The fact the first ever solo album from Thom Yorke, the enigmatic frontman for Radiohead, is set to debut on the Billboard Album Chart at number two next week says a lot about two things.
First of all, the bad news.
The fact it will make that debut selling somewhere in the area of 90,000 copies speaks volumes about the sorry state of the music industry right now. The fact the great posthumous Johnny Cash album American V: A Hundred Highways opened at number one on that same chart... selling only somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies... speaks much to the same thing. And that is simply music isn't selling at retail right now folks.
The record that beat out Yorke's solo debut for the number one spot, the latest of those God-awful Now That's What I Call Music compilations, did so by a whopping 200,000 copies. These are compilations of current Top 40 hits that epitomize just how much music has become commoditized with the advent of "pick and choose" delivery systems like cellphones and iPods. It's a topic that is also fodder for another conversation completely.
No matter. Let's get to the good news.
Yorke's number two chart debut next week speaks equal volumes about the continuing influence of Radiohead, a band that continues to steadfastly defy the commercial conventions of the day, and stubbornly stick to its art. To that I give Mr. Yorke and company a most heartfelt amen.
And pay attention here record executives.
There is still very clearly an audience hungry for just such a band. Radiohead's current sold-out mini-tour of America, without a new release to support, and where they are trying out new material for as much as half of the setlists played, is being received wildly. Think about that the next time you are in a staff meeting trying to decide just how to jumpstart sales okay?
It's called music.
That having been said, let's talk about Radiohead's considerable "rep" as a band with ultimate "cred" shall we? Radiohead's credibility is based largely on the album OK Computer, an album which outside only of Nirvana's Nevermind has been hailed by critics as the true masterpiece of the nineties alternative rock era.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Thank you for publishing this Connie. And to you fans who worship the ground Radiohead walks on...well, come get some bitches.
-Glen
2 - Charles Marriott
Where are the fucking songs… who is the pretentious one, now? The songs are there, albeit, they are not traditional, but they are definitely beautifully sculpted and structured songs there; besides that is the fucking point: it is not meant to be boring music that has already been done, done and done, again! Besides, anyone who could not decipher the lyric "yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon," and simply labels it as stupid needs to get out more because a little culture would teach you that it is a common enough expression in Europe. It’s synonymous with "yesterday I woke up on the wrong side of the bed". It means he woke up with a bad taste in his mouth and felt sour! Why is that a stupid lyric? Well, I guess you stay at home forever where 2+2 always makes a five. Ignorant prick.
3 - Mike Beegle
Audiofiles are dorks. The music and the 'songs' are there, maybe you need to pull the Bose speaker stands out of you tight ass before they present themselves to you. Comment number two was right, you are an ignorant prick. Got a hot date with your interconnect cables tonight? Thom's album is not for everybody, except everybody who wants a breath of fresh air in their music, the album is amazing.
4 - Glen Boyd
Ignorant prick? If my review upset you this badly, I would suggest that maybe I'm not the only one here in desperate need of a date. Listen, I'm not saying the album is bad. It has some very nice textures to it and the recording is pretty damn amazing.
So why is it that after I listen to it I can't remember a damn note I've just heard? Thats all I'm saying. When you get done listening to Kid A there are things which stick in your head, which for my money is the hallmark of a great song. No such thing on The Eraser, and I count myself among Radiohead's biggest fans.
When I went to Berkeley to see Radiohead last month? I'd never heard half of the songs they played before. So why is it that I can't get songs like "Bangers N Mash" out of my head right now, having heard the them the sum total of once?
Answer...because the new songs are great. Thom's solo album is a nice enough listen. It just lacks memorable songs...thats all I'm saying.
-Glen
5 - DJRadiohead
I am not going to get into a namecalling and spittle fest because that would be just silly but I do disagree with some of your conclusions.
It is interesting to see a less favorable review of the album because so many have praised it. I'm kind of glad to see one out there even though I liked it because sometimes the unanimity can get on my nerves.
6 - Glen Boyd
Thanx for the comment DJR. And thanks for being so agreeable in your disagreement of my assessment. At least you didn't call me an "ignorant prick"...LOL
But heres the thing DJR. It's not that I hate this CD or anything...far from it. When I sit down to listen to The Eraser I love the overall feel of it and I think the way that it was recorded is nothing short of amazing.
I just have to call a spade a spade when it comes to the actual songcraft here. I've heard albums every bit as challenging musically as this is, including albums by Radiohead. And every single time at least a song or two has stood out. Not so here. In fact, I can't remember a note of this for the life of me...and thats after two weeks of listening to it.
Granted, the only other CD thats been in my player during this time is the new Johnny Cash. Maybe thats it...maybe the songs on Cash's albun stick so far in my head there simply isn't the room to absorb Yorke's songs.
Yeah, maybe thats it...
-Glen
7 - James Southern
I'd like to second what Charles Marriott said as you clearly are pretentious. Hoq can you call yourself "one of Radiohead's biggest fans" when you quite clearly understand so little of what they are about.
Maybe some of the production techniques and usage of instruments such as the mellotron and ondes martenot was borrowed from acts like Genesis, but the songwriting on Ok Computer is in a league of its own.
