I'm finding it hard to have nothing to say.
Com Lag (EP) (2004)
This song is one of the band’s few instrumental songs. This EP came out after Hail to the Thief, and it followed in the same “electronic” style that HTTT had established. I like the persistent percussion in this song, and the playful (female?) “Hey…” that floats around in the background. The song sounds optimistic, though it doesn’t really have a story that it tells. It just repeats and repeats and then fades out.
Pablo Honey (1993)
This song was the single from the first album. Radiohead was fresh-faced and new, and they hadn’t quite hit on their sound yet. This album isn’t bad, but it’s my least favorite. When this song hit, it hit big. It became the anthem for a large number of angsty British youth, and, as such, Radiohead became “The Creep Band”. Speculation abounded that they were one-hit wonders, which infuriated the band. As such, it was a big success for the band but also a tragedy. They over-came the “one-hit wonder” moniker, but they rarely play this song in concert anymore.
Notable lyric: I don’t care if it hurts, / I want to have control. / I want a perfect body, / I want a perfect soul.
I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (2001)
This was the only new song on the live recordings album that Radiohead released. It was one, however, that had been very popular in concerts. Reportedly, the song is inspired by a news story in which a boy was accidentally (perhaps) locked in an attic by his mom and subsisted on lollypops and crisps. This is one of those good guitar songs that is just as poignant and rich when it’s a solo guitar as it is with a whole band.
Notable lyric: and true love waits /
in haunted attics /
and true love lives /
on lollypops and crisps
Hail to the Thief (2003)
This album was the first one that I got to experience as a fan. Jeff Gabhart and I drove down Sioux Falls to buy it. I got the Special Edition, and he got the regular edition. We listened to it the whole way back, but the results were anti-climatic for two reasons: one) I didn’t end up liking this album as much as previous ones, and two) the entire thing had been leaked months previously. As such, there were few surprises except on this song. At the end, I Will cross-fades into the song that comes after it. It might seem dumb to you, but I swear that both Jeff and I said, “Woah,” at the exact same time upon hearing it. And then I found $20.
Notable lyrics: With wild elephants / sitting ducks / I will / rise up
In Rainbows (2007)
This is one of the few songs that can approximate a “love song” for Radiohead. This was one of the songs that I hadn’t heard anything of on the new album, and I really came to like it, especially for the bass line. To be honest, I hadn’t really listened to the lyrics until writing this, but they are typical Radiohead fare. You’d think a refrain like “You are all I need” would be a happy song.
Notable lyric: I’m a cloud of moths /
who just wants to share your light /
I’m just an insect /
trying to get out of the night / I only stick with you /
because there are no others
Amnesiac (2001)
You know those stories of the quiet kids who get beat up, but then they summon this inner rage that allows them to vanquish their enemies? I used to love those stories. Having been born with an insurmountable predisposition toward passiveness, I loved the thought of one day being able to have the upper hand on my antagonizers (though, hopefully in a feel-good way, like curing cancer). This song is one of those stories. Beginning, literally, with an inhale, the quiet, echoing voice makes a host of passive-aggressive threats and, with the help of rousing piano and rising drums, the voice triumphs, washing over everything.
Notable lyric: We ride tonight / we ride tonight / ghost horses / ghost horses
Kid A (2000)
Welcome to the cold forest, the frightening landscape that is Radiohead paranoia. Gone are the typical sounds of guitars and drums and keyboards. Gone, even, is the voice of Thom. Everything is modified, contorted in an electronic, haunting manner. With images reminiscent of The Pied Piper, the imagery of the lyrics suggests a ghoulish figure leading all your children out of town and into the black anything.
Notable lyric: Rats and children follow me out of town / rats and children follow me out of their homes / come on, kids
The Bends (1995)
The thing about Radiohead’s singer, Thom Yorke, is that he has a great voice. What I find most impressive is his range, especially in the upper register. This is a song that shows off that higher pitch, the falsetto, that he can reach. I also love the pseudo-acoustic sound to the guitars. For an album marked by it’s rock, this one stands out as being more stripped down and honest.
Notable lyric: Drying up in conversation / you will be the one you cannot talk / All your insides fall to pieces / you just sit there wishing you could still make love
Ok Computer (1997)
This was the first Radiohead song I ever heard. It was on a Now This Is What I Call Music compilation that I borrowed from Jen Dietman. I listened to it a couple times, and I enjoyed the sound of it, but then I had this moment where I listened to the lyrics. It was like this epiphany. There was this dark quality, this understated violence and animosity to the song that I latched on to. It wasn’t scream-goth-metal, but it had that same aggression to it. Mind-blowing.
