an asterism

In Rainbows is just okay

so, Radiohead. as time passes i grow more and more ashamed to tell people i'm a fan of their work. despite everything, i still like the whole of that band's music, and come back to their albums every now and then. this also means that every couple of months i am reminded of the fact that OK Computer and In Rainbows are ranked among the best albums of all time on Rate Your Music.

i know that RYM is the home of elitists and navelgazers and dweebs, but let's humour them for a second. while i disagree with calling OK Computer the second-best album ever, i understand the pitch — it's among the most influential and groundbreaking rock albums, and it's my1 favourite Radiohead project. but In Rainbows? that one's such a bore!

when i sit down to listen to Radiohead i want to walk into Thom Yorke's Maze of Mirrors. i want minor keys, i want melodrama, i want seething. Radiohead clearly haven't forgotten how to make these — the B-side, Down Is the New Up, is some of their best work from that era. every good Radiohead song has this feel to it, from the deeply sarcastic Optimistic all the way to the anthemic and triumphant Exit Music (for a Film). they're all gritty, nasty sewer rats, biting you with Thom Yorke's slow and drolling falsetto.

In Rainbows has some of that for sure, but also a lot of filler. it's the first album since The Bends, chronologically, that i've started skipping songs in. the last time i listened to it i turned the album off halfway. let's have a more detailed look at the tracklist.

  1. 15 Step is great, but it's too similar to Weird Fishes/Arpeggi for such a short LP.
  2. Bodysnatchers is a catchy rock song that would fit better on The Bends than here.
  3. Nude is great, but like, a break already? we were just getting started. it entirely overshadows Reckoner and House of Cards, both of those being forgettable attempts at filling the same niche.
  4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is my favourite song on the album (ask me again tomorrow). it should have been the opener, which the From the Basement version fixes. there's nothing i get from 15 Step that isn't done better here — leave the other as a B-side!
  5. okay so my friends all really like All I Need, and i understand where they're coming from, but this song doesn't go anywhere. this is my issue with this album: it takes its time, starts ramping up, gets you excited — and then takes a breather before it's earned it.
  6. Faust Arp reminds me of Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2) from OKNOTOK. it's really promising, it plays with time signatures, it builds up and then it's over before you know it. it sounds like a demo for a longer, better song.
  7. SNOREEEEEEE
  8. SNOOOOOOOZE
  9. Jigsaw Falling into Place is a fantastic song! Thom properly screams into the mic in this one, i can envision chandeliers popping, i can viscerally imagine the phrase "the walls are bending shape". no notes! imagine if the entire album was like this!
  10. oh my god can this album end already

do you see my point? you can clearly see the skeleton of a much better album in this one. some of my favourite Radiohead songs are right here. it's got a really unique sound, and that's something all Radiohead albums should have — i'm not looking for Hail to the Thief 2: Bush Got Reëlected. it's just kinda… limp. it's okay, fine, enjoyable. it's got three of the same song and the worst closer in a Radiohead album. how this is the third-highest rated album on RYM is beyond me.

if anyone else is looking for more of the classic Radiohead sound, and also doesn't care for the sidequests the two Zionists are on, i'd like to give Squid a warm recommendation. they're a newer British art rock band, and their album O Monolith really made me feel everything i love about Radiohead. they're signed to Warp, which should tell you they're good.

  1. my headmates have other opinions. ashe thinks that songs 2 through 5 of The King of Limbs are perfect. callisto doesn't do any of this Radiohead nonsense.