Untouchable

I am finally back to the reviewing game, and hopefully I can finish it off. I think my temporary stall came from the fact that these next few albums are serious business. Not to be taken on a whim or last minute. Anyway, I am back and ready to go on the top 10 albums.

But first I have to repost this video I got from Dooce. I love it too watch it over and over again. I think I am just obsessed with HD slow mo, but watch this whole video, its great the whole way through, and I really like the song. I would totally think this was the most awesome thing in the universe at age 10. In the age of discovery channel and animal planet, it can be easy to forget that the human being is the most graceful animal on the planet, hands down.



NUMBER 10: Radiohead "In Rainbows"- There are few absolutes in my music world. U2 is the best live band ever. Metal will never die. Hip Hop has the most terrible artists in all of the genre's of music. Country is boring unless you are in a truck or working outside. Rock music always sounds better when you are driving. Headphone listiens are mandatory to get a full acoustic experience. Led Zeppelin was better than the Beatles. Finally, Radiohead is the most under and over appreciated band in the last 20 years of music.

If you are a fan of indie music, then Radiohead is your Beatles. They created what is considered by most to be THE album of the 90's in 1998 with "OK Computer" (I liked "The Bends" just as much) and created a following of epic proportions while barely creating a blip on the landscape of pop music. Most people know the name Radiohead, but could not name a single song off the album. This only strengthened their fan base behind the camara shy band, who they themselves appeared to be happy in having the most talented band in the world all to themselves.

They still fly under the radar to this day, even though they created quite a stir in the industry by initially offering a lower quality version of the album for free off of the internet, and once again do not have a song on the top 40 charts even though their album is. And this is why they are over appreciated and under appreciated. They have some songs that are legends in the history of rock and roll and no one knows them. However, because they have a legend that is not widely recognized, they get away with duds that people refuse to criticize unless you also appreciate all the greatness that is Radiohead. They almost hold us all hostage with their talent because they are so good, that when their stuff doesn't sound pleasing to you, you question whether you really know music instead of just saying the song isn't good.

"In Rainbows" is a fine album, albeit a little short at only 10 tracks. The music world seems to be happy that Radiohead settled back down into a more Radiohead style rather than the experimental phases they went through on the past 2 albums. The tracks are all good and its always easy to slip into Thom's world of depression and longing. Clean quick soft electro drum taps, extended guitar strums, and light background howls of voice mark the return to Radiohead of old. Faust Arp and Reckoner are not terribly impressive for me, but then there's Bodysnatchers, All I Need, Jigsaw Falling into Place, and Weird Fishes to make up for those songs.

No one can quite spin a lyrical tale like Thom Yorke with his mix of fantacisim and aggression, he is the face of the band with his very common voice stretched into a beautiful voice of the ignored and misunderstood. "I'm in the middle of your picture, lying in the reeds" "Has the light gone out for you, cause the lights gone out for me, its the 21st century". His presence live and on video is always something that adds more to the great sound of Radiohead's music.

This album isn't The Bends or OK Computer, but its very good and its much more 1st listen enjoyable than the previous albums. Welcome back Radiohead or maybe goodbye.....I don't really know anymore who they are cause they keep changing except for the fact that they are probably the most influential band of the past 15 years. If you don't own OK Computer, you might as well not own any music.

Song Samples: Jigsaw Falling into Place, Bodysnatchers, All I Need
Amazon Page
Radiohead Website