Huh - this is quickly turning out to be this year's surprise package yet. No I don't mean package, I mean album. A serious contender for the Album of the Year; and this is the year where we have seen many new releases by heavyweights like Radiohead, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, Tyler the Creator (just assume that he already is), just to name a few.
Irregardless of them being a product of an advertising agency (according to some).
Yeah, the title says it all - someone has gone through all the trouble to decode Thom Yorke's seizure-induced dance featured on the video clip for "Lotus Flower". Head on to this website here to read further on what does fig. 1 - 10 means. I've seen funnier stuff on Graphjam, but this one here... just cannot be ignored. (Just simply because we have got nothing to post on this blog as of yet. A review of Frank Ocean's and PJ Harvey's latest should be up soon)
REVIEWED: The King of Limbs by Radiohead (Initial Review)
It's kind of funny now how eighteen years ago, Thom Yorke once emphatically cried towards all listeners of Radiohead, telling how they wanted to "Stop whispering/Start shoutiiiing" in the appropriately titled song "Stop Whispering" from their debut album Pablo Honey. Funny because eighteen years ago, with guitars teetering on the edge of a break-out, impatiently shoving the exit door hoping to explode in a flurry of glorious distorted guitar before it all come crashing down in a wave of noise, now though it seemed like the band is more insistent on stopping shouting entirely and to start whispering. Either that or Thom Yorke has grown tired of shouting all these years - but either way, it is pretty clear that Thom has finally found something in his songwriting ability that need not to be shout about to be heard. He,ladies and gentleman, has found sophistication.
We would like to insist very much that this review that we did here is just an initial review after a mere one week of listening because as how we have been proved wrong before with our initial impression of their previous album, In Rainbows, we are determined not to make the same mistake again. Because Radiohead has of late become accustomed with giving birth to albums that is enveloped in something called sophistication, and it is exactly this that makes their materials grow on you. They are on its' own pretty persuasive, so much so that if you find it not designed to your liking, leave it alone for a while, then pick it up again and listen to it, and then everything will start to make absolute sense.
With The King of Limbs here, Radiohead has once again given birth to a very sophisticated album, and as expected, the one that might not appeal the most to you on the first few listens. And it's all very simple because every nuance in the album, every movement, every change of mood and manner are very subtle - so much so that if you lose attention for a moment, you're just simply going to miss it. Even worse when that movement is laid out to be a progression of regression - the album is kicked to life to a flurry of off-beat piano keys, electronic glitches and a snare drum nervously rattling in the background before Thom greeted listeners with "Open your mouth wide..." in "Bloom". It's a full-bodied electronic number comparable to any of The Eraser's materials, complete with what sounds like a horn section howling midway through the song. Then as the album moves forward to the next track, little by little the orchestration of the opener was stripped off of its' structure until you're left with a very sparse, minimalist body of a beat of "Separator".
So is this album a step up from their 2007 release? For now it is hard for us to say so because there are still moments scattered throughout the album where we felt that the recording of this album was a result recollection of discarded materials that did not make the cut for In Rainbows that has been refurbished. "Morning Mr Magpie" for example, to us, felt like a half-hearted, half-arsed effort of varying the trick they did with "Bodysnatchers"; and "Feral" kind of reminded us of Amnesiac - totally spaced out, totally weird, almost totally lacking melody. But in that minor set back, there are also moments of genuine brilliance in this album, saved by the surprisingly suave "Lotus Flower" and the haunting "Codex". For now, we're tempted to give this album a four out of five stars rating. Future listens might improve that.
