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indie-snob>+!#
hail to the thief by radiohead
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10 "Hail to the Thief" by Radiohead From the beginning here, I told you I was a Radiohead freak. I don't ever see myself not being one. In fact, I can see myself at the ripe old age of seventy telling my grandchildren about Thom Yorke and showing them a Radiohead tattoo on my ass or some other unfortuitous place. While these visions have not been corroborated, I can still see them. So, naturally, I'm going to review this album. Naturally, I'm going to give this album a perfect ten. Why? I truly believe in it. I was a different person before I began listening to Radiohead. I won't drop any names of past favorite bands (because it would ruin all indie-cred that I could ever have), but to be honest, I first picked up Kid A by chance. But from the very first song off that album, my musical tastes were changed for ever. I had never heard anything like it, and to this day, Kid A remains my favorite album of all time. Honestly, Amnesiac was a bit of a let down for me (hah, even fit in a Radiohead song title). The music was bland at times and seemed like they were trying to make another OK Computer from the material they wrote with Kid A. Since that time, though, I've anticipated this release. Over the summer of 2002, Radiohead did several small-venue shows in Portugal and Spain, the first date of which I was supposed to attend in Lisbon. Unfortunately, these plans fell through, and I was forced to listen to these tracks from the internet. But from the beginning, I could tell that the tracks that would become Hail to the Thief were beautiful. On that note, it's amazing to hear how these songs have transformed since last July. "There There," the band's first single for HTTT, was my absolute favorite track live, but now, it's lowered itself on my list. HTTT opens with a track that somehow finds Radiohead back into their rock era, but strangely moved foward. I've tried to disregard the cliched title (which was a possibility for the title of the album), but it seems to justify itself as Yorke's perpetually creative lyrics and wordplay explode harmoniously after the initial sounds of Ed plugging in his guitar on the first day of recording. The full band explodes into a monumental pseudo-chorus (it seems as though RH has never really been into the big chorus thing, though) as Yorke repeates, "You have not been paying attention." Hah, ain't that the truth. Courtney Love proposed once that Kid A and Amnesiac were made to punish the world because we ignored Radiohead during the grunge era. Hah. She's a funny, drug-induced chick. But I think that HTTT is a stylistic advance for the band, incorporating elements from their post-rock popularity with the confusion and pure brilliance of their electro-rock. Maybe it's just that I've come to accept this now from the band... but I must say that I have been very impressed with the entire album. Yorke has learned to make the most of his vocals this time around, too. His falsettos soar, the electronics and challenging guitars tumble as usual. And while there are still acoustic guitar and grand piano jams (like the Neil Young-inspired "Go to Sleep" and the haunting "We Suck Young Blood"), this is still the new Radiohead. This is still the paranoid Thom Yorke and this is still the brilliant guitars of Jonny Greenwood. Radiohead is known for reinventing themselves from album to album, but now, I think the band is finally learning how to master one formula, and slowly move to the next. My favorite track off HTTT is a seemingly electronic ballad called "Backdrifts." The vocals are crisp and the electronics jarring but beautiful. It reminds me a lot of "Like Spinning Plates," actually, only much more accessible. Other notarary tracks include "We Suck Young Blood" (mainly for this wonderful, wacky piano solo Thom does as a little bridge), "Punchup at a Wedding" and "Myxamatosis," the track the band will have to emphasize should they ever choose to return to rock. Buy this album. It grows on me with each listen. Unless something else amazing comes out, this is it: THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR. Please look out for Radiohead's North American (August-September) and UK (November-December) tours, too. Coming to the local Clear Channel venue near you. (Plus, the great bands Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks and Supergrass will open selected US dates). Go. Buy. For fans of: New Radiohead, Old Radiohead, Coldplay, Supergrass, the Smiths, the Pixies, R.E.M.... but really, Radiohead is incomparable, and it's a travesty to compare them to anyone. |