Jul 28, 2001 07:28 AM
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I first got into Radiohead when I heard that ever popular song
Creep. At that time many thought that would be the last we would
hear from this British based rock group. They soon proved many
wrong, with many great songs and albums following. Amnesiac,
their latest offering, shows how the group is far from a one hit
wonder and keeps coming up with new ways to write songs and is
also helping to lead the music industry forward into the future.
Radiohead is more of an ''album'' band than a ''singles'' band in
that they seem to write their music to create an album. Amnesiac
flows from one song to another, keeping the originality going. You
won't be listening to this album wondering if you heard this before.
The album opens up with a very poppy upbeat song, packt like
sardines in a crushed tin box (yes that's the name of it ) Thom
Yorke's voice is powerful and straightforward in this one as he
sings.... ''im a reasonable man, get off my case'' maybe referring
to people criticizing Kid A.
The next song, ''Pyramid Song'' has a ''Karma Police'' feel to it.
It's my favorite song on the album. Its very powerful yet still
mellow. It sounds like thom playing an old piano in his attic. He
chants ''i jumped into the river and what did I see..... black eyed
angels swam with me...... a moon full of stars and astral cars....
and all the figures I used to see...... all my lovers where there with
me..... all my past and futures...... and we all went to heaven in a
little row boat. The song is beautiful and it wont take long to
become addicted to it.
The third song, ''Pulk Pull Revolving Doors'' switches gears
completely. Its computer generated beats which are very weird. I
thought at first that I wouldnt like the song since it is artificial. But
after a few listens I became addicted to it. Thom's voice is
messed around with in the song alot yet you can still understand
it. I like the idea of the song, how it talks about going through
different doors in life (open doors, closed doors, trap doors etc.)
The song is really deeper than it might sound on first listen.
The fourth song, ''You And Whose Army?'' is probably my second
favorite on the album. It has a ''Karma Police'' feel to it. Its short
but sweet. I love how it builds up from just thom singing to the end
where the whole band comes in a backs him up. This song will
probably become an audience favorite at the shows.
Next is ''I Might Be Wrong'', the first radio release from the band.
The beat on the song is very catchy, and the cool thing is, it's not
a manufactured electronic beat like on some of the other tracks.
This one is a pure guitar riff made by the determined Johnny
Greenwood, Radiohead's lead guitarist. It will have you moving
your head up and down along with the music. My only criticism of
the track is that Thom's vocals are too heavily distorted that you
can't understand much of what he is saying which is a
dissapointment since the song has good https://lyrics.
The next song is ''Knives Out'' and it sounds like older Radiohead
from the Bends. I just saw the video of it premier yesterday on
MTV. It will probably be the first song in a while from Radiohead
that radio stations wont be afraid to play. ''Look into my eyes...
I'm not coming back....'' is some of the lines from the song.
The next song was a bit of a dissapointment and I keep skipping
over it as soon as ''Knives Out'' ends. It's a rehash of ''Morning
Bell'' from the Kid A album. I think they should have left this song
the way it was.
Dollars and Cents is up next. The guitar riff is catchy, its another
song going back to the old fashioned Radiohead guitar playing.
Again though, Thom's vocals are too distorted in it and I wish they
would come in clearer.
The 9th song is ''Hunting Bears'' which is just a short
instrumental. It's interesting, but not a song I will play over and
over.
On to number 10, which I love. Its a very weird song since it is a
song that is played backwards. It's called ''Spinning Plates'' which
are the only two words you can understand in the whole song.
Even though the song is so weird, its very pleasant sounding and I
love listening to it when I want to relax.
The final song ''Life In A Glass House'' is the one I had been
waiting for the most on the new album. And it turns out it's one of
the great gems on the album. Radiohead even got a famous jazz
artist to come along and play on the song. I hope this one will be
released as a single, well that is if the radio will have the guts to
play it.
The bottom line is, if you want to hear something new and original
instead of the average pop sounds that you've heard before... then
pick up this album.
