I thought of myself as a big fan of Radiohead circa The Bends and OK Computer. However, I gradually fell out of love with the later electronic albums, though admiring the integrity of what they were doing and recognising that for a lot of listeners they remained cutting edge. It was a case of too many blips and squeaks for me and a sameness of melodic line that I couldn't find exciting somehow. But I knew that it was me that was somehow missing something and kept the jury open as to whether I'd find the band worth really listening to again.
Then a couple of days ago I happened to come across a bit of on-line chatter about Thom and the boys, regarding the current status of the band. Several posters shared my broad opinion, but more than a few pointed out that it was the live experience of Radiohead that really counted these days and there was a lot of material featured at youtube that would back this up. It didn't take long to find out they were not wrong.
One performance featuring material from In Rainbows, From The Basement (whatever that means) seems to me to be both stunning in itself and a sort of explanation of what they are now about. They sound great, but it's the visual aspect of the performance that speaks to me somehow and says so much about what's happening in the music. I think I'm a fan again.
2 comments:
'In Rainbows' was probably the last album I would say I found sonically accessible. I've played 'The King of Limbs' at the bar I worked at, and I think that worked well enough, but I found it hard to concentrate on directly at first.
King of Limbs was when I got off the train. Am ashamed to say I hardly know it at all.
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