We now come to the final Radioheadrevisitedgiveaway, and this time, for the 2009 deluxe edition of Hail To The Thief, which hands down is my favorite album in the entire catalog. It might be my favorite because it incorporates all the different musical styles on the previous albums, or because it is considered a least favorite, or a “throw-away” album by some fans.
Regardless of the reason, this is Radiohead’s ultimate masterpiece, with two tablespoons of the guitar-heavy OK Computer, a cup ofthe experimental and electronic Kid A, one-quart of piano, and a pinch of The Bends.
The album arguably has the best 1-2 punch of all of Radiohead’s albums with the multi-sectioned and eventually intense “2+2=5”, followed by the equally as powerful and building “Sit Down, Stand Up.” How can one not be rocking out at the two-minute mark of the opening track? For as layered as “2+2=5” sounds, it is one the more cleaner sounding guitar parts in long while.
“Sit Down, Stand Up” has one the funkiest and syncopated piano rhythms I have heard Jonny Greenwood ever play. Atop that playing is a repeated “Sit down, stand up” until borderline creepy phrases of “walk into the jaws of hell” and “we can wipe you out anytime.” For the final minute and 15 seconds, “the raindrops” is repeated above an intense, trance-like music accompaniment inducing head banging.
“Sail to the Moon” reminds me of “Karma Police” and “Pyramid Song” with the heavy piano, which of course I thoroughly enjoy hearing. I can never get too much of piano in any song.
After the Kid A-like “Backdrifts,” we go down memory lane to Radiohead’s second album The Bends. “Go To Sleep” has that guitar, alt-rock sound, bringing back their roots. Even though the band has ascended by leaps and bounds musically, they can never escape their initial influences. Some call it a blessing, and others call it a curse.
The next three tracks of “Where I End and You Begin,” “We Suck Young Blood” and “The Gloaming” is a return to the experimental and trippy elements found on Kid A and Amnesiac.
Radiohead then goes back in time once again, but this time to Ok Computer, the days where they straddled the line between alt-rock and experimental with the lead-off single “There There”, “I Will” and “A Punch Up At a Wedding.”
With one more Kid A type song in “Myxomatosis,” the album comes to a close with the Amnesiac-like “Scatterbrain” and “A Wolf at the Door.”
Next time you sit down and listen to Hail to the Thief, really try and think of this album with ingredients from Radiohead’s back catalog. It is almost a “Best Of” without actually having any previously released songs from prior albums. If anything, I view this ultimate masterpiece as an homage to everything they had done, an amalgamation, if you will, of all that makes Radiohead arguably the most challenging, and never-conforming-to-mainstream-radio band the music industry has ever heard.
For grins, here is the tracklist for Hail to the Thief with the album it compliments, or rather, the “Best Of” feel:
1. 2+2=5 (Amnesiac)
2. Sit Down, Stand Up (Kid A)
3. Sail To the Moon (OK Computer)
4. Backdrifts (Kid A)
5. Go To Sleep (The Bends)
6. Where I End and You Begin (Amnesiac)
7. We Suck Young Blood (Kid A)
8. The Gloaming (Kid A)
9. There There (OK Computer)
10. I Will (Ok Computer)
11. A Punch Up At A Wedding (Ok Computer)
12. Myxomatosis (Kid A)
13. Scatterbrain (Amnesiac)
14. A Wolf At the Door (Amnesiac)
The second disc contains b-sides from the “There There,” “Go To Sleep” and “2+2=5” singles. Included among them are a live track of “Fog (Again),” a remix of “Myxomatosis” appropriately titled “Remyxomatosis,” the first demo version of “There There,” a remix of “Scatterbrain” and another version of “I Will.”
In addition, there are also live tracks from the Jo Whiley Show from May 28, 2003, Live at Earls Court in London from November 26, 2003 and Zane Lowe from December 8, 2003.
The DVD contains the promotional music videos to the three singles, including a promo video for “Sit Down Stand Up,” and live video footage from Belfort Festival, and Later…With Jools Holland.
The deluxe edition also contains the sleeve covers for the three singles, the booklet from the original album release, and a poster from the special edition released in 2003.
Hail To The Thief (standalone album) – 5 out of 5 stars Hail To The Thief (2 CD/1 DCD) – 5 out of 5 stars
Disc 2 Track List: (Taken from “There There” single)
1. Paperbag Writer
2. Where Bluebirds Fly
(Taken from “Go To Sleep” single)
3. I Am Citizen Insane
4. Fog (Again) – Live
5. Gagging Order
6. I Am A Wicked Child
(Taken from “2+2=5” single)
7. Remyxomatosis (Cristian Vogel RMX)
8. There There (First Demo)
9. Skttrbrain (Four Tet RMX)
10. I Will (Los Angeles Version)
(Jo Whiley Show – 28/05/93)
11. Sail To the Moon
(Live at Earls Court, London – 26/11/03)
12. 2+2=5
(Zane Lowe – 08/12/03)
13. Go To Sleep
DVD Track list: (Music Videos)
There There
Go To Sleep
2+2=5
Sit Down Stand Up
(Live at Belfort Festival)
2+2=5
(Later…With Jools Holland 27/05/03)
There There
Go To Sleep
2+2=5
Where I End And You Begin
Editors’ Note: PopWreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of Hail to the Thief to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album Hail to the Thief and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10.
Primarily recorded during the same time as Kid A, Radiohead delivers Amnesiac less than a year after its predecessor. With the successful experimentation done on the prior album, it was going to be difficult to follow up with anything at that level. See, I am a firm believer that there are crap, ok, good, and excellent albums. But then there are the rare albums that are a step above an excellent album, and for me that was Kid A.
