Consistently my favourite band of the past 25 years. I love watching them play.
Thom’s just a few months older than me and it has felt like their influences and evolution as a band has mirrored my own listening at that time. Kid A felt a completely natural step to me as in the couple of years before that I’d been absorbing a lot of Warp (particularly Boards of Canada and Autechre) too. Love that album, even if my wife struggles a little more with that one.
Depending on my mood my preference is for OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows or A Moon Shaped Pool. If I’m honest, my favourite thing is seeing them perform their more electronic songs as a full band. I preferred the live/In the Basement versions of almost everything from King of Limbs.
My favs are Kid A and In Rainbows - kinda on opposite sides of darkness/light in some sort of way.
Also feel like with In Rainbows they peaked at song making, stripped to the basics. Has some sort of Beatle-esque thing for me.
TKOL didn’t quite made it for me either, seems unfinished, to put it in a way. Although it did made more sense when I saw it live on their From the basement sessions. The doubled drums gives it some hypnotic, Can-like feeling imho
I’m not a great fan of their first two albums, some of it’s a bit too formulaic indie rock, but once they bought the electronics in they stepped up a gear, also it’s not just the songwriting but the music and the playing is so good, it’s like they work really hard on the whole production, each member has a part to play and when you watch them live some of it is really complicated with odd times signatures etc. I sometimes wonder how Thom Yorke stays in time with it all, brilliant stuff.
There There is up with there with my favourites! Hail to the Thief was a bit bloated, but had some brilliant stuff in there. King of Limbs has some great tracks too, but think the studio production maybe let it down a touch. Only seen them once (for the King of Limbs tour) and it was amazing. So much more heft and groove when that material was played live.
It can be expressed multiple ways. What they wrote it in is anyone’s guess. I like to think of it in 4/4 since it makes the piano/strings rhythm a clave.
King of Limbs live is the key to appreciating the studio versions I think. Easier to hear the syncopation on Little by little, Bloom just has more oomph to it. I prefer all that material to some of their standbys. They play Everything In Its Right Place every show and I do not like that one live.
Hated TKOL at first and much preferred the darker sound of Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief. Then one night after having it for about 2 weeks, I listened on my studio speakers and noticed how 3D sounding the mix/production is on it when you listen in detail. Have loved it ever since.
My son has been learning Karma Police on the piano lately, his “rock band” teacher gave him the sheets.
It was a bit hard at first to hear the same dong over and over at 60bpm, but in two weeks he can now play it pretty well, and even started singing while playing, a first!
Of course he’s been listening to the song obsessively, but I told him the album was a bottomless treasure, he’s now totally fond of it.
We had so much pleasure playing and singing together!
It feels so good to transmit the pleasure of appreciating music, being listening, playing or singing!!
This led me to rediscover the last two albums, that I’m not that fond of, and Thom’s solo works, especially piano solos.
I remember when kid A clicked with me. Until that moment i wasn’t a radiohead listener. I didn’t like them when they were poprock band before.
Everything Thom York does solo, is very creative. Nigel is brilliant in tandem with him. Or other way around.
TKOL live was great for sure. I still prefer the studio version of most songs.
Bloom has more magic with piano instead of the guitar loop. Little by little and lotus flower are played too fast live for my taste. The minimoog bass in lotus flower is played too aggressive. I appreciate that this is live and differs from the studio versions of course, and it’s great to see how they transform these tracks to a full band performance, but just in comparison I like the studio recordings better…
Always loved TKOL. Never understood the criticism.
I’m not convinced it’s swing. The entire phrase would be syncopated, the swing would be pure triplet (an early jazz approach), with a strange clave-like pattern that is 3-2-3. Considering all the parts, everything clicks and makes sense with 9/8 6/8 /9/8.
The drums have a few triplet fills, and the ride cymbal gives a steady quarter note pulse. I also suspect that an eighth note metronome would reveal that it is indeed swung.
For some years I have been insanely obsessed by Radiohead. Now I’m healed and my approach with the topic is more relaxed. It’s something like an era of my life that is gone. Said that, this seems the best place where to share this video. Most of you surely just watched it, but who cares? It’s beautyful and I enjoy to return to watch it.
