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

[KevShmev]

The Bends is definitely great.  I am not a big fan of "Bones," "My Iron Lung" or the title track, but the rest is aces.

[skydivingninja]

Wat.  The title track is one of the best on that album!

Of course that argument could be made for almost any song on that album.

[orcus116]

"My Iron Lung" is fantastic, what are you on about Kev.

[KevShmev]

I've always thought "The Bends" was one of their more alt rock-sounding songs, and I am not a big fan of alt rock.  I mean, I like the song, but I like most of the others on that CD better.

And actually, when redoing my Radiohead mp3 CD for my car this weekend, so I could add the new album, I had to make some cuts.  Before now, I was able to just throw everything from the studio albums on there, as well as some b-sides, but with the new songs and with me having reripped their entire discography in the highest quality possible, which takes up a bit more space, some had to be left out.  The new CD now consists of (track listed in reverse chronological order):

All of The King of Limbs
"These Are My Twisted Words"
All of In Rainbows
All of the In Rainbows bonus disc
All of Hail to the Thief except for "Backdrifts, "Go to Sleep," "We Suck Young Blood" and "Scatterbrain"
All of Amnesiac except for "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" and "Hunting Bears"
Five Amnesiac b-sides - "Cuttooth," "Fog," "Worrywort," "Fast Track" and "(The Amazing Sounds of) Orgy
All of Kid A
All of OK Computer except for "Fitter Happier"
Two OK Computer b-sides - "I Want None of This" and "How I Made My Millions"
Four songs from the Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP - "Pearly," "Meeting in the Aisle," "A Reminder" and "Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)"
Talk Show Host
All of The Bends except "Bones"
Three songs from the My Iron Lung EP - "The Trickster," "Lewis (Mistreated)" and "Permanent Daylight"

Nothing from Pablo Honey made the cut.

[TheVoxyn]

This is very close to becoming my favourite band. I've listened to nothing else for the past period and I'm still not close to being sick of it.

[orcus116]

My god "The National Anthem" still kicks all sorts of ass.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I'm listening to The King of Limbs for the first time now. Darn, I definitely did not expect this  but hey, I sense this is one of those big growers. Let's see how it works out.

[orcus116]

Man, Hail To The Thief is really solid but 3-4 tracks too long.

[KevShmev]

Yep.  Eliminate the songs I mentioned in my last post (the ones I didn't put on the CD for my car) and it would be perfect.  Not that any of those songs are bad, but all of the others are just much better.

[orcus116]

I'll agree with those. "We Suck Young Blood" is probably the one I'd leave off without even blinking.

[skydivingninja]

Man, Hail To The Thief is really solid but 3-4 tracks too long.

Yup, same opinion here.

[Gorille85]

I've just heard Lotus Flower so far, but I really like it! (the dance is awesome too)

[seasonsinthesky]

Man, Hail To The Thief is really solid but 3-4 tracks too long.

Yup, same opinion here.

i literally just posted that thought in an RH thread at another forum. it's still my favourite RH album, but i would've left off "Scatterbrain" and "A Wolf at the Door" (although the latter especially seems to be sacred to the fanbase, so i'm sure i'd take serious flames over that). regardless, it's just a couple of tracks that need paring down to cut the fat.

[KevShmev]

"Myxomatosis" seems to be a love or hate song, too, but I love that song to death.  It's easily one of my two or three favorites on Hail.

[orcus116]

Gonna have to listen to this new album again but I can't help but get the feeling that Radiohead has devolved into just Thom Yorke with a cheap Casio keyboard.

[Portrucci]

Listening to Amnesiac for the first time. Holy f*ck! This might be my favourite Radiohead album (dethroning Kid A). Great mix of tracks. Especially the combo of Pyramid Song --> Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors --> You And Whose Army? 

[Zantera]

Amnesiac is fantastic, easily the most underrated RH-album. 

[wjc]

Gonna have to listen to this new album again but I can't help but get the feeling that Radiohead has devolved into just Thom Yorke with a cheap Casio keyboard.

My theory is Phil Selway left so they replaced him with a 16-step drum machine randomised each song.

SELWAY IS THE NEW DRUMMER

[jag66]

Amnesiac is fantastic, easily the most underrated RH-album. 

It's good, just a little inconsistant for me.

Pyramid Song is favourite Radiohead song, and Like Spinning Plates and You and whose army? are awsome.
But morning bell/amnesiac, pulk pull and hunting bears? meh..

[Marvellous G]

My God, within two weeks of listening to them I've become completely obsessed with this band, they're climbing my all-time favourites list.

As for The King Of Limbs, I absolutely love it. It is a bit short for my liking, but that's much better than going the opposite route imo. It's just got such an appealing vibe throughout that it always demands a full listen anyway, so I don't feel too shortchanged. I love it, basically.

Also, in my first period of Radiohead addiction, my rankings would be:

1. Kid A
2. Ok Computer
3. In Rainbows
4. The King of Limbs
5. Amnesiac
6. The Bends
7. Hail To The Thief
8. Pablo Honey

But I haven't listened to 5-8 nearly enough yet to judge them fairly. Top 4 are all incredible though.

[ariich]

Ok so I've decided that the new album slots in to my rankings between Hail to the Thief and Kid A. So my updated rankings are:

1. OK Computer
2. In Rainbows
3. The Bends
4. Hail to the Thief
5. The King of Limbs
6. Kid A
7. Amnesiac
8. Pablo Honey

Although I have to be honest, I haven't listened to the bottom 2 in so long. I should really give them another listen sometime.

