In Rainbows by Radiohead

Radiohead
In Rainbows
2007
Alternative
Independently released/TBD

1. 15 Step
2. Bodysnatchers
3. Nude
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
5. All I Need
6. Faust Arp
7. Reckoner
8. House Of Cards
9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
10. Videotape
(Also included is a 344x344 album cover .jpeg)

I'm the next act
Waiting in the wings
I'm an animal
Trapped in your hot car

"All I Need"

It was hard for me to decide what album to start this blog off with. I had so many great ones in mind that I knew I wanted to use, but very few seemed like they would be a good introduction to acquiring new tastes. This blog is for everyone and anyone, but to start things off, I'd like to focus on the audience of the average mainstream music fan. For the people who say "I like a little bit of everything," but in actuality, the most out-there music in their collection might be something by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. So, mainstream music fans, listen up, because these first few posts are for you.

Almost everybody had heard something about In Rainbows. Maybe you heard that it was one of the first critically acclaimed albums to be released for free over the internet, with no record labels getting in the way. This caused a snowball effect that caught the attention many other artists who were fed up with giving their haul to their distributors. The "pay-what-you-want" pricetag of In Rainbows has since then been adopted by other acts, such as Nine Inch Nails, Saul Williams, Girl Talk, and more. But that's not what's really important here. What I want to share with you is the music side of In Rainbows, instead of business.

Radiohead is known for doing things differently than other artists of their time -- by any means necessary. "15 Step" combines a hip-hop influenced electronica beat with a smooth accapella from Thom Yorke. Later, layers of jazz guitar and bass are slowly added to the mix, working strangely well. In Rainbows does things like this throughout the record, and still manages to be extremely accessible. I can't see any Top 40 devotee finding much to be weirded out by in this album, other than Thom's very Jeff Buckley-esque falsetto.

And be sure to click the link at the top of the page to download jZip, a program you'll need to "unpack" the individual songs for listening.

Click here to download (92.08 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy