Radiohead: The King of Limbs. Random Commentary by jsin

I can’t even write properly…I’m way too excited! (BTW I never use exclamations so I’m using them here for a real purpose.)

I feel like a kid again. Remember the days when you couldn’t stand waiting for christmas morning to open your gifts?

Remember when you just couldn’t wait until it was time to open your gifts at your birthday party? Or maybe that first time you got some ass from a chick and you were so excited you experienced it all before the actual experience? Well I hope I’ve gotten my point across, because I FU$&IN’ LOVE THIS RECORD. There. I said it. I feel better.

Okay, so let me try and get serious. Wait…before I do, I hope you’ve seen the video.

I love that they only have eight songs on the record – quality over quantity.

To summarize, I feel King of Limbs is the natural next step for Radiohead, but only after I heard it. Some of us were hoping for Kid A, some “The Bends”, but I think Radiohead really got soulful while continuing from In Rainbows production-wise while using a lot of the Eraser elements, though I’m certain they don’t care how we categorize it. I get the impression they are in a very good place mentally and emotionally, and really enjoyed putting this one together – or maybe just Thom, because this does sound more like a Thom Yorke record than a Radiohead one, but who’s complaining?

The record begins with Bloom – I thought for a second I was listening to the wrong thing (I thought it was Eraser). Thom’s vocals are uplifting, and he is doing something different from previous recording; I hear it all over the album. Notice when he sings “Open your mouth wi-i-i-i-i-de” and almost every other line – he ascends through the scale unexpectedly. I love it.

Morning Mr Magpie is also very Eraser-like…kinda like Harrowdown Hill.

Little by Little is an awesome track; the dark riff has a very grungy feel to it, and complements the torn head voice Thom uses here. A nice contrast from the first two songs.

Feral will appeal to the Kid A fans; it’s a trippy song. I get dizzy listening to it and feel like I should be dropping something and wearing a top hat so I can hold the rim and spin around like Thom in Lotus Flower.

My favourite song thus far is Lotus Flower, but that’s partly because of the video and how much fun it looks to dance that way. I love the layers and the drum beat is just too dirty. I can’t help but bop my head. As complex as this song is, there’s a gentle simplicity to it that makes it soothing in a complicated kinda way. Is that confusing? If it is, well you should probably buy a Bieber album. His voice is so perfect in this song. I read a comment somewhere that “Thom Yorke’s voice could end wars” and I couldn’t agree more.

Codex is a nice twist from the previous five songs. I hear this song and I feel very comfortable being alone and contemplating all that has happened in my life. There’s a slight darkness, but it’s lined with a brightness that gives me goosebumps. I can’t wait to hear this song live, because I know that the crowd will be in dead silence hanging off every breath Thom takes. Close your eyes when you listen to this one.

Give Up the Ghost continues from the mood of Codex. If extremely slow songs makes you suicidal, don’t listen to this one too much. Personally, I enjoy it, but I do know some people (you know who you are) who go a little crazy if Kid A is playing because they feel like it’s suicidal music (even though we know it’s not).

I love that the album ends with Separator (I almost feel like it’s about to introduce a new villain in G.I. Joe but I digress…) This song may (I use ‘may’ because I haven’t decided just yet) just have the best drum beat on the record; this, in conjunction with the riff that repeats itself throughout the song give it a nice clean feel. The vocals really fill the song – especially when you hear the parallel tracks.

I don’t do ratings, because it doesn’t matter. This is a great record and I recommend you give it a proper listen. This isn’t a formal review; just me sharing my thoughts with you. I would love to hear what you all think (about King of Limbs).