So because Amnesiac was mainly recorded during the same time as Kid A, there are those same experimental elements found throughout the album. However, a more accurate description would be to call it a unification of textures found on both OK Computer and Kid A.
“Packt Like Sardines In a Crushed Tin Box” begins with a sound like Kid A – the first 30 seconds is nothing but beats and grooves before a melodic instrument enters. It is as if the songs “Kid A” and “Idioteque” had a baby.
The first single “Pyramid Song” is another favored among many fans of Radiohead. One of the biggest discussions has been about the time signature. Arguments have been made for 6/8, 2/4, 6/8 repeated. Others have also argued there is no time signature, it is just felt, which is a sound argument in this case, but the majority of music has time signatures and one can still be “felt.” I even once read a claim that it uses an old African time signature. 16/4, and 16/8 have also been popular claims as well, depending on where you place the value of each beat.
My own opinion is that it is a simple 4/4 time signature with the phrase extending over 4 measures. The beauty of “Pyramid Song” is that it takes something simple and makes it complex through syncopation and beat displacement, and that is the genius behind Radiohead.
“Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors” makes me think that if the voice found on the song “Fitter/Happier” was signed to a one-song record contract, this would be his claim to fame.
It takes four songs into Amnesiac and almost 2 minutes into “You And Whose Army?” for any discernable early Radiohead to rise up through all of the experimentation in an almost dreamlike flashback to the days of Pablo Honeyand The Bends. In essence, the band breaks through its own amnesiac and remembers for the briefest of moments where they came from.
There is a striking similarity between “I Might Be Wrong” and “The National Anthem” from Kid A. Is it possible that “The National Anthem,” may have been some kind of blueprint for “I Might Be Wrong?” Or that could just be crazy talk.
Amnesiac looses its momentum with the 3-song set of “Morning Bell/Amnesiac,” “Dollars & Cents” and “Hunting Bears.” All three songs seem to start and go nowhere, and clocking in at a combined 10 minutes, that is a huge hit on the 40-minute album.
If our dreams had a soundtrack, I believe “Like Spinning Plates” would be the score. The disjointed and cloudy music, in fact creepy sounding at times, would compliment the eerie visions that our subconscious feeds us in our sleep.
Amnesiac comes to a close with a final lounge/jazz like song, in a smoke-filled bar, with the booze flowing freely. “Life In a Glass House” sounds like a good ol’ time drunken jam session. Though, I don’t feel it is the appropriate closer for the album, and think “Like Spinning Plates” would have been more suitable.
CD Two contains b-sides from the “Pyramid Song,” and “Knives Out” singles, including live tracks recorded from Canal+ Studios on April 28, 2001, and “Like Spinning Plates” from the I Might Be Wrong : Live Recordings release.
I think Amnesiac would have been a solid album if the 3-song low moment was replaced with the b-sides “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy,” “Fast Track” and “Worry Wort.” To me, these songs are far superior to “Morning Bell,” “Dollars and Cents” and “Hunting Bears.”
These B-sides are interesting in that “The National Anthem” is completely different from the take on Kid A, and the live versions of “Packt Like Sardines” and “Like Spinning Plates” have lost their electronic/experimentation feel found on the album and take on an alt-rock form.
The deluxe edition gives us a little more on the DVD than did the releases of OK Computer and Kid A. The DVD contains the promo music videos for the above-mentioned singles plus “I Might Be Wrong” and “Push Pulk/Spinning Plates.” It also contains live footage from Top of the Pops and Later…With Jools Holland. There are 11 tracks on the DVD, so that is a step up from the previous two releases.
The deluxe edition also contains the sleeve covers for “Pyramid Song” and “Knives Out,” the original album insert for Amnesiac and a library card for the album.
My biggest complaint with the production of the deluxe edition is that they kept the original font alignment from the album release. While I understand the nostalgic value, I hated it then, and I hate it now. They didn’t choose right align, or left align to keep it organized. Instead, it’s this horrible version of “justify” that makes it very difficult to read.
And if it was done as some sort of connection to the theme of the album title or the music itself, I still don’t like it. I wish on the deluxe edition release that they fixed the original font alignment.
Amnesiac (standalone album) – 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Amnesiac (2 CD/1 DVD) – 4 out of 5 stars
Disc 2 Track list: (Taken from “Pyramid Song” single)
1. The Amazing Sounds of Orgy
2. Trans-Atlantic Drawl
3. Fast-Track
4. Kinetic
(Taken from “Knives Out” single)
5. Worrywort
6. Fog
7. Life In a Glasshouse (Full-length version)
(Taken from Canal+ Studios – 28/04/11)
8. You and Whose Army?
9. Packt Like Sardines in a Crushed Tin Box
10. Dollars and Cents
11. I Might Be Wrong
12. Knives Out
13. Pyramid Song
(Taken from I Might Be Wrong – Live Recordings) 14. Like Spinning Plates
DVD Track list: (Music Videos)
Pyramid Song
Knives Out
I Might Be Wrong
Push Pulk/Spinning Plates
(Top of the Pops 17/08/01)
Knives Out
(Later…With Jools Holland 09/06/01)
Packt like Sardines in a Crushed Tin Box
Knives Out
Life In a Glasshouse
I Might Be Wrong
Editors’ Note: PopWreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of Amnesiac to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album Amnesiac and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10.
I was working at WUPX, the college radio station at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan during the 2000-2001 school year. In addition to being the Classical Music Director, I also had a mid-day show where we had to play the songs in rotation. I remember when Kid A first came out and our station director was really pushing multiple tracks in rotation, especially the title track “Kid A”.
Many of the college DJs were kind of scratching our heads at the song and the album as a whole; I mean we were all familiar with OK Computer, but where had Radiohead turned this time? I remember the DJ before me was finishing up his show, and the last song he played was “Kid A” and he said something that stuck: “If you thought OK Computer was Radiohead experimenting, then explain to me what this is?”
