Thoughts, Raves & Outright Beatings

Here is, yet, another review of the new Radiohead download-only CD, “In Rainbows”

As my small cadre of regulars know, I placed an order for it back in the beginning of this month. I plunked down 7 Pounds, or the equivalent (at the time) of $15.22 (which is 10 bucks more than what that cheapskate Rob Sheffield paid for HIS copy - and gave the CD 4.5 STARS after listening to it ONCE???!??!). Sure, I could have paid less, but I get plenty of music for free anyway. I wanted to give some payback before karma does it for me. Besides, my knowledge of money exchanges isn’t all up to speed.

I received my email to access the CD on 10/9 at 10:45 pm PST. I downloaded it the next evening (presumably after everybody and their brother crashed the server hosting the MP3s earlier that day - I read a lot of griping about the slowness of the downloads, but my access lasted all of 15 seconds - I had the files in nothing flat). I wanted to wait for the hubbub to die down before making any comments on it. For no matter what what part of the blogosphere you inhabit, or even if you don’t hang in the blogosphere all that much, everyone was talking about it. Did I want to look like just another Radiohead rah-raher in the crowd? Or did I want to put some distance between myself and the hype?

I’ll discuss the delivery model further in a little bit, but, first and foremost, let’s talk about the music.

Disclaimer: Radiohead, to me, has always been a passing fancy, rather than an object of personal frenzied fandom. I enjoyed the singles well enough, but, back in the mid-to-late 90’s, I was more of a Dave-head (that’s a Dave Matthews Band fan for all the out of country peeps) than a Radio-head. My money was tight, even during the height of the dot-com era in SF, so I had to make the choice between Thom Yorke & co. and DMB. As a result, I didn’t start investigating their catalog until last year, and even then, the initial item I got my hands on was Thom Yorke’s solo CD, “The Eraser”.

So, yes, I’m a little embarrassed that I swooned over bands such as Coldplay, Keane, and Muse before becoming acquainted with the guys responsible for aforementioned BEING HERE! Especially when I’m old enough to know better. But oh, well, live and learn.

So, I’m not going to even pretend to compare this album to previous ones, such as OK Computer, the Bends, or the most successful one here in the US, Kid A. It might be better, as I can perhaps discuss each track on it’s own terms, rather than providing a comparison to what went on before. It might also prevent me from saying “This was the best…album…EVER!!” and possibly live to regret it six months from now.

With all that said:

I’ve listened to the “CD” about 4 times now, and…

1. 15 Step: Someone somewhere said it sounded like Timbaland had a hand in the intro, and I have to agree: lots of handclaps, almost flamenco-esque in nature. The rather muted guitar sneaks up on you, the bass attacks, along with the swooshing keyboards. You get a headrush, listening to this thing via the cans. Mr. Yorke sounds tortured, as ever. No sense trying to contemplate the lyrics here, but that’s not the point, is it?

2. Bodysnatchers: Kicking out the jams to a joint about alienation. It’s punky, feverish, and will leave you twitching for more…which then leads you to..

3. Nude: An ethereal, trip-hop piece of lightness. Gorgeously orchestrated, contrasting with the loved-up, yet almost rather bitter lyrics (contradictory, no?). The multi-part vocals at the end mixing in with the strings is to die for.

4. Weird Fishes/Appeggi: Mellow picking and nervous drumming, and, initially, some of the most romantic lyrics on the CD, until you get to:

“I get eaten by the worms
Weird fishes
Get towed by the worms

Weird fishes”

5. All I Need: This is, hands down, my favorite track on the “CD”. It mixes instruments that, initially, don’t sound great together, but, eventually gel into a mass of swirling, urgent lusciousness. The imagery provided by Mr. Yorke is kinda rough in the beginning (”I’m an animal/Trapped in your hot car” - YIKES!). Again, it’s part of the charm.

6. Faust Arp: This number is short and, I suppose, Radiohead’s answer to “Eleanor Rigby”. Actually, it’s a little better than “Eleanor Rigby”, with plenty more chord changes, and such.

7. Reckoner: Some R-heads will probably kill me for this, but this is probably the most pedestrian track on the CD. It just seems to go on for a bit. The strings in the middle add a nice touch, tho’.

8. House of Cards: I’ve read other bloggers give their take on this song as being in an R.Kelly/Luther Vandross kinda groove. I wouldn’t go that far to describe it. It’s more like Jose Gonzales/Joseph Arthur/Darien Jurado and a whole lotta reverb. Again, more romance (or maybe anti?).

9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place: If I have to compare this song, or the intro of it, with one other Radiohead track that I know of, it would have to be “Paranoid Android”. Otherwise, I love the frenetic pace of this club scene that I know all too well…

10. Videotape: Thom Yorke ruminates on dying among a bunch of swirling, circling keyboards. NICE!

So, in the end, does this “CD” deserve the insta-accolades it’s gotten? Well, maybe not, but at least 1/2 the CD has gotten my attention, and, I’m sure, with a few more “plays” the rest will catch up, as well. In the meantime, rather than calling it the greatest CD of all time, or even the greatest CD of the year, let’s call it the greatest CD of the last half of the year and be done with it.

With all that done, a few more comments:

A lot of these folks bought this CD less because of the music, and more to make a statement. The last time anyone’s purchased a CD for a band’s cause, it was to help the Dixie Chicks say “Fuck You” to Bush, the Bush-bots and the rednecks. Whether this will help Radiohead do the same for the record industry remains to be seen. I’ll admit I’m usually someone who wants to help a musician’s right to speak and make their money any way they please, whether I’m a fan or not. I will probably tell you right now, while I liked “Taking the Long Way Home”, it’s stuck in the depths of my hard drive, while I take out my downloaded Radiohead live tracks for a spin more often. So, frankly, I’ll probably be feeling these guys a lot more, than the girls. But hey! If we can get Natalie Maines and Thom Yorke together on a duet about, say, global warming or whatnot, that’d be too perfect!

Also, the concept of the downloadable mp3 album - it’s SOOOOOOOOO 1999! In fact, your average indie musician has been selling/(almost) giving away MP3 albums almost as long as Radiohead has been around. The only reason these guys can do it now is because they’ve got no record contract. So they CAN! There is/was no outmoded business model to stop them from doing so.

There was a reason why AllofMp3.com was so popular.

In the end, it’s all about giving back to the artist what the artist gives you. Even if it’s only pennies on the dollar, it still would have been more than what s/he would have been provided by a big, fat conglomerate who’s time is waning, or has waned, but just won’t cop to it, just yet.

And if it’s free, so much the better. At least the artist had a say in the matter.

And as for the practicality of Radiohead’s business model as the approach to the marketing, selling and distribution of the MP3 “album”? Well, this guy said it much better than I ever could.