In Rainbows – Radiohead

Radiohead’s masterpiece, their pièce de résistance. An album that demands infinite listens, and then some more. A project that somehow amazes me every single time I plug my headphones in and hit play. For me, it’s a top tier project, with little to no flaws.

And I think every album has flaws.

SIDE A

1. 15 Step

   The track is a solid opener to a great, if not the greatest five-track-run in music. The song gets better towards the second half, when the keys get that angsty undertone to them and Thom’s high notes captures that angst as well as the music.

2. Bodysnatchers

   The song will tickle your inner guitarist who loves to wiggle their fingers in the air as Thom’s scream takes the track to a whole different key towards the later half. One of my favorite songs from the album, and I’m not even considering the utility of this track as an alarm ringtone.

3. Nude

   There is no other track like Nude. If I was a writer, a music composer and a a Michelin Star chef, Nude wouldn’t just be the main course – it’d be a whole 7 course meal. How can I listen to Thom’s melodic ‘oohs’ for 5 minutes straight is oblivious to me too, but the track is so much more than that. It’s a platter of melancholy served with hopeful yet crushing sides (don’t ask me how) and a constant taste of sweet spice in my ears that makes me want to rip my heart out and frankly, have it for dessert.

   It’s a beautiful track in a fucked up way, and I love it.

4. Weird Fishes / Arpeggi

   It’s pretty dangerous to have a track like Weird Fishes right after Nude but Radiohead pulls it off. And majestically, I might add. I cry a little inside every time Thom yells Everybody Leaves. Drums and Bass really stands out on this track. There’s nothing much to say except it’s an unquestionable 10/10 in my book. I get eaten by the worms, and weird fishes…

5. All I Need

   Another 10/10. I mean, how is it possible? How is a band so consistently fantastic, not just good? Rhetorical question by the way. A helpless, love-ridden set of lyrics that tugs at heartstrings in a special way. The track is composed around a bassline that’s so perfectly mixed with the rest of the track that you forget it’s there, but it’s always there. All I Need is literally All U Need.

   SIDE B

6. Faust Arp

   This track is an interlude of sorts, slowing down the pace and the intensity from side A. A little too heavy on violin for my taste, but I really, really like the part where the song shifts to a higher key and then fades out.

7. Reckoner

   I don’t fully understand the love people have for Reckoner, but I think it might have something to do with my ears’ sincere disregard for sharp percussion sounds. However, I tried tweaking the EQ a little bit and the track sounded much better. The vocal ambience, the chords and Thom’s delivery on a refreshing drum set is bliss for the soul.

8. House of Cards

   I don’t wanna be your friend
   I just wanna be your lover
   And I was gone, lost in this track at the fifty second mark as the lyrics pried a confession out of this unwilling heart. What a track. It doesn’t help that the vocals have a very wet reverb that tickles my ears.

9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place

   I knew I would love this track when I first heard the strings building into the song on top of the hi-hats. I was in love when Thom’s layered hums pour into my ear canals. I wanted to scream my heart out when the song changed key. Another solid, solid 10/10 by Radiohead, apart from being my personal favorite.

10. Videotape

    Radiohead doesn’t quite have another outro such as Videotape. The keys encompass so much pain for reasons unknown to me. I can’t quite describe this track. It deserves a listen when you feel like an absolute piece of filth in your life.