In fact, even the experimentation on OK Computer, which I will call “pseudo-experimentation” compared to Kid A, pales in comparison to this album. The closest song to the previous album would be “Optimistic,” but even then that had its alt-rock and early experimentation elements stripped from it.
While I compared OK Computer to U2’s Zooropa in terms of its experimentation and departure from anthem rock, then Kid A would be akin to U2’s Passengers. The only difference is, this was much more successful and not as pretentious.
Like Passengers, lyrics are stripped way back on Kid A, and are mostly instrumental, combining classical, techno, and just a hint of house-beats, as found in “Idioteque.” The complete instrumental “Treefingers” always reminds me of “An Ending (Ascent)” from Brian Eno’s Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks album, which appeared in the film Traffic. The trippy “The National Anthem,” and the somewhat depressing “How To Disappear Completely” and the swirling “Motion Picture Soundtrack” are definite standouts on this thoroughly constructed and artfully mastered experimental album from Radiohead.
The second disc contains live tracks from the BBC Radio One Evening Session on November 15, 2000, LAMACQ Live In Concert at Victoria Park in England on October 2, 2000, Canal+ Studios on April 28, 2001 and I Might Be Wrong live recordings.
The DVD is more of a let down than the one on the OK Computer deluxe edition. This time, we are given three songs from the Jools Holland performance. I realize that the DVD was limited since there were no official singles, and thus, no official music video promos, but surely they could have found more than three songs recorded on video for this album.
For instance, where was the video for “Motion Picture Soundtrack” that contained all of the 30-second films to promote Kid A originally seen on MTV? After doing some searching on YouTube, I found the video that Radiohead released for this. It appears that the poster changed some things in the video, but it contains all of the original “blips.” You can watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7RKakVGvPc
Since there were no official singles released, there are no sleeve covers in the deluxe edition. However, in addition to the original CD insert, it also includes the hidden booklet that was in the original pressing.
Kid A (standalone album) – 5 out of 5 stars Kid A (2 CD/1 DVD) – 3 out of 5 stars (For only 12 minutes of playing time on the DVD)
Disc 2 Tracklist:
(BBC Radio One Evening Session – 15/11/00)
1. Everything In Its Right Place
2. How To Disappear Completely
3. Idioteque
4. The National Anthem
(LAMACQ Live in Concert: Victoria Park, Warrington, England – 28/04/01)
5. Optimistic
(Canal+ Studios – 28/04/01)
6. Morning Bell
7. The National Anthem
8. How To Disappear Completely
9. In Limbo
10. Idioteque
11. Everything In Its Right Place
12. Motion Picture Soundtrack
(I Might Be Wrong – Live Recordings)
13. True Love Waits
DVD Tracklist:
(Later…With Jools Holland - 09/06/01)
1. The National Anthem
2. Morning Bell
3. Idioteque
Editors’ Note: PopWreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of Kid A to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album Kid A and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10.
It was evident on Radiohead’s 1995 sophomore release The Bends that the musical style was beginning to shift gears with songs like “Planet Telex,” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” even with its heavy alt rock-laden singles “Fake Plastic Trees” and “High and Dry.” While other bands, such as U2, were trying their hand with experimentation in the critically successful Zooropa, they failed to generate that same success with Passengers: Original Soundtracks I, and thus ditched the experimentation in favor of commercial success. Radiohead, influenced by the soundscapes that U2 created on Zooropa, took their own stab with electronica and synth textures in their effort to ditch the anthem rock mastered on The Bends.
Still considered in the alt rock genre, “Paranoid Android” was released as the lead-off single to OK Computer in late may of 1997. With an anti-alt rock groove that begins the song, it is almost a a plea to forget everything you had ever known about Radiohead on Pablo Honeyand The Bends. As it grooves along for the first couple of minutes, Thom Yorkesuddenly jolts us awake as he belts “you don’t remember!” with scorching guitars and heavy drums. After a short guitar solo, the third section of “Android” begins, much slower, solemn, before returning back to the scorching guitars for rockin’ outro truly making the listener paranoid – are we really hearing our beloved Radiohead in this A.D.D. of a song? But it’s that sheer brilliance within the A.D.D. and paranoia that forces one to get the album upon its release. And the album doesn’t fail; instead, if anything, OK Computer is Radiohead’s first complete thought and true album.
It is so hard to say which song is my favorite, as they are all great in their own right. Take any of them away, and OK Computer is an incomplete album. From the opening guitar strums in “Airbag,” to the mellow and laid-back “Subterranean Homesick Alien” and “Exit Music (For a Film),” the first third of the album leaves you wanting more, to see what other wondrous sounds they have created.
“Let Down” is far from being a letdown in itself, instead it’s the perfect bridge from “Exit Music” into probably one of the most popular and liked songs on the album “Karma Police.” Even today, the song still gets regular play on alternative and college radio. As a classically trained pianist, I can’t help but immerse myself in Jonny Greenwood‘s piano playing. ”Electioneering” pays homage to early Radiohead, as if to say “yea, we’ve changed our sound, but still have our roots.”
If I had to pick two songs that would be standouts and my favorites, they would be the slow-building, heavy climatic “Climbing Up the Walls” and the slow waltz-like closer “The Tourist.”
Admittedly, my reviews on Pablo and Bends didn’t go into this much detail with the original release, but they didn’t hit me as much as OK Computer. In the many years of listening to Radiohead, OK Computer has gotten far more plays on my iTunes than the first two albums combined.
CD Two contains b-sides from the “Paranoid Android,” “Karma Police” and “No Surprise” singles, including some remixes and live tracks, in addition to the BBC Radio One Evening Session from May 28, 1997.
