In Rainbows: An editorial review

by Grant Withington

Credit:charlestoncitypaper.com

I hate album reviews. I’ve never understood why one person’s written opinion should have any say on whether or not I like a piece of music. The author is most likely coming from a completely different musical background than me, and is generally not a musician.
My advice to someone who is wondering about a particular album: listen to it, and don’t read reviews.
I was asked to write a review of Radiohead’s latest album, In Rainbows, not because I have ever written an album review, but because I have listened to Radiohead’s music for over twelve years. They have indisputably been my favorite band for that entire time. They are the sole inspiration for making me want to learn how to play guitar and pursue songwriting. As much as I love all genres of music and any number of bands, Radiohead is the only one that I can say stands alone as an integral part of my definition as a person.
When people say that music changed their life, it sometimes comes across as a flighty declaration. But I can make that statement about this band without feeling capricious because I know that I wouldn’t be a musician if I had never experienced their music.
THE BENDS

They’re the most revolutionary band of this generation. They are Radiohead.
Credit:last.fm

First hearing “Fake Plastic Trees” on the radio in the summer of 1995 will forever be in the top ten most pivotal experiences of my life. I had never previously had a song move me to tears. I immediately went to the record store and bought The Bends, and proceeded to religiously listen to it from anywhere between one and three times a week for the next two years.

OK COMPUTER
When OK Computer was released in the summer of 1997, I was in Ireland on a short term missions trip in which all team members were not allowed to bring portable CD players. On a shopping day, I went to a record store and listened to the whole album in a listening booth. I didn’t know what to think. I was very surprised, and a little disappointed. The band was obviously going in another direction. I had been hoping for The Bends Part II. Even so, the album was undeniably intriguing and the moment my plane hit American soil I ran to a CD store in the airport and bought it. When I got home my parents and siblings wanted to know all about my summer in Ireland. After no more than ten minutes of post-airport celebration I related that the jet lag was kicking in and that I needed to go to bed. The truth was that I needed to listen to OK Computer on my headphones repeatedly for the next four hours.
I can’t say that I immediately “got” what Radiohead was trying to convey on that album. To my limited musical knowledge, no one had made anything like it before. After listening to it non-stop for two months, OK Computer finally clicked for me. I realized that Radiohead was about moving music forward. They would never make another The Bends or even another OK Computer for that matter, and I was OK with that.

KID A / AMNESIAC / HAIL TO THE THIEF
I was well prepared for the radical change that came with 2000’s Kid A and 2001’s Amnesiac, and relished every moment of those albums. This was a band whose primary interest was pushing their limits, not satisfied to simply maintain the status quo of their previous work. In 2003 Radiohead continued to forge ahead with another critically acclaimed album, the eclectic Hail to the Thief.

IN
RAINBOWS
So… In Rainbows was released last month and marked the longest gap between Radiohead albums. After four years everyone was eager to know what uncharted soundscapes they would explore this time, and when this musical miracle would finally come to fruition. With absolutely no warning, the band announced on October 1st that the album would be released via digital download on October 10th. And not only that, but they were going to let the listener pay whatever amount of money they wanted for it.
In Rainbows is a brilliant album. I could incorporate the routinely kitsch practice that many music publications use and give a track by track synopsis (i.e. “Faust Arp” is reminiscent of a bearded, sandal wearing, John Lennon in India, and “All I Need” feels like it could have been the tenth track on Depeche Mode’s Violator). Additional trite drivel could be said about the warmth of Johnny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien’s guitar tones, Thom Yorke’s angelic harmonies and myriads of other musical attributes that mean absolutely nothing on the printed page.
What I want to relate is that I believe In Rainbows might be Radiohead’s last album. This album is different from any of their others because it doesn’t sound like anything new — not that it sounds stale. Not at all. The band has already accomplished the unlikely not only by maintaining a steady fan base throughout their major stylistic shifts, but also by acquiring the attention and adoration of the next generation. In Rainbows is an album for Radiohead fans. Almost every track is either a previously unreleased song that the band has been toying around with at live shows for years or a fleshing out/reworking of a not so familiar b-side, some dating all the way back to their first album, Pablo Honey. They have perfected their sound while cleaning out their cupboard. Throughout their career I have felt that they were always progressing, always in top form, but never peaking. Unless Radiohead comes back in a few years with something drastically different, I don’t believe that they will make a follow-up to In Rainbows. They have no need to repeat themselves. It’s that solid.
In 1998 I remember downloading a live recording of a beautifully written unreleased Radiohead song entitled “Big Ideas.” Nine years later, the song shows up on In Rainbows under the title “Nude.” I am happy to have waited this long to get a recording so gorgeous. In Rainbows is an affirmation that Radiohead need never strum another chord to solidify their status as the most revolutionary band of my generation.