OT: The King of Limbs

Submitted by dmgoblue08 on

For all the MgoRadiohead fans out there, I hope you've had a chance to listen to the new album. Sounds a lot like an older, wiser Kid A to me.

Let's not turn this into a this isn't as good as X album because, like hey, that's just your opinion man. Instead I want to talk about the final track.

Some people were bummed by only 8 songs on the album, but in typical Radiohead fashion they leave the door open for more possibilities.  The final track of the album, entitled Separator, repeats the line "if you think this is over then you're wrong."

Is it wishful thinking, or does anyone else think there's a part 2 coming to The King of Limbs?

.ghost.

February 19th, 2011 at 8:09 PM ^

 

"... the file Radiohead's website labels the album to download is TKOL1, which has made many wonder that the number one had been added on the file name so that a number two or more could be added for more tracks..."

 

per wiki

LSAClassOf2000

February 19th, 2011 at 2:35 PM ^

....that I clicked on this not even thinking it would be about Radiohead. I was thinking it was either a serial killer story idea or the trials and tribulations of a sports medicine doctor.

EGD

February 19th, 2011 at 2:42 PM ^

"Separator" is defintely the one track I like on the new album but overall I was hoping for more--so hopefully your theory about a pending part 2 comes true.

JBE

February 19th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^

Did Marcus Radiohead get an offer, or am I misinterpreting this post?  If he did get an offer, are we really in need of another possession WR? I mean come on.  His whole catalog lacks energy, and to put it plainly, puts me to sleep.  We need a playmaker, a growler with some attitude, instead of a melodic, just-good-enough-to-get-some-looks, robotic drone.  Just my opinion, though. 

Sommy

February 19th, 2011 at 4:51 PM ^

 - There is nothing "atonal" or amelodic about Radiohead.  Just because a group of musicians uses non-standard or abrasive textural and harmonic elements doesn't mean that group lacks melody or is "atonal."  I don't think I've ever heard a single track of theirs that doesn't have a tonal center.  This is just as bad as using the term "literally" when speaking of something figuratively.

 - There is nothing "chaotic" about Radiohead.

 - Chaos is by nature complex.  WTF are you talking about?

Anyway, I haven't heard the new album yet.  They kind of lost me around Hail to the Thief.  However, if this album is like Amnesiac, as a few people have suggested, I may be into it, as that was actually my favorite of theirs despite being nothing but Kid A outtakes.

Waters Demos

February 20th, 2011 at 8:53 AM ^

a review of the new album.  It compared the new album with In Rainbows, noting that the latter was "more human" than albums like Amnesiac.  And I thought so that's why I thought it was crap.  Radiohead's calling card is not taking the more common elements of the human experience for the bases of its music, but instead the less common ones.  For example, I've heard enough love songs, so I really don't need to hear something like "All I need," which, to me, is the height of the BS that made In Rainbows crap.   

The new album is great precisely because of its lack of ease of access (esotericism).  You have to wrestle a bit with this album, and when you do, it's not the every day banal stuff that you find yourself contemplating.  At least that's how I experience it. 

So I guess that's my long winded agreement with you.

Sommy

February 20th, 2011 at 10:52 PM ^

I agree with you, but I think that my reasoning for liking Amnesiac and TKOL is a slight bit different.

I have a hard time thinking of the sonic textures that they've used on these albums as weird or alien, only because I feel like this is the direction that music should be taking.  Over the past half century, there have been so many doors opened by engineers and musicians alike in the way of textural manipulation.  Certain types of music (even pop music) have openly embraced offkilter musical textures, but "musician's music" has for the most part been embroiled in adhering to an unspoken set of rules for the sake of exploring traditional musical territory (IE: by way of harmonic or rhythmic exploration).  It's strange to me, because early prog rock and jazz fusion seemed to openly embrace texturally alien sounds, and that was always the most intriguing to me because it was so esoteric.  I think that even if you're not a fan of Radiohead's music, you have to appreciate their embrace of nontraditional sounds.

So yeah, in the end, I agree.  I feel like TKOL and similar albums are just logical extensions of where this music should be headed.

Waters Demos

February 21st, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^

"I agree," and only that.  Nevertheless, on the issue of the direction of music, and the use of new arrangements, etc.... I'm left with no alternative here; you've said it better than I could. 

