The only legitimate problem with Radiohead's new studio album, "In Rainbows," is it makes it impossible to look at other music the same way again. With this release, Radiohead proves it can achieve daunting greatness in musical quality over and over, once again failing to disappoint.
Perhaps even more important than the music itself is the way the album was released. In a revolutionary maneuver, Radiohead released the album for download online for an optional fee, without the backing of a record label. If listeners want something physical to go with the album, they can opt for the $80 deluxe package which has the physical CD and vinyl album.
In order to gain a Tuftonian perspective on this event, the Daily sat down with the head of the music department Joseph Auner, who teaches Music 195: Music, Technology, and Digital Culture. He also happens to be a Radiohead fanatic.
"With the advent of MP3s, the business model for selling music has been profoundly transformed," said Auner. "CDs are only going to exist at big stores, like Wal-Mart, as a special niche market for those that aren't downloading. Record companies were very slow to face what the reality of downloading has meant, and now they're trying to figure out what to do to respond. So I think everyone thinks that there needs to be a new model for how music is distributed."
"In Rainbows" is a triumph in itself but is even more impressive considering the album's innovation against the backdrop of Radiohead's tremendously successful career. After road-testing new material throughout its 2006 tour schedule, the band took a cue from the success of its live performances, producing an album that is much more manageable for the average listener. The album is heroic in that it breathes new life into songs that fans have already heard live and retains the lofty, heavenly Radiohead feel while being more conducive to new listeners.
The time Radiohead spent building its name helped infinitely with the endeavor to release an album without label representation.
"For any artist with a devoted fanbase, this will be a very successful model, and I'm guessing eventually they all will do it. For a typical record, the artist only gets a small percentage of the sales, and the company keeps the rest, but it's really incredibly profitable for a band to do it all themselves, if they have the means. I think there are a couple of bands that, now that Radiohead has done this, will follow suit," said Professor Auner.
Before moving on to the album itself, it is interesting to note that Professor Auner was particularly irked at one peculiarity of the Radiohead release. He said, "My question is: Why are people assenting to settle for significantly reduced sound quality?" The MP3s available for download from the Radiohead website are trans files, which are even more compressed than normal MP3s, resulting in what is truly a very low fidelity.
"When you put that sound through little iPod headphones, it's really contradictory that Radiohead would agree to release ... a work of art in a reduced form. But they're also releasing the album on vinyl; it's very odd," said Auner.
The concept of the "album," meaning a consciously arranged collection of songs, has always been very important to Radiohead, and this idea has not been lost with "In Rainbows."
"iTunes has been the most successful attempt up until now as a CD alternative, but I think Radiohead held out from releasing material to iTunes namely because they view their albums as a coherent whole rather than as a sum of ten singles," Auner said. "That is, of course, a very different view than that of the record companies, who just wanted to sell lots of singles at 99 cents apiece."
That said, nearly every song on "In Rainbows" is pretty stellar by itself. The album's opener, "15 Step," retains the same up-tempo, clap-your-hands beat that fans enjoyed during the 2006 live shows. This time the group even got children from the Matrix Music School in London to do the clapping while installing their own electronic sounds. The song is full of bass and beats, an energetic opener and one of the only songs to incorporate the "Kid A"-style electronic sounds on an otherwise quieter album. Despite the dominance of the bouncy electronic beats, guitarist Jonny Greenwood's soft progressions take center stage for much of the song, as does the rest of the band. The song is rhythmically pleasing, with intricate bass and drums to pair with singer Thom Yorke's "Eraser"-like electronic sounds from his 2006 solo album.
"Bodysnatchers" follows, featuring a loopy, fuzzy guitar riff to carry a distorted, bass-heavy track that is still very similar to its first-heard live version. The song features a standard verse/chorus structure for the first two minutes, then it lets go of the heavy distortion for an interlude and changes into an acoustic rhythm guitar with dreamy, distant guitar tones emanating along with Yorke's echoing voice. "Bodysnatchers" and "15 Step" are the only two tracks with heavy electronic, dance-beat feels to them, marking a shift from the digital sounds featured on "Kid A" (2000) and "Hail to the Thief" (2003).