First single off the band's latest album King of Limbs, which disappointingly sounds like it came from The Eraser, or maybe it's just me. I don't know - am currently listening to OFWGKTA's new output, this time by Frank Ocean called Nostalgia/Ultra. Not into rap music yet but I am officially sold - Odd Future is seriously cool. (The album is available as a free download here. Listen to it; love it; rave about it)
Surprise, surprise - Radiohead's new album, tentatively entitled The King of Limbs, is set to be released this Saturday through you know where: the Internet. No more 'pay as you wish' option like they did with In Rainbows where this time the mp3 version will set you back at £6.00, while the WAV version is at £3 more. Our only question is: why no lossless version? Anyway, if you're a big fan of record art, the world's first (perhaps) Newspaper album goes for a measly £30.00 (for mp3) and £33.00 (for WAV). This version includes:
* Two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve. * A compact disc. * Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together. * The Newspaper Album comes with a digital download that is compatible with all good digital media players. * The Newspaper Album will be shipped on Monday 9th May 2011 you can, however, enjoy the download on Saturday 19th February 2011. * Shipping is included in the prices shown. * One lucky owner of the digital version of The King Of Limbs, purchased from this website, will receive a signed 2 track 12" vinyl.
We have no fucking idea what do they mean by "full colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic" but it sure does come at some price. Art sure is costly, eh?
LISTED: Goosebumps Vol.3 - Radiohead's Let Down *Goosebumps is a new recurring feature where we highlight on songs that what we perceive to be a complete artistic statement in terms of its melody, lyrics, and to a certain extent, its video clip as well.
Well, one thing led to another, from one article to another, and last week I found myself reading on something called Objective Reality. Have to say that it is currently what interest me the most because I've been having this conundrum between what is supposedly the Real Reality that each and every one of us are perceiving with all our senses, and the alternate version of it - since if and if it is true that everything applies to the logic of duality, then this version of Reality must have its' twin sister. But what I would like to posit is that this version of reality that we're in at the moment (I'm mildly suggesting that you the reader is in the same reality as I do since you're reading this blog) is the Perceived Reality, and that the alternate version of it is the real Real Reality.
I will admit that this idea that I'm having is pretty much flawed since it is only about, I don't know, two weeks old at most, and that the million dollar question of between use of perception and determination of reality is still left unanswered. But this question of trying to separate two out of what has always been a single unified entity is not a futile effort at rejection of the 'perceived' Real Reality. It is simply a case of a philosophical mind wandering far with the 'what if' question in hand. Call this an old age bull but I am starting to feel weary of this version of reality that I am currently in, and was hoping that somehow if I could step out of it and into a new one - the alternate version...
...and that theme of a man grown weary with the world that he is in, is the central theme to Radiohead's spine-tingling, raise-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck gorgeous, heartfelt tune "Let Down", taken from one of the most complete rock album ever created at the tail-end of the 20th century: OK Computer. It began with an incessant ringing, and Thom in dejected half-mumbling musing, opening with "Transport, motorways and tramlines / Starting and then stopping / Taking off and landing / The emptiest of feelings". We keep on having this imagery of a person standing on an overhead bridge over a busy highway, late at night, while gazing emptily at cars passing by, contemplating over the pointlessness and meaninglessness of his existence with that line, and it does have a nice ring round it. Then Thom added: "Disappointed people clinging onto bottles / When it comes it's so so disappointing". So the man on the overhead bridge is an alcoholic as well.
The song has perhaps one of the most unique opening part as far as we can recall because when the ringing kicks in, guitars and glockenspiel in perfect harmony, it sounded romantic like a scene that is playing on a moldy 20 years old film reel where the pictures are in sepia tone and some kid is on a tricycle cycling down the driveway, but all of that harking-back-those-golden-eras romanticism was then greeted by one of the most despirited singing lazily drawling all over the first verse; and it actually works with the lyrics. So here is the sound of a man who has given up on any last trickle of remaining hope on what is the purpose of his being, and is on the verge of letting go. And we said letting go because in the second verse, Thom picked up again his spirit and claimed "Shell smashed, juices flowing / Wings twitched, legs are going / Don't get sentimental it always ends up drivel / One day I'm going to grow wings / A chemical reaction..."
