Susan Frances
06/09/08, 01:00 PM
Radiohead - The Best Of
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: June 2, 2008
While Nirvana led the way for grunge and Alice in Chains pioneered the trail for alternative metal in the '90s, Radiohead became the voice of ambient rock, a scene that rolled over from grunge and alt-rock concepts. Modern bands like Coldplay and Muse can look to Radiohead for laying down the groundwork that has enabled them to play what they play today. Radiohead changed synth-pop in a manner that made it relevant for today. Their latest release, The Best Of is a two-disc set of the band's historical set put out by their label.
Although, Radiohead just released their album In Rainbows five months ago, the timing for The Best Of coincides with it nicely. Radiohead have become such an music institution crossing borders everywhere that The Best Of is as welcoming as the members of England’s royal family coming to your country for a visit. People around the world are so conditioned to Radiohead making albums that if the band were to stop, it would feel like the breaking of a well-established tradition. Radiohead have become that kind of an institution where people are so used to them that it’s hard to give the band up.
Their instrumentation is often slow and repetitive like in their trademark tunes “Creep” and “Anyone Can Play Guitar,” but sometimes their art-pop inclinations take over and guitarists/keyboardists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien create angular channels and sunny chimes along the sinuous movements. Lead vocalist Thom Yorke cuts through the porcelain-like coating, and bassist Colin Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway zap the droning psychedelics with roving beats. The music can have an eerie resonance, a melancholic mood, or an upbeat swing trumping up the acoustic and orchestral shindigs. The chord progressions glide easily and the sleek rotations flow like sheets of ice. The songs can seesaw between sounding like a eulogy or a lament, but they always offer keen observations about the world. Through the masses of blurry fuzz will peek out York’s voice whose vocals often define where the melodic precipices are planted. Some tracks on The Best Of are fan favorites, including “Karma Police,” “High and Dry,” “My Iron Lung,” “Optimistic,” “Knives Out,” and “The Bends,” although the band has nothing from their latest release In Rainbows on the record.
Even though, Radiohead have amassed a vast discography, each track without a doubt sounds like what people have come to expect from the band. Radiohead stay within a certain sonic zone, although they do give themselves enough flexibility to stretch out their limbs while staying focused on their core sound. Some people have come to like Radiohead and others have come to hate the band’s music, but no matter which side of the fence your loyalty lies, you cannot deny that Radiohead are a music institution that people are not ready to give up.
Muse, Sarah Blasko, Yeasayer, The Phoenix Foundation
myspace.com/radiohead (http://www.myspace.com/radiohead)
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: June 2, 2008
While Nirvana led the way for grunge and Alice in Chains pioneered the trail for alternative metal in the '90s, Radiohead became the voice of ambient rock, a scene that rolled over from grunge and alt-rock concepts. Modern bands like Coldplay and Muse can look to Radiohead for laying down the groundwork that has enabled them to play what they play today. Radiohead changed synth-pop in a manner that made it relevant for today. Their latest release, The Best Of is a two-disc set of the band's historical set put out by their label.
Although, Radiohead just released their album In Rainbows five months ago, the timing for The Best Of coincides with it nicely. Radiohead have become such an music institution crossing borders everywhere that The Best Of is as welcoming as the members of England’s royal family coming to your country for a visit. People around the world are so conditioned to Radiohead making albums that if the band were to stop, it would feel like the breaking of a well-established tradition. Radiohead have become that kind of an institution where people are so used to them that it’s hard to give the band up.
Their instrumentation is often slow and repetitive like in their trademark tunes “Creep” and “Anyone Can Play Guitar,” but sometimes their art-pop inclinations take over and guitarists/keyboardists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien create angular channels and sunny chimes along the sinuous movements. Lead vocalist Thom Yorke cuts through the porcelain-like coating, and bassist Colin Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway zap the droning psychedelics with roving beats. The music can have an eerie resonance, a melancholic mood, or an upbeat swing trumping up the acoustic and orchestral shindigs. The chord progressions glide easily and the sleek rotations flow like sheets of ice. The songs can seesaw between sounding like a eulogy or a lament, but they always offer keen observations about the world. Through the masses of blurry fuzz will peek out York’s voice whose vocals often define where the melodic precipices are planted. Some tracks on The Best Of are fan favorites, including “Karma Police,” “High and Dry,” “My Iron Lung,” “Optimistic,” “Knives Out,” and “The Bends,” although the band has nothing from their latest release In Rainbows on the record.
Even though, Radiohead have amassed a vast discography, each track without a doubt sounds like what people have come to expect from the band. Radiohead stay within a certain sonic zone, although they do give themselves enough flexibility to stretch out their limbs while staying focused on their core sound. Some people have come to like Radiohead and others have come to hate the band’s music, but no matter which side of the fence your loyalty lies, you cannot deny that Radiohead are a music institution that people are not ready to give up.
Muse, Sarah Blasko, Yeasayer, The Phoenix Foundation
myspace.com/radiohead (http://www.myspace.com/radiohead)