The DVD is where I feel that this Deluxe Edition fell short. The previous Deluxe Editions for Pablo Honey and The Bends had plenty of videos and live footage on the DVDs, but the OK Computer Deluxe Edition only has the music videos for the singles and live footage from Later…With Jools Holland with three songs. Only live footage of three songs on the DVD for this masterpiece of an album? If there was a time to say it, now is it – what a “Let Down”.
The Deluxe Edition also contains the sleeve covers for the three singles, and the booklet from the original CD release.
OK Computer (standalone album) – 5 out of 5 stars OK Computer (2 CD/1 DVD) – 3 1/2 out of 5 stars (due to the limited live footage on the DVD)
(Taken from “Karma Police” single)
5. Meeting in the Aisle
6. Lull
7. Climbing Up the Walls (Zero 7 Mix)
8. Climbing Up the Walls (Fila Brazillia Mix)
(Taken from “No Surprises” single)
9. Palo Alto
10. How I Made My Millions
11. Airbag (Live in Berlin)
12. Lucky (Live in Berlin)
(BBC Radio One Evening Session – 28/05/97)
13. Climbing Up the Walls
14. Exit Music (For a Film)
15. No Surprises
DVD Track list: (Music Videos)
Paranoid Android
Karma Police
No Surprises
(Later…With Jools Holland 31/05/97)
Paranoid Android
No Surprises
Airbag
Editors’ Note: PopWreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of Ok Computer to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album Ok Computer and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10.
Two years after the radio-friendly release of Pablo Honey, Radiohead changes gears slightly as they begin their transformation into the band that fans and critics alike have grown to love. If Pablo Honey was their respectful rookie attempt at alternative rock of the early 90’s, then The Bends was their confident and ambitious application to steal away anthem rock from bands like U2 and R.E.M.
“Fake Plastic Trees” and “High and Dry” were the well-charting singles from the album that have continued through today on alternative radio stations, but The Bends is complete and loaded with meticulously and masterfully created songs that challenge the listener. “Planet Telex” opens with spacey and dream-like effects and echoey keys, teasing us that Radiohead may have suddenly shifted musical gears, which seems to be the case with the rest of the opening track.
But as soon as we are teased with a slightly different sound, the title track “The Bends,” brings us right back to the Pablo Honey days. The only difference is the sound is matured.
“Just” shows influences of the Pixies, while the reflective “Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was” reaches to the future for that new style. “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” is the perfect closer to The Bends, as it too looks ahead for something new.
The beauty about The Bends is that it is one of those “on the fence” albums, meaning Radiohead has honed in on their alt-rock sound, but are also unsettled and wanting something new, more challenging and satisfying. And with songs like “Planet Telex,” “Bullet Proof” and “Street Spirit,” it is clear the experimentation has begun.
The 21-track bonus CD contains b-sides from “My Iron Lung,” “High and Dry/Planet Telex,” “Fake Plastic Trees,” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” singles, as well as four tracks from the BBC Radio 1 Session recording in September of 1994.
The DVD contains music videos from four singles, including both the UK and US version of “High and Dry,” the remaining eight songs from the May 27, 2994 Astoria Theater performance in London, the February 27, 1995 2 Meter Session from Holland, their May 27, 1995 performance on Later…With Jools Holland and three different appearances from Top of the Pops.
In addition to the 1995 album re-release, the Deluxe Edition includes a 6-page booklet with lyrics from The Bends, and the sleeve covers of the five singles.
The Bends (standalone album) – 4 out of 5 stars The Bends (2CD/1 DVD) – 4 ½ out of 5 stars
Disc 2 Track list:
(Taken from “My Iron Lung” single)
1. The Trickster
2. Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong
3. Lozenge of Love
4. Lewis (Mistreated)
5. Permanent Daylight
6. You Never Wash Up After Yourself
(Taken from “High and Dry/Planet Telex” single)
7. Maquiladora
8. Killer Cars
(Taken from “Fake Plastic Trees” single)
9. India Rubber
10. How Can You Be Sure?
11. Fake Plastic Trees (Acoustic)
12. Bullet Proof.. I Wish I Was (Acoustic)
13. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Acoustic)
(Taken from “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” single)
14. Talk Show Host
15. Bishop’s Robes
16. Banana Co.
17. Molasses
(BBC Radio One Session – 14/09/94)
18. Just
19. Maquiladora
20. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
21. Bones
DVD Track list
(Music Videos)
High and Dry – UK Version
High and Dry – US Version
Fake Plastic Trees
Just
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
(The Astoria, London – 27/05/94)
Bones
Black Star
The Bends
My Iron Lung
Maquiladora
Fake Plastic Trees
Just
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
(2 Meter Session, Holland – 27/02/95)
My Iron Lung
High and Dry
Fake Plastic Trees
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
(Later…With Jools Holland – 27/05/95)
The Bends
High and Dry
(Top of the Pops)
High and Dry 09/03/95
Fake Plastic Trees 01/06/95
Street Spirit (Fade Out) 01/02/96
Editors’ Note: PopWreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of The Bends to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album The Bends and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10.
To have been listening to rock and alternative music in 1993 when Radioheadblasted into the charts with “Creep” would be something indescribable and wonderful. I, unfortunately, was not among the privileged ears. With the release of Pablo Honeythe music industry would forever be changed by a band that would insistently challenge the industry, themselves, and the hearts and minds of their fans.
The 2009 2 CD/1 DVD edition is a special treat for the most hardcore, obsessed fans and for those who are only just beginning in the tutelage ofThom Yorke and Co.
