MERGED--> ALL New Radiohead/Hail To The Thief Discussion Goes Here

[Basstrap]

here it is:

Pop Will Soon Be Dead!
May 30, 2003 09:54 AM
From the NME:

THOM YORKE has described HAIL TO THE THIEF' as 'OK COMPUTER 2' - but said that in two years time the band will be "completely unrecognisable".

The group have just finished a tour of UK clubs to promote their forthcoming album, which is due on June 9.

Speaking to Dutch magazine OOR, Thom said he's no idea what the future will hold for the band, but he expects their music to change dramatically.

"We're a pop band again for now, because it was necessary," he said. "Just doing what we're good at. But, no matter how good I feel about the new album and how much fun we're having in what we do right now, we've been there already. We're not moving.

"This is 'OK Computer 2'. What we will do from now on, should not be anything like we've done before. We will not go further back, like everyone expects. There won't be a second 'The Bends'. There is not a single good reason for it. As a band, we have fully discussed this matter recently. Radiohead will be completely unrecognisable in two years. At least, I hope so. It's the only perspective of the future that I can live with."


this actually exites me a lot!!!!!
Hopefully it won't cause too much tension within the band though, cos I get the feeling some of them would prefer more straight-forward rock!

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

yup, ive read that in more than one article, so i guess theyre serious.

kinda weird. :S

 

[JOFO]

if there won't be an "the bends 2", then why did there have to be an "ok computer 2"?
personally to me, "hail to the theif" is more like "amnesiac 2"; I don't see it as a pop record at all.
and if thom really wants a challenge, then why not try to make the best straight-forward rock album ever? something even BETTER than the bends?
because they can't do it....which is why they're going in another direction entirely.

anyways, you can't get farther from "high and dry" than "hunting bears".

 

[Basstrap]

something better than the bends = ok computer, kid a, and possibly amnesiac

amnesiac had its fall outs like Hunting Bears and Pull/Pulk doors but it is a fantastic record otherwise

I think the point is...and one which I totally see, is that making more rock albums is boring for them now. If they want to be on the forefront of the music scene...that small elite group of musicians who are carving out the future of music, they need to frop the old formula completely.

HTTT is a temporary, and much needed, return to sanity before they take the plunge into what will certainly be, insanity and obscurity

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

im guessing they go jazz, but theyve touched that.

i doubt theyll get into IDM any further, but who knows.

hail to the thief isnt even out and the speculation for the next album is incredible already. wicked.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

just saw this. thom on radio one live lounge.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/jowhiley/live_lounge/radiohead_may03.shtml

interview, no surprises, everything in its right place/sail to the moon

 

[Elvis Presley]

im guessing they steal a page from Sigur Ros book and do an album in another language or something.....

 

[u2popmofo]

im guessing they steal a page from Sigur Ros book and do an album in another language or something.....

Yorkeanese

 

[MrBrau1]

Buddy of mine got the new album Monday. It's really not that different from the "unmixed album" that was leaked a while back.

 

[Elvis Presley]

http://www.mtv.com/onair/mtv2/2dollarbill.jhtml

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

i cant wait to see it tommorow. unfortunately im sick, and i have a lot of work to do before that.

blah.

 

[u2popmofo]

I listened to both the b-sides(the new ones) again today for the first time in a long time. I liked them considerably more than I used to.

 

[u2popmofo]

HTTT receives an A rating from Spin and 4 stars from Rollingstone.

Was there ever any doubt?

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

nope. but spin sucks radiohead's diyeke all the time, so that doesnt surprise me.

still good to hear though.

 

[Lilly]

Buddy of mine got the new album Monday. It's really not that different from the "unmixed album" that was leaked a while back.

i don't think we're expecting a collosial difference.

 

[Flaming Friar Sr]

here's the rs review:

Radiohead's Hail To the Thief is a product of its moment: recorded in late 2002, during the American and British governments' slow, inevitable march to Iraq, of which lead singer Thom Yorke was an outspoken opponent. Hail is filled with images of monstrous, Orwellian force from which there is no escape. On "Sit down. Stand up," Yorke assumes the voice of Big Brother, giving rote, meaningless orders -- "Sit down/Stand up" -- over and over. With equal parts whine and sneer, he says, "We can wipe you out anytime." Radiohead have always been paranoid and pessimistic, but thanks to recent history, people who used to seem paranoid now seem prudent.
Hail begins with "2+2=5," a brooding indictment of an apathetic public; the title is pulled directly from George Orwell's 1984. While the world was being ruined, Yorke says, you were at home, allowing yourself to believe the lies. Now it's too late. In a precious falsetto a boy might use in church, he sings, "It's the devil's way now/There is no way out." But a moment later he's manic, screaming, "Because you have not been paying attention!" Yorke then meditates on the words paying attention, repeating them until he sounds like he's shaking with rage as he sings.

