FAVORITE ALBUM #7

#7 IN RAINBOWS / RADIOHEAD [taste] [buy]

key tracks: bodysnatchers / all i need / house of cards / reckoner / videotape

never has my faith in a band been so immediately restored with one album. i've had a long love/hate relationship with the band. probably because few things drove me battier than so-called critics hailing droning, wandering and aloof electronica as 'masterpieces' [for my money, 'the bends' stands out as radiohead's magnum opus]. equally annoying and troubling were all the hipster kids who, like pavlovian dogs, started foaming out the mouth at the mention of 'kid a' and 'amnesiac.' it was kind of frightening, actually, to behold such blind allegiance to an album. i was actually shouted down a few times because i actually dared to call their merits into question and one person actually told me to 'just admit' radiohead was the best. band. ever. who knew music fascism exisited?

but 'in rainbows,' radiohead's seventh studio album was, in many ways, a return to the radiohead we all know and love. it was the album i'd been waiting ten years to hear. no more navel-gazing. no more silly knob twiddling. no more aimless yodelling. for the first time since 'ok computer' it was about the song. hey, now there's a novel idea! thom yorke found a melody and the band realized that warmth and humanity are more important song elements than icy, electronic alienation. the album's centerpiece, 'all i need,' in my opinion is one of radiohead's finest. it's a beautiful example of what they do best: thom trades in his drowning cat falsetto for some truly magnificent and emotionally rich vocals. the band beautifully balances electronic and acoustic, mood and tempo, and most importantly, genuine emotion and isolation. no bombast, no pretension. if you ever needed an example of less is more, this is it.

radiohead has long held the title of 'best band in the world' and with 'in rainbows,' they might just have proved thier supporters correct. it's a monumental and massive accomplishment.