Music Radiohead

[Count Orduck]

And even when it comes to the shallow commercial music they make, their first song is easily their best (how you remind me). I actually liked it when I was younger. Since then, I hear them getting more and more pointless, getting progressively worse even in the bracket of music they are in.

That whole Nickelback album (Silver Side Up) is actually pretty decent. Some good tunes on it, and they didn't take themselves too seriously. For post-grunge hard rock gravelly-voiced fare, they were right up there.

But each subsequent album gets progressively worse. It's hilarious. They're utter, utter tripe now. I mean, catastrophically bad music. Like a parody of themselves.

 

[paceme]

Nicleback are the sort of music you liked when you where a clueless teen but won't admit you ever did since growing up

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

Are Radiohead great lyricists? What is the meaning and concepts behind their music.

Serious question btw.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

The National Anthem is one very simple - and after 5 minutes, very annoying - riff repeated ad infinitum, and ending with some absolute nonsense experimental bollocks. If it wasn't Radiohead, you'd hardly ever hear it brought up in the annals of musical importance.

The National Anthem is the best song in the live set. Groove.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Are Radiohead great lyricists?

Not especially.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

That whole Nickelback album (Silver Side Up) is actually pretty decent. Some good tunes on it, and they didn't take themselves too seriously. For post-grunge hard rock gravelly-voiced fare, they were right up there.

But each subsequent album gets progressively worse. It's hilarious. They're utter, utter tripe now. I mean, catastrophically bad music. Like a parody of themselves.

I've never taken them seriously. Well, maybe when I was younger, I thought "when you remind me" was a great song. But generally, I know they're candy floss rock that aim at making a catchy tune rather than anything with real depth. But I've been surprised at how bad they've gotten at that too recently. I mean, if you're making catchy tunes for a wide audience, then do it well ffs. The songs I've heard of theirs over the last few years sound incredibly rubbish.

 

[Nearco]

I love the popular songs like Creep but I have never enjoyed listening to anything other than Pablo Honey. I prefer the Smashing Pumpkins.

As good as the Pumpkins were they only had two, maybe three albums in them.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

4 minutes of perfection. No background vocals, no instruments, no digital touchups. This is why people love Radiohead so much. The musicianship is excellent, but the passion and expression and vulnerability just reverberates in your soul.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Are Radiohead great lyricists? What is the meaning and concepts behind their music.

Serious question btw.

In my opinion they are beyond 'great' lyricists.

The meaning and concepts behind their music? Well they started off with general angst toward modern socieity. Then morphed into a lot of self-despair and vulnerability. Then they got into 'feck the world cuz it's all a giant conspiracy taking all of us down an evil path". This lead to political/environmental type shit and calling out the authority in our world for being greedy, murderous feckers.

I haven't really got into their new, new stuff because I'm not done with their old stuff.

 

[paceme]

Beyond great lyricists? What does that even mean?

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Great, great lyrics.

 

[paceme]

There are many better lyricists out there, writing something vague doesn't equate to good

 

[Comsmit]

Are Radiohead great lyricists? What is the meaning and concepts behind their music.

Serious question btw.

It's not really about being "great lyricists" more about being wholly relevant or connective and Ok Computer is a great example. The album summed up how a chunk of people felt about modern life, the barminess but also the banality of it all.

When Arctic Monkeys (who I've always thought are shite) released their debut album every lanky bastard with long hair and bumfluff said they were amazing lyricists. Now they can't sell records because their lyrics are dogshit, not relevant to anything but the stupid self absorbed world they inhabit, and the melodies behind the lyrics (always unsophisticated) can't mask the shitness.

 

[Ludens the Red]

It's not really about being "great lyricists" more about being wholly relevant or connective and Ok Computer is a great example. The album summed up how a chunk of people felt about modern life, the barminess but also the banality of it all.

When Arctic Monkeys (who I've always thought are shite) released their debut album every lanky bastard with long hair and bumfluff said they were amazing lyricists. Now they can't sell records because their lyrics are dogshit, not relevant to anything but the stupid self absorbed world they inhabit, and the melodies behind the lyrics (always unsophisticated) can't mask the shitness.

That's not true, they were very raw lyrically when they came out, after all they were what 20? Their lyrics have matured with each album, how and what they sang about in Whatever People Say I am is completely different to what they sang about in Suck it and See. They've gone on a completely different direction with their last two albums that may have lost them some of their more mainstream fanbase but to say they don't sell records anymore is nonsense.

 

[Mockney]

Beyond great lyricists? What does that even mean?

It means we've got one. A real, live one.

