In Rainbows

So I bought the new Radiohead album today. I never did download it when it was first released on the internet, so today is my first listen. The first thing that I think when I put it on is how inventive Radiohead are. This might not be their most groundbreaking album, but it still sounds unique. This might not be as strange a listen as Kid A was, but that's fine. At this point in Radioheads career they don't need to constantly reinvent themselves to be successful. They've done so many different sounding records that now it seems each album is an amalgamation of all the ones before it. You have the alternative stylings of The Bends, the strange atmospherics of Ok Computer, as well as the electronic sounds of Kid A/Amnesiac. It's really quite satisfying to someone like myself, who listens to so many different styles of music to find an album that combines many different styles into one.

I'm still not through my first listen yet, so I'm not sure of my overall impression of it, but there is a quality to Radioheads music that leaves you with a feeling that you're listening to something of value. Who knows, maybe the songs won't all strike my fancy, and maybe next week I'll have this thrown on the "One Listen" pile of cds, but you can't deny the talent these guys have. It's definitely not the tired cliched rock you hear on the radio. This is stuff that rewards listen after listen.

Sometimes I get annoyed when people talk about the punk movement of the 70's. This gave people the idea that anyone could pick up a guitar and start a band. In some ways that's good, but part of me feels that maybe that is part of the reason why there is so much crap on the radio nowadays. It's good to know there are still bands Radiohead around with real talent.