Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool

[miamiscot]

What woke you up after the first fall?

"Ful Stop" woke me up but only for a minute or so. I still love Radiohead and I'm sure this one will grow on me as they all have.

[Frumious B]

In the early going this is my favorite since OK Computer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Frumious B]

I'm almost afraid to praise it too much for fear that somebody in the band will die the way 2016 has been going so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[progcd54]

Has all the elements and sounds of a great Radiohead release. A pleasant listen for sure. But it doesn't break any new ground.

[Hour Candle]

Been on constant repeat since yesterday, and it's been growing on me constantly. This may be their very best album yet n my world.. Ok, I come clean.. I love it to bits!! Their most emotional album as a whole and a great return to form

[soundsweird]

I've only heard the first two tracks released, but I'm just glad it doesn't sound like TKOL II. That frenetic percussion thing got old real quick for me. Also glad it didn't sound like Yorke's solo stuff, which was too much of the same sound.

[Yodelgoat]

I could not understand what the guy above was actually saying - so, this is music you are talking about and not a pair of shoes from Macy's?

[mjudge]

i still maintain HTTT was their peak...if you told me they became a trio after that one i'd have a bit more understanding of these albums.

I'm glad to know there's at least one other person who thinks Hail to the Thief is their best. For me, they were a great band from OK Computer through Hail, a nice but unremarkable band on The Bends and In Rainbows, and a pretty damn bad band on Pablo Honey and King of Limbs.

Haven't heard the whole new LP yet; "Burn the Witch" and "Daydreaming" were certainly better than anything they've done for a long time, but that certainly doesn't mean they're groundbreaking even for Radiohead, much less groundbreaking in general.

[zravkapt]

For me, they were a great band from OK Computer through Hail, a nice but unremarkable band on The Bends and In Rainbows, and a pretty damn bad band on Pablo Honey and King of Limbs.

Wow. That is exactly my take on their discog. I've been listening to some live versions of some of the Moon songs and the only ones that stick out are "Ful Stop" and "Identikit." In both cases YouTube comments suggest that these earlier live versions are 'better' than the Moon versions.

[Haruspex Carnage]

i really wish i had the type of ears that are "blown away" by the most staid rhythmically uninteresting and dynamically flat-lined music when people get specific with some song examples...then again, no, i don't.

[N_Singh]

i really wish i had the type of ears that are "blown away" by the most staid rhythmically uninteresting and dynamically flat-lined music when people get specific with some song examples...then again, no, i don't.

Man I made the mistake of buying This turd fest -- so easy to do with one click iTunes purchase on the phone. Listened to it in the car while driving . Ok, A couple of the songs are decent, one is actually even syncopated . Ok, if I am being generous, three are ok tunes

The numbers
Present tense
True love awaits. -Nice simple piano pedal point and ostinato used as a musical foil

And that's about it. Turgid, limp, and yes ' flatlined ' seems to be the perfect words as you say.

I can't believe they get massive credit for using strings and piano: gasp! I guess that is revolutionary, to have these things used in the most rudimentary and flaccid sort of ways, no less .

The massively over-stylized vocal delivery is nauseating and gets old really fast . But the dude has been able to milk that shit for decades now .

[aith01]

Man I made the mistake of buying This turd fest -- so easy to do with one click iTunes purchase on the phone. Listened to it in the car while driving . Ok, A couple of the songs are decent, one is actually even syncopated . Ok, if I am being generous, three are ok tunes

The numbers
Present tense
True love awaits. -Nice simple piano pedal point and ostinato used as a musical foil

And that's about it. Turgid, limp, and yes ' flatlined ' seems to be the perfect words as you say.

I can't believe they get massive credit for using strings and piano: gasp! I guess that is revolutionary, to have these things used in the most rudimentary and flaccid sort of ways, no less .

The massively over-stylized vocal delivery is nauseating and gets old really fast . But the dude has been able to milk that shit for decades now .

I'm sorry you guys don't like it, but that doesn't detract one iota from my enjoyment of it.

It's a shame all music can't sound like the kind you enjoy, but such is life.

[Facelift]

Man I made the mistake of buying This turd fest -- so easy to do with one click iTunes purchase on the phone. Listened to it in the car while driving . Ok, A couple of the songs are decent, one is actually even syncopated . Ok, if I am being generous, three are ok tunes

The numbers
Present tense
True love awaits. -Nice simple piano pedal point and ostinato used as a musical foil

And that's about it. Turgid, limp, and yes ' flatlined ' seems to be the perfect words as you say.