Despite the anger and bitterness, Hail to the Thief is more musically inviting than Radiohead's last two outings. The album's fourteen tracks -- particularly the percussive, mesmerizing "There There" -- are more tuneful and song-focused than 2000's Kid A or 2001's Amnesiac. Electronic textures still abound amid the guitars and piano -- there's still synth-y sonic schmutz and squiggles that seem like data transmitted from another plane of sound. But there are so many delicious melodies here, so much that's both soothing and twisted and catchy, so much to sing along with, even if our prognosis is grim.

Consider "Myxomatosis," definitely the best song ever about a diseased mongrel cat. The feline protagonist has just returned from outside and has possibly had sex, but now he's confused, and he stammers against a tense heartbeat drum, "I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied." Thanks to the funky fuzzed-out guitar, somehow the name of the disgusting five-syllable rabbit disease flows from Yorke's lips like poetry.

"A Punch-up at a Wedding" is a soulful, melancholy groove anchored by a snarling bass line and Yorke's efficiency with lyrics. The imagery is so clear that the song becomes a short story. You can hear the family, dysfunctional beyond repair, hurling leftover anger at one another after perhaps the worst moment of their collective life: "You had to piss on our parade/You had to shred our big day." And yet the beautiful piano chords and Yorke yelling, "It's a drunken punch-up at a wedding!" make it difficult not to sing along.

Hail's final song, "A Wolf at the Door," asserts the impossibility of escaping your demons. "I keep the wolf from the door," Yorke sings, "But he calls me up/Calls me on the phone/Tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up." It's sad, dark, witty and hilarious all at once. Yorke has no answer for the wolf but to try and coo himself to peace. And the rest of us have Radiohead to help us get through.

TOURE
(RS 925, June 26, 2003)

 

[Basstrap]

great review

but I have a feeling this same guy does not like kid a...and will probably not like radiohead after this album..when they depart from rock.(maybe)

 

[HeadsOnSticks]

I fucking hate the guy who reviewed HTTT for RS. He's their HIP-HOP & R&B guy for fucks sake!!! Arrrgh! Why couldn't have David Fricke reviewed it instead!

 

[u2popmofo]

Seriously? That is weird Heads.

Well, he was still positive about it I guess. 4 stars is definitly a good score.

 

[HeadsOnSticks]

Yeah, 4 stars is fine, but it was just such a skimpy review! I wanted more depth and more of an understanding. It felt like it should be in US magazine or something. Totally...fake.

BTW...I'm pissed it didn't get 5 stars because I'll tell ya: White Stripes "Elephant" sure as hell didn't deserve 5 stars. There are some 5 star songs on it, but HTTT is a WAY more eclectic record. Bah.

 

[u2popmofo]

Good call on the comparison with Elephant.

I"m always kind of ticked about what they decide to give 5 stars to.

It's usually to excessively old artists who have been around forever. Kinda of seems lame to give them 5 stars just because they've been around for a long time.

 

[HeadsOnSticks]

Yeah...

Because you're not paaaaaayin' atten-shun!

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

i love his description of 2+2=5. thanks for posting it.

 

[u2popmofo]

I want young blood.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

they actually removed a promo pic for the album here in Singapore because people complained about the words 'we suck young blood' in a newspaper ad (which also featured a number where you could call in and preview there there). EMI Singapore was told to use inverted commas for 'we suck young blood' but they declined, saying that the ad would lose it's essence. ah well.

 

[HeadsOnSticks]

Singapore=

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

haha, thats funny.

animals suck blood all the time. and anyone who eats meat consumes blood. whats the big deal?

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

we have a stupid public

anyway it's just an ad. i'm definitely getting the album, if only for the fact i feel bad i downloaded the whole thing (the only time i've gotten a complete album from teh 'net)

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

well and because they support downloading, its another reason to support them. they support us, we support them.

but with radiohead, its not even a question for me. ofcourse ill buy the cd, if not for the artwork alone.

 

[cujo]

Waiting... Waiting.

Tonight.