For Marie Binnert + Ramin Lahoda
Radiohead... Oh dear, how do I start this
I can remember why I fell in love with Radiohead, and when they became one of my favourite bands of all time. I was watching Romeo + Juliet, the 1996 film adaptation of one of William Shakespeare's most celebrated and well-known tragedies featuring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio: I must have been almost twelve and I was captivated by the film. In the scene where Romeo is at the beach, depressed by the fact that his love for Rosaline is not reciprocal, a song plays... 'Talk Show Host' by Radiohead.
For one moment, I was no longer watching the film, but swept away by the melancholy chords and the almost lazy drone of Thom Yorke's voice, the abstract lyrics that leave room for so many interpretations... It is still one of my favourite songs of all time, and I began my exploration of one of the most influential alternative bands.
Perhaps what gives Radiohead its iconic sound is Thom Yorke's voice. He has once said that "It annoys me how pretty my voice is... how polite it can sound when perhaps what I'm singing is deeply acidic."This is very true, with story-telling lyrics that manage to narrate tales so intricately intertwined with hurt, angst and torture... Often Radiohead's material is more haunting than it is beautiful, but these two qualities are often synonymous when talking about music.
John Greenwood and Ed O'Brien, multi-instrumentalists and members of the band, have been named some of the greatest guitarists of the modern era, Colin Greenwood, the bassist, has played some of the most recognisable bass lines and Phil Selway is, according to Gigwise, the 26th best drummer of all time: this collection of talent contributes to delivering the notes that sends your mind into a deep, sorrowful trance, prompting your head to follow the various cadences of their songs. Has that every happened to you? You're listening to '2+2=5', or something more along the lines of 'Fake Plastic Trees', and you find yourself closing your eyes, completely drowning out every other thought except for the images and the story in the song, or the almost too direct warnings in 'Karma Police' and in 'Bodysnatchers'...
Well, you get the point.
The reason I chose to make my first blog post about Radiohead is the fact that after months of waiting, I was finally able to get The King of Limbs album, their new masterpiece. Although I will forever stay loyal to Ok Computer and In Rainbows, as well as Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser, I have to say, their new album is absolutely amazing, for lack of a better word. The album came into my possession less than twenty four hours ago and I've listened to it maybe once every hour I've been awake, even falling asleep to the lullaby-like sounds of 'Bloom'. My favourite tracks on this album are 'Give Up The Ghost', with that repeating refrain 'Don't Hurt Me' which makes me shiver at the vulnerability which exudes from this one line.
What a beautiful song.
Do leave comments about what you think about Radiohead, why they make you smile (or rather, why their music touches you and in what way, because Radiohead doesn't tend to make you smile, sorry about that). Hope you enjoy this post, it's my first attempt at blogging so go easy.
Thank you, I shall be back
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