So why is Radiohead’s In Rainbows on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
I deeply respect Radiohead as a musical outfit, and I sometimes find myself in awe of their work.
Some of it has to do with the fact that I really started to get into them in my 30s. However, the same is true for me and The White Stripes, and as great as both outfits are, I’d much more naturally gravitate to the latter. It’s also that the music tends to be so cerebral.
I always get a lot out of listening to Radiohead, but it takes more mental horsepower versus tracks like “Cannon,” “We’re Going to Be Friends,” or “My Doorbell,” you know?
Okay, back to In Rainbows. If not in lyrical content, the musical tone of In Rainbows is much warmer and organic than anything they produced post The Bends, let’s say. It’s a really interesting, somewhat unexpected, and pleasing change in direction from the colder, more electronic, and experimentally weird (and/but truly brilliant) music produced on the likes of OK Computer and Kid A. For those reasons, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” has become my favorite song on In Rainbows.
“15 Step” again has a surprisingly warm guitar tone that, when mapped against choppy-sounding electronic drums and other effects, shows off the dazzling production expertise Radiohead has long commanded. It’s mesmerizing how that warmth fractures and shatters as “15 Step” unfolds, turning quietly haunting.
Well, this is Radiohead, right?
“Nude” is quiet and relatively spare. It stands out based on Thom Yorke’s performance – in his vocals you feel someone who is bewildered, world-weary, and dealing with strange existence. The lyrics linger on lines like:
Don’t get any big ideas, they’re not gonna happen
And:
You paint yourself white
And fill up with noise
But there’ll be something missing
This is Radiohead!
Some stats & info about Radiohead – In Rainbows
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? British Bands, Rock Music, Experimental Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #387
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was In Rainbows released? 2007
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #670 out of 1,000
Radiohead’s In Rainbows on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Radiohead’s In Rainbows that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
How come I end up where I started?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.