New Radiohead album announced The King of Limbs

[lazarus]

A giant turtle’s eyes

Pfft. That thing is no match for an intellectual tortoise.

 

[cobl04]

I love a good concert. I really do. And I used to go to shows as often as I could. I just began to find them a bit expensive (plus the hassle of getting tickets in the first place, and usually just a pain in the ass to get to the venue early enough, or wait around between sets, and just the aimless standing and smelly people and crowds... meh. Just everything surrounding the music became tiresome. Plus I have more of a fondness for the "recorded" media as an art, though a brilliant live performance, as you say, is something very special.

All that said, I did decide today I'd like to catch The HEAD! again if they decide to tour this record. And I can afford it.

fair enough. for me all that stuff (which can be annoying) doesn't bother me at all the second the concert starts. ticket prices do suck though, particularly in Australia, where i pay double or more to see good overseas acts.

I can think of a couple.

as can i, which is why i used the qualifier "aren't many".

 

[LemonMelon]

I think of Kings of Leon every time I see the album abbreviated KOL

Radiohead will never make an album bad enough that Kings of Leon could be compared favorably with it.

 

[ozeeko]

Pyramid Song isn't comforting?

I guess I must be misinterpreting that "there was nothing to fear/nothing to doubt" part.

That song may sound ominous, but the lyrics are very beautiful.

Pyramid Song chills me to the bone. I don't find it comforting. But I do find it extremely powerful and extremely beautiful. And moving also. But in a different way. It's one of my fave RH songs. But if I was depressed, I wouldn't turn to this song. But Codex I would. That's the difference. It sounds more safe inside of Codex. Not safe meaning mainstream. Safe meaning....I dunno...calm...peaceful...just soothing. It starts out like it might be dark for the entire duration (like Pyramid Song) but it's tone changes as it unravels. Maybe it's the chords. Maybe it's this. Maybe it's that. But it feels...and it sounds...more safe. Keep in mind...not SAFE. But..."more safe".

 

[Lancemc]

Pyramid Song's currency is "transcendence" which is always sort of ominous and mysterious, but ultimately extremely comforting. The whole idea is embodied by both the music (several of the most thrilling "swells" I know in popular music) and certainly the writing:

"all my lovers were there with me
all my past and futures
and we all went to heaven in a little row boat
there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt"

 

[cobl04]

That line, "there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt", is incredible. It's somehow manages to be comforting but extremely unsettling and ominous at the same time. I like the "ignorance is bliss" idea I get from the song as well.

 

[ozeeko]

Transcendent is a good way to describe Pyramid Song. But I'd be lying if I said I found the song "comforting". Maybe the "nothing to fear, nothing to doubt" lyrics read as comforting, but the song was always very icy cold and mysterious to me. Fucking cool as all hell and I love the damn song, but very cold and dark sounding. Whereas Codex, as I've stated before, sounds more safe. It sounds warm. It's not even a better song than PS. I find PS more interesting melodically. I'm just talking about feel. Codex feels like a step away from the mysterious darkness of songs like Pyramid Song. Sounds like Thom's starting to find himself in this world. Maybe that's the difference. Pyramid Song sounds like a lost eerie dream, on the fringe of some nightmare, whereas Codex sounds like a moment of peace.

 

[Lancemc]

I definitely agree that Codex, well the last three songs on the album really, mark an unusually optimistic sort of worldview for the band.

 

[ozeeko]

Yea, that's all I was saying. Sounds like they've reached some zen-like state, where there truly is "nothing to fear, nothing to doubt". But, unlike Pyramid Song, it "sounds" that way. There's close to no anxiety.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Ha, I was going to cite Larry, but I figure that he gets enough of a hard time already. But I do love Ringo.

Oh no you weren't ...

 

[bono_212]

I like it a great deal too. I was saddened when someone listed it as dead last on their list of songs on the album.

While we're on the topic of that, why on Earth is it so common to think of things in that regard on here lately? Do people seriously just sit around and decide how much they like any and everything in list form these days? I think they should be required to provide a much more comprehensive list if they think that's appropriate. As in, "I like this song, but not more than 748 other songs in existence", and then list all those songs. When people like that eat their favorite food, do they say, "That wasn't even in the top 62 pizzas I've ever had in my life", and then list out every pizza they've had that's better than it? When they have a toss, do they say, "Hmmm, uninspiring. Not even in my top 20 this year"? If the answer is no, why in hell's name do they feel the need to do it constantly with music? What a joyless and awful way to enjoy music.

I do it as a quick way to rank songs in the context of the album. I do try to point out where the divider line between songs I like and songs I don't care so much for are, but, no, I don't always. I rank things, it's just in my nature. And since you asked, personally, I do it for everything. I have a list of favorite restaurants, favorite foods at those restaurants, etc. But, I also have OCD on the real, so that might explain that.

I think of Kings of Leon every time I see the album abbreviated KOL

I didn't want to be the one to say anything...

 

[LemonMelon]

I like it a great deal too. I was saddened when someone listed it as dead last on their list of songs on the album.

