this album is amazing

10/12/2007 9:25:18 PM

i don't know why but i really really really like reckoner

10/13/2007 1:18:31 AM

maybe because its awesome?

10/13/2007 1:22:32 AM

ya rly

10/13/2007 1:23:48 AM

jigsaw falling into place is the shit

10/13/2007 1:41:40 AM

why the fuck is this only 160kbps?

I can choose either that or paying ~$81 for the CD?

Honestly, the bitrate isn't a big deal because I'm not really a radiohead fan. I do want to support what they seem to be trying to do, which is giving the finger to the record labels. but this model won't work if they can't give us a better product than the RIAA for a lower price.

10/13/2007 7:37:45 AM

i remember when I was in college, we played 128kbps mp3s and we liked it

10/13/2007 7:52:53 AM

ha, me too, but I can afford nicer speakers now.

10/13/2007 9:52:25 AM

holy shit I tripped balls to this album last night

Pretty incredible. It's getting better every time I hear it.

10/13/2007 11:50:26 AM

only song that hasn't clicked yet is house of cards

10/13/2007 9:24:04 PM

I really like the album. It's no "OK Computer" but it's better than "Hail to the Thief"

10/13/2007 9:28:28 PM

it is still better than itunes quality. and this album is just what i expected a fucking solid radiohead album.

it's just a leak straight from the band that you can have for under a dollar if you want...you can get the cd next year.

10/13/2007 9:51:11 PM

Quote :

"only song that hasn't clicked yet is house of cards"

seriously

it's my least favorite song on there: I just can't dig it like the others

10/13/2007 9:59:44 PM

Bodysnatchers is the one that hasn't quite clicked yet for me.

I dare any band to try to top the 5-song successive brilliance that is Nude, Arpeggi, All I need, Faust Arp, and Reckoner

10/13/2007 11:37:42 PM

My friend obnoxiously pointed out that on "Reckoner," Thom sounds like Herbert from Family Guy. Now I hear it way too clearly ...

10/13/2007 11:40:59 PM

15 step and bodysnatcher are totally the new club bangers

10/14/2007 2:00:18 AM

^^ hehe... I can see it

10/14/2007 9:55:01 AM

Quote :

"only song that hasn't clicked yet is house of cards"

third!

10/14/2007 10:18:27 AM

^ I love house of cards.. it's nice and mellow

And bodysnatcher is my new gym anthem!

10/14/2007 3:22:31 PM

Dayum.... "House of Cards" is one of my favorites on the record, but not a lot of love here. I managed to keep myself from listening to it all weekend, but I intend on getting back into the record today.

10/15/2007 9:54:59 AM

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews...ad-in-rainbows/

Quote :