And I personally think him & Mike will be very happy together.

 

[paceme]

It's not really about being "great lyricists" more about being wholly relevant or connective and Ok Computer is a great example. The album summed up how a chunk of people felt about modern life, the barminess but also the banality of it all.

When Arctic Monkeys (who I've always thought are shite) released their debut album every lanky bastard with long hair and bumfluff said they were amazing lyricists. Now they can't sell records because their lyrics are dogshit, not relevant to anything but the stupid self absorbed world they inhabit, and the melodies behind the lyrics (always unsophisticated) can't mask the shitness.

Yes but radio head are equally unrelevant these days, ok computer is over ten years old now no?

 

[jem]

Have you listened to any on my "if you don't like ANY of these you're a cnut" list on the previous page amol?

Did you work out whether you were a cnut or not?

None of them are from OK* or King of Limbs.

* Well the last one is, but that was more a Muse reference for Leroy than a cnut barometer.

Which was shocking IMO, given that Separator is comfortably in the top 5 Radiohead songs.

 

[jem]

Are Radiohead great lyricists? What is the meaning and concepts behind their music.

Serious question btw.

I don't think Yorke is very good with words at all. He's great at making random phrases sound good, but I think people often ascribe meaning to their words that in reality isn't there (but seems there, due to how they sound, if that makes any sense.) The classic example being 'Everything in its Right Place,' a song which sounds positively Orwellian, despite Yorke banging on about sucking on lemons.

 

[Eboue]

I'd try these ones. If you don't like them, then Radiohead just isn't for you:

Paranoid Android B+
Karma Police A
Just C
Faust Arp The feck?
Separator F-
I Might Be Wrong C+

I'd add Nude B, 15 Step C, Talk Show Host D, You and Whose Army B-, Reckoner B, Street Spirit B+& Exit Music to a Film A- to that.

Here's a youtube comment from a pretentious twat of a Radiohead fan:

How come the line "Immerse your soul with love" moves me to tears every. fecking. time? I'm always fine until that point and I choke up and tear up. Seriously though.

^Gay

 

[Comsmit]

That's not true, they were very raw lyrically when they came out, after all they were what 20? Their lyrics have matured with each album, how and what they sang about in Whatever People Say I am is completely different to what they sang about in Suck it and See. They've gone on a completely different direction with their last two albums that may have lost them some of their more mainstream fanbase but to say they don't sell records anymore is nonsense.

I could understand the first album to a point. It was basically a batch of conversations and teenage, early twentysomething observations strung over some fairly average, consistently similar melodies. The lyrics i could get....I understood what the fuss might be about.

Suck it and See is truly abysmal. It's a pretentious mess of contrived lyrics and hackneyed melodies that don't offer anything fresh. It smacks of a band who have run out of original ideas and are merely attempting to feign evolution in their music and approach. Alex Turner has become a caricature for the failing Indie scene in this country. He used to have a bit of relevance, he inspired people, now he just tries to evoke that sense of detached cool, as if he is so good he doesn't need to fecking bother churning out anything exciting as long as their fanbase buy into it.

Well a lot of them have fecked it off after SIAS and rightly so. Noel Gallagher sold over twice as many records for fecks sake. Their album sales were a disappointment considering their supposed reputation.

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

now he just tries to evoke that sense of detached cool, as if he is so good he doesn't need to fecking bother churning out anything exciting as long as their fanbase buy into it.

That pretty much summed up KOL for me. For the most part, it just sounded like some stoned student pissing about in his bedroom.

The critics reviews made me laugh, they have such a reverence for Radiohead that they dared not to give it a poor review, instead they searched for merit where there wasn't any, in fear of being branded with 'not getting it'.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Suck it and See is truly abysmal. It's a pretentious mess of contrived lyrics and hackneyed melodies that don't offer anything fresh. It smacks of a band who have run out of original ideas and are merely attempting to feign evolution in their music and approach.

I think you're going into the territory of stating your opinion as fact. Personally I prefer SIAS to all their other albums and there are others out there who hold the same view. I did enjoy their early stuff, but a lot of it was fairly basic. It was more or less just observational lyrics sang in a Yorkshire accent.
There's a lot more depth to Suck It and See and it is completely different to anything they've done before and I've not heard anyone producing similar sounding music (feel free to show me if there is) so they can't be accused of running out of original ideas. Perhaps you're just not too keen on their new ideas. Whilst I agree to an extent SIAS contains "hackneyed melodies" I think it was necessary to show off the whole theme of the album.

