October 12, 2007

I don't usually do record reviews, but I might have my blogger license taken away if I did not do this.

Radiohead could certainly be considered the biggest band of this generation and the release of In Rainbows just helps prove that. Since the announcements of the album’s release date, a mere ten days before the album was made available, the music world has been set off course. Never before has the anticipation of a single record had such an impact on the music community. With the gap between In Rainbows and Hail to the Thief being the longest gap in the band’s history the excitement amongst fans has grown to huge proportions and the band has not let anyone down. Although this is the most simplistic record the band has released since their debut album it is anything but a disappointment.

The album is a grower. The more you listen the better it becomes. The haunting voices and sounds that come from the depths of the album leave listeners with feelings untouched since Kid A. The album has a natural progression that only Radiohead can achieve. Since many of the songs have been in the process for years now, fans had many ideas of what to expect of this album and still the band threw in some surprises. This is probably the first time since Ok Computer that Thom’s voice has been so instrumental in an album. His falsettos are gorgeous and add a whole other layer to the songs. The guitars were turned up, way up, in all of the right places. “Bodysnatchers” is one of the bands most rocking songs in recent years. Great riffs and sounds that echo “Paranoid Android” are frequent throughout the entire track. The middle is perhaps where the album comes into it’s own. Things get slowed down and the minimalism really picks up. The new rendition of “Nude” is amazing and the orchestration of “All I Need” may be some of their best.

Radiohead is the biggest indie rock band in the world at the moment and the best thing to come out of England (music wise) since Pink Floyd. They are the closest this generation will come to having The Beatles and this is their white album (listen to “Julia” and Faust ARP” back to back). They have already made their Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s and now they are proving that they can still make mind-blowing music without completely reinventing their sound. They are on top of the music world in every possible way and nothing (record labels, album leaks, bad press) seems to be stopping them.

I saw The Darjeeling Limited last week and was very impressed. Definitely Anderson's best since Tenenbaums. Once again there are amazing characters and a great story line. Some complain that his movies are all just crazy families in situations that are completely ridiculous, but that's what I love about them. Owen Wilson is excellent in this film and I hope he realizes that. There is a short film that proceeds the full length so I recommend that you watch that before seeing Darjeeling. It just gives a little more understanding to the film. The short film is called The Hotel Chevalier and is available for free on iTunes.

Keep it scene in the city.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

marc write about the epic party you went to on saturday night