Notable lyrics: This is what you get / this is what you get / when you mess with us.
Per request (!), I’m going to do an undetermined number of days of Radiohead. Back in October, Radiohead released their latest album, In Rainbows, straight to the internet. You could pay whatever you wanted for the digital download, or you could pay for a DISCBOX, which would include the physical album, plus another disc, plus two vinyls, plus a book, and so on. I debated the point for a while, but I finally decided to buy it. I got my digital download, and I loved it.
The DISCBOX wasn’t set to ship until December 3rd. So, I’m going to start on December 1, and I’m going to do a Radiohead song a day until my DISCBOX arrives, and maybe a little beyond that.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: I forgot to link to the ordering page for In Rainbows. To buy the digital download, just add it to your basket, and then when you view basket, you get two text boxes. It is there that you can type in the amount you wish to pay, in British pounds. I believe the minimum is 79 cents, or something, for credit card transaction costs.
Also known as, The Last Bright Eyes post for a while.
My first thought, walking into the airplane hangar, was “Can a God fit on something so small?” It was a little tongue-in-cheek, but I got out my miniature notebook and made the first of many marks in the difficult darkness.
The opener was the Dave Rawlings Machine. They were good. Dave Rawlings, we found out, was traveling with Bright Eyes, playing guitar for them, and opening Thursday night. Little to his surprise, it would seem. But he played an awesome set. He’s a ferocious guitar player, and he sings and plays with expressions that border on ecstasy and constipation. It was humorous but great. He played a spectacular song called Joey by Bob Dylan that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since.
Then there was Simon Joyner. I’m sure that he’s a very talented musician, but he brought down the tempo, which was a dangerous move. The crowd started getting restless. He sang with a sneer. He did play a rousing version of Short Stack, a song from an earlier release of his. I liked that song.
Then it was Bright Eyes. And it. was. awesome.
Set List
– – – – – –
1. I Must Belong Somewhere
2. Four Winds
3. Poison Oak
4. Method Acting
5. Arc of Time (Time Code)
6. Spring Cleaning
7. Lover I Don’t Have To Love
8. You Will? You. Will? You. Will?
9. Classic Cars (for California)
10. Lua (with Gillian Welch)
11. Another Travelin’ Song (for Dave Rawlings)
12. Hit the Switch
13. Old Soul Song (For The New World Order) (for New York City)
– – – – –
14. Man Named Truth (new song, unofficial title)
15. Walls (Circus) (Tom Petty cover)
16. Roosevelt Room (new song, unofficial title)
Dave Rawlings joined the band, taking the place, temporarily, of Mike Mogis. I was sad to not get to see Mike Mogis, but Dave Rawlings was really, really good. It added a fire-breathing, laser-guided heat missle of a guitar solo to the already fabulous Bright Eyes songs.
Also, in drunken-related news, Jeff got pretty violently accosted by a woman who had been drinking. She really wanted him to dance, which he did a little bit after the initial confrontation, but then she left. I had a drunk close encounter myself. Instead, this guy, who was scary drunk (head down, shifty eyes, swagger), had fallen over. Hard. Another guy, who also seemed to be pretty tipsy, helped him up. The guy stood next to me for a short while, then he faded into the crowd behind me. Not cool, creepy drunk guy.
All-in-all, it was a fabulous concert. It was awesome getting to hang out with Jeff, which we haven’t done in a while, and it was even better to experience such great music.
Okay, that’s it about Bright Eyes for a while. I promise.
From I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning (2005)
Notable lyric: I could have been a famous singer / if I had someone else’s voice / But failure’s always sounded better / Let’s f*** it up boys, make some noise!
There Is No Beginning to The Story (2002)
This song features one of the rare male voice duets in the Bright Eyes catalog. The two “free men” take turns doing a couple lines each, which builds with the repeated line of “now you’re body’s gone” and culminates in the explosive “angel, you will live!”. It’s an EP track that could have been on an album, and to get the visibility it deserves it should have been.
Notable lyric: we will be lifted / up from all of this, yeah, we will transcend / the insignificance of our existence / Yeah, your body’s gone, but, angel, you will live!
From Lifted Or the Story Is In the Soil, Keep Your Ear to The Ground
Notable lyric: He said, “I think I’m cured. / No, in fact, I’m sure of it. / Thank you Stranger, / for your therapeutic smile.”