" Radiohead In Rainbows (n/a) US release date: 10 October 2007 UK release date: 10 October 2007 by Matthew Fiander Pop Matters Things Kept, Things Left Behind There are things to leave behind when approaching Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows. The first is the band’s well-documented release strategy. That they offered this album digitally, and gave fans the power to pay whatever they wanted to is a big thing for music as an industry. But, the album is out now, and that marketing plan has no bearing on what this album sounds like, or how good it is. We can also leave behind your favorite Radiohead album—in particular, the groundbreaking OK Computer and Kid A—because well, this isn’t it. But a band’s new album should not have to carry baggage just because the band has already made its masterpiece (or masterpieces). There are, however, things to keep going into In Rainbows, things that could really serve well the way you hear the record. The first thing to hold onto is the band’s last album, Hail to the Thief (more on this later), and the second is the sense of discovery that a Radiohead album used to invite, or even demand, before Thief and Yorke’s decent but predictable The Eraser came along. If you can let the band’s past fall away while you listen to In Rainbows you will find it has its own batch of surprises and eccentricities, making a band that seemed like it’d done all it could sound fresh again. Radiohead themselves seem to be ready to move on during opener “Step 15”. The song starts in well-traveled Radiohead territory—a heavy drum loop bumps and chugs along while Yorke’s trademark whine waxes paranoid, singing “First you reel me out and then you cut the string”. Johnny Greenwood layers some surges of static over all of that and the formula is set. That is, until a surprisingly docile, sliding guitar riff comes in, setting a contrast that carries through the entire album, where everything calm turns out to be decidedly not, and everything anarchic is more childlike and giddy than sinister. As the song pushes on, a battle arises as drummer Phil Selway takes on the drum loops, playing fast and precise as ever, and eventually he wins out. He finishes the song, and the rest of the record rests on his sturdy shoulders. Perhaps more than anything, In Rainbows succeeds at showing Selway’s talent, opting for his energetic live drumming over machines for much of the record. And the results show the band going back to being, well, a band. In Rainbows sounds more organic than perhaps any of its predecessors, and the band is full of energy and even seem to be having fun. This is the biggest contrast between Rainbows and Hail to the Thief. To go back and hear Thief now is to hear a band that sounds tired and frustrated. Before that, every album sounded like the band was writhing in a straightjacket, pulling at their restraints, stretching seams, screaming at the top of their lungs. But there’s something deflated about Thief, even in its best moments. The band sounded like they’d stopped fighting, like they were looking down at the straightjacket, shaking their head, bitching about it under their breath—but the writhing was over. But maybe they were just playing possum. On In Rainbows, Radiohead has burst out of the jacket and are running wild down the street, all extended sleeves and flying buckles. “15 Steps” and its follow up “Bodysnatchers” are full of skin-shedding intensity. “Do the lights go out for you? Because the lights go out for me. It is the 21st century,” Yorke wails on “Bodysnatchers”, showing that his fear of control is still very much alive. But here he sounds like he’s fighting back again, maybe with the most verve he’s ever had, and with Greenwood’s crunchy guitars and climbing riffs the song makes for the perfect zombie nightmare. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” paints a deep-water scene with lilting, layered guitars over Selway’s tide-steady beat, and Yorke sings about following the only light he can see in the darkness, and it becomes clear that is the one thing you do not want to do. “Reckoner” is a mish-mash of percussion playing down the hall from everything else in the track, and Yorke’s falsetto is at its most sublime as it links up seamlessly with distant organs. Vocals rise and multiply only to fall away before building up again. It’s a fragile song, and perhaps all the more powerful for avoiding the giant build-up/pay-off construction of older tunes like “Exit Music (For a Film)”. And in the end, what distinguishes In Rainbows from other Radiohead albums is the confidence the band exudes here. They always seemed to know what they were doing in studio, but here there is very little of the self-conscious baggage that came with other records. And while that self-consciousness may have added charm or energy to other albums, that isn’t something a band can sustain over a career as long as Radiohead’s, and they’ve pushed past that into a place where their music can be truly subtle. Greenwood’s tech-head noodling is kept to a minimum here, but when its used it is used to perfection. On closer “Videotape”, most of the track is Yorke solo on piano, before Selway offers some faint percussion in the background. The song is beautiful in the way much of Yorke’s balladry can be, but soon Selway’s established a record-skip beat that eventually yields to Greenwood’s drum loop (giving us a reversal of the move from machine to man in “15 Steps"), which sounds like its trying to speed past the rest of the track. The results are jarring, and the song becomes something far scarier than it was when it began. Similarly, “House of Cards” seems benign at first, with its “Girl From Ipanima” guitar sliding and Selway’s rim taps. But the echo on Yorke’s vocals gets stronger, and the words start to run together, and some synthesized string lines come in and when Yorke sings “Forget about your house of cards,” it is suddenly a line bogged down with emotion, an emotion achieved without Yorke’s top-of-his-lungs wailing or Greenwood snapping his wrist on his pickguard. Everything here seems to work. The organ-pulsed “Nude” sounds like R&B crooning. “Faust Arp“‘s just-off beat, acoustic through-the-teeth fury serves as a brilliant hinge between the sweet/obsessive pining of “All I Need” and the frenetic pots ‘n’ pans of “Reckoner”. “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” may be the most classic sounding Radiohead track, building with synchopated verses to Yorke’s inevitable freakout, but they let the acoustic guitars do the work here, instead of losing them in a swirl of noise as they go. And the album as a whole is concise and focused. The ten tracks move together beautifully without a wasted moment to be found. When you get to “Videotape” and you hear Yorke singing “When I get to the pearly gates...”, he sounds wound down, but not out of energy. He’s in the middle of the street, in his broken straightjacket, tired from running and staring around in disbelief at the space around him, sure that he’ll be caught again by the faceless thing that held him, sure that he better soak in all this freedom while he can. In Rainbows could have been hamstrung by the hype surrounding its marketing. It could have gotten sucked into the energy-sapping vibe of Hail to the Thief. It could have indulged once again in blip-happy noise and come off as bloated and heavy. Instead, Radiohead took their time and got back to being a band, and in doing so they have put out what could be their most consistent record yet (excluding, perhaps, whatever your favorite Radiohead record is). Because the album was available so immediately, it seems easy—and the internet and all its blogs and forums certainly encourages this—to make a quick snap-judgment. Quickness of response, especially related to a release as big as this one, is almost more valued now than thoughtful criticism. As a result, it is easy to pile on a band that gives us art that isn’t immediately digestible. Because, no matter how quick it comes to us, In Rainbows is still art, and still intricate. But once you get in, and Radiohead invites us in here more than any other time in its career, the album proves itself to be what we all knew Radiohead couldn’t do make again: a masterpiece. RATING: 9/10— 15 October 2007 9 - Very Nearly Perfect. A superlative example of music of any form, a pinnacle of an artist's achievement, and something that all music lovers should hear."