[KevShmev]

Gonna have to listen to this new album again but I can't help but get the feeling that Radiohead has devolved into just Thom Yorke with a cheap Casio keyboard.

 

My God, within two weeks of listening to them I've become completely obsessed with this band, they're climbing my all-time favourites list.

As for The King Of Limbs, I absolutely love it. It is a bit short for my liking, but that's much better than going the opposite route imo. It's just got such an appealing vibe throughout that it always demands a full listen anyway, so I don't feel too shortchanged. I love it, basically.

Glad to hear you are loving their music this much.

Agreed on the new album and its length.  Sure, it is short by modern standards, but you can tell that great detail was put into every song, so there are no forgettable songs, or as some would say, filler.  

[Perpetual Change]

That's seriously getting old. Stop.

Shit. Tell me about it.

Still haven't listened to this, though. Will stream it later.

I like Radiohead, but somehow they've never been a band that I just need to listen to immediately. If In Rainbows weren't free, I don't know if I would even have ever gotten around to purchasing it.

[ariich]

there are no forgettable songs, or as some would say, filler.  

Feral.

IMO.

[seasonsinthesky]

i don't know what possessed the band when they wrote "All I Need," but i'm pretty sure the ending is one of the most brilliant and moving bits of music ever made. grand, sweeping musical statement required!

[KevShmev]

there are no forgettable songs, or as some would say, filler.  

Feral.

IMO.

On its own, I could see "Feral" being somewhat forgettable, but in the context of the album, it works.  It is similar to "Treefingers" in that regard.

Context, man.  It's all about context.

i don't know what possessed the band when they wrote "All I Need," but i'm pretty sure the ending is one of the most brilliant and moving bits of music ever made. grand, sweeping musical statement required!

Absolutely.

As solid as the new record is, it does seem to be missing those "Holy shit, this is awesome" moments that were all over In Rainbows - the end of "All I Need"...the climax in "Jigsaw Falling into Place"...when the drums come back in following the middle section in "Reckoner"...the end of "15 Step...I could go on and on.

[Marvellous G]

Yeah, I know it's supposedly the most accessible anyway, but I'm really surprised at just how much In Rainbows has clicked on my two most recent listens. Just like Kev says, it's chock-full of great moments; when the guitar enters in 15 Step, the very end of Bodysnatchers, AND the very end of Nude, which is probably my favourite Radiohead moment so far.

Bonus awesome life moment: I'd been listening to In Rainbows all day and had all the tracks stuck in my head, specifically Jigsaw Falling Into Place. Then that night I was at a bar, playing the song over and over in my head, and the first song someone put on the jukebox was, yes, Jigsaw Falling Into Place. I practically eargasmed. COOL STORY ME

[orcus116]

Gonna have to listen to this new album again but I can't help but get the feeling that Radiohead has devolved into just Thom Yorke with a cheap Casio keyboard.

 

Oh come on, don't act like at least 6 out of the 8 songs weren't just electronic drum beats with some layered keyboard patches over them. There's almost no band element to this album.

[skydivingninja]

Bass grooves man, bass grooves.  So its at LEAST just Thom and Colin.

[orcus116]

Thom can play some bass, IIRC.

[skydivingninja]

Don't know, but speaking of bass, that last groove in "Optimistic" is amazing.  Heck, Kid A in general is just amazing.  Listening to it again right now.  Might put it above OK Computer at this rate...

[KevShmev]

Yeah, I know it's supposedly the most accessible anyway, but I'm really surprised at just how much In Rainbows has clicked on my two most recent listens. Just like Kev says, it's chock-full of great moments; when the guitar enters in 15 Step, the very end of Bodysnatchers, AND the very end of Nude, which is probably my favourite Radiohead moment so far.

Bonus awesome life moment: I'd been listening to In Rainbows all day and had all the tracks stuck in my head, specifically Jigsaw Falling Into Place. Then that night I was at a bar, playing the song over and over in my head, and the first song someone put on the jukebox was, yes, Jigsaw Falling Into Place. I practically eargasmed. COOL STORY ME

Awesome.

Gonna have to listen to this new album again but I can't help but get the feeling that Radiohead has devolved into just Thom Yorke with a cheap Casio keyboard.

 

Oh come on, don't act like at least 6 out of the 8 songs weren't just electronic drum beats with some layered keyboard patches over them. There's almost no band element to this album.

A cheap casio keyboard (which is what you said earlier)?  Really?  I am pretty sure a real piano, like heard in numerous songs, most notably "Codex," sounds significantly better than a cheap casio keyboard.

And like sky said, there are great bass grooves all over this album. 

Yes, it sounds like "Thom Yorke with a little help from four other guys" at times, but how is that any different than the bulk of what they have done in the last decade? 

[Zantera]

One thing I love about Radiohead is how they incorporate all the instruments, but some of it ends up being very subtle.
Some songs takes several listens before you spot something you hadn't noticed before, I think it's kinda cool.

[jag66]

One thing I love about Radiohead is how they incorporate all the instruments, but some of it ends up being very subtle.
Some songs takes several listens before you spot something you hadn't noticed before, I think it's kinda cool.

Yeh I get this more than any other band. very rewarding stuff!

[orcus116]

Yes, it sounds like "Thom Yorke with a little help from four other guys" at times, but how is that any different than the bulk of what they have done in the last decade? 

All those other albums had clear parts from the other members. They sounded more full. The new album is like they decided to take the pure, one-man electronic stuff from Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief and make an album out of it. It's honestly kind of boring.