Well said.
I also love the structure of the lyrics:
He ends the first stanza with 'I could fuck you all night long, From a memory alone'
But because he has set up a disjointed rhythm as part of the melodic phrasing he separates 'From a memory' and 'alone'.
Without the disjointedness it would mean 'From [just] my memory', but because of the pause (anticipated at the very start of the stanza!) it means 'From my memory, [while I'm alone]'. And because of the gap he sounds hesitant and disappointed saying it, yet without disturbing the musical phrasing he's set up.
Much clever.
So excite.
Very Ocean.
Wow.
'The Mother Lode' inspired me to comment at 3am. It is genuinely one of the most beautiful things Thom has ever written. The vocal melody is tearing itself through me; like the melodies on Separator gave birth to their own world.
The week I complain about Stereogum not featuring enough Irish artists sees posts about U2, Damien Rice, Princess and Hozier. Apologies Stereogum, you have shown me the door. :D
I never hear enough Irish music on Stereogum, so I'm super-glad to see Damien featured here; and even gladder that this track is so wonderful.
Reminiscent of some early The Frames https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVMBI5NTlhA
Can't wait for this album.
The headline to this article is like one of those Hemingway six-word stories: 'Baby shoes for sale; never worn,' 'Otherwise tolerant rapper denies anti-Semitism,' 'Solange attacks Jay-Z; still a single lady.'
Also (though this veers even more off-topic), where does the hate (if there is hate) for TKOL come from? I can understand it not being on a pedestal along In Rainbows (and other rightfully lauded 'recent-ish' Radiohead) but the album has many fantastic songs and moments:
'Bloom' is incredible; 'Codex' is a perfect Thom ballad to add to the canon; 'Separator' is a beautiful jam that grows like the album's theme desires; 'Little By Little' is just a great rocker that is so fun and textured. I won't even start on the B-Sides.
I think I might give 'Separator' a spin right now. (These Coldplay songs are also very nice)
I really like Snakes. That is a very good song. The rest seems inconsistent: some good ideas marred by bad ones.
I'm certainly interested to hear follow-up stuff if that's on the cards.
I would like to add that it's Glen 'the Frames frontman' Hansard who busks every year for charity, as he's the main organiser of the event.
Bono, Damien Rice, Sinead O'Connor and other Irish musicians make little guest appearances. Which are great, but really we have Glen and the low-profile musicians with him to mainly thank; Bono was only there for two songs!
I'm excited to listen to this, but the fact that I have to open ITunes again is killing me. When I realise I've clicked an 'automatically open ITunes' link I always think, 'I SAID NEVER OPEN THAT BOX PANDORA!' (Ironically, Pandora still not available in my country)
I think I like everything about this album except for the autotuned sections. Not that I have anything against them in principal, but they seem to be an excuse to not-rap and in some cases (not all) vocally 'wander' around the track. But I think that's in the minority.
Can you though? I'd be genuinely interested particular since I don't seem to be 'getting' that track quite as much as the rest of y'all are. Those first tracks though, wow.
JT -- Don't Hold The Wall.
Disclosure -- Latch
Foals -- Inhaler
Coheed and Cambria -- Number City
Everything Everything -- Kemosabe
(Although I have to admit, most of my early summer songs have been the amazing leftovers from last year which was quite good for that sort of thing)
I love the vocal work on this album; I think that's what makes it stand out against the rest of their catalogue (if you consider Ok Computer the 'Guitar-album' and Kid A the 'Electronic-album', etc... ((I think King of Limbs may be the' Drum & Bass (((not house music))) album' and the Bends the 'Band-album')). )
2+2=5 and I Will have astounding harmonies, very unusual in the former and triple-layered Thom in the latter! Scatterbrain uses very cool distorted 'glitch' vocals and Sit Down Sit Up has the repetitive vocal drone. Wolf at the Door and Myxymatosis obviously stand out for having talking/shouting instead of singing. The album really pushes a lot of limits in that sense, it's like with Kid A they were trying to get away from Johnny's guitar and with HTTT they were trying to get away from Thom's voice.
Also, I don't understand the non-love for Scatterbrain, it's one the album highlights for me! Those broken cries of the title near the end are so moving, and the end riff is such a nice afterthought to the song. Four Tet's remix is great too.
I've always thought of Hail To The Thief as the one Radiohead album where they forgot to release the B-sides separately.
I completely agree about the still-arguable 'good/not-so-good' tracks; even I find it hard to decide which ones I like at any one moment. And the fact that I disagree with some of your choices proves it! (Sail to the Moon is beautifully personal and Go to Sleep is so catchy!) Great write-up though.
When I sometimes (*often) try to categorise Radiohead's albums, I usually find myself assigning them based on what newness they brought to their sound, or what they did best. For example, OK Computer is the Guitar-album, Kid A is the Electronics-album, Amnesia is the Jazz-album, King of Limbs is the 'Drum and Bass'-album (as in percussion and bass guitar, not house music...) and Hail to the Thief seems to be the Vocal-album.
Ignoring a lot of the electronic experimentation (or non-experimentation) one common theme throughout the album is the use of multi-layered or distorted vocals to a much greater extent than on previous albums. I Will uses three layered voices, and much of the emotional connection with the song comes from their manipulation (one voice is just singing the melody an octave higher). 2+2=5 uses the weirdest dissonant harmonies, certainly not used ever before by Thom. Scatterbrain uses amazingly distorted vocals, consistent with the lyrical theme. Wolf at the Door and Myxomatosis are the most striking vocally in that they are mostly spoken or shouted which goes further than anything from Thom's punk days. And I'm sure something could also be said for the repeated 'Sit Down Stand Up' of said song.
I wonder if anyone else thinks of the album that way?
For me, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Laura Mvula and Justin Timberlake have stood out. I think I've spent most of the year thus far anticipating albums rather than listening.
I like Kanye's lyrics because they are always definitely about 'something'. He tends not to wander vaguely, which can of course be good; he usually does everything in his power to get across his point. And he has quite a way with words too. Like 'Roses' or 'Mama', beautiful and succinct. Or the passion/anger of 'Monster' and these songs (though I can't hear Black Skinhead....).
Also, the instrumental aspect of his tracks has as much attention to detail as any of the lyrical work he's putting in, which is not something that could be said of many hip-hop artists.
I think since he didn't ask her to do it, it was rape. As that's the definition. That doesn't justify his later reactions, but it doesn't negate the initial rape. It's a pretty bad state of affairs and Kitty seems to discuss it pretty well for someone who's intimately involved in the whole situation.
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