New Radiohead album announced The King of Limbs

[Dalton]

Yorke doesn't have to try desperately to be cool. He's the fucking wacky lead singer of Radiohead, with a messed up eye. Dude is inherently cool.

I think there's a lot of merit in this argument. Bono, for better or worse, has chose to become an accessible public figure in order to make a difference in the world. We see him a lot. Sometime he looks cool, others not so much. We hear him a lot, sometimes he sounds interesting, other times not so much.

Bono has become a media whore while Yorke has been so reluctant to talk about himself or his music. He doesn't let people in. That mystery adds to their music.

 

[Lancemc]

Thom certainly sacrifices a degree of aural coherence of his writing on this album in favor of using his voice as a more textural element among all the other sounds and instrumental voices... which I think works wonders, especially considering how strong the writing still is underneath it all.

 

[super fly guy]

I think Yorke's writing on the last two albums has been exceptional. He finds very simple lines to complicate big ideas with more acute personal motions. It's minimal but beautifully coherent and very evocative. Funny you bring Bono up with regard to those particular lyrics, surely because of the "turtle line" and such. Though of course when Bono pulls a line like that he usually is just rambling or talking about an animal or god knows what, and not imagery of cosmic scale. Oh well, the reason Bono is frequently slaughtered for his writing is usually because even when he's on a good run he'll fall back onto frequent asinine bullshit about his hear and soul or knees or some such.

Fair enough,but i just find radiohead dull and lifeless. Give me U2's energy anyday,but then again i like SUC!lol

 

[lazarus]

I think Yorke's writing on the last two albums has been exceptional. He finds very simple lines to complicate big ideas with more acute personal motions. It's minimal but beautifully coherent and very evocative. Funny you bring Bono up with regard to those particular lyrics, surely because of the "turtle line" and such. Though of course when Bono pulls a line like that he usually is just rambling or talking about an animal or god knows what, and not imagery of cosmic scale. Oh well, the reason Bono is frequently slaughtered for his writing is usually because even when he's on a good run he'll fall back onto frequent asinine bullshit about his hear and soul or knees or some such.

Well that's true if you're judging him on an album basis. But song-for-song he's still able to come up with great writing that is free of the cliches you're talking about, even if it may be followed by a track that's guilty of his worst tendencies.

And while I think Thom has done very impressive stuff over the years, I don't find him anywhere near as versatile as Boner.

 

[Dalton]

I think the Boner has to be considered a greater lyricist when you look at their body of work, but he so rarely hits those great moments any more that I find his writing painful.

That being said, I've never considered Thom a great lyricist. I think Matt Berninger writes in a similar style to Thom, but does it much better.

 

[Dalton]

Is it just me or does the beginning of Lotus Flower sound a lot like the beginning of the Kid A version of Morning Bell? And the "pincer" sounds at the end of Giving Up the Ghost sound a lot like the sounds in Like Spinning Plates?

Discuss

 

[Lancemc]

Bono is versatile, sure. Though it means less personally when I'm only really a fan of a particular sort of writing from him, and even then I'll take what Thom does consistently over what Bono does at his best. But yes, at least as far as his more recent stuff, I think Bono does extremely well with his more literal pieces - something like Cedars of Lebanon for instance.

 

[Lancemc]

I'm not crazy about Thom's writing pre-Kid A really. But even more specifically on Amnesiac, In Rainbows and KoL I think he hit a particular style that works for the band and I find incredibly appealing. Stuff along the lines of

"Once again, we are hungry for a lynching
That's a strange mistake to make
You should turn the other cheek
Living in a glass house"

"I'd be crazy not to follow
Follow where you lead
Your eyes
They turn me

Turn me on to phantoms
I follow to the edge of the earth
And fall off
Everybody leaves
If they get the chance
And this is my chance"

"You are not to blame for
Bittersweet distractor
Dare not speak its name
Dedicated to all you
all human beings"

The aforementioned Pyramid Song lines and Bloom. Also from the new one:

"Falling off a giant bird that’s been carrying me

I fell open, I lay under
At the tea parlour
I lost your number
And once it’s over
Hid back under

If you think this is over, then you’re wrong"

HttT also has its moments, mainly in There There, Wolf at the Door, Myxomatosis and the like.

