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Radiohead = A Turn Off?


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Don't get me wrong. I loved the Bends and OK Computer but since those incredible highs I find it hard to listen to Radiohead without either being bored or mildly annoyed by the whining nature of their songs which is only amplified by Thom Yorke's whining voice. I am definitely in the camp of those who like their music, on balance, to be life-affirming and to cover the full range of human emotions. It would seem that Radiohead seem stuck on the negative side of the dial. Upon hearing Radiohead's new album the skies in Seattle seemed even darker, the headlines on the news even grimmer and my mood even bleaker. Am I the only person who feels this way?

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Probably not, but it seems to me that Radiohead is not the kind of art one takes in to make one's self feel immediately happier. I think it's more of an experience designed to resonate with the parts within the self that feel like, oh, I don't know, a music-hating sociophobic half-man, half-Mattel Synsonic Drums. And that resonance may make one feel better when it's all over.

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Despite what I just wrote, I think OK Computer was the best album of the '90s.

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I have absolutely never been able to get into Radiohead.

 

Me either until In Rainbows. For whatever reason, this album is really resonating with me. Don't get me wrong, I still find Yorke's vocals to be by far the worst part of this band and, at times, a complete turnoff. But I do enjoy this album immensely.

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Ive never liked them and refuse to becuase of this little shit they do like the random messages online, railing against the music industry by giving their album away, its all controlled chaos, i think if you took out all the radiohead is so different label people wouldnt really be so into them based on the music alone, its really nothing remarkable - its not being edgy, its trying nearly openly to be edgy... and thats not edgy yet, like 20 years... and in the end radiohead is a band thats only ahead of itself in terms of its faux edginess - but thats the last reason id ever buy a record

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Ive never liked them and refuse to becuase of this little shit they do like the random messages online, railing against the music industry by giving their album away, its all controlled chaos, i think if you took out all the radiohead is so different label people wouldnt really be so into them based on the music alone, its really nothing remarkable - its not being edgy, its trying nearly openly to be edgy... and thats not edgy yet, like 20 years... and in the end radiohead is a band thats only ahead of itself in terms of its faux edginess - but thats the last reason id ever buy a record

~TheShua

 

Sorry to say this, theshua, but you're kind of uniformed. People are into them because of the music. Radiohead isn't edgy at all...plenty of bands have already used interesting ways to get their albums out online (e.g. Harvey Danger.., but their story wasn't that big because their music isn't on the same level) And as far as railing against the music industry:

 

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I've always liked Radiohead. I like their combination of great rock songs and slower beautiful songs. Some of their later, more experimental songs don't always work perfectly, but on a song like 'Kid A', I'm happy they experimented.

 

The new album has a mellower, gloomier sound, but the lyrics are actually quite uplifting for Radiohead. I can't imagine how anyone doesn't like 'Bodysnatchers', 'Nude', 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi' or 'House of Cards'. Yorke's voice never sounded better.

 

Speaking of......Yorke belting out 'True Love Waits' while playing acoustic (on I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings) is one of the best vocals I've heard. Spine tingling.

 

 

Lastly, Johnny Greenwood has scored the movie "There Will Be Blood" (Dec. 26). The movie's getting great reviews. And most reviews are praising Greenwood's dark, unconventional use of an orchestra. The first 20 minutes of the movie are supposedly dialogue-free, and Greenwood's music provides the mood.

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Me either until In Rainbows. For whatever reason, this album is really resonating with me. Don't get me wrong, I still find Yorke's vocals to be by far the worst part of this band and, at times, a complete turnoff. But I do enjoy this album immensely.

 

That's how I've felt about In Rainbows, too. I've always felt like Radiohead is one of those bands I should like, based on the other things I listen to, but I've never really been able to get in to them. I bought In Rainbows because I wanted to support the concept much more than I actually wanted the album, but I'm considering it one of my biggest pleasant surprises musically for the year. It's making me think maybe I should go back and try some of their other albums again, even though I wish Thom Yorke were just a little less whiny.

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it may be a turn off for many of you who aren't into Radiohad, but Yorke has an incredible voice...he has an amazing range. not too many like him in rock music.

 

and i haven't heard a better album this year than In Rainbows. Nude is probably up there with the most beautiful songs i've ever heard.

 

you want to talk annoying voices...i would say Wayne Coyne is right up there. Flaming Lips are so revered on this board, but i just find his voice pretty much unlistenable.

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Speaking of......Yorke belting out 'True Love Waits' while playing acoustic (on I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings) is one of the best vocals I've heard. Spine tingling.

 

True Love Waits is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Definitely spine tingling!!

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you want to talk annoying voices...i would say Wayne Coyne is right up there. Flaming Lips are so revered on this board, but i just find his voice pretty much unlistenable.

I'm kind of with you on the Lips. For me, it's sort of like a Tori Amos/Kate Bush relationship. Why listen to a not-nearly-as-talented knockoff when I have plenty of Pink Floyd albums at home?

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I'm kind of with you on the Lips. For me, it's sort of like a Tori Amos/Kate Bush relationship. Why listen to a not-nearly-as-talented knockoff when I have plenty of Pink Floyd albums at home?

 

It's understandable to be turned off by Coyne's voice, but the Lips aren't a Floyd knockoff...at least not all the time.

 

As for Thom, i don't mind his voice but his lyrics sometimes are a turn off...and the music his band plays.

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in terms of radiohead being on the 'negative dial'...well...there are far, far more depressing bands out there. if i'm feeling down, i'd far rather listen to radiohead than joy division, the cure, nick drake, etc.

 

having said that, you have to have the depressing to fully enjoy the positive, life-affirming stuff. it's all about a healthy balance.

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Yes, there are more depressing bands out there both in subject matter and in popularity. but of your more-depressing list, i don't think they match the "world is fucked up/ending/hopeless" vibe that Radiohead gives. Pink Moon might be the most melancholic album ever, but Drake's looking inward, while Thom seems to be looking around and not liking it much. Also, Bryter Layter has songs that are downright bouncy and light. Radiohead isn't one-note, but they lay on the gloom thick, so the complaint might not be if they're a bummer but how.

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