The one concern I have is that we will lose the ability to play instruments in the mix.  This obviously is not a concern with Radiohead, but I am a bit cautious about the prospect of someone playing "the laptop," as you can read in the credits to at least one RH album (Amnesiac I believe, if not Kid A and others). 

I think the ability to play instruments is primary, and the ability to add in "non instrumental" sounds to add to the richness of the music should only supplement an instrumental baseline.  RH is the best at this that I've heard.  But they certainly are building on their prog/art rock and jazz predecessors, as you noted. 

Sommy

February 22nd, 2011 at 12:17 AM ^

Eh, I'm of the opinion that the ability to play an instrument is tertiary to the abilities to write songs and be creative.  If I want to see someone conquer a physical discipline of some type, I'd rather turn on Michigan football.  Seeing a musician gain physical (and mental, to a lesser extent) mastery over an instrument is nice, but is not something I'm super concerned with, mostly because I'm overall concerned with the end product.  Yeah, sometimes music that is not easily reproduced in a live manner doesn't translate well live, but that's not always the case.  I've seen guys do laptop sets and still put on a pretty good show.  Even if that's not the case, most of the time, I'm listening to the music at home.  Be creative and put out an interesting product.  Don't worry about reproducing your material live.

There's something to be said for arranging "non-live" elements in a live manner as well, and should musicians have to worry about such a thing.  I'm a big Portishead fan, for instance, and I know that they've gone to great lengths to take sounds that were sampled from elsewhere and port them into hardware samplers with percussion pads so that it looks like there is someone "playing" those sounds -- but really, he's just triggering them from digital memory.  Should he have to do that?  I don't think so, but the reality is that in order to cater to the performance paradigm that most people hold, yes, he does.

Flood

February 19th, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^

I wish it were longer. I don't know... at just under 40 minutes, it just doesn't seem as substantial as I was hoping it would be. 

 

That being said, I love "Codex" and "Lotus Flower."

 

Edit: If there were a second part, when would it theoretially be released? I don't want to get my hopes up because I don't want to feel bitter at TKOL if this is its whole.

mgoSk

February 19th, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^

I am thrilled with the album and I've listened straight through about a dozen times. Like any good album, it's a grower, and I do think there's more to come.

Webber's Pimp

February 19th, 2011 at 9:08 PM ^

After one spin the only thing that is apparent to me is that more spins will be necessary. I loved the funky little bass line on Lotus Flower but it's safe to say Radiohead has once again gone into experimental mode. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing mind you...

Btw, for those of you who have been asleep at the wheel for the past decade+  Radiohead has put out 4 of the best albums of the past 30 years! OK Computer, The Bends (my favorite), Kid A, and In Rainbows  are absolutely phenomenal. The first 3 of those albums are commonly mentioned by many reputable major music publications (Q Magazine, Rolling Stone, Spin etc etc etc)  as being in the top 10 best albums of all time. Yes, I said ALLTIME...Forget U2, Coldplay or whatever else you're listening to these days. None of those guys come close...

 

Sommy

February 19th, 2011 at 7:53 PM ^

This album isn't half bad.  It's quite a bit more gauzy and layered than the last two, and the final three songs are pretty damn good.

BlueDragon

February 19th, 2011 at 8:05 PM ^

I've been a Radiohead fan for a long time.  I had no idea that they had just released another album until I saw this thread.  Thanks for letting me know about the outside world, MGoBoard!

Braylon1

February 19th, 2011 at 8:06 PM ^

i love radiohead, but im lost on the first couple tracks.

the rest of the album after those songs is pretty darn good. since its such a small album i hope we dont have to wait a crazy long time for their next one.

also

Codex is epic.

allintime23

February 19th, 2011 at 9:26 PM ^

Another amazing record by my favorite band that has ever wrote a song. I am hoping that this is part one of what will be a double album. I am very happy with The King of Limbs. Always refreshing to see threads about great music on Mgoblog.

Snidely Doo Rash

February 20th, 2011 at 1:10 PM ^

a day early.  I got a listen to most the tracks at work on FRI on KEXP out a Seattle who featured tracks peppered into the morning show usual mix.  I was muy happy with the tracks.  They are playing many tracks from the new PJ Harvey as well and these are really cool, so this release may merit some of your aural attention.