“In Rainbows” by Radiohead brings back old memories
When I was 12 years old, my absolute favorite song was “Creep” by Radiohead. I used to sing along to it at the top of my lungs, my pubescent voice cracking at the crescendo when Thom Yorke would unintelligibly sing (in his absolutely ridiculous falsetto), “run, run, run, ruuuuuun awayyyyy…”
This usually happened while I was folding newspapers on my driveway in the afternoons after school, listening to X-96 and hoping they would play it so I could press record on my boom box, thereby completing my ultimate radio mix tape (as far as I can recall, it was mainly made up of The Beatles, Nirvana, and some Weird Al Yankovich songs). I would have just called in and requested it, but I was shy and remember being too afraid to talk to the DJ after I had called in and mistakenly asked him to play Bush’s “Metal head” instead of “Machine Head”
I only bring this up to point out that Radiohead, despite all the praise lavished on them as the preeminent harbingers of angst, alienation and clinically detached musical catharsis, certainly know how to turn out a good pop song or two. Anyone who says “The Bends” isn’t secretly their favorite Radiohead album is probably lying, not with melodies as exquisite and sad as “Fake Plastic Trees” or “High and Dry.” Although Thom Yorke and his pasty English friends have recently gone the route of innovation and given themselves over to electronica-tinged mopey atmospherics (to deafening critical praise), the commercial response has been disappointing. When was the last time you heard a Radiohead song on the radio that wasn’t “Karma Police?” Exactly.
So, what is “In Rainbows” like? To be honest, it mostly just sounds like a band that got tired of defying fan expectations every time they descend from Mount Radiohead to grace the world with a new record. The album starts off with a bang on the drum machine propelled “15 Step,” which sounds like a more melodic holdover from 2003’s “Hail to the Thief.” As the songs progress though, it is clear that “In Rainbows” contains actual guitar riffs and melodies, not to mention more conventional pop song structures. “Reckoner” and “Nude” both pack some powerful melodies that could ensnare an entire new generation of 12-year-olds if given the chance. And “Videotape” is the closest to the old shiver-inducing Radiohead I have heard in years. Overall, it’s clear that this is a real band playing and not just Thom Yorke and his iMac.
The fact that “In Rainbows” was released directly to fans through the band’s Web site, and for whatever price one was willing to pay (even nothing), makes the album seem like even more of a revelation. Don’t worry everyone; Radiohead is here to save us from the tyranny of the traditional music industry business model, and to stop the Recording Industry Association of America from suing 8-year-olds for downloading Avril Lavigne singles on their moms’ computers. So, go ahead, call up your local radio station and sing along, because the new Radiohead sounds a lot like the old one.
-chase.thompson@aggiemail.usu.edu