The way Thom sings the song is like an emotional roller coaster ride - it has its' ups and downs - and in the first verse, he sounded dejected and weary, and the following chorus line just reconfirms his restlessness. Then he picked up his spirit in the second verse, announcing his self-believe that one day his body will sprout wings and will allow him to soar above all the tedium of meaninglessness, before it came crashing down back again with the chorus: "Let down and hanging around / Crushed like a bug in the ground". Anyone who had gone through a rough patch in life can perhaps relate to that motion - in which the emotion is always constantly moving up and down, and not in a linear manner; and the rising and falling of tone in "Let Down" magically encapsulates that in a simple five minute pop number. Now if only our emotion is that easy to be explained.
P/S: Video embedded below is kind of poor actually, but alas it is among the nicest of the lot that I can find at Youtube.
LISTED: 30 Best Albums of the Last Decade (2000 - 2009)
*As the year 2010 is about to draw its curtain close, it is the time of the year (of any year) for many music sites and blogs to come up with a top list of albums of the year. Yes indeed the year 2010 has seen many interesting releases worthy of at least a top 20 list. But here at The Genuine Mind Zine we decided to do things a bit different and take a look at some of the best (of the best) releases throughout the last decade. This may not be the most comprehensive list around, lack of hip hop records for one, but all the albums listed here are indeed the most precious of last decade's precious gems.
16. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
Let's forget OK Computer for a while and look at all the releases that this Oxford graduates has offered the world all throughout last decade and I bet you many (and probably I should add: most) music critics will say that 2000's Kid A is Radiohead's best album of all. I call that bullshit. The pseudo indie electronic album has got to be one of the most over-hyped album in the history of rock music. And, not to mention that once, this album was regarded by many to be Radiohead's most irrelevant record. Well, irrelevant in the sense that it came hot off the heels of the most important rock record for a generation. The immense anticipation from fans worldwide was greeted with a bemusing bewilderment - a rock band has gone techno? But the amazing thing is the album clicked with its audience; or specifically, Radiohead audience. It didn't draw jeers or criticism from them, instead they loved it and embraced this whole new paradigm for this highly talented unit. Classic Hallmark moment.
But when it comes to being in this list as 30 of the best albums for the entire decade, Kid A doesn't even hold a candle close enough to In Rainbows. What sets this 2007 release apart from its crafty elder sister is the consistency found in substance, depth, style, mood, and delivery. Thom Yorke is well known for his astute and insightful lyrics, and not reducing himself to repeating catchphrases over and over again, this album reveals his lyrical muscle in its finest glory. It's an album that is rich with expression that covers on so many aspect of the human emotion and psyche, it could cover the entire universe up to its littlest details.
Radiohead also is well-known for mood, or atmosphere in their songs. All their previous releases has all been about self-alienation, self-doubt, and self-confusion, and hence their mood tends to drift towards the gloom and doom. But in this, Thom for once had a clear view and a clear mind. He's no longer complaining about something rather open-heartedly accept the quagmire that he is in (well try to look at this in a fictitious way). This time they are no longer expressed in cryptic and symbolical words but in a very honest manner. Thus, because of this openness in Thom's lyric, the songs are now more self-assured. It wants to be heard. It doesn't stray far and into the farthest stretch of the human psyche but it stays firmly rooted to the ground. It doesn't go flying madly into lofty heights but rather soars gently so as not to let anyone fall down.
Then there is the matter with the format in which this album was first released: digital. This may not make that much logic to readers of today but in the near future, the digital format will be the commonly accepted format for music. The days of physical format are numbered and soon, we will see the compact disc will go the way of the vinyl record of today in which its purpose is as a collector's item. Radiohead made this album available on their website on any price the buyer is willing to pay for, then a few months later released the same album in CD format. Straight away you know - the CD has been relegated to the status of a historical relic. Sadly enough though, this may mean that people in the distant future will remember this album not for its amazing content, but for effectively killing the CD.