10/15/2007 10:06:58 AM

pitchfork finally reviewed it

they gave them 13 radioheads out of 10 radioheads

[Edited on October 15, 2007 at 10:37 AM. Reason : +]

10/15/2007 10:36:12 AM

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/46356-in-rainbows

haha, 9.3 from Pitchfork, but kind of a weak review to be honest.

10/15/2007 10:47:30 AM

i've noticed that a good many pitchfork review usually spends 3 out of 5 paragraphs not even talking about music

10/15/2007 12:08:23 PM

Let me preface this by saying that I used to be the biggest Radiohead on the planet....but have seen this band slowly decline since Kid A into very weird experimental arty territory with little heed paid to strong melodies and compositions that are memorable and fun to listen to. It's been frustrating to see their talent get so painfully umm....ARTY. As well as their t-shirts costing nearly 40 bucks, but that's a seperate argument.

But I tried this record and it was to my great suprise that wow, this is good!!! I mean really good. I heard 'reckoner' and sat there dumbfounded at just how great of an effort this was. Kudos to them, and I'm looking forward to being a more active 'fan' again.

10/15/2007 12:15:36 PM

Quote :

"Let me preface this by saying that I used to be the biggest Radiohead on the planet....but have seen this band slowly decline since Kid A into very weird experimental arty territory with little heed paid to strong melodies and compositions that are memorable and fun to listen to. It's been frustrating to see their talent get so painfully umm....ARTY. As well as their t-shirts costing nearly 40 bucks, but that's a seperate argument."

10/15/2007 12:57:31 PM

translation: "i was really obsessed with that "creep" song and i listened to it alllllll the time back in the day"

10/15/2007 12:59:10 PM

no, nice try but that's untrue. Pablo Honey of their first three record was my least favorite by far. And Creep is like a middle of the road tune for me, man. Just an accessible even verse, heavy chorus romper to get them attention. Big deal. Plus, I'd rather listen to Hail to the Thief than Pablo Honey. I felt Radiohead peaked with Bends - OK Computer. Actually loved Airbag/How am I Driving? EP alot too. Those three were the ones for me.

