quote:

After two years away from the studio, Radiohead have begun working on new music again, planting the seeds of what will likely become the follow-up to 2003's Hail to the Thief. A cryptic message from frontman Thom Yorke, posted earlier this month to the band's official webboard, suggested that this may be the case, however vaguely, reading, "hey weve started work. (speaking of cookies) no really."

Full article here.

Your thoughts? Even though there are no details about the new release to speak of at the moment, I naturally have high hopes.

Thanks to whoever moved this. I thought that I had posted it in Alternative to begin with, but it ended up in General Music Discussion.

No problem. We've been trying to keep band threads filed under the various headings, although that's not always easy to do. Other than deleting spam (and I've been doing a LOT of that these last few days) moving threads around is the only moderatin' I've been needing to do the past few weeks.

No comments, people?

in related news a new live song performed by Yorke and Greenwood with an orchestra (i think) called arpreggi just got "released" and is all over the internets. (pitchfork sez 4/5 for the song, in *surprise!* an overly wordy review that doesn't say much)

since i first heard kid a, i've been pumped for anything radiohead and they're probably my favorite band, so this news was exciting. but this song is what pushed me over the edge. the song is amazing. the pfork review does mention that the song needs some studio werks behind it, and that is true. but the sounds, the orchestra, thom's perfect voice are in pretty top form here. i love it...too bad it'll be a while before anything gets released.

I've got the opposite view of not eric (hmm...is he the bizarro-me?) because I find myself less and less interested in each successive Radiohead record, beginning with Kid A. It's to the point that I barely listened to Thief when it came out and I still rarely pull it out to play. BUT...in an effort to get excited about the new one, I've downloaded my copies of Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief onto my MP3 player and will give them a new perusal. Maybe my Radiohead funk will come to an end.

But...even a Radiohead record I don't dig will be twenty times better than most of the rest of the dreck released that year.

that's funny. i'm only 18 and i get the impression you are at least a little bit older than i...i point that out because it seems like younger fans of radiohead prefer the newer stuff, generally speaking. personally, I can't stand early radiohead and i hardly listen to ok computer. good luck getting into the new stuff, kida and hail are two of my personal favorites.

but anyway, this new song is more in the direction of new radiohead (i think it's fair to say we'll never see a return to a pre-kida style), but it's still worth hearing for those who have been a little iffy on the newer stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by not eric:
that's funny. i'm only 18 and i get the impression you are at least a little bit older than i...i point that out because it seems like younger fans of radiohead prefer the newer stuff, generally speaking. personally, I can't stand early radiohead and i hardly listen to ok computer. good luck getting into the new stuff, kida and hail are two of my personal favorites.

I am older...about 14 years older, actually. And maybe I cling to the "old days" when I got to see Radiohead tour for OK Computer in smallish rock clubs. I still appreciate them, and I think they're certainly pushing boundaries, but I've just never gotten the hubbub over the Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail trifecta. I'm obviously a Bends/OK COmputer guy. I like parts of Pablo honey...

Everything from Bends onwards has been great, with a slight lapse on Amnesiac but a strong recovery with Hail. I used Kid A to get to sleep for so many months but it's a great album for the awake as well. Can't wait for the new album, they are always evolving.

________________________________________________

After OK Computer, I thought they were one of the best bands going, but after Kid A, I knew they were the best band, so, of course, I'm happy about it, but there's not MUCH it to it yet.

What I love about Radiohead is the way each record sounds completely different from anything they've done before, yet still manages to sound distinctly like Radiohead. OK Computer and The Bends are my favorites, with Kid A and Hail to the Thief behind. Amnesiac I found a little uneven, but some really cool-sounding songs (nobody else could make anything remotely like the last two tracks, "Like Spinning Plates" and "Life in a Glass House"). Excited about the new Radiohead album? Hell yeah, I can't wait to see what they sound like this time. I haven't checked out this new single, but I will try to find it somewhere...

quote:

Originally posted by paxsoprano:
What I love about Radiohead is the way each record sounds completely different from anything they've done before, yet still manages to sound distinctly like Radiohead.

