Don't get any big ideas...they're not gonna happen.
I spent three long days deliberating how much to pay for In Rainbows. In reality, it 
probably wouldn't have made much of a difference what I paid for it, but the fact that Radiohead, who have always sat rather high on my list of favorite musicians, would actually ask me to assess how much their music is worth to me became an unexpected source of philosophical introspection. Would paying too little for the album be considered cheating Radiohead? I did, after all, have the option to not pay anything, but I felt morally obligated to be somewhat reasonable. But what if I paid too much and the album turned out to be a disappointment – would I feel let down by Radiohead? To be honest, this didn’t seem possible – I think of Radiohead as the kind of band that know what they’re doing well enough that I’d be surprised if any new material of theirs left something to be desired. Luckily, as I learned after completing my first of many listens to the album at 6:52 AM last Wednesday, my expectations for In Rainbows were, to my excitement, completely surpassed....
In Rainbows marks the first time since The Bends that Radiohead have made a record that’s neither a concept album nor a collection of less-than-subtle political statements, and perhaps the most exciting thing about Rainbows is hearing the band enjoy their newfound freedom to make music for its own sake rather than focusing solely on lyrical content. “How come I end up where I started?” Thom asks during the head-spinning percussion intro to “15 Step” (a beat which played a large part in the band’s last tour as the source of many an awkward audience clap-along), and for a moment it does temporarily seem as though Radiohead may end up going back to the glitchy beats of their Amnesiac days. But the song quickly unfolds into a jazzy, warmly textured 5/4 tune, and, best of all, signals the return of Radiohead the quintet; Hail to the Thief may have hinted that Radiohead were ready to move on from their slightly more Thominated Kid A days, but here, all five band members finally seem to share the limelight equally. “Bodysnatchers” points even further towards a more organic sound for Radiohead; it’s a murky jam that feels like a cross between “Electioneering” and “The National Anthem,” and its frantic, spontaneous energy sounds more improvisational than anything the band has ever done.
After over a decade of eager anticipation, “Nude” finally exhumes itself from the Radiohead vault, sounding more grandiose than ever; Thom’s vocal performance is nothing short of eerie, and his final solo along with the majestic string accompaniment is arguably one of the most spine-tinglingly beautiful moments of the band’s career. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” in contrast, is a far cry from its original orchestral version, but its In Rainbows incarnation, whose driving drum beat adds a vaguely Coldplay-esque feel to the song, is still as hypnotizing as ever, and easily one of the album’s best tracks. Though dynamically very different, the back-to-back pairing of both “All I Need” and “Faust Arp” sounds almost frighteningly sinister together; the former finds Thom pleading over a forbidding synth-line, eventually joined by xylophone and piano before the song finally erupts into a clashing outro that brings to mind the epic slow builds of Sigur Ros’ ( ). “Faust Arp,” on the other hand, is a desolate acoustic guitar piece accompanied by a weeping string section that feels strangely like a score to a haunted house movie.
The incredible “Reckoner,” once a fist- clenching rock number, takes on a far more civilized guise on In Rainbows, replacing Phil Selway’s thrashing drum beat with reverb-soaked cymbals, Jonny Greenwood’s persistent guitar line with a gentle, harp-like melody, and Thom Yorke’s unbridled rambling with an ethereal falsetto. This minimalist arrangement of the song sounds underwhelming at first, but repeated listens reveal its haunting beauty. “House of Cards” finds Radiohead tackling a genre of songwriting they all too often ignore; the love song. It’s a venture that would otherwise sound musically unadventurous, even cliché, for that matter, but to hear the man who’s made a career out of writing about kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggies and nervous, messed-up marionettes say “I just want to be your lover” is a surprisingly sweet moment.