I can't believe they get massive credit for using strings and piano: gasp!

They don't get massive credit for using strings and a piano. They get credit for using them so well. Radiohead don't make particularly complicated music. But, they do make music that is nevertheless beyond the grasp of most bands, due to their superior taste.

I have no idea why somebody who finds Thom Yorke's voice to be "nauseating," and who has been "milking that shit for decades" would pay money to buy this album, but perhaps that didn't happen, either.

[JJ88]

^N_Singh doesn't really seem to like anything much beyond jazz/classical, and never tires of telling us that.

I have yet to hear the last album they released because of the overwhelming shrug-of-shoulders given to it, by fans and even critics. Will follow the reviews of this one closely.

[Svetonio]

(...) Radiohead don't make particularly complicated music. (...)

Exactly, and especially on the new album that is "one-dimensional", "post-progressive" sound such as, for example, Kscope the label is about.

[Troopers For Sound]

I can't believe they get massive credit for using strings and piano: gasp! I guess that is revolutionary, to have these things used in the most rudimentary and flaccid sort of ways, no less .

To my ears it's some of the best string writing on a "rock" album I've heard. Totally blown away by it.

My first listen was ok...it all felt quite nice and dreamy/drifty...but it felt slightly as though something was missing - especially towards the back half of the album. But...second listen was where things started to really click. And it seems as though each listen (I'm on about the 5th now) seems to open up the album even more. To my ears at least.

I liked King of Limbs quite a bit, but it certainly was an odd "album"...in that it felt more like an EP collection, or something like the In Rainbows Disk 2 bonus selection. AMSP really feels like a complete record with sonic devices used throughout to unify the whole - especially those piano effects as others have mentioned. And is there a choir of some sorts on a few tracks??

Matt.

[Sunlight Caller]

Well the positive reviews from those I respect have me excited, and the negatives from the usual names back this up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mjudge]

I can't believe they get massive credit for using strings and piano: gasp! I guess that is revolutionary, to have these things used in the most rudimentary and flaccid sort of ways, no less .
.

No offense, mate, but if you think the strings and piano are "used in the most rudimentary and flaccid sort of ways," you don't have any experience arranging strings, and you're either not a piano player or haven't heard many pop/rock pianists.

[Haruspex Carnage]

Honestly some has grown on me and i think this one MIGHT be the better of the last three.. but i think syncopation is a good term as to what they have decided NOT to really do rhythmically or convincingly these days (this coming from someone who's found of avant and modern jazz - then again most in that field are pretty intent and accomplished musicians)...so that might be my underlying problem with it...to me it doesn't work in that regard.

If i had to pinpoint it, the strings/synths/keys are what propels the changes and NOT the rhythm section.

[N_Singh]

Honestly some has grown on me and i think this one MIGHT be the better of the last three.. but i think syncopation is a good term as to what they have decided NOT to really do rhythmically or convincingly these days (this coming from someone who's found of avant and modern jazz - then again most in that field are pretty intent and accomplished musicians)...so that might be my underlying problem with it...to me it doesn't work in that regard.

I think there's only one song that I actually uses any kind of meaningful syncopation. Which to me is the most important part of music, even if lots of great music features nothing but motor rhythms, streams of eighth notes without accents or rhythmic hits.

If you're going to play quiet music that shows restraint and contemplation --- which they clearly attempt to do ( and for that, should be commended, because most bands wouldn't even try it )----The use of syncopation and rhythmic displacement of phrases in this context could be really really really Beautiful .

As for piano and piano arrangements , as I said before, the best song on the album is the one that features the pedal point and ostinato . It's very simple but quite effective . Nobody said that simple can't be effective .

But mostly this record seems to be music that lacks weight and Dynamics, that unceremoniously withers away into the ether, without lasting memory or impression on one's mind.

[aith01]

i really wish i had the type of ears that are "blown away" by the most staid rhythmically uninteresting and dynamically flat-lined music when people get specific with some song examples...then again, no, i don't.

