Thom Yorke :: The Eraser

[jdjustice]

I'm listening to this album right now, and so far I really like it. It doesn't seem to be pushing ground in entirely new directions, but it is good stuff anyways IMO.

Anyone else listening to this?? Thoughts on its production??

[andrew269]

this is f^cked up. f^cked up. thumbsup

[SUPADUPA]

Yeah .... I'm enjoying this as well .... me thinks the next Radiohead album ...

may have a few heavy guitars on it ... and by all accounts recent live shows ..

bear this out ..... cool ...

[jdjustice]

I think Harrowdown Hill is my favorite track on first listen... it may change once I have heard the album over and over again (I plan on keeping the CD on heavy rotation for awhile)....

I needed this album.. was missing Thom... can't wait for the Radiohead full-length (no date for that one set yet)......

[84K]

Is it overly art based (like the last few Radiohead albums) or is it closer to when they wrote songs (The Bends, OK Computer)? Sorry fellas, I LOVE the first 3 albums, but they got a little too heady for me since then.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by 84K

Is it overly art based (like the last few Radiohead albums) or is it closer to when they wrote songs (The Bends, OK Computer)?

Well I would say it's a bit of both. There are traditional songwriting techniques through the album.... it takes a bit of repeated listening to fully appreciate "Hail to the Thief" and their newer albums, but once you have "got it" you might just love it..

Of course OK Computer is a masterpiece, but I think after that album they realized they had perfected that type of an album, and decided to continue to push the envelope.

Just my humble opinions. I love "Kid A", "Amnesiac" and really love "Hail to the Thief"...

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks I guess..


J.D.

[drockfresh]

Originally Posted by 84K

Is it overly art based (like the last few Radiohead albums) or is it closer to when they wrote songs (The Bends, OK Computer)? Sorry fellas, I LOVE the first 3 albums, but they got a little too heady for me since then.

You'd be happy to know that the new Radiohead songs are less far-out heady and more like the early stuff (which I prefer). They are playing the tunes live before releasing them on a new album. I saw them live and was blown away. People are posting the tunes on Youtube. I think the new album is going to be really good.

[redroom]

Im really enjoying this album I love how loads of electronic stuff is sued but still feels and sounds organic.

[jdjustice]

...bump

[seaneldon]

someone give this dude a les paul and tell him to shut the **** up.

sorry. i really don't like it. and i like OK Computer a lot.

as they say over at the electrical audio forum: Crap.

[de_mix]

***from other thead***

I bought it cause I'm a radiohead fan. This sound is getting a bit spent for me. Though I do like it... but don't love it. I LOVE Kid A. That was a great record. But since then, they have been rehashing the same sound (clever, long, electronic tunes that really end up going no where!!!). I hope it's a way to Thom's "artsy fartsy" side out. It would be nice to see another rocking Radiohead record again that has songs with a chorus in them!!!

[themaidsroom]

84K - your avatar rocks.....

i'd like to buy the thom yorke record - anyone heard the vinyl ?






- jack

[Ol' Betsey]

Sounds like a demo to me...

Let's be honest here. Really, except for the fact that it's Thom Yorke what else does it have?

"peel all your layers off, I want to eat your artichoke heart"

Is he taking the piss? I tinka he musta be...

Boring.

R.

[ersheff]

Yeah. It almost sounds like a lazy effort to me. I guess that if Thom was just trying to put some music out there without stressing over it and losing his mind like he did during the OK Computer/Kid A era, then I completely understand. But this solo album sounds like he just set up a few loops and put down some stream-of-consciousness lyrics and called it a day. Kind of how the last NIN album (With Teeth) sounded. I LIKE the way the music sounds- I just don't really feel like it goes anywhere.

[arthurchino]

taking the piss? of course... it's silly and grotesque; just as the world is.

it's a home made album... that just happens to be able to pull in nigel godrich.

the vinyl sounds (and looks) great.

[T.RayBullard]

Horrible. If I want to listen to experiemental pretentious crap, there are a million other bands that specialize in it. (Stereolab,vespers, , godspeed you black emporer, psapp, the baldwin fun machine, etc etc etc)

OK computer is one of the top albums of all time, just magic..but this..dfegad

[beranie]

I really like that album.
And by the way?I don´t wanna say that you have to like it, BUT: What do you mean when you say:" It´s not going anywhere"? All these songs are well thought. Does it always have to be verse, ref, verse, ref, etc... maybe a guitar solo in between?Or even better: we all should write 3 minute songs out of one part: REFRAIN!!! over and over!! I think some popstars already had that idea... and look!!! they´re succesful!!!! Fck that.
These songs aren´t complicated in any way, or heady, just some nice little electro tracks with beautiful vocal-melodies (thats why i like it).
Maybe not as simple or foreseeable as an ACDC track but THEY ARE GOING SOMEWHERE (even if i still don´t really know what you guys mean, when some of you use these sentence talking about songs...) i think saying: "It´s not going anywhere" is stupid....but hey....what do i know..... i know that i know nothing and that no tack in the world will grow some legs and start walking....

[Ol' Betsey]

I don't know...

I just think it's incredibly pedestrian.

I was really excited to buy this album. I really wanted Thom Y. to bring something out that SURPASSED my expectations (which is, of course, entirely dependant on MY expectation I know...) but after 3-4 good headphone sessions I'm still seriously underwhelmed.

