fuck.

yes.

2/18/2011 9:36:40 AM

I've listened through twice now. Definitely a very down tempo album. It's good but it will take several listens for me (like all the last few Radiohead albums) to get really into it I am sure.

Lotus Flower and Codex are prob my two favs atm

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 9:42 AM. Reason : ]

2/18/2011 9:41:44 AM

Very down-tempo, sort of dark. A few songs in and I'm getting a Hail to the Thief-y vibe.

2/18/2011 9:51:04 AM

"little by little" is so fucking good.

2/18/2011 10:02:03 AM

just grabbed the new radiohead on what.cd

2/18/2011 10:23:05 AM

not sure what to think on first listen

seems like a headphones album

2/18/2011 10:55:25 AM

on track 1. definitely wish i had my headphones. this is how you start a fucking friday!!!!!!!!!!

2/18/2011 10:59:01 AM

each listen gets better and better for me and i especially enjoy the 2nd half of the record.

2/18/2011 11:04:09 AM

^same

2/18/2011 11:05:26 AM

so far i'm bored with the first 3 tracks. i'm not in the mood for this right now. it deserves more attention from me later on

its friday and i need Beloved.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 11:09 AM. Reason : .]

2/18/2011 11:08:52 AM

I'm SO glad they finally put Morning Mr. Magpie on a record. I've always loved that song, and I dig this version.

2/18/2011 11:43:06 AM

just finished my first listen

fucking love it...definitely getting a hail to the thief vibe, although this record is even weirder than thief...pretty brilliant, though, especially the second half.

EDIT: also, i listened on headphones, so maybe that helped

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 11:55 AM. Reason : .]

2/18/2011 11:54:34 AM

haven't listened yet... a bit scared of the 'hail to the thief' comparisons, given that it's not among my favorite radiohead albums. but, i'm glad they aren't trying to recreate the beauty and majesty of 'in rainbows'

2/18/2011 12:03:34 PM

HTTF vibe is more in tone than in content. Not as dark as the first few tracks led me to believe, but nowhere as upbeat (?) as In Rainbows. Probably fits between Kid A and OK Computer on the Radiohead Doom-o-Meter.

2/18/2011 12:19:06 PM

^^ don't worry. HTTF is definitely down on my list as well (but it's behind stellar albums so that's not really a negative thing haha) and I am digging this. Kind of a mix between HTTF and In Rainbows imo. I wish it picked up the pace a few times like In Rainbows. Small complaint I guess though. Just one of the things that made In Rainbows so great was the perfect mixture of "mood" songs and "upbeat" songs.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 12:21 PM. Reason : ]

2/18/2011 12:20:05 PM

RT @hipsterrunoff 'Radiohead has done it again.' -an overgrounder

definitely enjoying it more on second listen

2/18/2011 12:23:32 PM

Shit needs to be longer ... damn it.

2/18/2011 1:31:08 PM

http://www.viceland.com/music/2011/02/new-radiohead-album-the-first-review/

2/18/2011 1:37:01 PM

[OLD] ^

2/18/2011 2:37:08 PM

it's definitely missing a "holy shit" type track like All I Need or There There

2/18/2011 2:46:47 PM

agreed. It's really, really good as a whole but right now I can't name any individual "wow" track. That plus the similar mood throughout without a break are keeping me from liking it as much as In Rainbows but it is still really enjoyable and will need more time to sink in.

Either way, as always when listening to a new Radiohead album, I am just wowed at their songwriting and arrangements. The intricacies in every track are so, so good.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 2:57 PM. Reason : ]

2/18/2011 2:52:43 PM

after two listens, Little By Little stands out the most for me

quality album (shocking, I know)

2/18/2011 4:35:36 PM

Quote :

"i'm glad they aren't trying to recreate the beauty and majesty of 'in rainbows'"

majesty? really?

as for the album, worst one in their collection imo. it's even worse than black swan.

2/18/2011 5:33:29 PM

Black Swan is a song

2/18/2011 5:36:41 PM

correct. my apologies, i mean the eraser.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 5:39 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2011 5:39:45 PM

^^and is not even on a radiohead album. Or did they put it on some EP?

nvm I see you edited it. After one day I wouldn't even say The Eraser touches this. And for some reason I listened to The Eraser like 3x in the past week. Also I hope you're not saying it's worse than Pablo Honey

Anyway, I don't know where I'd rank it in Radiohead's catalog after just one day, even with probably 15+ listens all the way through. It's beautiful though.