Disc 1 is simply a re-issue of the original 1993 release. And like the majority of Radiohead fans, Pablo Honey is my least favorite in their ridiculously solid and creative back catalog. That is not to say that it is not a good album. As a standalone, when not compared to their later releases, it is quite enjoyable. The album is better than that, and I think it is always difficult to review an album fairly when in comparison to the works that made Radiohead who they are today, it will always pale in comparison.
Of course, the most popular single “Creep” is the band’s most hated. But is it the best track? Hardly. Standouts are the opening track “You,” “Stop Whispering,” “Thinking About You” and “Lurgee.”
But the 2009 edition isn’t about the re-issue of the album; it is about the second disc and the accompanying DVD, the real golden treats …the nuggets. The 22-track second disc contains demos, a remix, live versions and other b-sides from “Creep,” “Anyone Can Play Guitar,” “Pop is Dead” and “Stop Whispering” singles. There are also four tracks from the BBC Radio One Session recording in June of 1992.
The DVD contains the music videos for the four singles, a live performance of “Creep” from Top of the Pops in September of 1993, and 9 of the 17 song setlist from the May 27, 1994 Astoria Theater performance in London. For all you setlist junkies out there (and I am among you), the full set can be found here: Astoria Theater Setlist.
Other goodies in the box set contain the sleeve covers for the 4 singles and the Drill EP, and an 8-page booklet with band pictures circa 1993.
Pablo Honey (standalone album) – 3 out of 5 stars Pablo Honey (2 CD/1 DVD) – 4 out of 5 stars
Disc 2 Tracklist: (Taken from Drill EP)
1. Prove Yourself (Demo)
2. Stupid Car (Demo)
3. You (Demo)
4. Thinking About You (Demo)
(Taken from “Creep” single)
5. Inside My Head
6. Million Dollar Question
7. Yes I am
8. Blow Out (Remix)
9. Inside My Head (Live)
10. Creep (Acoustic)
11. Vegetable (Live)
12. Killer Cars (Live)
(Taken from “Anyone Can Play Guitar” single)
13. Faithless, the Wonderboy
14. Coke Babies
(Taken from “Pop Is Dead” single)
15. Pop is Dead
16. Banana Co. (Acoustic)
17. Ripcord (Live)
(Taken from “Stop Whispering” single)
18. Stop Whispering (U.S. version)
(BBC Radio One Session – 22/06/92)
19. Prove Yourself
20. Creep
21. I Can’t
22. Nothing Touches Me
DVD Tracklist (Music Videos)
Creep
Anyone Can Play Guitar
Pop Is Dead
Stop Whispering
(Top of the Pops – 16/09/93)
Creep
(The Astoria, London – Live: 27/05/94)
You
Ripcord
Creep
Prove Yourself
Vegetable
Stop Whispering
Anyone Can Play Guitar
Pop Is Dead
Blowout
Editors Note: Popwreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of Pablo Honey to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album Pablo Honey and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10th.
I’ll go ahead and say it just to get it out of the way. Radiohead is one of my favorite bands of all time! We don’t have a thing going on, we have a full on relationship! Going back to when I was in the fifth grade when Pablo Honey came out. I hadn’t really gotten into them as the only song I had heard was the overly played (and overly abused at Karaoke nights) “Creep.” But then again, when I was in fifth grade, my best fried Josh and I rode our bikes to school from the apartment complex we lived in, taking turns sharing the headphones of my walkman while jamming out to “Rump Shaker” by Wreckx-n-Effect. Yes, it wasn’t until Jr. High that Grunge/Alternative would overtake my life thanks to a group of friends introducing it to me just like that first day you were introduced to smoking weed in college. Unfortunately I really didn’t get into Radiohead until high school. I had owned The Bends, but never really enjoyed it. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that my three favorite bands at the time were Bush, Oasis and Alice in Chains… And yes my aunt bought me a Jars of Clayalbum which ended up as a coaster for my soda on my computer desk in my room. It wasn’t till I heard Paranoid Android that changed everything for me. OK Computer was the beginning of how I listened to music and how I appreciated it for the art and not just for “a good time feeling.”
I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Radiohead was going to release a new album any time soon. Yes, I had mentioned before on my year end list, and I had heard rumors that they were in the studio. But Thom Yorke and company are very unpredictable when it comes to releasing new material… Especially being that they self release their own albums like that of Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. This time instead of giving a release date of the new album, Radiohead decided to surprise us and announce it last week and on top of that they even released it a day early online. However, we weren’t given the “Pay what you feel” choice that was given to us for In Rainbows.
The King of Limbs starts out with “Bloom,” a piano/techno based track with Thom’s haunting vocals remixed in between. Other stand out tracks include “Morning Mr. Magpie,” which has an upbeat electronic feel to it and my personal favorite “Lotus Flower,” which has elements of “Idioteque” from Kid A. If you were expecting anything like In Rainbows you will be very disappointed, or really excited depending on what your Radiohead taste is. Radiohead decided to go back to their Kid A/Amnesiac days which isn’t a bad thing, as Kid A was masterpiece in itself. Amnesiac, on the other hand, wasn’t as great and got boring after a few listens. This album is what Amnesiac should of been.
The other problem with this album is the length. It only has eight songs and some of them are not very long, which makes you want more from this record. Could this mean we might get another album later this year like how Amnesiac was released three months after Kid A? That I don’t know. But with the way things the band is doing these days and the fact that we can’t predict when they release material, it wouldn’t surprise me. Needless to say, it’s no Kid A, OK Computer, The Bends or even Hail to the Thief. But it’s sure as hell better then Amnesiac, and to some extent, In Rainbows, which I felt was really good for what it was but left me feeling empty. (XD Note: I’m leaving Pablo Honey out of this as I get really tired of hearing “Creep” and to be honest, it was Radiohead’s weakest album to date when compared with their other releases.)
