Ryan's Top Ten Albums - In Rainbows - Radiohead

 In Rainbows - Radiohead

Released 2007 - Genre: Art Rock, Experimental Rock

While the albums I talked about in this blog are not ranked in any particular order, I can confidently say that this is my favorite album. Radiohead has always been one of my favorite bands, my original idea for this blog was to do an entry on each of their nine studio albums. In Rainbows came at a very unique point in the band’s career, as they had already seemingly reinvented the wheel twice, with the release of OK Computer in 1997, and Kid A in 2000, and their few albums since had been highly regarded but never to that same level. In Rainbows was their attempt at reinventing their sound again and doing something groundbreaking, and they delivered. The buildup to the album's release was very unique, as the band promoted the album almost solely on their own website, where they boasted a pay-what-you-want scheme for the album, where fans could pay any amount (or nothing at all) to download the album. It was an experiment to combat the growing popularity of music piracy, and also a jab at the music industry as a whole, as the album was entirely produced and released by the band rather than through a label. But enough about that, let’s discuss the album itself and what makes it so monumental. In Rainbows takes a more organic and warm approach to songwriting as opposed to the cold and harsh soundscapes and lyrics on prior albums. Frontman Thom Yorke went on record saying that In Rainbows was extremely difficult to complete for the band, as they felt they were losing momentum being that late into their careers. Difficulty aside though, the band managed to make their most creative album yet, with a wide array of sounds. Tracks like “Bodysnatchers,” “Weird Fishes / Arpeggi,” and “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” featured the guitar heavy soundscapes the band had perfected on past records, with a new and more organic sound. Other tracks like “Nude,” and “Videotape,” are some of their most heart wrenching, while still hauntingly beautiful with Yorke’s falsetto vocals, and string arrangements from Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien. Every member of the quintet delivers some of their best and most creative performances on this album, proving that Radiohead still had the ability to break ground yet another time. If there is any album to check out from this series, it’s this one if you haven’t heard it already.


-Ryan


In Rainbows (From the Basement) - In Rainbows From the Basement performance

15 Step Grammy's Performance - Thom and Jonny performing 15 Step at the Grammy’s with the USC Trojan Marching Band

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