And you can twirl your eyes all you want at the t-shirt comment but when you spend a shitload of money to go drive forever to go see them at DC, and they flake out b/c of a little bit of rain / and were late to the show, fans had a hard time getting refund, and t-shirts were 39 bucks out there and that's all you got - well, you don't feel bad for Radiohead's fucking financials...

[Edited on October 15, 2007 at 1:10 PM. Reason : balls]

10/15/2007 1:09:55 PM

Quote :

"to go drive forever to go see them at DC, and they flake out b/c of a little bit of rain / and were late to the show, fans had a hard time getting refund, "

1) I had no trouble getting a refund
2) lightning struck across the street from the park causing a damn fire that was visible from the venue
3) the stage setup was sinking
4) lightning struck where people would have been shortly after they had been evacuated from the field
5) yes it sucked to have gone all that way to not see a show, but you can hardly blame radiohead for that

10/15/2007 1:16:18 PM

I HATE ARTY MUSICS

10/15/2007 1:17:54 PM

Quote :

""to go drive forever to go see them at DC, and they flake out b/c of a little bit of rain / and were late to the show, fans had a hard time getting refund, ""

I went to the Bull Run show as well... I had tickets for both nights and the only one I couldn't get a refund for was the Saturday show that I scalped, which is common sense.

The "little bit of rain" actually ended up being about a foot and a half of standing water after the field flooded which is why the Saturday show had to be canceled despite it being sunny again.

I have no idea WTF you're talking about, and I don't think you do either.

[Edited on October 15, 2007 at 1:29 PM. Reason : .]

10/15/2007 1:28:24 PM

You seemed to derive a better experience from that show than I did. At least I heard a sound check, but I'll pass on the gnarly W.A.S.T.E of 40$ for a shirt.

And i've never seen such a thread of radiohead jock sniffers! Sorry I even posted a COMPLIMENT to the band in here. I'll avoid that in the future. lol.

10/15/2007 1:33:04 PM

Yeah, I was at Bull Run... that's still an open sore. The worst part of all was having to listen to the shitty opener in the blistering hot sun... and then when it was time for Radiohead to come out, there was a torrential down-pour.

10/15/2007 1:35:48 PM

i had tix to bull run...got my money back

what was even worse was when they came back by to maryland whatever venue it was that had them (like a city park or some shit) overbooked the hell out of it, caused a logjam of traffic and started the dang show at like 6pm... resulting in a huge portion of the show being missed by fans

10/15/2007 1:44:25 PM

i still look back on the bull run weekend as one of my most disappointing, but one of the most memorable of my college life. we had been broken down so much that we just laughed a LOT the rest of the weekend. it ended up being a great time. i remember the mess of leaving bull run much more than seeing radiohead in the sterile camden setting a couple years later.

[Edited on October 15, 2007 at 1:59 PM. Reason : .]

10/15/2007 1:58:47 PM

^ yeah, agreed. My friends and I made the most out of the weekend and ended up having an experience that we'll always remember.

10/15/2007 2:09:29 PM

Article about the album's pay-what-you-want strategy. In short: 1/3 of the first million people to purchase paid $0. The average price paid over all (so far) is $8. Not bad. I hope they continue this and other bands adopt it as well, provided they are clear of a contract.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071015/OPINION03/710150323/1039/OPINION03

10/15/2007 5:03:04 PM

I know I said I wouldnt be back b/c you guys are insane for all things Radiohead.

But this album is really fucking good, and the more I listen to it the more impressed I am. The quality of the music and the songwriting is fan-fucking tastic. Also the production and sound of it is through the roof. Can't get enough of it.

Has anyone heard the bonus/2nd disc yet? If it's this good I'm flippin out

10/16/2007 9:18:55 PM

http://ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/radiohead_make_10_million_from_in_rainbows.html

some amateur calculating deduces that radiohead made about 10mil so far

10/16/2007 9:40:31 PM

I got the album on wednesday, but held off listening til saturday night. I was stoned out of my mind and had my xbox playing the album from start to finish with the visualizer filling the big screen.

needless to say it was a good experience.

and i'm loving every bit of the album, nothing on it i haven't liked

10/17/2007 2:46:05 AM

Okay.. one question.