Look at No Surprises, a wonderful melody and a chart triumph with just five chords in the key of D. Then consider Paranoid Android, a combination of blistering rock, subtle composition and sombre melody arranged rather like 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', but totally different in so many other ways.
If you think Ok Computer is overrated and that Kid A is Radiohead's best work (despite its "stupid" yet intelligent and interesting lyrics) then you really ought to sit down and really listen to all of their records.
James
8 - Glen Boyd
I think OK Computer is a brilliant album.
And I agree absolutely with every single thing you have said. That doesn't change the fact that the very same musical nuances and use of things like the mellotron for example were trashed by critics in the seventies when they were used by bands like Genesis and Yes.
Basically my point is it took about twenty years for the very same musical innovations universally trashed by the rock intelligentsia of that time to be fully embraced so many years later.
In other words, it was all done before.
Honestly it blows my mind the way people are missing my point here. I love Radiohead. I think they are the last great rock band that is truly sticking to their guns in the way that they guard their art. I honestly wish there were more bands like this in the current era.
But I cannot put an album like OK Computer...great as it is...in the same league as something like "Pet Sounds", "Sgt. Pepper" and the like. Because those albums were truly innovative in the respect that they had no real predecessors in terms of what was being done on them.
I love OK Computer dammit. Okay? Its just not the groundbreaker people make it out to be because the truth is a lot of what was done on that record was done before and went largely unappreciated at the time, at least in a critical sense.
As for Thom's solo album? I realize I am in the minority opinion here, but the songs just aren't there. Superb recording. Great ambient feel. Just not much there in the way of songs.
And I'm sticking to that assessment.
"Ignorant Prick" that I apparently am.
-Glen
9 - Rebecca
Boy, I just got this album today and I can't wait to see what I think of it--opinions do seem mixed--I'm not a huge Radiohead fan, so it ought to be interesting.
10 - Glen Boyd
Its a good record Rebecca. Particularly the "sound" of it because of the great recording. Your just not going to be humming any of the songs to yourself once you've finished listening to it. Drop a line here and put your two cents into the mix once you've heard it though. And thanks for the comment.
-Glen
11 - Michael J. West
I have to say this to James Southern:
The only time people overrate OK Computer is when they claim it's as good as or better album than Kid A. It's not. Period.
12 - Tom Johnson
I can see where Glen is coming from . . . if he didn't really enjoy where Radiohead had gone after Kid A. But it sounds like he does, so this review does leave me a little perplexed as to why this album finds so little purchase in the soil of Glen's brain.
I think it's telling that he's more taken with the Cash album currently - it sounds more like Glen it just particularly taken with something more straight-ahead song-like than what Yorke is creating with The Eraser, and I think it's more than a bit unfair to review the album in this mindset. I know that I often get stuck on a particular "sound" and just cannot listen to something with an open mind. I wouldn't ever dare put my thoughts about an album down as (relatively) permanent record in that state of mind. My guess is that he'll revisit the album after his interest in the Cash album has waned a bit and Yorke's will sound much fresher than it does currently.
But, really, Glen, it kind of sounds like you just were baiting people in general when you make the first comment on your own post and say "And to you fans who worship the ground Radiohead walks on...well, come get some bitches." Better to say nothing at all, really.
13 - Glen Boyd
I probably shouldn't be surprised by the reactions to this review, though to be honest I am just a little. Radiohead fans, like Springsteen fans for example, have a well-earned reputaion for being very passionate about their band.
And I can understand why. Contrary to what some may think, I'm a Radiohead fan myself. I admire the fact that Radiohead is one of the very few bands today who consistently put their art before commerce for the first part. And as "art," it is some of the most challenging, innovative music being made today.
That having been said, I still know I'm not even the only scribe here who feels that OK Computer...great, great record that it is...is still not quite the epic that often ends up on those "best of all time" lists you see in the British Press.
Some Radiohead fans, myself included, don't even feel it is their best record. There are other BC scribes here who share that opinion too, who are right now (perhaps wisely) staying out of the debate here. A few select others here have stepped up (and I thank you Micheal).
But lets get the facrs straight. I'm not saying OK Computer isn't a great album. It is. Certainly one of the best of the nineties, if not the past twenty years.
Best of all time, as you often see on such lists (largely in the British Press)? I don't think so. And that is simply because as great as it is, OK Computer really doesn't break any new ground that hasn't been mined by many bands before them.
I've also said I'm more partial to the post OK Computer albums. Which I am. But thats just me.
As for the Thom Yorke record, if I've made the wrong call here, so be it. Wouldn't be the first time. Doubt it'll be the last. But I gotta call it as I see it. The album sounds wonderful. It just lacks really memorable songs. Thats all I am saying.
Its not because the Johnny Cash songs are stuck in my brain and I can't listen to two different types of music at once, or because my mind is closed to the idea of more abstract approaches to songcraft. Its because I don't find the songs that memorable. Period.
