Radiohead - The King of Limbs (v. New Thom Yorke solo album out!)

[Phoenix87x]

I still very much like the band, but TKOL killed off a lot of my interest in the band. Don't get me wrong, I thought the album was fine, and had some good songs, but the direction they have been heading lately just feels kinda boring to me.

This right here.

TKOL is the only Radiohead album that I actively dislike. With the exception of Codex, I find it to be uninspired, tame and feeling like it was phoned in. I remember being very let down when it came out.

On the contrary, I loved In Rainbows and felt like it was a very refined, satisfying and accessible version of the "new" radiohead. Post OK computer that is.

And as far as Kid A is concerned, I consider that to be my favorite album ever made.

[Kotowboy]

I don't even think Kid A is as good as Ok Computer - which isn't even my fave album by them.

[orcus116]

You're a The Bends then OK Computer guy like me I take it.

[Kotowboy]

You're a The Bends then OK Computer guy like me I take it.

I basically like the first 3 albums only and i accept Kid A.

[NotePad]

I have odd tastes. I'v realized this, though the help of internet forums. I just cannot get into OK Computer. There's a couple song i'm somewhat fond of, like Airbag and Paranoid Android. But mostly it's just......I like their more 'unconvential' material. OK Computer is more traditional rock.

Don't burn me yet!!!! I know it's not REALLY traditional rock music. But for Radiohead i'd say it is. Nothing wrong with that either. I'm just a much bigger fan of stuff like Kid A, TKoL etc. I liked their experimentation with electronic music and synths etc. But from what i hear and read it seems for many that Amnesiac was one too many albums in that style. It's cool Yorke went and did The Eraser cuz I love the style especially with what he did on Eraser.  And to mix the play-doh a bit more, i see a parallel between The Eraser and Puscifer ;p (wasn't the second puscifer album just sooooo much better then the first? OK I'll stop with that!!! don't answer.)

[Outcrier]

I prefer post-OK Computer Radiohead too but all their albums have many songs i really like anyway...my least favorites would be The Bends and Amnesiac (the latter has some great B sides though).

[TioJorge]

I'm with ya, Note. I absolutely love anything from Kid A forward, and think that OKC is pretty great in some tracks but for the most part can't identify with it or get into a groove of the album nearly as much as the 'newer' albums. HttT will probably be my favorite Radiohead album till kingdom come; it's just got so many amazing things going for it and it's so expansive, combining the best of the rock and the electronic. But I really hardly ever listen to PH or TB anymore; I recognize what they did for the music world and Radiohead in particular, and there's a few tracks on each album that I really love, but overall can't get into them.

I'm definitely more of a fan of the elctronic-based side of Yorke's work though. I really like The Eraser still and am completely head over heels with Atoms For Peace. As opposed to most others seemingly detesting it, I'm on the opposite end and can't get enough; I was blown away by how addicted I was to TKOL when it first released. I also concur with the ones that have said that From The Basement is a fantastic version, though I wouldn't call it definitive. I'm almost willing to though, given that it has Staircase on it...and that's one of my favorite songs in the past decade; it's really beautiful.

I'd love a follow up album in some years to come. It sounded like the guys wanted a break and that IR took a lot out of them. I remember Yorke saying that they probably won't do something like that again for the rest of their career, and I'm fine with that. I'd like something more concise and to the point. I love IR, but not nearly as much as the rest of the foaming-at-the-mouth zealots. In the end I'd just like to hear whatever the guys churn out next. For the moment though I'm thoroughly enjoying Yorke's solo work.

[Outcrier]

What you guys think of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl0Xb6XFVhY (1:20 onwards)

[TioJorge]

Minimalistic, but I like it. I'm not sure about an entire song, but if it was expanded and blended into something more, that could be super sexy. Definitely has a Feral vibe to it, which is one of my favorite tracks off TKOL.

 

[Outcrier]

Yeah, if it doesn't just repeat till eternity, they could make something very cool from it (Radiohead or Atoms)

[KevShmev]

It still cannot be understated just how special the In Rainbows album and tour both were.  The album is, IMO, their best and one of my all-time favorites, and the tour was just one beastly set list after another.  I'm so glad I was a fan at the time to be able to enjoy it all.

[ariich]

It still cannot be understated just how special the In Rainbows album and tour both were.  The album is, IMO, their best and one of my all-time favorites, and the tour was just one beastly set list after another.  I'm so glad I was a fan at the time to be able to enjoy it all.

I still prefer OK Computer, but I'd put In Rainbows as my number two.

[NotePad]

I'm surprisd how highly In Rainbows is thought of. I take it most fans put it up there with OK Cumputer. I like it more then ok computer, much more. But I also don't think its as amazing as most seem to feel it is. IMO their best albums are Kid A and TKoL. These are very impressive recordings.