"Videotape" contains the line:

Quote :

"When I'm at the pearly gates, This'll be on my videotape, My videotape When Mephistopheles is just beneath And he's reaching up to grab me "

So, Mephistopheles is a devil in the Faust legend.

Then, we have a song named "Faust Arp" (that I have not even begun to try to assemble the lyrics too). I'm sure there's no coincidence in two Faust references on one album. Has anyone noticed any others?


edited to add the Faust Arp lyircs... or close to them

Quote :

"One two three four Wakey wakey rise and shine it's on again, off again, on again watch me fall like dominos in pretty patterns Fingers in the blackbird pie im tingling tingling tingling it's what you feel now what you ought to, what you ought to reasonable and sensible dead from the neck up because im stuffed, stuffed, stuffed we thought you had it in you but no, no, no for no real reason Squeeze the tubes and empty bottles take a bow take a bow take a bow it's what you feel now what you ought to what you ought to an elephant thats in the room is tumbling tumbling tumbling in duplicate and duplicate plastic bags and duplicate and triplicate dead from the neck up guess im stuffed, stuffed, stuffed we thought you had it in you but no, no, no exactly where do you get off Is enough is enough is enough I love you but enough is enough, enough a last stop There's no real reason you'll go to hell for our fathers you got melted to butter"

[Edited on October 17, 2007 at 3:36 PM. Reason : ETA Faust Arp Lyrics for comparison]

10/17/2007 3:25:57 PM

i'm wondering why the lyrics to nude were shortened

all the lyrics i looked up for the song had this as a verse

"She stands stark naked
And she beckons you to bed
Don't go, you'll only want
To come back again"

but i don't hear that in the song at all, guess he didn't like those lyrics anymore

10/17/2007 3:45:03 PM

The lyrics for Nude have been changing as much as the musical instruments used in the song.
That line also read at some point:
"she kisses you with tongue and pulls you to the bed
don't go you'll only want to come back again"

10/17/2007 3:54:13 PM

better rap: faust arp or a wolf at the door?

10/18/2007 12:56:06 AM

wolf at the door for sure, not even close if you ask me.

dance you fucker dance you fucker

although i haven't listened to in rainbows all that much, i wouldn't be surprised if my opinion was different in two weeks.



so where do you people rank this among their albums? too early to say(most likely)?

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 3:13 AM. Reason : fjsd]

10/18/2007 3:00:14 AM

For me it's 1. ok computer, 2. bends, 3. in rainbows.

10/18/2007 7:48:26 AM

after listening several more times through the album, i put this 4th on my list:

OK Computer
The Bends
Kid A
In Rainbows
others

personally for me a lot of the songs just have nothing going on. I enjoy their minimalist approach and still being able to produce an enjoyable song often on this album, but some of the songs the arrangements seem like tissue paper barely held together by the fact that Thom has a hypnotic voice and creative vocal melodies. Just seems to lack a lot of musical character in several places.

7.5/10 (because an 8 seemed to high but 7 sounded too low )

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 10:38 AM. Reason : ]

10/18/2007 10:30:57 AM

how anyone could put the bends above kid a is beyond me

10/18/2007 11:16:21 AM

Quote :

"how anyone could put the bends above kid a is beyond me"

10/18/2007 11:17:43 AM

i think part of it is the fact that it was the first radiohead album i heard. Theres always something about that first album you hear from a good band that turns you on to them. I guess the feeling gets revisited everytime you listen to it. OK Computer is far and away my favorite album of theirs and I like Kid A a lot too..i dono theres just something in The Bends that I love. like revisiting 6am middle school busrides with my snapple cd booklet containing deftones-adrenaline, SP - siamese dream, radiohead - the bends, minor threat - discog, Tool -Ænima and a few others on any given day heh

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 11:23 AM. Reason : ]

10/18/2007 11:20:57 AM