(This article was featured in the most recent issue of the Shawnee State University Chronicle)
Something
for the diehard fans to get excited about and something the casual Radiohead
listener can enjoy.
Although
“The King of Limbs” by Radiohead came out in late February earlier this year
many people are just now hearing about its release. If you are a diehard Radiohead fan you
probably have been chilling to this album for a couple months and are already
patiently awaiting the release of their upcoming album “TKOL RMX 1234567” which
is slated to be released on October 11th, 2011. For those of us that were oblivious to all
this and the sudden wave of promotion have caught our attention, this album is
definitely worth buying!
At
first I felt really bad for not noticing that one of the bestselling and
innovative bands in the last 20 years
had released a new album but when Guy Raz of NPR sat down to talk with the guys
I realized I wasn’t the only one who missed it.
Guitarist for the band Ed O’Brien and singer Thom York said this to Guy
in response to the question of why there was such little fanfare with their
last album; “We didn’t feel like it… we didn’t want to explain it.” Radiohead released this album entirely on
their own; there was no concert or interviews promoting the album. I personally was first made aware of the
album when “The Colbert Report” aired an hour long episode featuring Radiohead
on Sept. 26th and I strongly recommend everyone to check it out online.
Now
that we got the back story down, let’s get to the album! I am honestly not a huge Radiohead fan, I
don’t hate them it’s just I find them as more of a mood band (when the mood
hits me.) I also feel like putting a
letter grade on an album is ridiculous; we all have different tastes in music,
ergo ratings are flawed. If you like
Radiohead, buy it; if you are a fan of Alternative Rock it is a must have for
the collection. I don’t think this is an
album that will bridge the divide between the Rock and Bluegrass scenes so if
you prefer a banjo over a Gibson SG this might not be an album for you. I will say that although there are some great
songs on this album it is an album in the truest sense. To fully grasp and appreciate Radiohead’s new
work you need to buy this album and listen to it in its entirety.
Radiohead
I feel channels other great “album” writers like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and
Bob Dylan. I have a greater respect for
bands that write great albums as opposed to those that write a couple good
songs and put a bunch of filler on an album.
“The King of Limbs” is filler free, very eclectic, innovating to listen
to, and one hell of an album to chill too.
In the movie “The Big Lebowski, The Dude got high listening to whale
songs; if they made that move tomorrow he would be listening to this album!
William R. Balzer
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