Only on “Jigsaw Falling into Place” does the band falter somewhat, sounding just slightly through-the-motions compared to the remainder of the album; any of the song’s minor flaws, however, are immediately forgiven and forgotten come the album’s closer. “When I’m at the pearly gates, this’ll be on my videotape,” Thom promises at the opening of “Videotape,” and it’s a statement that feels just as heartbreaking as it does comforting. The song itself may not exactly be the climactic finale earlier versions of the songs suggested it could be, but it’s the statement of the song that lingers; whereas Radiohead once railed against the threats posed by our technological world on OK Computer, “Videotape” is a love song to the twenty-first century, bidding a fond farewell to a world where memories of loved ones can be immortalized by breaking them down into a rainbow of red, blue, and green pixels on videotape.
In Rainbows may not break much new ground for Radiohead, but for a band that’s singlehandedly turned the music world upside-down as many times as they have, it’s impossible to expect Radiohead’s music to get any better. That aside, I’m always impressed by how Radiohead never fail to continue making such incredible music, and in that respect, In Rainbows more than delivers. So did I get my money’s worth? Certainly. But probably even more important than however much you think the album is worth, In Rainbows is one of those memorable albums that –in red, blue, and green – we’ll always be able to remember Radiohead by, even long after their musical career has ended. If In Rainbows is any indication, though, don't expect that to be happening anytime soon.
After over a decade of eager anticipation, “Nude” finally exhumes itself from the Radiohead vault, sounding more grandiose than ever; Thom’s vocal performance is nothing short of eerie, and his final solo along with the majestic string accompaniment is arguably one of the most spine-tinglingly beautiful moments of the band’s career. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” in contrast, is a far cry from its original orchestral version, but its In Rainbows incarnation, whose driving drum beat adds a vaguely Coldplay-esque feel to the song, is still as hypnotizing as ever, and easily one of the album’s best tracks. Though dynamically very different, the back-to-back pairing of both “All I Need” and “Faust Arp” sounds almost frighteningly sinister together; the former finds Thom pleading over a forbidding synth-line, eventually joined by xylophone and piano before the song finally erupts into a clashing outro that brings to mind the epic slow builds of Sigur Ros’ ( ). “Faust Arp,” on the other hand, is a desolate acoustic guitar piece accompanied by a weeping string section that feels strangely like a score to a haunted house movie.
The incredible “Reckoner,” once a fist- clenching rock number, takes on a far more civilized guise on In Rainbows, replacing Phil Selway’s thrashing drum beat with reverb-soaked cymbals, Jonny Greenwood’s persistent guitar line with a gentle, harp-like melody, and Thom Yorke’s unbridled rambling with an ethereal falsetto. This minimalist arrangement of the song sounds underwhelming at first, but repeated listens reveal its haunting beauty. “House of Cards” finds Radiohead tackling a genre of songwriting they all too often ignore; the love song. It’s a venture that would otherwise sound musically unadventurous, even cliché, for that matter, but to hear the man who’s made a career out of writing about kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggies and nervous, messed-up marionettes say “I just want to be your lover” is a surprisingly sweet moment.
Only on “Jigsaw Falling into Place” does the band falter somewhat, sounding just slightly through-the-motions compared to the remainder of the album; any of the song’s minor flaws, however, are immediately forgiven and forgotten come the album’s closer. “When I’m at the pearly gates, this’ll be on my videotape,” Thom promises at the opening of “Videotape,” and it’s a statement that feels just as heartbreaking as it does comforting. The song itself may not exactly be the climactic finale earlier versions of the songs suggested it could be, but it’s the statement of the song that lingers; whereas Radiohead once railed against the threats posed by our technological world on OK Computer, “Videotape” is a love song to the twenty-first century, bidding a fond farewell to a world where memories of loved ones can be immortalized by breaking them down into a rainbow of red, blue, and green pixels on videotape.
In Rainbows may not break much new ground for Radiohead, but for a band that’s singlehandedly turned the music world upside-down as many times as they have, it’s impossible to expect Radiohead’s music to get any better. That aside, I’m always impressed by how Radiohead never fail to continue making such incredible music, and in that respect, In Rainbows more than delivers. So did I get my money’s worth? Certainly. But probably even more important than however much you think the album is worth, In Rainbows is one of those memorable albums that –in red, blue, and green – we’ll always be able to remember Radiohead by, even long after their musical career has ended. If In Rainbows is any indication, though, don't expect that to be happening anytime soon.