Alex Turner has become a caricature for the failing Indie scene in this country. He used to have a bit of relevance, he inspired people, now he just tries to evoke that sense of detached cool, as if he is so good he doesn't need to fecking bother churning out anything exciting as long as their fanbase buy into it.

If anything, surely with the release of Humbug and SIAS, with such a shift in tone and tempo what he actually did was risk losing some of his fanbase. Which he did. A lot of people enjoyed the 'laddish' nature of the early material...he's gone from talking about pimps and cnutish bouncers to describing women as being as rare as a 'can of dandelion and burdock'. I don't think you can accuse him of "churning out anything as long as the fan base buys it".

Well a lot of them have fecked it off after SIAS and rightly so. Noel Gallagher sold over twice as many records for fecks sake. Their album sales were a disappointment considering their supposed reputation.

Well that's hardly fair, Noel Gallagher carries with him a legion of Oasis fans, it's not really a bad reflection on the Arctic Monkeys that Suck it and See sold less than Noel's debut offering. On top of that SIAS sold more than Humbug. And further yet, they are never going to match the sales of their first album (which correct me if I'm wrong is still the fastest selling debut album by a band). May I also add that whilst I liked Noel's album it was more or less all the same drivel, it was like the sound of Don't Look in Anger raping Importance of being Idle over and over again.

Suck It and See is fecking brilliant.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

In my opinion they are beyond 'great' lyricists.

This is probably why some of us overreact with criticism. Bloody hell.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

In my opinion they are beyond 'great' lyricists.

The meaning and concepts behind their music? Well they started off with general angst toward modern socieity. Then morphed into a lot of self-despair and vulnerability. Then they got into 'feck the world cuz it's all a giant conspiracy taking all of us down an evil path". This lead to political/environmental type shit and calling out the authority in our world for being greedy, murderous feckers.

I haven't really got into their new, new stuff because I'm not done with their old stuff.

They might be great lyricists (I really don't know) but why do such "beyond great" lyricists stick to such lame and cliched themes? "feck the world because it's a giant conspiracy taking us all down an evil path" sounds like something a teen grunge band would write songs about. Are you sure that was a theme they stuck to for a bit?

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

Suck It and See is fecking brilliant.

Contender for the worst album name ever though. Cosmit has a point too, indie has died during Turner's reign as its king.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

How has indie died? There's a lot of great stuff out there. Or do you mean in Britain? Because most of the bands I listen to are from America.

 

[Pink Moon]

Good band but also overrated. A lot.

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

How has indie died? There's a lot of great stuff out there. Or do you mean in Britain? Because most of the bands I listen to are from America.

Indie is dead in the water over here. Good new acts are just not coming through.

Do you accept the challenge to pick up a pair of brown trousers, a guitar that you learn to play to a basic level of ability, some hipsters shoes and breathe life back into this dying scene?

Amol, Indie needs you!

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Indie is dead in the water over here. Good new acts are just not coming through.

Do you accept the challenge to pick up a pair of brown trousers, a guitar that you learn to play to a basic level of ability, some hipsters shoes and breathe life back into this dying scene?

Amol, Indie needs you!

Well in America it is flourishing imo.

And I would love to have made music my career if I hadn't faffed around like a moron in my early 20's. Now I need to make a decent living though.

 

[jem]

Here's a youtube comment from a pretentious twat of a Radiohead fan:



^Gay

Harsh grades!

 

[Snow]

Did someone actually say the lumineers are better than radio head? The indie hype is getting sickening.

I'm listening pantera who are currently shitting on both bands

Hard to beat Dimebag, just put on one of their cd's in the car earlier. Great band. I do love Radiohead though. OK Computer is near the top of my favorite albums.

You can't be bringing metal into a discussion like that. There aren't many that can discuss that with you since not that many listen to it. Metal is generally more complex music. But if you choose to compare metal bands to Radiohead, what about Tool?

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

You can't be bringing metal into a discussion like that. There aren't many that can discuss that with you since not that many listen to it. Metal is generally more complex music. But if you choose to compare metal bands to Radiohead, what about Tool?

I already mentioned Tool, my favourite band, for me, they are vastly superior to Radiohead in every way.

For a start there is no painful hipster element to Tool, I mean Danny Carey goes on stage in basketball uniforms! They are all about the art that they produce rather than an image or style that pertains to any sort of fashion.

Secondly I am stunned by the consideration and effort that they put into the creation of their music. Lateralus( the song), for example, is an incredible piece of music. They incorporate the Fibonacci sequence in the the rhythmic structure of the song, as it reflects the lyrical themes, it is quite a piece of work.



All Tool songs have a great depth both musically and lyrically, there is never anything lazy about anything that they do.