While we're on the topic of that, why on Earth is it so common to think of things in that regard on here lately? Do people seriously just sit around and decide how much they like any and everything in list form these days? I think they should be required to provide a much more comprehensive list if they think that's appropriate. As in, "I like this song, but not more than 748 other songs in existence", and then list all those songs. When people like that eat their favorite food, do they say, "That wasn't even in the top 62 pizzas I've ever had in my life", and then list out every pizza they've had that's better than it? When they have a toss, do they say, "Hmmm, uninspiring. Not even in my top 20 this year"? If the answer is no, why in hell's name do they feel the need to do it constantly with music? What a joyless and awful way to enjoy music.

It's far easier than actually explaining the inner machinations of our tastes in prose. I suppose you could call it a reflection of our instant, microwaveable Interference...like Random.

 

[martha]

I can think of a couple.

But not many.

 

[u2popmofo]

Radiohead: The King of Limbs < PopMatters

Popmatters review.

 

[mama cass]

wow... what can i say...

Codex hits the mark for me... beautiful...

 

[iron yuppie]

Pyramid Song sounds like a lost eerie dream, on the fringe of some nightmare, whereas Codex sounds like a moment of peace.

That's an interesting interpretation. I see Pyramid Song as an escapist fantasy, as though the narrator is dreaming of something beautiful whilst mired in something traumatic. That's the main thematic difference between Kid A and Amnesiac, I think: Kid A is about the onset and survival of trauma, whereas Amnesiac is about coping with that trauma. I think that Thom may have said something to that effect in an interview as well.

 

[Zoomerang96]

well... i'm not sure. there are a few lovely songs on here... but it's just not working for me. and that's the first time i've ever said that about radiohead.

it speaks largely of my bias that i'm willing to listen to this as much as i have, because if any other band had put this same piece of music out, i wouldn't give it nearly as much of a go.

 

[lazarus]

That's the main thematic difference between Kid A and Amnesiac, I think: Kid A is about the onset and survival of trauma, whereas Amnesiac is about coping with that trauma. I think that Thom may have said something to that effect in an interview as well.

Yes, and it amazes me that Amnesiac still gets rated so low despite the artist's clarification.

Anyway, FWIW:

1. Amnesiac
2. The Bends

3. OK Computer
4. Hail to the Thief
5. In Rainbows

6. Kid A

7. Pablo Honey

Right now I'd probably put The King of Limbs slightly above Kid A. There isn't anything on there as good as Everything in Its Right Place, but then there are probably four songs I like better than anything else on Kid A. In Rainbows and HTTT are also very close, and could easily swap places.

 

[Lancemc]

I don't seen Amnesiac being overthrown as my favorite any time soon. Kid A is just a few steps behind it. I imagine KoL and In Lameblows might come up behind those two when all is said and done.

 

[u2popmofo]

Makes me feel like I've been listening to a different record than some of you. There's plenty of recognizable bass-playing on the album. Same for guitars, acoustic percussion, etc. Sounds like anything but a record dominated by keyboard parts.

I feel the same way. There's so little electronica, and flat out no dubstep (unless you consider one sound in Feral to make an entire album dubstep), that it really confuses me in general. I guess we all experience things differently though, so it's all good. It probably also doesn't help that I find The Eraser so unoriginal and derivative in genera, so I probably take any comparison the wrong wayl. I still like a number of songs on it (The Eraser), but in the same way I like a number of songs on Pablo Honey.

it speaks largely of my bias that i'm willing to listen to this as much as i have, because if any other band had put this same piece of music out, i wouldn't give it nearly as much of a go.

Very true. It also says something that so many were so hesitant to share their thoughts early on, which is almost never an issue on the internet.

 

[super fly guy]

"Open your mouth wide
The universe will sigh
And while the ocean blooms
It’s what keeps me alive
So why does it still hurt?
Don’t blow your mind with whys

I’m moving out of orbit
Turning in somersaults
A giant turtle’s eyes
As jellyfish float by"

Bloom is so great.

If Bono wrote that he would be slaughtered.

 

[Lancemc]

I guess I had the benefit of comparatively "lower" expectations from everyone else after In Rainbows. Though I suppose my initial reaction to KoL was similar to what most here felt, then only improved greatly upon each listen.

 

[Lancemc]

If Bono wrote that he would be slaughtered.

Because it's actually evocative and inspired?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

If Bono wrote that he would be slaughtered.

Probably true.

Yorke gets away with it, though, because he's cool. And weird. And mysterious, and eccentric.

A dude that puts himself out there in the ways Bono does is going to be an easier target, and more open to ridicule. Not saying that's necessarily fair, but it's just the way it goes.

 

[super fly guy]

Because it's actually evocative and inspired?

No because its just ramblings of someone trying desperatley to be cool and hip,just my opinion mind you,doesnt mean its true!lol

 

[mobvok]

I was listening to In Rainbows From The Basement last night, skittered over to Amnesiac, and then came back to Lotus Flower and the back half of TKOL.



A lot stronger as part of a mood.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

No because its just ramblings of someone trying desperatley to be cool and hip

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.

 

[Lancemc]

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.

 

[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?

 

[mobvok]

I get a very strong sense that Bono and U2 try to impress with his lyrics/one liners, while half of Yorke and Radiohead's approach is to bury the vocals into the melody. Success in the first mode is a lot more highwire- if you pull it off, great, but if you don't, it's gonna bug.

The lyrics of TUF (album) are a lot more in the second vein, which is a rather interesting contrast.