 

[LemonMelon]

Fair enough,but i just find radiohead dull and lifeless. Give me U2's energy anyday,but then again i like SUC!lol

Couldn't disagree more. You've heard OK Computer, right? I can't hear Let Down and think lifeless. Rather, it's boiling over with emotion, a snapshot of a man tired of his mundane existence in a world that feels completely artificial and detached from him. He loses this lust for life by No Surprises, but early on in OK Computer, the protagonist(s) is still kicking back. The entire record is about finding the human in the progressively more mundane and pre-packaged, which is kind of the polar opposite of dull and lifeless. The goal is soul, in other words.

 

[Lancemc]

Let Down does remain one of my favorites. Perhaps their most rapturous songs to date.

 

[mobvok]

Thom certainly sacrifices a degree of aural coherence of his writing on this album in favor of using his voice as a more textural element among all the other sounds and instrumental voices... which I think works wonders, especially considering how strong the writing still is underneath it all.

I buy into this argument more than ephemeral ideas about their respective coolness. Were the Bloom lyrics quoted a part of a U2 song, they'd have a diesel-powered arena-scale chiming guitar hook strapped on, and when Bono sings "I'm moving out of orbit" everyone in the building knows he'd be trying to blow the fucking lid off of the place. So the approach is pretty key, IMO.

 

[Dalton]

I'm just saying that perception matters a great deal. If a sexy stranger stands in front of me and begins to dance seductively, it has a much greater affect than if my wife were to do it. Why? Simply because there's an element of mystery, wonder and discovery associated with one and not the other.

The same applies to celebrities. Once you know how the sausage is made, it losses some of it's appeal.

 

[iron yuppie]

Thom's major strength as a lyricist, I think, lies in the ambiguity of his existential angst. Berninger, since Dalton mentioned him, tends to have a fairly recognizable vantage point in mind for his expressions of malaise, but Thom's is usually wide open to interpretation. Nude and Karma Police are notable examples; they both could be broad political statements or conversations with oneself. Then you have songs like Videotape and Pyramid Song, which are almost like conversations with another incarnation of oneself.

 

[Lancemc]

If there's one thing this entire album release has proved beyond a reasonable doubt... it's that Thom Yorke is a master of the seductive dance.

 

[Lancemc]

Thom's major strength as a lyricist, I think, lies in the ambiguity of his existential angst. Berninger, since Dalton mentioned him, tends to have a fairly recognizable vantage point in mind for his expressions of malaise, but Thom's is usually wide open to interpretation. Nude and Karma Police are notable examples; they both could be broad political statements or conversations with oneself. Then you have songs like Videotape and Pyramid Song, which are almost like conversations with another incarnation with oneself.

Good point, and for my money the further he abstracts those means and his imagery the better (see Reckoner, Bloom, etc.)

 

[Dalton]

If there's one thing this entire album release has proved beyond a reasonable doubt... it's that Thom Yorke is a master of the seductive dance.

That dance is so hot, I suspect that Yorke wears labias for earmuffs.

 

[mobvok]

I'm just saying that perception matters a great deal. If a sexy stranger stands in front of me and begins to dance seductively, it has a much greater affect than if my wife were to do it. Why? Simply because there's an element of mystery, wonder and discovery associated with one and not the other.

The same applies to celebrities. Once you know how the sausage is made, it losses some of it's appeal.

I do agree with that, but I think you could make that exact argument through the nature of the music rather than from one's status as a public figure. I'd like to imagine (although I of course could be wrong) that if TUF and Promenade were released as part of NLOTH I'd still be impressed by the elusive nature of the lyrics despite Bono being just as much a public advocate these last few years.

 

[LemonMelon]

Thom's major strength as a lyricist, I think, lies in the ambiguity of his existential angst. Berninger, since Dalton mentioned him, tends to have a fairly recognizable vantage point in mind for his expressions of malaise, but Thom's is usually wide open to interpretation. Nude and Karma Police are notable examples; they both could be broad political statements or conversations with oneself. Then you have songs like Videotape and Pyramid Song, which are almost like conversations with another incarnation with oneself.

It all depends. I would not necessarily decry Berninger for lacking an ambiguous POV; The National's songs live in the present, and a bird's eye view of self-loathing only serves to lessen its impact.