Hail sounds completely different from Amnesiac, which sounds completely different from Kid A? I'll certainly concede the differences between albums up to and including Kid A, but the last three couldn't be more similar.

I don't see a big difference between Kid A and Amnesiac, except that the former has the more "accesible" songs. Hail to the Thief contains many songs inspired by those two, but mixes them in with a few ("Backdrifts", "The Gloaming") further down the rabbit hole, as well as some nods to the more guitar-based The Bends and OK Computer ("2+2=5" and "There There".) The biggest similarity I see between the three is I named them all the Number One album of the year. *non-credibility becomes even more invisible*

Amnesiac seemed to be the same style as Kid A except with weaker songs. Hail To The Thief doesn't really do it for me as much...maybe because the novelty's worn off for me.

But still good enough for me to buy the album automatically.

To me Kid A sounded nothing like Amnesiac. Kid A seems slower and almost dreamlike, whereas Amnesiac seemed more like jazz-infused dance music with, as someone said, much less "accessible" songs. Hail to the Thief sounded different as well, much more guitar, song-oriented stuff, yet still somehow different from The Bends and OK Computer. Sorry if I can't be any more specific, but I think that speaks for how complex Radiohead's sound is.

I'm pretty certain Kid A and Amnesiac were recorded in the same sessions. I usually think of Amnesiac as the album with the weaker songs than Kid (eg pakt sardines) or ones that are great but wouldnt have fit the Kid album (eg Pyramid Song) I was kinda disappointed with Hail, id classify it as a cross between OK and Kid, with half the songs being really exceptional and several being quite poor. Kid A is my favourite album overall.
It will be fascinating to see what style their new album will be in.

For me, "Hail" sounds like a "transitional album." Sort of like Wilco's "A Ghost Is Born." That's not to say they're weak in any way, but they seem to sum up the bands' careers to that point in an assertive way. With "Hail" you get some of the electronica flirtations of "Kid A/Amnesiac", some of the edgy paranoia of "OK Computer", and some plain-ol' rocking out via "The Bends." The general impression is kind of "This is where we've been, and this is where we're at." I expect Radiohead's next album to take the plunge and veer into unexpected territory the way "Kid A" did.

Personally,

I like to see them do a complete 180 from the vast expirementation of the last four albums and go in an almost Rubber Soul/Astral Weeks direction of acoustic simplicity, seduction, and if only because every time I hear "Thinking about You", "High and Dry", or "True Love Waits" I say to myself "they've got an album's worth of timeless acoustic tracks buried in behind Thom's paranoia somewhere."

Of course, in reality they will probably do something none of us suspects, which is why they're one of the most exciting bands going.

Also a Disclaimer...Kid A/Amnesiac were recorded at the same time...and all manner of releases...including releasing as a Double album, or Simultaneous releases ala Bright Eyes...were considered. If I recall correctly, The Kid A Version of Morning Bell, Dollars and Cents, and Knives Out all went down the very first day of the sessions and remained survived to the end basically unchanged...after that, the sessions were a fumbling nightmare. To me, the most amazing thing is how perfectly the songs were ultimately separated...there's not a song on Kid that feels like it would belong on Amnesiac, and ditto for the reverse save maybe for Pull/Pulk.

I'm in the minority that actual prefers Amnesiac, it's best songs aren't as good as Kid, nor does it have as many great songs as Kid, but the cumulative warm glow aftertaste lasts longer.

If anyone wants to hear from the band, they've started posting messages on their website. Mostly pictures and poems from Thom but any news is good news.

http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Eccles,

By the time this album is ready for release, it will be my reason for living. And if I'm disappointed, I might die. Twice.

but they won't disappoint, right?