DISCLAIMER: I freakin’ love Radiohead. Ever since I heard OK Computer (during the peak of my teenage British rock phase), I finally found a band that was worth obsessing over as much as some of my favorite jazz artists. I have almost all their releases (studio and live), b-sides, c-sides and other rarities. I’ve seen them three times (twice in Houston and once in Chicago). Thom Yorke’s wise, heavy-lidded visage graces both of my iMac desktops (at work, and at home). When I was an active jazz drummer, I did an arrangement of “Knives Out” (with a nod to Brad Mehldau, of course). Last year, I covered OK Computer in its entirety with Chris Maddin (of local SA indie band Blowing Trees) and other musician friends, finally putting all that teenage obsessing to good use (there were like 250+ people packed in there, and it was the most fun, like, ever).
I was lucky to review their last “surprise” album, 2007′s In Rainbows, and as soon as I saw the announcement for The King of Limbs I jumped on it (literally emailing my pitch during the drive to the office). Downloading The King of Limbs is the closest I’ve felt to unwrapping Christmas presents as a kid. (Calculating the total file size = lifting a present to see how heavy it is.) I was initially disappointed to find only 8 tracks in the unzipped folder (Wait, is there another folder? Did the whole thing download? … Eight tracks after four years?! That’s … two tracks a year!), but that quickly evaporated. I was listening to new Radiohead.
For the full King of Limbs review, click here. I also reviewed the new Bright Eyes album, The People’s Key. Check it out here. And, just for fun, here’s the video for “Lotus Flower,” the first single from King of Limbs. Get it, Thom!