OK the world may be 'silly and grotesque' but I really don't get the impression that there was any sort of intellectual intention in alot of what he's saying on this album.

I'm all into Post Modern Irony and all that but I don't we can hide the lack of lyrical depth on that here.

I'm not saying he isn't a thoughtful and intelligent artist, because I know he is, but I just get the impression that THIS album is too superficial.

And I also think, if we're talking about arrangements, EVEN electronic music can have interesting arrangements! (note: sarcasm)

I think there must be literally THOUSANDS of kids out there creating music like this (in fact I'm sure MySpace is full of em') and I just reckon he traded on his name a little too much.

Or maybe that's not even the case, maybe I gave him MORE of an opportunity BECAUSE of his name?

I suppose I can't blame him for my mistake, huh?

I just think there's gotta be more inside this guy than this...

R.

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by T.RayBullard

the baldwin fun machine

is their a band called the baldwin fun machine? I have two baldwin fun machine keyboards in my studio, they are quite cool and dinky

narco

[T.RayBullard]

Originally Posted by narco

is their a band called the baldwin fun machine? I have two baldwin fun machine keyboards in my studio, they are quite cool and dinky

narco

http://www.garageband.com/artist/baldwinfunmachine

yep, they got their name from those keyboards.

[eligit]

when i heard this my first thought was "i guess he really does need the rest of the band".

i am a huge radiohead fan and had sort of been under the impression that york and godrich were most of the reason i liked them.

not true. now i appreciate how much the other members of the band contribute.

[Power Supply]

I'm not a huge Radiohead fan and I like it.

[lanervoza]

it took me a few listens to get my head around it, but i reallllly like it now. at first i was underwhelmed, like many here - but there's some really powerful material in there.

Alex

[AlexLakis]

I found it to be just as boring and pointless as "Amnesiac" and "Hail to the Thief."

I don't pass permanent judgement on artists' solo albums, tho. People are allowed to release whatever they want under just their name if they want to, in my opinion. There aren't as many...obligations involved...no checks or balances like in a group setting...I respect the album, and give kudos to Thom for it.

Any band that makes an album like "The Bends" deserves a second (or fourth) chance...bring on the next Radiohead album, I'll listen to it with just as open a mind as I did all of their work.

[studilaroche]

Originally Posted by T.RayBullard

http://www.garageband.com/artist/baldwinfunmachine

yep, they got their name from those keyboards.

another proud owner of the fun machine here.

ben

[eligit]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

I found it to be just as boring and pointless as "Amnesiac" and "Hail to the Thief."

I don't pass permanent judgement on artists' solo albums, tho. People are allowed to release whatever they want under just their name if they want to, in my opinion. There aren't as many...obligations involved...no checks or balances like in a group setting...I respect the album, and give kudos to Thom for it.

Any band that makes an album like "The Bends" deserves a second (or fourth) chance...bring on the next Radiohead album, I'll listen to it with just as open a mind as I did all of their work.

i consider hail to the thief to be far more interesting than the bends, a very solid record indeed but the sounds and songwriting are nowhere near as rich as the "hail"....imho. there is no ballad anywhere near "sail to the mood" on "the bends".
not that "hail" is as consistent as the bends but...

"the eraser" seems pretty thin compared to both.

but i also applaud all artists who simply keep on working and let us listen in on various stages of their development. why not?

[Ol' Betsey]

Originally Posted by eligit

i also applaud all artists who simply keep on working and let us listen in on various stages of their development. why not?

I agree...

R.

[AlexLakis]

Originally Posted by eligit

there is no ballad anywhere near "sail to the mood" on "the bends".

Hmm, let's see "High & Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Nice Dream," "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was," "Black Star," and "Sulk" come to mind. (If you consider all of those ballads.) I'd take any one of those songs over every song offa "Hail to the Thief."

I think the single "2+2=5" is a very misleading single, much like "Optimistic" was. (Plus, it just sounds like they ripped off Pearl Jam, but that's a comment for another discussion.)

Originally Posted by eligit

but i also applaud all artists who simply keep on working and let us listen in on various stages of their development. why not?

I agree, I do applaud Radiohead and Thom Yorke for not really caring about what people think and just doing what's in their hearts and not being afraid to show it. Most bands do do this, but not to the extreme that Radiohead does. They all must have A.D.D. (that made-up disease that everybody has.)

[PopIsNotDead]

I think this album sounds like what it is, Thom Yorke dinking around on a laptop. I don't think it ever tries to be or was marketed as more than that. That said, I really like it for what it is.

[eligit]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

Hmm, let's see "High & Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Nice Dream," "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was," "Black Star," and "Sulk" come to mind. (If you consider all of those ballads.) I'd take any one of those songs over every song offa "Hail to the Thief."

I think the single "2+2=5" is a very misleading single, much like "Optimistic" was. (Plus, it just sounds like they ripped off Pearl Jam, but that's a comment for another discussion.)

i love all those tunes from the bends....but there are other bands that could have written them and performed them just as well (slight exagerration). it's just not as distinctive as their other work. great record tho.

"hail" may be more flawed and inconsistant....but i like the sound experimentation and arrangements. wolf at the door is another nice one as is the one that starts out with the acoustic strumming...