Overall, this album is very enjoyable, but very short. I can’t say it’s as great as Kid A or OK Computer (which is hard to even compare to) for an electronic/experimental based Radiohead album, but it’s a lot better than letdown Amnesiac. This makes a great chillout album for when you need one of those stress free days… Or if you’re stuck living in Laporte, IN and working at Family Video and grow tired of kids running around, you can always plug this in and zone out for the next 30-something minutes. Just don’t zone out too long, or your boss might fire you.
The exciting debut album from Manchester, England’s Delphic will for sure be in my top 2 albums of 2010. The electro / dance / rock trio is currently touring as support for the Temper Trap, and this is their first significant tour of North America to boot after just playing three gigs in America in June. It was my distinct pleasure to speak with Delphic‘s accomplished guitarist, Matt Cocksedge, before their gig at the House of Blues in Boston, the second night on a month-long tour of our continent. I have to say, he’s probably one of the most (if not the most) eloquent musician I’ve ever had the chance to interview. In part 1 of this interview, we discuss the cynical music media and why they seem intent on comparing Delphic to fellow Mancunians and hometown heroes New Order, why he thinks their tourmates the Temper Trap are actually more similar to them than you might realize, and how Radiohead is a real inspiration to them.
Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: I think every single blogger I know of wants to be different [taking a different album review approach] than Pitchfork, endeavor to not be like them. My mom doesn’t get the blogging thing, when I was explaining to her what Pitchfork was, she thought it sounded like people who were going after other people with pitchforks. That was the way she interpreted it, not knowing what it was. Matt Cocksedge, Delphic: Yeah, makes sense. PW: But when you’re talking about promoting music to the masses… MC: But it seems like an accurate description of the press, doesn’t it? Hanging them out to dry. It’s difficult really. PW: Maybe I can ask you, have you discerned a difference between the British media and the American media? Have you felt one given you a harder time than the other? Or maybe you haven’t had a lot of exposure to American media, yet. MC: That’s the thing. I don’t know too much about American media reaction to us. All I know is that Pitchfork [when Pitchfork reviewed their debut album, Acolyte, released in June onDangerbird Records here in America], that was out ages ago. I don’t know what else has gone with the release of the album, beyond that, I haven’t really heard [anything]. PW: To be honest, I don’t think I ever read that review. I’m sometimes scared to look… MC: Yeah, I’m scared to look! Really nervous. [smiles] PW: So you said that they slagged off Everything Everything? [the fellow Manchester band's debut album, Man Alive, was released in August in the UK] MC: They did, they did. And I just can’t help but feel there’s some sort of…the Everything Everything album was critically received in the UK… PW: Yeah, I reviewed it for another site and I really liked it. MC: It’s a great album, with so many ideas. PW: And very original. MC: So original! And even it doesn’t connect with you, potentially you can still appreciate the ideas, the originality, the experimentalism. You know, they’re trying to do something new with guitar music in a band. And certainly with our review, it was more an indictment of British music than an actual review of the record.
PW: Oh you know what, I think I did read it. I think they focused on the New Order aspect… MC: Yeah. PW: Which is interesting, because in almost every single American article I’ve read about you guys, it’s always focused on New Order. Now, I was too young to appreciate New Order at their height of fame and you also, neither of us were there for the wholeJoy Division / New Order thing. So I don’t come from it from that perspective. MC: That’s the thing. We know New Order‘s music a bit. What I always think about the New Order thing, if “Doubt” wasn’t on the album, if you kind of take “Doubt” out of the equation of the album, and then look at it in terms of New Order, it’s very, very different. But when “Doubt” is included, I think it’s the most New Order, most obvious New Order kind of touch point on the record. I’ve always wondered about that. But people will hear what they want to hear and say what they want to say. And we’ve made this music and put it out, and then you take what you get given. It’s certainly interesting, you know, going around the world…especially places like Japan, there’s much more positive feeling, I think. There’s a lot of cynicism in the UK especially And the UK press and the UK audience. It’s because we’ve been spoilt for choice [when it comes to music], we’re just completely spoiled.
PW: That’s the thing, I think that’s the reason why I’ve gravitated towards British music in general, because you have people like Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephenschampioning the little guys. MC: Every evening there’s a new band starting out… PW: Yeah, like clockwork every Wednesday I listen to Lammo’s “New Favourite Band” feature and while we don’t see eye to eye on every band, but it’s nice to hear different opinions. MC: Definitely. PW: It’s hard to hear about new [British] bands on American radio. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Delphic song played in Washington. Back in February, VV Brown played the same dance night you guys will play in DC next Friday, and one of the songs being spun that night was “Halcyon”. Me and a girlfriend, we’ve got our tickets and we’re coming up the stairs and it’s coming out of the speakers. And we went crazy because we knew the song! We were very excited. But we were the only ones in the club that knew it. MC: That’s great! [grins] PW: So to have you guys come to DC is really exciting. I think it’s the only date you’re doing by yourselves on this tour? MC: Yeah, I think so. I don’t know if we’ve got one in LA… PW: I know you guys are doing Club Nokia [in Los Angeles] with the Temper Trap… MC: Yeah, we’re doing that…yeah, basically we’d come over here to tour with the Temper Trap. They’re lovely guys, which makes things a lot easier. Always a pleasure when you’re on tour with a band that is just nice, and good guys. Makes it a lot easier. PW: When I saw you guys in Denmark [at Roskilde Festival], Rick [Boardman, Delphic's keyboards / synths player] already knew you were coming to America to support someone else but couldn’t tell me because he’d get in trouble. The Temper Trap never even crossed my mind…when I first saw this tour’s bill, I was kind of surprised because I think of the Temper Trap as more of a straight forward rock sound. Did you have any reservations supporting them? Not that you really had much choice as support but…did you wonder, is this going to be an issue when we play to crowds primarily there for the Temper Trap? MC: No, not at all. We were really excited about it. We respect the Temper Trap a lot. I think what we do is very similar but we put it in different clothes. We both try and write songs and yeah, we’re songwriters…we put them in different contexts. Theirs is a more guitar-based thing and ours is a more synth-based thing. At the heart, we’re quite similar and something we share with them. I think it’s good. We’re not trying to steal fans, we’re not trying to be a better Temper Trap or trying to compete with them in that way. We’re a band on a similar tangent, but doing our own thing. They’re doing their own thing. Hopefully when people come see us, they can understand the similarities but appreciate the differences. And yeah, we’re really excited and thrilled that they asked us along. And really, really happy to be out here with them. We’ve only done the one show [at Philadelphia's Trocadero on Sunday night, 3 nights earlier], so I’ll let you know how it goes! [laughs] But at the moment, it’s been good!