[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 5:59 PM. Reason : ]

2/18/2011 5:40:47 PM

1. OK Computer
2. Kid A
3. In Rainbows
4. Hail to the Thief
5. Amnesiac
6. The Bends
7. The King of Limbs
8. Pablo Honey

This could definitely change, though. Everyone knows that Radiohead albums are growers.

EDIT: Also, that's not to say that I don't love this album. I do. Radiohead just happens to have five six albums that are better than it. We'll see if that changes for me in the coming weeks, I wouldn't doubt it. I couldn't get into In Rainbows until a solid two years after it was released.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 6:05 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2011 5:51:53 PM

Quote :

" This could definitely change, though. Everyone knows that Radiohead albums are growers. EDIT: Also, that's not to say that I don't love this album. I do. Radiohead just happens to have five albums that are better than it. We'll see if that changes for me in the coming weeks, I wouldn't doubt it. I couldn't get into In Rainbows until a solid two years after it was released. "

Where the hell is The Bends?

Yes they are definitely growers. I didn't rank In Rainbows very high for a long time after it came out. And then I took a trip to Boston and listened to almost that exclusively and I just fell in love with it. The thing that makes this hard to "rank" is that it feels like a really good, long EP and not like a full Radiohead album in some ways.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 6:07 PM. Reason : ]

2/18/2011 5:54:32 PM

Fuck, I knew I'd forget one. I'm not the biggest fan of The Bends, actually, but it's definitely better than Pablo Honey and probably better than the new one (pending how much the new one grows on me).

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2011 6:05:05 PM

Kid A, OKC, Bends, In Rainbows, Amnesiac, HTTT in that order. This one will probably fall after Amnesiac. Good album, but no really great tracks or moments. Still too early to tell though.

And both me and CTA abbreviated HTTT as HTTF lol

2/18/2011 6:06:56 PM

^^ Yeah I really like The Bends for some reason. I guess nostalgic factor, I dono. I just really like the loose rock feel of it. It's dropped in rankings over the years for sure compared to the other Radiohead albums but I still like it.

Quote :

"And both me and CTA abbreviated HTTT as HTTF lol"

haha I noticed that later too I think the triple T thing just makes me feel like it should be something other than another T at the end.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 6:10 PM. Reason : ]

2/18/2011 6:08:52 PM

I love how the rankings come out after every new album

2/18/2011 6:09:59 PM

^^To be clear, I respect the hell out of The Bends. It's definitely one of their classics. I just can't get all the way into it for whatever reason.

On a side note, I kinda feel like HTTT is fairly underrated. I like it more than Amnesiac.

[Edited on February 18, 2011 at 6:12 PM. Reason : ,]

2/18/2011 6:12:05 PM

let's be honest, if this record didn't have the name Radiohead attached to it, it wouldn't get more than a few listens from most people.

(in no way am I saying it is not a good record, but I feel like people are a little quick to praise anything and everything the band does)

2/18/2011 6:15:21 PM

I feel like Amnesaic is underated. People always seem to look at it as an album of Kid A leftovers. HTTF sounds like an album written by someone who really liked Pablo Honey and had just listened to Kid A. Amnesiac sounds like it was written by aliens.

2/18/2011 6:19:35 PM

the bends will always be my favorite radiohead album

no way anything they do, no matter how amazing will ever usurp it

nostalgia (and nostalgia be damned) has its place for me, and that's one of the big hitters

no new bloop bleep radiohead will ever top that high school summer spent mowing lawns and listening to the bends on tape rocking the fuck out to "my iron lung", "black star" and "street spirit (fade out)"

but in no way does that mean i won't enjoy the everlove out of new radiohead releases

2/18/2011 8:32:08 PM

the king of limbs is a grower...very underwhelmed on the first few listens. i'm on listen 6 or 7 now can't remember...totally loving it. no standout ''awesome'' tracks just a perfect flow and an album where you're constantly nodding your head. also, 'these are my twisted words' would have fit perfectly on this album. shameful linda, cover your sins.

2/18/2011 9:00:43 PM

it says my email doesn't exist. that would be fine if i hadn't received a confirmation email reminding me that i had spent $48

in other news, i always feel like HTTT is underwhelming, but when i listen to it all of the songs are great

even knowing that, i still fail to remember more than 3-4 of them when thinking about the album

2/18/2011 9:18:47 PM

liking Little by Little the most so far but as has already been expressed, I usually end up liking their entire albums after having it play in the background for awhile.

