NOTE: There has been no album art revealed yet for this album, so I'm using this. It's Funny. LOL!! >:~D
So...alright. After over 4 years, Radiohead (AKA The Greatest Band of All Time) have released a new album. They've been working on it for over 2 years and many people (myself included) thought it wouldn't see the light of day until next spring. But Radiohead has always been full of surprises, and not even 2 weeks ago, Jonny Greenwood let the world know that the album would actually be released independently on Oct. 10 through their InRainbows website. Of course, fans went apeshit (in a good way). But that wasn't the big news. The big news was that fans could pay whatever they wanted. I chose to pay nothing, because I know I'm going to buy it once it's released in stores anyways.
Of course, "The Man" has been freaking out since the news. And that's what makes Radiohead so cool (high five)
So anyways, in all the hubbub, people seem to forget the most importnat thing- Radiohead is releasing their first new album in over 4 years. So, the only real question is- how is it? I'll tell you...
It's good. It's really good. I hate to jump the gun, because I haven't heard this one nearly as much as I have the others, but I'm gonna say it's the best since OK Computer. Months before it was released, the band had somewhat compared the two albums. I thought this was a bit of a cop out. OK Computer is considered by more than a few people to be the best album ever made, and comparing their new one to their best one seemed like they were trying to make it sound better than it actually is. And they were, a bit. In Rainbows isn't as good as OK Computer, let's get that straight right now. But it is better than Hail to the Thief and possibly better than Kid A and Amnesiac. I'm going to give it a few more listens to really let it sink in before I go and say something like it's better than either of those 2 albums. Even though I just did a second ago.
But I can understand why they compared it to OK Computer now. It has actual songs, for one thing. With melodies and guitars and strings and stuff. These guys have toned down the experimentations a lot. Some people will love that. I liked the experimentations myself. But whatever.
One thing is for sure- this is the most relaxed and self-assured the band has ever sounded. "House of Cards" is by far the most mellow song these guys have ever done. It's like, easy listening. It's incredible to think this is the same band that once wrote songs like "Paranoid Android" listening to that song. It's the same guy, but he sounds like a whole new person. He almost sounds romantic in songs like "All I Need" and "House of Cards", and Thom Yorke is no fucking romantic. Like I said, he almost sounds like a whole new person.
Speaking of whole new, check out "Nude". It's a song that dates back to the mid 90's, for fuck's sake. I've heard a few different versions of it, and I was terrified they'd fuck it up when they finally decided to record it. I was wrong. It turned out better than we had any right to expect. But really, the whole album did. "Reckoner" is completely different, but I like this version better. Same with "Jigsaw Falling Into Place", which has been slowed down so much I wasn't sure if I had got the right song or not. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" is a song I never wanted messed with, and when I heard this version I wasn't sure if I liked it. But I have to admit now, this new version is better. And like most of the songs, it sounds much more upbeat then previous versions. There isn't a bad song on here and it's been years since you could say that about a Radiohead record. And for the record, "All I Need" is the song of the year. I'll pay the 15 bucks just for this song alone. And as we all know, Radiohead usually saves the best (or the near-best) for last, and "Videotape" is no execption. It kinds of reminds me of "Motion Picture Soundtrack", and if you don't know that song then you need to get the fuck off my site. Yorke finishes the album by singing "Today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen", and I think that sums up the New Radiohead. I don't want to sound gay or stupid or whatever, but I've been following this band for my entire adult life and through most of my teen years, and it's just really nice to hear these guys sound cheerful for once.
I'm gonna give this a 9.5 for now. It may go up, it may go down. And if I may be so bold, I'm gonna call this one of the top 3 Radiohead records so far. Buy it when you get the chance.
Best songs- All I Need, Videotape, House of Cards
Oh, and get this- In Rainbows sold 1.2 million copies in one day. All off of one website. Who says they need a record contract? (But of course, I bet most of those people didn't pay a dime...wink wink)
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