Whatever happened to variety being the spice of life? If you don't like Radiohead I can respect that, but honestly what you said comes across as very dismissive. It's all a matter of taste anyhow. You've already expressed that you don't care for their music, and no one here has a problem with that. There's no need to put down others' tastes as somehow inferior, however. That's just impolite.

I've learned some Radiohead music on the piano, and let me tell you, it is definitely not "simple" or "flat-lined" stuff.

Edit: Just saw your more recent comment after I typed my response.

Honestly some has grown on me and i think this one MIGHT be the better of the last three.. but i think syncopation is a good term as to what they have decided NOT to really do rhythmically or convincingly these days (this coming from someone who's found of avant and modern jazz - then again most in that field are pretty intent and accomplished musicians)...so that might be my underlying problem with it...to me it doesn't work in that regard.

If i had to pinpoint it, the strings/synths/keys are what propels the changes and NOT the rhythm section.

I'm glad that some of it has grown on you. Without having heard the whole album yet (only heard the first two singles), it's quite possible that the rhythm section is not what drives the music by-and-large here. But then, Radiohead are not an avant-jazz or modern jazz group.

They seem to have found their niche and have continued making music the way they want to. Evidently enough people like it, otherwise the band wouldn't keep doing it. Who could fault them for that?

[aith01]

I think there's only one song that I actually uses any kind of meaningful syncopation. Which to me is the most important part of music, even if lots of great music features nothing but motor rhythms, streams of eighth notes without accents or rhythmic hits.

See, this is a good point. Cast in this light, I can understand why Radiohead might not appeal to you. While syncopation might be the most important aspect for you, it's not the same for everyone. I tend to focus more on harmonic structure, personally. Everyone is different in what they like and dislike about music, which is what's so great about it -- and why it can feel meaningful when you meet others who share similar feelings about music you like.

[N_Singh]

Whatever happened to variety being the spice of life? If you don't like Radiohead I can respect that, but honestly what you said comes across as very dismissive. It's all a matter of taste anyhow. You've already expressed that you don't care for their music, and no one here has a problem with that. There's no need to put down others' tastes as somehow inferior, however. That's just impolite.

I've learned some Radiohead music on the piano, and let me tell you, it is definitely not "simple" or "flat-lined" stuff.

Ah yes you see, here is a piano arrangement with lots of rhythmic displacements and syncopation. A great musician can do great things .

This was the song that made me reassess Radiohead: before this, I only knew them as a band like Green Day, who produced one of the most awful songs of the 1990s that gave birth To the "alternative" rock marketing strategy and phenomenon: "I'm a creep".



From there, I discovered OK computer, which I liked. But the basic premise still remains: anybody who's listened to a lot of soft machine, Neu!, Henry Cow, King Crimson, et al ( The usual suspects everybody here should know ) knows that Radiohead is not some revolutionary band that radicalized music .

[aith01]

Ah yes you see, here is a piano arrangement with lots of rhythmic displacements and syncopation. A great musician can do great things .

This was the song that made me reassess Radiohead: before this, I only knew them as a band like Green Day, who produced one of the most awful songs of the 1990s that gave birth To the "alternative" rock marketing strategy and phenomenon: "I'm a creep".



From there, I discovered OK computer, which I liked. But the basic premise still remains: anybody who's listened to a lot of soft machine, Neu!, Henry Cow, King Crimson, et al ( The usual suspects everybody here should know ) knows that Radiohead is not some revolutionary band that radicalized music .

Never heard Mehldau's rendition of that song. Interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

I don't believe Radiohead radicalized music. Most people familiar with progressive rock would probably not argue with you in that regard. My cousin, who is in his mid-thirties and whose favorite band is Radiohead, doesn't like progressive rock (with the exception of maybe some stuff by Genesis) -- in fact strongly dislikes it, because of the rhythmic changes, key changes, etc. It sounds "forced", to him. He and I disagree strongly on this, but I think it explains a lot about why a band like Radiohead appeals to him more than they do to me -- or to you, for that matter.

[NogbadTheBad]

I think the case for Radiohead radicalizing music has been overstated over the years which typically happens with any band that gains a level of success and is slightly outside the mainstream, we can all pick bands we consider much more radical. Personally it comes down to me liking what they release, it's no more complicated than that, it doesn't have to move anything forward, push the envelope, it just has to make me happy. I'm too listens in and its certainly a grower that I'll probably like a lot in a few weeks time.