Radiohead - The King of Limbs - 02.19.11

[Beldo]

I'm liking the slower tracks better overall. "Codex," "Give Up the Ghost," "Separator." The only "fast" track that's grabbing me so far is "Little By Little." A couple of the others feel a bit "been there done that." Then again who knows, I could turn out to love them all tomorrow...pretty much how it goes listening to Radiohead.

[Tuxedo T-shirt]

I'm liking the slower tracks better overall. "Codex," "Give Up the Ghost," "Separator." The only "fast" track that's grabbing me so far is "Little By Little." A couple of the others feel a bit "been there done that." Then again who knows, I could turn out to love them all tomorrow...pretty much how it goes listening to Radiohead.

That's more or less where I am. The slower stuff for Radiohead is never very interesting for me, though. I don't know, it seems like just about anyone can shit out a piano ballad, but a song like 15 Step - pretty much only one band can pull that song off and make it work.

Anyway, I dislike it less. I think it'll be my least favorite and I'll only listen to a couple songs on it but I'm not as disappointed as I was initially. Kind of hard because my expectations for everything Radiohead are sky high every time. I basically expect them to put out the best album I've ever heard every single time an album comes out, which sounds unreasonable but for the fact that they've basically done that 4 times now in their career.

[track11]

Still can't get myself to pull the trigger on this one.
Wish you all would make up your minds already!

[nacho]

still onboard with this, especially the 2nd half. though i reckon Ed O'Brien has been replaced by Aphex Twin, or possibly Arthur Digby Sellers.

[TravelbySea]

still onboard with this, especially the 2nd half. though i reckon Ed O'Brien has been replaced by Aphex Twin, or possibly Arthur Digby Sellers.

ha i was thinking the same thing today listening to this album. they aren't really a band anymore. although that ugly bass player has some sweet melodic lines.

[nacho]

http://thekingoflimbspart2.blogspot.com/

[RavingLunatic]

http://thekingoflimbspart2.blogspot.com/

Thanks for this. About halfway down the page it starts turning into ridiculous speculation, but the first several notes are pretty informative and I think make a pretty good case for more songs coming. Very exciting.

[track11]

It's quite an interesting listen...but I don't believe I'll listen to it more than a couple of times before it gets filed away in a dark corner of my computer. It seriously lacks tunes and I have a feeling I could multi-track a half dozen of my farts, four tracks of my washing machine in various stages of a wash cycle, a couple of tracks of vacuum cleaner, a track of random clapping, a track of tambourine...and a track of random voice noises...screaming, moaning....and make a better, more tuneful and radical album than the new Radiodead lp.

Do it. I want to hear it.

C'mon, George. Now you're better than Radiohead? Green is not your color, friend.

[George Murray]

It's quite an interesting listen...but I don't believe I'll listen to it more than a couple of times before it gets filed away in a dark corner of my computer. It seriously lacks tunes and I have a feeling I could multi-track a half dozen of my farts, four tracks of my washing machine in various stages of a wash cycle, a couple of tracks of vacuum cleaner, a track of random clapping, a track of tambourine...and a track of random voice noises...screaming, moaning....and make a better, more tuneful and radical album than the new Radiodead lp.

Do it. I want to hear it.

C'mon, George. Now you're better than Radiohead? Green is not your color, friend.

Of course I would never say something like that. I was just expressing my crushing disappointment on The King of Limbs, after initial plays. I am a massive Radiohead fan and will stick with it the way I stuck with Hail to the Thief, which I eventually came to love.

I'm listening to TKOLs right now and it's starting to make sense to me...I'm beginning to like it...will probably end up loving it as much as their other records.

[RavingLunatic]

I don't like the first song. I've probably listened to it 10 times now, and I just don't get it. There doesn't seem to be anything deeper or more complex than what struck me on first listen, and there's really no good melody or rhythm or anything even interesting to speak of. The rest of the album I like more, but it's gonna take some time to really absorb it.

[lovesick blues]

http://thekingoflimbspart2.blogspot.com/

It seems quite likely that there is more music, and the order number thing is a good spot, but the rest is absolute bullshit.

[RavingLunatic]

Nah, there's a couple of other things there that seem relevant. The fact that the last song is called "Separator" after originally having another title. Plus that interview with Yorke that included this passage:

HE BELIEVER:…This isn’t the end of Radiohead album art as we know it?

TY: No, we’ve actually got a good plan, but I can’t tell you what it is, because someone will rip it off. But we’ve got this great idea for putting things out.

THE BELIEVER: In a digital realm?

TY: In a physical realm and a digital realm. But, yeah.. no, I can’t tell you what it is. [Laughs] Sorry to be so vague about everything.

Also that Tweet by one of just five dudes that Thom Yorke follows on Twitter: "Suppressing my disappointment that 'Present Tense' didn't make it to the new album.... yet."

Plus a couple other decent points. There's definitely some BS further down, but I think you're selling the guy short if you think the order number is the only possibly meaningful thing posted there.

[George Murray]

Anyone else ready to join me in admitting that this is actually a very good album? I love Radiohead. I should know by now not to judge their records after a couple of listens. There's nothing new sounding on the record...more of the same...but that's all I really wanted from them anyway.

I first saw them live at King Tut's in Glasgow, a venue that holds 350, and it wasn't full. There were around 200 people in the venue. The band was amazing. I went out the next day and bought Pablo Honey and was majorly disappointed by the album.....although I do like it now. They're a completely different animal these days...but what a journey they've taken.

[RavingLunatic]

Right now my feeling is that this is a good album, but nevertheless a disappointing one, mainly the first half of the album. I've loved most of their abstruse, less accessible songs in the past, but I don't think there's anything particularly good or interesting about 3 of the first 4 songs. Usually Radiohead and Yorke come up with really interesting things rhythmically, especially on their more experimental stuff, but these songs seem rhythmically boring to me. It's all just straightforward 4/4 time sigs accompanied by monotonous guitar patterns. I never would've thought Radiohead would put out something as boring as "Bloom." Even "Feral," which is pretty much a purely rhythmically focused song, doesn't seem particularly rhythmically adventurous to me.

The best songs to me are "Codex" and "Giving Up the Ghost," and they're great not because there's anything particular interesting or unexpected but simply because they've got great melodies and vocals and atmospheres.

[RavingLunatic]

I'm pinning my hopes on more (and better) material being released in the near future. Seems like that's a good possibility to me at this point.