"Nude" - one of the most speculated-about and anticipated tracks of the album - is the most beautiful achievement on the record. A song lost in mystery for a decade and a track that Radiohead tried so long to perfect, "Nude" is easily the most remarkable work on the album and possibly the most stunning arrangement Radiohead has produced since "Kid A's" "How to Disappear Completely." The track starts off with a slow swelling of strings - the first of many of "In Rainbows'" string-laden tracks - as Yorke howls softly, then fades away 40 seconds in to leave the song alone with an eerie bass line to carry the rest of the track. Yorke squeezes every ounce of emotion out of his voice, pouring his insides out in what can be seen as a beautiful tearjerker or a depressing outpouring of sadness. Either way, the song is emotionally inspiring, with some of the most hauntingly memorable lyrics from the band to date: "Now that you've found it, it's gone/Now that you feel it, you don't."
Another popular track from the band's 2006 tour, "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," maintains a similar feel to its live version, with guitar replacing keyboard and an overall more positive feel. Swirling guitar arpeggios guide the song as Yorke's voice doubles as a backing vocal along the song's first three minutes. "All I Need" follows, unveiling a heavy string presence and a simplistic drum beat on top of a slow, reverb bass line. The track slowly builds up to a bigger, louder romantic harmony by the end of the second chorus, swelling in size with a clanging keyboard and crashing cymbals, similar to the growth of "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" as it progressed.
"Faust Arp" is a short, soft, finger-picked acoustic guitar ballad with Yorke's quick-paced lyrics flowing out delicately, one of the few unheard-of songs before the release of "In Rainbows."
"Reckoner" is one of the most pleasant surprises of the album after its evolution from its predecessor, a harsher, more "Bends"-like rock song. Now reborn, "Reckoner" is the album's most dense song, laid with clanging percussion, strings, keyboard, a tiptoeing guitar part, and Yorke's graceful falsetto. The new "Reckoner" is clearly more fit in style for "In Rainbows" than its previous form, and its dazzling complexity is more elegant with each listen.
The relaxed "House of Cards" retains all the qualities of its live version, featuring the same swiping guitar strum and Yorke's distant and echoing howl. Just when the album seems to be winding down, out springs "Jigsaw Falling Into Place," a slow-starting song that quickly picks up with a lively bass line and drums. Yorke's hums surround all, leading into a colloquial, less morbid singing style while the song slowly builds up like "All I Need" or "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi." The outro is stunning, with swirling acoustic guitars like the pitter-patter of rain on a rooftop among eloquent strings.
The anticipated "Videotape" is quite different from its live early form, and many might greet the track with harshness due to the noticeable changes in the song. The track could very well be the next "Pyramid Song," criticized by many while simultaneously appreciated for its unusual construction. Yorke's mournful sob of a voice reveals an emotional parting note for the record, promising an effective finale like every previous Radiohead album. With slow piano and bass and a stuttered electronic drumbeat, the song slowly builds and dies to close an expressive and introspective album.
"In Rainbows" is Radiohead's best since "Kid A," and possibly the best of the band's entire career. Besides its musical and instrumental congruence and pleasure, the album's more tangible emotional themes bring together a list of ten songs as a group rather than ten separate works, a missed phenomenon after "Hail to the Thief."
Spurred on by the interview, Auner purchased the CD online. As he entered his information for the deluxe package, he said, "OK, now I'm getting excited."
As an album, "In Rainbows" has strength in its cohesion, promising no weak tracks, but no clear standouts either, providing a blissful satisfaction worthy of the album title and completely worth the four-year wait. Whether or not Radiohead's 'do it yourself' strategy will catch on with other famous bands is yet to be seen, but if Professor Auner is right, downloading direct from artists is soon to be the new norm.
