I have been reluctant to write full reviews for albums because: a) It's time-consuming and b) It's impossible to keep up with the steady stream of reviews from internet music hounds who have already said it better and said it first. However, this album has inspired me to break the mold.
First a little context...
It's 10pm on Sunday October 1st, 2007. I'm on the train back from Burlington visiting Ellen. Bored, I decide to check my internet phone and browse a few music related forums. I stumble across a post titled "Radiohead - In Rainbows" which has garnered a surprising number of hits despite being only active for 1 hour. This immediately got my attention...
Radiohead has a notoriously rabid fanbase (You can now count me as a convert). I have always had tremendous respect for the band, and continue to acknowledge their position as one of the most important bands in our generation. And although OK Computer is one of my favorite albums ever, I have maintained a relatively casual attitude as a fan of the band. Nonetheless it's impossible to ignore the tiniest tidbits of Radiohead's daily affairs that become news to an utterly smitten music press. But at the moment, the phrase In Rainbows didn't ring a bell. Curiously, I click to the forum post which links a quote from the Radiohead website:
Hello everyone.
Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days;
We've called it In Rainbows.
Love from us all.Jonny
Whoa! Hold up! Their last LP was 4 years ago! I can't decide which is bigger news: 1) the short notice announcing this mammoth release or 2) the fact that it is being offered as a free download where anyone can name their own price. Another masterstroke from an ingenious band. Immediately this got my support and I chipped in for a pre-order at 3 British pounds (about 6 bucks).
It's 1:50 am on October 10th. Just getting ready for bed I get a ping in my inbox and notice the fateful subject: DOWNLOAD IN RAINBOWS. Never in my life has a band emailed me to let me know there is a copy of their record awaiting me. I knew this would happen sooner or later, but for some unexpected reason it became a joyous and momentous occasion. What immediately struck me was that band had created a truly unique event by releasing the album in this way. It brought back memories of bygone days before the internet when anticipated new albums required the momentous trip to the record store (And, likewise, sitting in class next to that jackass who got the new record before going to school instead of waiting until after like everyone else). Anxiously returning from the "record store", I unwrap my new digital package. It's late, past bedtime, but I figure I ought to listen to a couple tracks anyways (after all I paid a fair price for this, right?).
The electronic staccato opening of "15 step" kicks in.. then Thom Yorke's voice floats in.. and then luscious guitars! There's no doubt about this being a Radiohead album. But beset by the anticipation beforehand, I realized I had no clue what do expect. This music was definitely subtle, and it would take some time to form an initial opinion. But it also was strangely hypnotizing after the first two songs. I decided to listen on. It was the third track that finally slayed me. Yorke's angelic voice on "Nude" weaved perfectly in and out of the strings and guitars. I was hooked. I had to hear the rest.
It's now 2:20 am. Before going to bed I check the blogs. A few people already have some bare-bones reactions -- virtually all positive (a definite rarity). But despite glowing impressions, the fun part was that the dialog was ongoing! The usual record release process of announcement, anticipation, leak, advance copies, hype, backlash, and finally release, often diffuses expectations and causes impressions to be made over a long drawn out period. But in this case everybody was in the same boat together. All living the experience at the same time without any preconceived notions.
It is 2:37. I lay in bed with my headphones in and try to soak it all in a second time. Now that I am retreading more familiar territory, each song's intent really hits home: Delicately plucked notes in "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi." The killer bass synth and crescendo on "All I Need." "House of Cards," (along with "Nude" mentioned earlier) can now be added to the very short list of songs in the world that have brought me to the verge of tears. As a whole, the album is very textural, but opposed to the alien and bleak atmospheric textures of OK Computer and Kid A, this album is intimate and warm. Already many have described it as organic. In contrast to the tension and anxiety of their last 4 albums, Radiohead finally seem at peace (perhaps owing to their first release after their record contract expired?).
However, the closing track "Videotape" returns somewhat to their familiar melancholy tone with a haunting, gut-wrenching percussion section backed with a minor key piano loop. It almost reminds me of the noise an actual VCR makes when reaching the end of the tape and has to rewind. Perhaps this is over-interpretation, but it sounds like the tape is getting caught and then giving up as the electronic percussion takes over towards the end. It's as if Radiohead have reluctantly given in to the technophobic fears spelled out in previous albums and embraced the onslaught of commodification, homogenization and mechanization in modern society (appropriate for a digital release?). Indeed this theme seems to be present elsewhere as the subtle electronic touches (tricks undoubtedly picked up from their Kid A era) are used seamlessly to enhance the melodic warmth rather than to create tension and hostility brought about in previous albums.
Finally, at 3:19 am after listening twice through the album, I am finally able to pry myself away to get some sleep.
It's 8:03 am, I finally rouse from bed and go through the normal routine for work, but it feels like Christmas as I listen on repeat throughout the day, discovering new twists in each song. Well worth the sleep deprivation. Well worth the 6 bucks many times over. Well worth the wait.
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