[The King in Crimson]

I think In Rainbows is incredibly boring. I just can't get into it.

I love like half of Kid A while the other half is merely ok. But man those tracks I love are just great.

[Outcrier]

I'm surprisd how highly In Rainbows is thought of. I take it most fans put it up there with OK Cumputer. I like it more then ok computer, much more. But I also don't think its as amazing as most seem to feel it is. IMO their best albums are Kid A and TKoL. These are very impressive recordings.

Of the 10 tracks,in the least, 6 are classics so it's not surprising it is hailed has one of their best albums...personally, it is their most consistently enjoyable album (o rly).
You never heard The Daily Mail or Staircase (AKA the two most praised songs of the TKoL sessions)? If not, hear them ASAP.

[KevShmev]

I still prefer OK Computer, but I'd put In Rainbows as my number two.

Both are great enough that I cannot argue with anyone preferring one over the other. 

I love like half of Kid A while the other half is merely ok. But man those tracks I love are just great.

Kid A is the classic example of a well-flowing album that has certain songs that must be taken in context. 

For example, isolated on its own, Treefingers doesn't really stand out, but on Kid A, when sandwiched in between the dreary How to Disappear Completely and Optimistic, where we finally hear a gritty electric guitar lead, it is absolutely perfect, essentially acting as a bridge between the two album "sides."

Same thing with In Limbo (which I personally love on its own), as it is a great comedown after Optimistic and a great set-up for the electronic-driven Idioteque.  The fact that they could do those three songs in a row, ones that all sound completely different, and yet have them flow so seamlessly, is pretty damn great, if you ask me.

[Zantera]

I actually listened to Kid A yesterday, probably the first time in a year or two, been a really long time. It still holds up well, and apart from Everything in its Right Place being a favorite, I gotta say that Optimistic+In Limbo is probably my favorite song combo on the album. Love both tracks. I might also be in the slightly controversial camp of holding Amnesiac on the same level as Kid A, maybe even a liiiiittle bit higher.

[Outcrier]

I think i prefer the B sides of Amnesiac over the actual album but i like to mix them and make my own "perfect imo Amnesiac" 

[adace]

Amnesiac took quite a while to grow on me but now I like it almost as much as Kid A.

[KevShmev]

There is no way I can say that.  Amnesiac has some great stuff, but it also has some songs that are just okay.  Meanwhile, Kid A is just stellar from start to finish. 

Some of those Amnesiac b-sides are definitely pretty great, though.  My favorites are Cuttooth and The Amazing Sounds of Orgy.

[Kotowboy]

It defeats me how anyone can prefer a band that does a song like " Revolving Doors " to a band that does a song like " Black Star " or " Fake Plastic Trees "

[TioJorge]

I suppose you don't understand opinions and personal taste then...

Tough life, bro.

[Kotowboy]

I suppose you don't understand opinions and personal taste then...

Tough life, bro.

Obviously people have different tastes. But i'd like to know why you personally prefer Amnesiac Radiohead to Bends / Ok Computer Radiohead.

 

[TioJorge]

Eh...that's like asking to describe why I like my favorite food over my least favorite...except not as profound. I connect to it more...I enjoy the melodies and tone and groove of songs from TKOL/Amnesiac (even though in years they're far apart...I find Amnesiac and TKOL have more in common than say, IR and TKOL). Yes, they're simplistic, electronic, and at times repeating evermore...that to me is not a negative and it isn't something I view as, "He used a computer to create that, so it's worse". I just listen to it and I like it more. I'm not sure how I can explain that..

Lyrics are a hit or miss with me, as well. Sometimes, they're a huge part of the song and I care greatly for them; other times, I couldn't give a shit less what the singer is saying if I like the beat and melody enough. In the case of Amnesiac, songs like 'Sardines' and 'I Might Be Wrong' connect with me lyrically, but I also love the entrancing, hypnotic beat to them. I'm big on the whole psychedelic side of music, which is also why I prefer the first few albums of Porcupine Tree to the newer, rock-oriented music of theirs. The zany, out of the box stuff simply 'speaks' to me more.