Still excited to have some new Radiohead to listen to regardless

2/18/2011 11:31:46 PM

it's okay as background music, can't really say I'll ever go to the album for a particular song like I did with In Rainbows (or any other one of their albums, for that matter)

I, too, think HTTT is underrated and The Bends is the best Radiohead album to me

Quote :

"let's be honest, if this record didn't have the name Radiohead attached to it, it wouldn't get more than a few listens from most people."

I agree with this

2/19/2011 8:38:28 AM

damn, "lotus flower" just knocked me on my ass on about the fifteenth listen...knew that'd happen eventually

and, yes, i've only listened to it 10+ times in the last two days because it is radiohead...the way their albums have grown on me in the past, they've earned that many listens for a new album

2/19/2011 12:13:27 PM

I would much rather listen to King of Limbs than Hail to the Thief. Hail to the Thief is the most disjointed and overlong Radiohead album-- in much need of editing and re-sequencing (the band has said this themselves).

The King of Limbs is a very cohesive effort with a clear purpose-- exploring textures of sounds instead of instrumentation. I don't love every track, but I think the overall album is pretty great and certainly worthy of many many listens. I think there are certainly stand-out tracks-- Codex and Separator being my two favorites at the moment.

Quote :

""let's be honest, if this record didn't have the name Radiohead attached to it, it wouldn't get more than a few listens from most people.""

This is such a tired argument. The reason this album earns "more than a few listens" is that Radiohead has proven themselves time and again to be a band whose albums are worthy of repeat listens. Indeed, repeat listens are essential in order to fully appreciate what Radiohead gives us with each album. I feel that a band's past work SHOULD be used as a marker of how much time to invest into an album. They've earned our trust and patience because they've put out some fucking great records.

2/19/2011 12:38:49 PM

^You're right, but I don't think he was saying that Radiohead doesn't deserve it or that it devalues what they do (I don't think). Simply pointing out that not as many people would have the patience required to enjoy this record (as well as the last few Radiohead releases) if it didn't have Radiohead's name on it, because it is a dense/weird record.

It is kind of an odd/unique thing in music...because Radiohead started out as a fairly accessible rock band and got progressively weirder, they get a lot of people to listen to some flat-out fucking weird music. I don't think any other band in the world has that kind of creative credibility with so many people. As you said, though, they've earned our trust and patience by consistently crafting albums that grow on us.

[Edited on February 19, 2011 at 1:06 PM. Reason : .]

2/19/2011 1:01:52 PM

this isn't new, but anyone who's into radiohead should check out skeet spirit: a crunk tribute to radiohead by dj gyngyvytus

2/19/2011 1:21:23 PM

the second half the record continues to prove to be very strong, and it's a dense, dark, gloomy and haunting record. i'll have to be in the mood for this one album, start to finish, to listen it in the future, i feel like.

sort of like Dark Side or Meddle are for me -- an album for an occasion or mood, but i don't think it's going to be a "go to" album the way other Radiohead albums have been.

i've only had enough time for about 5 listens since downloading it, but i've enjoyed it. i'm still unsure about "bloom" and "feral"; those were the weakest for me on first listen, but now "bloom" has been growing on me a little more. "little by little", "codex" and "give up the ghost" have been my 3 favorites. i agree with others who have said that it's devoid of an "idioteque", a "paranoid android", etc.

in other news, the telegraph is eating it up, apparently
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/8333063/Radiohead-King-of-Limbs-album-review.html


[Edited on February 19, 2011 at 1:40 PM. Reason : .]

2/19/2011 1:33:01 PM

Realized tonight that listening to the albums consecutively from Kid A thru King of Limbs (including In Rainbows B-sides) sounds like a really natural progression. The King of Limbs sounds much less foreign when listened to in this manner. I'm really loving it

2/20/2011 1:15:34 AM

after having trouble with the download links yesterday, i've through this three times now

it starts slow, but the first half is fucking ace, and i agree that it's more of a cohesive "feel" listen than a song-by-song banger

still great

2/20/2011 2:37:51 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KujlXtH20l8

2/20/2011 2:28:23 PM

^lol. and it begins...

2/20/2011 4:09:41 PM

damn. "rubber" by yuck is awesome.

2/20/2011 4:25:20 PM