Personally I think that one of Maynard's greatest pieces is 'Wings for Marie Part 2' It is his tribute to his mother who passed around the time that they were writing the '10000 Days' album. Maynard's mother suffered a stoke when he was a child and was left paralysed from the neck down, she lived for 10000 days or 30 years in that state before she died. His mother was always religious but after the stroke she became devout, interpreting the stoke as a test from God. Although Maynard's mother was his hero, her faith was a source of conflict between them, Maynard (surely an atheist) could not come to terms with her 'test', interpreting it as cruel and unusual and surely not the act of her saviour. He wrote a few songs about her: Judith and The Patient being two. 'Wings for Marie' is his ode to his deceased mother, him coming to terms with her faith and him imagining her ascent into the kingdom she had been waiting for.

It is all delivered in a way that only Tool could attempt, there are shifting rhythms, it is abstract, at the least and you have to read the lyrics to be able to appreciate the song.



I could go on and on about Tool. The good news is that they are recording a new album right now, however, there is no release date as it will not be released unless it is good enough.

 

[StuCol]

I love Tool. A lot. But to say they are better than Radiohead in every way is very short sighted and narrow minded. Radiohead are a great band. Tool are a great band. Music is so subjective, it's impossible to say who is better. I choose to enjoy them both.

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

I love Tool. A lot. But to say they are better than Radiohead in every way is very short sighted and narrow minded. Radiohead are a great band. Tool are a great band. Music is so subjective, it's impossible to say who is better. I choose to enjoy them both.

True. Radiohead definitely have better knitwear.

I was just getting on the Adzzz fanboi trip for Tool to his Radiohead. It is subjective. I don't really take these things so seriously.

 

[Mockney]

You do realise you've just written a long and hugely pretentious waffle about a band you like, that sounds exactly like the kind of pretentious waffle people are accusing Radiohead fans of.

In fact, it's easily the most pretentious thing in this entire thread. A thread about Radiohead, and how they're apparently really pretentious.

 

[Ludens the Red]

I already mentioned Tool, my favourite band, for me, they are vastly superior to Radiohead in every way.

For a start there is no painful hipster element to Tool, I mean Danny Carey goes on stage in basketball uniforms! They are all about the art that they produce rather than an image or style that pertains to any sort of fashion.

Secondly I am stunned by the consideration and effort that they put into the creation of their music. Lateralus( the song), for example, is an incredible piece of music. They incorporate the Fibonacci sequence in the the rhythmic structure of the song, as it reflects the lyrical themes, it is quite a piece of work.

All Tool songs have a great depth both musically and lyrically, there is never anything lazy about anything that they do.

Personally I think that one of Maynard's greatest pieces is 'Wings for Marie Part 2' It is his tribute to his mother who passed around the time that they were writing the '10000 Days' album. Maynard's mother suffered a stoke when he was a child and was left paralysed from the neck down, she lived for 10000 days or 30 years in that state before she died. His mother was always religious but after the stroke she became devout, interpreting the stoke as a test from God. Although Maynard's mother was his hero, her faith was a source of conflict between them, Maynard (surely an atheist) could not come to terms with her 'test', interpreting it as cruel and unusual and surely not the act of her saviour. He wrote a few songs about her: Judith and The Patient being two. 'Wings for Marie' is his ode to his deceased mother, him coming to terms with her faith and him imagining her ascent into the kingdom she had been waiting for.

It is all delivered in a way that only Tool could attempt, there are shifting rhythms, it is abstract, at the least and you have to read the lyrics to be able to appreciate the song.


I could go on and on about Tool. The good news is that they are recording a new album right now, however, there is no release date as it will not be released unless it is good enough.

What the feck does all that mean btw?

 

[paceme]

It means that tool skullfeck radio head everyday

 

[Eboue]

I could go on and on about Tool.

Please don't.

 

[jem]

It means that tool skullfeck radio head everyday

I don't really get how they can be compared (I like both Tool and Radiohead.) It's like saying Paul Scholes is far superior to Rio Ferdinand.

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

What the feck does all that mean btw?

That Tool rock.

You do realise you've just written a long and hugely pretentious waffle about a band you like, that sounds exactly like the kind of pretentious waffle people are accusing Radiohead fans of.

In fact, it's easily the most pretentious thing in this entire thread. A thread about Radiohead, and how they're apparently really pretentious.

I am aware of the possible irony Mockney. Did I accuse Radiohead fans of pretentious waffle though? I suppose I could have made a post giving Tool songs school grades, that would have been selling them somewhat short though.