That's the best I can explain it... Which I know wasn't very well but...again...it'd be like me asking you why you don't like TKOL and love Bends (or why you like your favorite food and hate whatever you can't stand to eat). I mean I've read enough of your posts to know a bit of the reason, but these aren't facts we're stating here...it's very personal and intrinsic and almost impossible to convey to another. Like me asking you to describe what the color 'red' is to you...we both know what 'red' is, but it's completely and utterly useless to attempt to describe it to one another because our 'red' may be different without us even knowing. I mean, I know I'm getting into something completely different here, but it's very close...we all hear things differently in terms of how our mind connects to it and enjoys certain sounds more than others. I like the sound of 'Feral' much more than I do than 'Fake Plastic Trees' (and yet I absolutely adore 'Bullet Proof' over almost anything else they've created). I will never be able to accurately explain that to you in a way that you'd understand because clearly you aren't 'hearing' what I am... I guess...  I dunno man... I'm an ass guy.

[Kotowboy]

Yeah - for me - I find absolutely zero in Amnesiac to hang on to. There's just no "in" for me.

A song like Planet Telex is just so much better to me than a song like "revolving Doors".

It's not just because of the minimalism . I really like " Everything in it's right place ".

And it's not that i'm against electronic music. I like some aphex twin and squarepusher.

Planet Telex is just big and wide and expansive and is dripping with melody and those big chords.

A song like revolving doors to me is just that odd static sound on a repeat and a robotic voice. I can't find anything to hang on to -

- emotionally or melodically & it doesn't really swing or groove as a song to me x

[TioJorge]

Well, you seem to be latched onto Revolving Doors. I actually don't like RD that much either. On my list of favorite Radiohead songs, it wouldn't be in the top 20. I wasn't really referring to that song, but used it to relate to the more electronic side of Radiohead. If you were just talking about that song specifically then I agree, it's pretty mundane. It's just so personal...even though RD has the same quality of a song like Feral, I love Feral and really don't like RD all that much. I suppose I'm all over the place. Which is one of the many reasons why I refuse to do any type of 'top whatever' anymore...er...despite saying that RD wouldn't be in my top 20 just now...I.....um.... (I actually meant it just isn't one of the songs I'd identify with or like that much lolz)

[Kotowboy]

Mainly because when I first listened to Amnesiac when it came out - RD was a huge WTF moment for me - someone who heard songs off the Bends on the radio and thinking it was fantastic and ended up buying the CD.

I didn't *mind* KID A  - I even bought the cd single of Pyramid Song. But RD was a huge WTF that it just nullified any interest I had in that album stone dead.

I'm a little hazy but I seem to remember HTTT was a little more of a rock band arrangement but I haven't really bothered with them since Amnesiac.

[KevShmev]

How's this:

OK Computer = Kid A > The Bends > Amnesiac

Yep, that sounds about right, although I sometimes prefer one over the other when it comes to OKC and Kid A. 

Ignoring a band and dissing an album because of one 4-minute song seems rather crazy to me.

brb, throwing Falling into Infinity in the trash cause of You Not Me.

 

 

[TioJorge]

Hmm...well, if you're picturing most of the music being like RD, you should revisit them just to see how different it is. RD is definitely a one-off type of song in terms of length and what they did with it. I mean, even Fitter Happier, even though it's a 2 minutes long, is very similar in the electronic effect and very simplistic, but again a singular song that didn't really reflect the entirety of OK. But I can see how that could be a jarring moment. There's very few Radiohead songs that I just won't listen to on my own, but RD and FH are definitely in that category; I still don't actively hate them, but I don't get anything from them either.

HttT is definitely more Bends-feelings with a bit more of the electronics thrown in to accentuate the acoustics. Maybe you'll like it a bit more on a revisit...or maybe you'll dislike it just as much.  It's up in the air with me. I myself haven't listened to the entirety of Bends or Honey in a long while, but still like a track or two off each of them.

[Kotowboy]

Oh believe me - i've listened to Amnesiac in it's entirety plenty of times and my opinion of it never changes.

[TioJorge]

Well...that's that. 

[Nel]

Fitter Happier isn't a song, it's a soul-crushing, mood-killing despair hole that robs you of the will to live as it leaves you feeling like a worthless robot meat sack running in a hamster wheel.

And I love it.

[Outcrier]

It defeats me how anyone can prefer a band that does a song like " Revolving Doors " to a band that does a song like " Black Star " or " Fake Plastic Trees "

It defeats me how anyone can prefer a band that does a song like " Reckoner" to a band that does a song like " Fitter Happier "

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

You don't have to prefer one band over another, since they're both Radiohead.

[Outcrier]

I find Amnesiac and TKOL have more in common than say, IR and TKOL). Yes, they're simplistic, electronic, and at times repeating evermore...that to me is not a negative and it isn't something I view as, "He used a computer to create that, so it's worse". I just listen to it and I like it more. I'm not sure how I can explain that..

It's quite the contrary imo, it only shows what they can do...just as they can write great rock songs, they can write great electronic songs.
Proves that, songwriting being good, you can do a great song no matter the style/genre etc... (just like Ulver).