysnatchers,” or “Jigsaw…” as the first single from this album.

15. Kables October 13th, 2007 at 7:47 am 15

    I guess I just don’t really care about a single. The Bends is somewhere in the middle of my list despite having “Green Plastic Trees”; OK Computer is at the very top of my list, even though “Karma Police” is only my fifth or sixth favorite song on the album. I’ve listened to Radiohead so much over the years, that I’m not sure I can even distinguish a good Radiohead song from a bad one. My two anchors of my spectrum are boring and not boring, and this album, so far, is standing up to repeated, thorough listens, and I can safely say it is not boring. If anything it feels incomplete. This may be because of the sequencing, or because it’s only ten tracks (though so was Kid A). I end the album wanting more–never a bad thing–and hope that when it is finally released it will be expanded. Again, it’s too soon to say where it lands on my list, but I suspect it won’t be near the bottom.

16. Woeful October 28th, 2007 at 12:41 pm 16

    Incidentally, “In Rainbows” does get better with every listen. I now think it’s about as good as “Hail to the Thief.”