OFF: Radiohead

[Jon Jarrett]

On Tue, 3 Oct 2000, K Henderson wrote:

> Doug P. queries...
>
> >Big question from me here ...
> >
> >SHOULD I BELIEVE THE HYPE?
> >
> >The latest issue of 'Spin' describes one of the songs on their new album as
> >a cross between "Silver Machine" and "Mother Sky".  Can I say anything but
> >"IF ONLY?"  I'm ignorant, I've never heard Radiohead, but I've heard tons
> >(and tons and tons) of hype.  And descriptions like the one I just
> >mentioned make me believe that, yeah, it's JUST hype.  Anyone wanna point
> >out the error of my ways?

        I think I know the one they must mean, and it is quite good. It's
the one that made me buy the album anyway. It's a fairly simple bass riff
(or possibly sample - an awful lot of the new album is showing more
post-production than original input) which gets stuff added onto it, first
synth and general guitar wafts and eventually a six-piece brass
section. It lasts about seven minutes and is thoroughly good. The rest of
the album, on one full listen, is very much like _OK Computer_'s
out-takes, which were in fact pretty good IF you liked the album. I'd say
the comparison to `Mother Sky' is fair but flattering. I don't see the one
to `Silver Machine' at all. The track in question is called `The National
Anthem'.

> Dunno about the new one.  I will refuse to purchase it.  And either
> Silver Machine or Mother Sky alone have more kinetic energy in them
> than all of OK Computer (the last one) combined, so I'm dubious about
> that description as well.

        Well, I rate _OK Computer_ very highly but I think you have to be
adolescing to really like it. I was when I got it, so that was all right.

> The main problem with Radiohead (apart from the dreariness of the music that
> wails on endlessly esp. through the second half of OK Computer) is the
> horrid whininess of the vocalist.  Yuck.  "Subterranean Homesick Alien" is
> the one salvagable track, although "Paranoid Android" is strong musically.
> The rest you can skip....and I do.

        I think Thom Yorke's vocals are lousy but on _OK_ he made the
absolute most of his capacity for expression, which is very high. The
previous albums and this new one however suffer from him only singing,
which he shouldn't be allowed to do. _OK_'s vocals are to me forgivable,
nay effective, as tone poetry but his basic singing is very thin and
sharp. On _OK_ I'd rate the first three tracks very highly, `Karma Police'
up with them and `Electioneering' is also very good. As I say though, I
think to get into the lyrics I think it does help to be a repressed
middle-class British adolescent, and I think I'm probably the only person
on BOC-L who was such when _OK_ came out. Both albums are lousy for my
mood so I use them carefully.

        I was impressed by ChrisW dismissing _OK_ as boring after trying
to get me to admit the worth of trip-hop however :-P
                                                     Jon


--
     Jon Jarrett (01223 514989)       jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk
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        "There's nothin' more dangerous than a wounded mosquito."