Vinyl #1: In Rainbows by Radiohead
I was a little sceptical about writing this at first. Mostly because music is something really really personal, not only to me but for almost every human being. There is a reason why a music album doesn’t come with a “guide” to explain what the meaning and concept of the album is. There is no written rule to understand what the artist is talking about because everyone perceives the same music in different ways.
But In Rainbows.
Oh my God, In Rainbows.
This album deserves an entire post dedicated to it or I wouldn’t be doing myself or this blog any justice.
Before diving into the masterpiece of pure artistical genius that this album is, let me set up the stage for you so you have context of what I am talking about.
Before the 2010s, there was no way for you to ‘stream’ music. You had to physically buy the album or buy the digital copy so you could listen to it on your iPod or Walkman. This is of course, if you decided to go the ethical way. There were always ways to download music illegally. But, after the release of their 6th studio album, Radiohead decided to escape this wormhole of piracy and illegal music downloads which did not do the artists any good and did not give the fans an easy way to access music. In lead singer Thom Yorke’s words “we want to give some perverse pleasure to artists and fans alike and say fuck you to the business model”
And boy did they say fuck you.
In 2007, via the band’s website, Radiohead released their 7th studio album, In Rainbows, on a “pay what you want” scheme. This created a huge rippling effect in the music industry and in one of the main reasons why today music is easily streamable at virtually zero cost to a listener.
I don’t want to talk much about the business side of things about this album even though it did create a huge conversation in the music community, because once this conversation did die down it became apparent that Radiohead had somehow constructed another masterpiece. Again.
In Rainbows is a lot of things for me. It’s Radiohead’s most exciting, most visceral and consistently explosive album from start to finish. The biggest thing for me is the immense comfort I receive from this record, the warmth of the production and the organic nature of it. On this record the band pretty much does away with electronic instrumentation, with the band’s producer, Nigel Godrich, focusing more on the things like the acoustic ambience of the drums and the occasional but deliberate fret buzz created by the bass. Thom’s vocals have a lot of personality and emotion on this record and at times feel like they are more breathy and raw compared to the band’s previous outings.
In theory none of this should be working, but it somehow does. The experience that this record creates gives you a real feeling that these are humans creating this music, almost as if they are performing right in front of you. This feeling, this personal connect that you feel when you listen to this record is irreplaceable.
There is very little anger in In Rainbows. Its in no way political, or at least, it doesn’t feel that way to me. It explores the idea of transience. It starts in one place and by the end it takes you somewhere completely different.
There is a sort of maturity in the song writing on this record. And this isn’t me in any way taking a dig at the songwriting on earlier albums, that’s not what I mean. But when you listen to this album, its like there is an implicit understanding of what life is. And the beauty and the god-awfulness of it.
The raw emotion and the unbelievably humanist nature of the the way the lyrics, the production and Thom, with his personal and unscripted, yet painfully satisfying personality on the vocals are a strong-arm on this record.
Also something that requires a mention is that this record has an AMAZING (yes all caps) flow. From the scattered yet high-hatted catchy beats on the song ‘15 Steps’, to the atmospherically blissful sounding guitars and bass on the song ‘All I Need’, to the dreary pianos on the song ‘Videotape’. This is a water tight and jam packed collection of 10 songs.
I remember the first time I heard this album. What I can’t remember is the number of times I hit the repeat button. If Thom Yorke and band made a record talking about being stuck in traffic or unskippable YouTube advertisements, I would still listen to it. And almost certainly enjoy it.
Is this the best album ever? Almost certainly not. In fact it isn’t even Radiohead’s best album or their most innovative (those badges of honour going to OK Computer and Kid A respectively). But every time I listen to this album, and that happens ALOT of times, I am always left with a feeling of irreplaceable childish satisfaction and joy, like no other.
If you have made it this far, I am really glad. But I also want to apologise to you because even with an essay of 900 words, I cant put in words how this album fucks me up in ways I cannot describe.
As Thom Yorke would say,
You’ve got a light, you can feel it on your back
A light, you can feel it on your back
Jigsaw falling into place
So there is nothing to explain
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