WallOfIce Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Or perhaps people who are legitimately disappointed in the latest entry from their all time favorite band for plenty of valid reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
''' Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 So many people here who think they know how to be Radiohead. so true if anything, TKOL teaches us that, AGAIN, we just don't know Radiohead like we thought we do. we speculate and predict this way, they go another direction. amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylark Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Or perhaps people who are legitimately disappointed in the latest entry from their all time favorite band for plenty of valid reasons. this album is a creeper let it creep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstralCar Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 while i could hardly agree that the melodies on this records are trivial, the primary emphasis of a lot of this material is not intended to be melodic. it's written, deliberately, around 'grooves'. this isn't even new for the band, although of course it's really dominating now. but you might as well moan about the boring rhythms on The Bends. Hey if you like the album I'm super happy for you. Honest. =) And yes, The Bends has very boring rhythms. Maybe tomorrow I'll listen to Separator and I won't think that any vaguely decent musician could have sung that melody over those chords on a lazy afternoon; but for the moment that's how I feel about this album. I wish I could fall in love with it instantly like I did with In Rainbows. It's just not happening. And it's a shame because I rank the album version of Lotus Flower among the very best Radiohead tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Or perhaps people who are legitimately disappointed in the latest entry from their all time favorite band for plenty of valid reasons. I'm not convinced of said legitimacy or validity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallOfIce Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 this album is a creeper let it creep I've listened through it as many times as I could since waking up a couple hours ago, having slept all day after staying up late once I realized it was coming. It has grown on me a little since then. I do like Bloom more than I did initially. But still, nothing else really grabs me, other than Give Up the Ghost, which really is a brilliant song. However I will never get over the profound disappoint of Lotus Flower. It's not that I'm saying it's a bad album. If it was by anyone else, I would feel a lot different. Hell, even if it was by Atoms for Peace. But this is a Radiohead record. They have set a higher standard for themselves than this. I wanted more than a Warp Records release featuring Thom Yorke on vocals, but I feel like that's what I got. The band has an incredibly varied sound, but they also leave their very distinct signature on everything they make. I dont feel it here. If you played this for me without telling who it was by, I would never guess Radiohead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallOfIce Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 I'm not convinced of said legitimacy or validity. Then I guess I could say the same of your input regarding the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razor Bikini Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 while i could hardly agree that the melodies on this records are trivial, the primary emphasis of a lot of this material is not intended to be melodic. it's written, deliberately, around 'grooves'. this isn't even new for the band, although of course it's really dominating now. but you might as well moan about the boring rhythms on The Bends. I also think that the reason some people are reacting this way is because the band's approach to song structure is different on this album than it has been in the past. A lot of the great, classic Radiohead songs would often build to a climax, where most of these songs sort of just move around. People expect Radiohead songs to expand and explode, where these kind of just breathe, moving in and out. I think it's great, but I can see where a lot of people would have trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstralCar Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 I don't know, some songs in Kid A or Amnesiac lack any canonical song structure, or "climax". What I always say about most songs I hear on the radio is, that it probably takes longer to play them once than it took to write/compose them. That's how I feel about some tracks on TKOL. That's not how I feel about Cuttooth, Kinetic, and other songs that you may compare to this latest Radiohead effort. Ok now I'll stop being so harsh. Still very happy that so many are enjoying TKOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Then I guess I could say the same of your input regarding the matter. You could, if I were claiming to. I guess I just don't understand making such hasty critiques of an album from one's supposed all-time favorite band in less than 24 hours. Particularly this band. If I've learned anything from them over the years, it's to let music unfold as it may. If you've convinced yourself right off the bat that you don't like it, even providing for "plenty of valid reasons", well you've already reasoned your distaste for it. You've pretty much decided. I'd say you're only doing yourself a disservice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................ Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 The frustrating thing is, if arranged correctly, they could *fit right in* on this album and give it so much more variety. If you put Let Me Take Control or I Froze Up on this tracklisting, it would inject what is so sorely lacking from this record - emotion. Up until the album reaches Lotus Flower, it feels like a set of soulless Warp Records rehashes, and even when it does reach that track, they decided to take out the heart of the song and replace it with the same cut and paste drum rhythms and meandering bass line that plague the first half of the album. Up until Give Up the Ghost, this album does not reach me much emotionally at all - a profound disappointment for a Radiohead release. Put a genuinely moving song like Let Me Take Control, as well as the oft teased The Present Tense on the tracklist, and then all of the sudden it does 2 things. One, gives more length to an album you might miss if you blink. And two, give the record an element it's dearly lacking - feeling. I can't connect emotionally to I Froze up or Let Me Take Control at all, I can however connect emotional to Bloom, Morning Mr. Magpie, Little by Little, Feral, Lotus Flower, Codex, Give Up the Ghost, and Separator. This album doesn't lack emotion, it lacks emotion you can connect to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Just on the topic of Magpie: they nailed it. This is decidedly the best version of the song around. The instrumentation is incredible but - and this is important to me - they didn't ruin the melody. This is nothing like Thom's careless handling of Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses; all the good stuff from the original is still here, but now a textbook guitar arrangement has been replaced with something quite wonderful. Thom's voice on Little by Little sounds so fragile. This song is absolutely gorgeous. I don't know why but the only song not working for me so far is Give up the Ghost. I'm off to listen again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben. Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 First two listens: baffled, scratching head 3rd and 4th listens: feeling nothing except a bit of resignation 5th listen just now: this is starting to sound kind of cool! I'm not getting too excited yet but there's enough incentive for me to keep listening I've actually never before heard an album five times in a day, since it's not usually my way of doing things, but this album has felt like a puzzle to be solved and so when I'm not listening to it, it's still bothering me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planet caravan Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 This album had all the potential in the world had they decided to do proper versions of songs that have been floating around for awhile - The Present Tense, Let Me Take Control, I Froze up. All could have given the album much more flavor. But at 8 songs and just under 40 minutes, I'm not exactly moved. But is that what you really wanted? Proper versions of those songs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotusplaza Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 What I always say about most songs I hear on the radio is, that it probably takes longer to play them once than it took to write/compose them. that's completely retarded tbh it's obvious that tons of thought and care has gone into these songs, as with all Radiohead songs. I mean fuck it took them 4 years to release 8 songs, obviously not all of that was spent writing but a good chunk of it was and Radiohead are known for being completely meticulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tristan Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 im not sure i agree about magpie. this is also the main problem i have about this album. this probably wont make much sense but i hope you get what i'm trying to say to me it sounds like magpie could be any song and they've just incorporated the lyrics and melody into what it is, not because thats what works best for the song, just because thats what style they wanted to make. Alot of these songs sound like they were written a different way to how they've turned out.. they kind of sound like remix's of themselves. This is not just because i've heard the acoustic magpie first and i probably prefer tkol version, i just think if they had written the songs to come out a certain way it would of been alot stronger. Not that progression and development of songs doesnt work just in some cases it feels a little unnatural. i mean this doesnt matter to me that much and i still give this album an 8, its just something i can see in well mainly magpie.. so ay maybe it was because i heard it first. forget it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Fuse Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 My first listen was fantastic. I was hella hungover, and I felt like I was in the perfect mood to listen. I was blown away by the first half of the album, immediately satisfied with the sound they were going for. The second half melted me into a puddle, especially Codex. Give Up the Ghost gave me chills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tristan Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 oh yeah so i was right earlier.. and i think its been mentioned alot. we had codex.. is blossom bloom? it probably is.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstralCar Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 it's obvious that tons of thought and care has gone into these songs, as with all Radiohead songs. I mean fuck it took them 4 years to release 8 songs, obviously not all of that was spent writing but a good chunk of it was and Radiohead are known for being completely meticulous. It's obvious that they too a lot of care in arranging them and recording them. Maybe also in writing them. But the fact that it took them 4 years to release this album means nothing, compared to what I hear when I listen to it. The fact that they are perfectionists and great artists does not mean that they can do no wrong just because they spent a long time on a project. Just as what I'm writing does not mean that I may not change my mind about TKOL in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggie p Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 11 years after Kid A, it's genuinely bizarre to see all these 'Thom solo' comments come round again. hear all those sounds on this record? they're made by 5 people. just because these people aren't playing the same instruments they did on Pablo bloody Honey doesn't mean that you're listening to anyone's solo album. also I hate to break it to you but Thom is, you know, the main songwriter of the band and always has been. in fact there are a lot of songs on the first three albums that are essentially Thom telling everyone what to do. sorry. amen. you just cannot argue with this in any valid way. I'm convinced the people who think this is a thom record have only listened on really shitty speakers or headphones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotusplaza Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 I never said anything remotely close to "they can do no wrong", just replying to your idea that the songs seem like they were written in a rush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noiretirc Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 that's weird cos the kid amnesiac era seems kinda amateurish to me now in light of this album... like those recordings are great and everything but compared to this, they sound like experiments... like they had to fuck around a bunch and then keep what worked and piece it together. this stuff sounds like they knew what they wanted to do and then they just fucking did it, no problem. they were kids back then, they're grownups now. This! What I think I love the most about TKOL is how "effortless" (in a really good way) it sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Koch Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 certain sounds (that weird synthy WOWHHH) that repeat at the end of lotus flower are definitely in aphex twin songs. lols. selected ambient works something or other. need to listen to that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noiretirc Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 The frustrating thing is, if arranged correctly, they could *fit right in* on this album and give it so much more variety. If you put Let Me Take Control or I Froze Up on this tracklisting, it would inject what is so sorely lacking from this record - emotion. Up until the album reaches Lotus Flower, it feels like a set of soulless Warp Records rehashes, and even when it does reach that track, they decided to take out the heart of the song and replace it with the same cut and paste drum rhythms and meandering bass line that plague the first half of the album. Up until Give Up the Ghost, this album does not reach me much emotionally at all - a profound disappointment for a Radiohead release. Put a genuinely moving song like Let Me Take Control, as well as the oft teased The Present Tense on the tracklist, and then all of the sudden it does 2 things. One, gives more length to an album you might miss if you blink. And two, give the record an element it's dearly lacking - feeling. I just want to say that I am so glad that I haven't followed "songs in progress". Many of you seem pissed off about what is NOT on TKOL. My lack of knowledge in this area is clearly helping me to appreciate what IS on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noiretirc Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 But is that what you really wanted? Proper versions of those songs? I'm thrilled with the "TKOL versions". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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