PW: I have to ask, what did you think, coming back to America after 3 months since your last shows here? Did you approach that with trepidation? The last “gig” you had before that was Bestival, that was a couple weeks ago? MC: Well, it’s certainly different than a festival. You can’t do so much jumping up and down and getting people to clap. You’ve gotta be a bit cooler! [smiles] Yeah, we’ve done the support band thing for a while, we know how it works, we’re just happy to be back out here. The crowd was good. It was a really stressful gig, to be honest with you, because it’s the first date of the tour. Backstage is always bit hectic. You hope everything works. It was really hectic, but I really enjoyed the gig myself. Great venue, the crowd was loud, yeah, I enjoyed it a lot. PW: I have to say, as your set progressed, I could feel the audience getting behind you. I was in second row on the floor, which I was very happy about. I was surrounded by devoted Temper Trap fans and I basically explained who you guys were, and who the Hundred in the Hands were, because they’ve just put out their debut album last week. MC: Yeah, I’ve been meaning to get it. PW: It’s really good. I’d say that along with yours and Two Door Cinema Club‘s [Tourist History] albums, it’s up there in my top 5 albums of 2010. MC: Oh wow, cool. PW: And I heard smatterings of conversation after your set. One girl said, “yeah, it was kind of a slow start but after the third song with all the synth action, I really liked it!” MC: Yeah, what was really cool were the pockets of people who were really going for it! PW: [laughs] Yeah, that was us! We were the ones jumping up and down and pumping our fists. Expect that, I’ll get people excited for you guys tonight. MC: Cool, I’ll keep a look out for it.
PW: Going back to the album, having heard what people have said about the album, one thing that I found very interesting was that people were comparing my favorite song, “Submission,” to Duran Duran. MC: Really. PW: What would say about that? MC: Uh…I’d be quite speechless! [laugh] PW: Me too, and that’s because I’m a Duranie. MC: I’d never have saw that coming! Yeah, I dunno…I’m not offended by it at all. Certainly didn’t see that one coming. I dunno, it’s one of those things, you make music to put it out there and people will read into it what they want. “So this bit is like this…” and we would’ve never even heard of that band! And then sometimes they’ll write, “so this bit is like this…” and yeah, we did just rip it off a bit. [grins] Yeah, I don’t know if it was Duran Duran influenced, but I can honestly say I didn’t think anyone would say that. PW: It reminds me of what people said about We Are Scientists‘s second album [Brain Thrust Mastery]. I liked it better than their first because it was more polished and had the synths. People said it sounded like Duran Duran because it had synths. Just because they have synths doesn’t mean they were influenced by Duran Duran. Similarly, some people think anything with synths can be classified as ’80s new wave.
PW: “Submission” has the right balance of synths, guitars, beats, and everything is so clean. The echoes are absolutely perfect to me. It’s the perfect song. I can put on my headphones and go into my own little world listening to it. Do you remember how the song came about? How do your songs usually start, does it start with someone’s lyric, “hey, I have an idea“, or “hey, I got this great guitar riff, let’s work off of this…” MC: I think with “Submission”, I really think it came about from the beat, you know? We wanted a more down-tempo number. It’s still quite quick, but it feels a lot slower than a lot of the record. We really wanted a bit darker of a tune, more of… that kind of feeling, and it came from [Matt starts tapping the table with his hands in time to the killer main rhythm of "Submission"]… PW: I think that’s why I like it, it’s so funky. MC: Yeah, we’ve got the guitar riff at the end, that came quite early as well. Yeah, all the songs, they all come from different places, there’s no set way of doing it, at least in terms of the initial idea. When we have an idea, and we’re developing it, then you kind of have your way of working on it, trying to flesh it out and make that transition from idea to song. And that’s difficult, because not all of them make it through. Sometimes you have a great idea but you can’t fit it in the right context. That can be difficult. But that came from a beat. Other tune came from a sound on the synth, or a chord sequence, and there’s no rules with this sort of thing, is there? We have strong instincts with these things. We try to work within a concept or the framework of an album for the set of songs we want to write. And once you have that framework established, it’s constrictive yet freeing because you can explore all areas in a certain kind of musical world, in a way. That definitely how it happened with the first record. We knew the kind of record we wanted to make in terms of sound and what we were talking about, and really then it was seeing what worked within it and what didn’t work, and how best make an album flow and what we needed to do to give it more depth. There is no real right or wrong, it’s whether you get that feeling. James [Cook, Delphic's lead vocalist and bassist] might play me something. So do I get it, do I feel it in my gut? Does it give me that kind of emotion? If the answer is no, let’s write another one. And if the answer is yes, okay, let’s take it to the next stage, let’s develop it and put an arrangement around it, put words to it. Are there any words that fit that we have already? You know, so you build it from there. But the initial idea is always the most important thing. It’s whether you get a buzz off of it… PW: Like a spark of inspiration. MC: Yeah, definitely. Sometimes…we’re writing ideas for the second album now, and there are some things…James played me something he’d written the other day, and sometimes you can just hear immediately, “that’s a finished song,” even if it’s just something on the piano with a bit of melody. I just know what that’s going to be. And that’s the most exciting thing. That’s when you know at the heart, there is something really special. It doesn’t happen all the time, but then it’s something you really need to grab onto and protect, in a way. You want to keep it true and make something real out of it.
