Second (More Like 4th or 5th) Spin: Showing Up Late to the In Rainbows Party

For my just-short-of-dreadful Writing in Communications class I'm writing about the critical blowjob Radiohead got back in October for their In Rainbows marketing ploy and how it affects the RIAA (basically, it comes down to its time for the RIAA to get off its ass and do something). All the research I've been doing led me to decide that it was time to try giving In Rainbows another chance, see if maybe I hear what everyone else did when they fell in love with it. So a few weeks ago (and right now), I gave the album, the same 160-bitrate copy I downloaded on October 10th, yet another listen, to determine whether or not the album was something that needed to grow, or if it is indeed just sludgy trip-music with no coherence at all.

The first time around the only songs that had a truly positive impact on me were "Faust Arp" and "Videotape". The rest of the album I was mixed about, some of it having some cool elements to it, but largely inaccessible to me. This time around (I am indeed on my fourth or fifth time through the album) the first two tracks managed to suck me in. "15 Step" and "Bodysnatchers" are both neurotic messes in song form, reflected thusly in the lyrics. Part of the turn-off here is the fact that Thom Yorke's singing, and thus his lyrics, are very much one part of the equation that tend to get lost in Johnny Greenwood's guitars and Ed O'Briens various contributions. I've slowly learned that's what Radiohead is about in a lot of ways. They aren't the kind of rock band where the lead singer is the one delivering the message; everyone is. I can't say I necessarily agree with that tactic as a music fan, since as observed in In Rainbows, that can make things jumblefucky and turn off a lot of listeners.

After the first 8 minutes, Yorke gets his first chance to land a real blow on the listener with "Nude". As with most Radiohead songs, I couldn't tell you what the song is about without looking at the lyrics, but the sound itself is very flowy and smooth, a total shift from the opening. That concept continues in "All I Need" and "Reckoner", with the band still getting their shots in along the way (Greenwood's best moment lies in the all-too-short "Faust Arp"). By the time "Reckoner" starts playing the band has found a much better blend, and I stopped feeling like I was getting beat over the head with dischordant noise once every 3 minutes.

Lyrically, Yorke is damn near peerless in the genre. The faltering point is in the fact that the lyrics aren't always delivered well, making the words of In Rainbows better as poetry in some spots ("House of Cards" being one of them). The instrumentals still haven't sold me, but they've made serious progress since the first listen. After nearly 5 listens (the fifth listen will end by the time I finish this entry), In Rainbows will have proven that its a unique album not only for the way it was released, but in the way it grew from something sludgy and hard to swallow, to something powerful and multilayered.

In closing, yeah...I guess I am pretty impressed. Radiohead may not chart as high as the Foo Fighters or Pearl Jam in my book, but they're certainly a worthy peer.

Ruling on the field
Then: 4.5/10
Now: 9/10

Radiohead - Videotape
(Creepiest ending of an album in awhile)