But yeah, Thom rules as a lyricist. His writing has become more distinctly impressionistic and hallucinatory as the music necessitates it. I will confess that I have dedicated less time to analyzing Amnesiac than I have Bends and OK Computer, which means fewer flaws have been revealed, but I really can't think of too many clunkers post-OKC, excepting We Suck Young Blood, which is so on-the-nose as to be obtuse.

 

[Lancemc]

I really can't think of too many clunkers post-OKC, excepting We Suck Young Blood, which is so on-the-nose as to be obtuse.

HttT does fall into that trap more than a few times from beginning to end.

 

[lazarus]

Couldn't disagree more. You've heard OK Computer, right? I can't hear Let Down and think lifeless. Rather, it's boiling over with emotion, a snapshot of a man tired of his mundane existence in a world that feels completely artificial and detached from him. He loses this lust for life by No Surprises, but early on in OK Computer, the protagonist(s) is still kicking back. The entire record is about finding the human in the progressively more mundane and pre-packaged, which is kind of the polar opposite of dull and lifeless. The goal is soul, in other words.

I'm surprised anyone seriously responded to that post. It's either tongue in cheek trolling, or so philistine it's not even worth acknowledging.

Come on, El Mel.

 

[Lancemc]

I'm surprised anyone seriously responded to that post. It's either tongue in cheek trolling, or so philistine it's not even worth acknowledging.

I got the distinct impression it was the latter.

 

[LemonMelon]

I'm surprised anyone seriously responded to that post. It's either tongue in cheek trolling, or so philistine it's not even worth acknowledging.

Come on, El Mel.

I actually took the time to consult wiki earlier to defend Radiohead's record sales.

Feeling philanthropic today, I suppose.

 

[Dalton]

No one agrees or cares about my comparisons of newer songs to older sounds?

 

[mobvok]

Whoops a doodle

Is it just me or does the beginning of Lotus Flower sound a lot like the beginning of the Kid A version of Morning Bell? And the "pincer" sounds at the end of Giving Up the Ghost sound a lot like the sounds in Like Spinning Plates?

I absolutely love that synth that carries over from Idioteque to Morning Bell.

Nice catch.

Is the abbreviated start to Codex from anywhere?

 

[iron yuppie]

It all depends. I would not necessarily decry Berninger for lacking an ambiguous POV; The National's songs live in the present, and a bird's eye view of self-loathing only serves to lessen its impact.

But yeah, Thom rules as a lyricist. His writing has become more distinctly impressionistic and hallucinatory as the music necessitates it. I will confess that I have dedicated less time to analyzing Amnesiac than I have Bends and OK Computer, which means fewer flaws have been revealed, but I really can't think of too many clunkers post-OKC, excepting We Suck Young Blood, which is so on-the-nose as to be obtuse.

Oh, I did not mean to criticize Matt at all. I absolutely love Matt as a lyricist and vocalist. He's growing exponentially on each album, and his style suits the band extremely well. He's just a very different personality from Thom.

 

[super fly guy]

Couldn't disagree more. You've heard OK Computer, right? I can't hear Let Down and think lifeless. Rather, it's boiling over with emotion, a snapshot of a man tired of his mundane existence in a world that feels completely artificial and detached from him. He loses this lust for life by No Surprises, but early on in OK Computer, the protagonist(s) is still kicking back. The entire record is about finding the human in the progressively more mundane and pre-packaged, which is kind of the polar opposite of dull and lifeless. The goal is soul, in other words.

fair enough,its great that they make you feel that way. I just ''dont get them''.

 

[ShipOfFools]

I feel that the band have been growing with each album. Each album has been a progression, which I feel has really made all the difference between a "good album" and a "great album."

IR was a great album. Limbs is an even greater album. With the exception of Hail, which was a step backwards, each album has been greater than the last one.

 

[mobvok]

I've identified a key blind spot in contemporary Radiohead references on this forum.

The Goal Is Soul - U2 Feedback

Let's see what we can do.

SAMPLE PROMPT: How would Jesus release His albums?

 

[lazarus]

With the exception of Hail, which was a step backwards, each album has been greater than the last one.

Umm, no.

 

[Lancemc]

omguhopinions