PW: I think it is a gift when you’re able to create a timeless melody. A lot of music today, say hip hop, doesn’t necessarily have a great, underlying melody. It’s just not there. Or even some harder rock stuff. I saw Biffy Clyro 2 weeks ago at their first headlining gig of America, in Washington. They couldn’t even sell out DC9, and that’s a 200-capacity venue. MC: Really? That’s madness. They’re really big in the UK now. [Biffy Clyro regularly sells out stadiums there.] PW: I’m not a huge fan of theirs but I wanted to see history in the making. I consider Biffy kind of thrash metal, and my issue with thrash metal is that there isn’t a melody running through the whole thing, a melody that really grabs me. I’m not going to remember that song next week. Before or while you were in a band, were there any other bands that you looked to as idols? MC: Hmmm…Radiohead really, for me personally. They’re the bosses, aren’t they? The big kids in the class. I just think…they don’t put a foot wrong. They’re the band that I think always…I remember when we were working on parts of the first album, “what would Thom Yorke do?” kind of, that we said to each other kind of jokingly, but with a serious tone. They don’t seem to make missteps. And I think as a band they’ve always been so inspirational, because they’ve always done their own thing. Believed in what they do. Writing OK Computer and then bringing out Kid A, the most incredible movement in modern music, right? I think they’re certainly a band we have immense, immense respect for. And a band whose career path we look to and we’re like, if we have a career anywhere near that, we’d be happy. As a band who’s just released a first record, you’re very much at the whim at the reviews and the whim of word of mouth. And people are very open to speculation on things. And open to New Order comparisons! [laughs] But I think as we release more records and release more, people see what we’re actually about. I think looking at a band like Radiohead, at Pablo Honey or even The Bends, and seeing how they were labeled as, like, Pixies‘s wannabes, and all that kind of thing. Then they kind of emerged and blossomed into their own thing. I think we’re really eager to kind of move on and keep developing, and show people…we’ve still got a lot to prove, I think, and we’ve still got a long way to go, and a long way to improve. We’ve got a lot to prove to ourselves and everyone else as well. And who we are. And we’re just excited to be given the chance to do that. Some people [in bands] do that to them [finger gesture], and some people, “thanks for believing in us, we want to pay you back.” You know? I think that’s the Manchester spirit a little bit, that bit is anyway. Sorry, I hope I didn’t offend you doing that! PW: Haha, no worries. Was that a bit of anti-Southerner kind of thing? MC: [laughs] Oh, no no! It’s just that kind of gang mentality in Manchester. PW: “All for one, and one for all” kind of a thing? MC: Yeah, it’s a band thing as well, but we don’t feel like part of London. We’re a Manchester band and proudly so, but we don’t feel like we’re a part of any scene in Manchester. There are three or four of us versus the world as it were. You’ve only got your mates to rely on, they’re the ones you want to see it through with. And so to kind of prove ourselves is a massive, massive thing. And it’s something we are working on and will hopefully achieve.
Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon…
Tour Dates
Oct 05 – Phoenix / Toronto*
Oct 07 – Newport Music Hall / Columbus*
Oct 08 – DC9 / Washington, DC^
Oct 11 – St. Andrews / Detroit*
Oct 12 – Metro / Chicago*
Oct 13 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee*
Oct 14 – First Avenue / Minneapolis*
Oct 21 – Popscene / San Francisco&
Oct 22 – Fox / Pomona, CA*
Oct 23 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles*
^ Delphic only
* supporting the Temper Trap
& with the Hundred in the Hands
On his way to Indio, California’s legendary Coachella festival, Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame has announced that his current project Atoms For Peace (formerly Thom Yorke????) will be playing select dates across the country.
The Atoms For Peace lineup remains the same as when the band performed three shows in Los Angeles last October: Yorke, Flea, Mauro Refosco, Joey Waronker and Nigel Godrich. Flying Lotus supports New York through Oakland.
Tour Dates:
April 5 & 6 – Roseland Ballroom / New York City
April 8 – Citi Wang Theatre / Boston
April 10 & 11 – Aragon Ballroom / Chicago
April 14 & 15 - Fox Theatre / Oakland, Ca.
April 17 – Santa Barbara Bowl / Santa Barbara
April 18 – Coachella / Indio, Ca.
Jay-Z, Muse and the Gorillaz will headline the festival that stretches from Friday, April 16 to Saturday, April 18 in Indio, California. Other notable performances include Pavement as part of their reunion tour and Thom Yorke????, and though his name is still followed by several question marks, he is there. That is seriously the name of his new solo-band project.
See the full line-up in the flyer below or at Coachella.com. Tickets officially go on-sale for the event January 22, 2010 at 10 a.m.
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
We now come to the final Radiohead revisited giveaway, and this time, for the 2009 deluxe edition of Hail To The Thief, which hands down is my favorite album in the entire catalog. It might be my favorite because it incorporates all the different musical styles on the previous albums, or because it is considered a least favorite, or a “throw-away” album by some fans.
The exciting debut 
PW: Going back to the album, having heard what people have said about the album, one thing that I found very interesting was that people were comparing my favorite song, “Submission,” to 