Radiohead in particular is a band whose music has a way of growing on me more over time, and whose to say what I will be saying about The Eraser a year from now. But for now, what I hear is an amazingly well recorded piece of work, one that sounds great as you listen to it, but just doesn't stick with you afterwords. To my mind, thats because there is a lack of memorable songs.
As to my "bring it on bitches" crack, that was meant to be tongue in cheek but I realize I should learn to hold that "tongue" (whether on my cheek or elsewhere) a bit better lest I get myself into trouble (as I often do because of said tongue). That probably wasn't the best choice of words and I will cop to that much.
As for my review of Thom Yorke's The Eraser, not that Mr. Yorke gives a shit what I have to say anyway, but I stand by it.
-Glen
14 - TB
Glen,
You lost me when you wrote this:
"It's almost enough to make you forget lyrics as dumb as "yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon."
I would suggest you do some research on Yorke and the band prior to writing your reviews... Perhaps you'd then understand why this is a rather meaningful lyric in a fantastic song... Here's a tip... google "Heroin and Lemon"...
As for The Eraser, I've given it a few listens, and there are some memorables songs. I especially find the title song very moving. I've always thought that Yorke's voice was the best instrument on many of Radiohead's records, and it's great to hear an album where his Voice is so prominent...
But I understand why some people (those who prefer the Bends/OK computer to Kid A/Amnesiac) won't like it...
15 - Glen Boyd
TB,
I agree with you about Yorke's voice being Radiohead's Best instrument and especially agree about the vocal mix on The Eraser putting that instrument front and center. This was clearly noted in my review. Again, my only complaint is the songs dont stay with you.
As for the meaning of the Lemon lyric from "Everything In Its Right Place", we already have two inferred meanings from two different fans in the comments to this article. Yours having something to do heroin and Mr. Marriott's having something to do with getting out of bed "feeling sour." So who's to say ya know?
In the meantime, lyrics about waking up sucking lemons aside, "Everything In Its Right Place" is a great song. I especially love the way they loop it live. But am I going to go looking up every lyric that on the surface sounds kind of nonsensical?
Nope. I don't even do that with Dylan.
I think too many people are mistaking this for a really negative review. Its a lukewarm review. The gist of it is (in case the point was missed), this is a very well recorded album that spotlights Yorke's voice very well, but which would have been better with more memorable songs.
It's an easy three stars. I guess I was just really hoping for four or five.
Thanx for the comment.
-Glen
16 - Dan W
I can relate to what Glen says...
The first few times, i listened to it on my record player, and couldn't take much away from the experience, other than the fact that it was immaculately recorded.
Listening to it again on a mate's cd player, i was quite astonished that the slightly-eerie-background-crackle (that i had attributed to the fact that my album was on vinyl) actually remained. It really does sound lovely.
Up until about a week ago, and perhaps the 7/8th time i'd listened to the whole album, i may have agreed with the "songs just don't stay with you" gripe.
I'm not saying that you have to listen and listen and listen... and then you'll love it, music rarely works like that. Though, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only person to have had a sudden pang of anxiety after the first 20 seconds of their first ever hearing of Kid A, as my heart sank and i thought "what has become of my beloved Radiohead".
That album was like nothing i'd ever heard before and after the initial panic, i just got lost in it.
Anyway, to cut short my ramblings, I think that the album does have 3 or 4 stand out songs.
"Black swan", "and it rained all night" and in particular "atoms for peace", which i just can't budge from my head. It did take a few listens, but i think i'd blame that on the depth - the scale of the piece of work as a whole. It sounds absolutely enormous.
We must keep in mind that this is just a portion of Radiohead ..indeed the portion that sounds most like the genuine Radiohead...but still just a portion. The album is Thom's. He thanks Radiohead, without whom it would not have been possible...but it is his album.
The progression of the band's sound from pablo honey through to hail to the thief is quite incredible and the the distinct lack of Jonny Greenwood on guitar in Kid A and Amnesiac i think may represent a shift in style orchestrated by the front man.
I didn't really know what to expect from the Album - lead-singer-goes-solo does make me quite nervous, but this is a gem. Every haunting sound it makes sounds like it belongs to Thom Yorke. Very, very good.
17 - Glen Boyd
Dan (and everyone)...
The Eraser is starting to grow on me I admit. I always had a feeling that it eventually would, based on previous experiences listening to Radiohead (and Radiohead related) music.
But when I wrote the review I told myself I was going to base it on my initial impressions. Which is the most honest way to review a new release in my opinion.
This is no retraction mind you...
But yes, I do confess this record is growning on me. Its growing slowly to be sure. But growing nonetheless.
-Glen
18 - Ezrid
Glen,
I have to agree with you on The Eraser. Is it fun to listen to? Well, it's relaxing. Is it interesting from a production standpoint? Definitely. But the lack of a stand-out song is an issue.
Half of the beauty of Kid A was that while it broke new ground, it left a trail of familiarity to guide Radiohead fans into their new sound. "The National Anthem" isn't placed near the beginning by accident; it's placed to keep the fans thinking "what the hell?" from turning away from the album as a whole. As long as Radiohead/Yorke is exploring new sounds, their albums will live and die by anchoring the new concepts with familiarity.
Not that Eraser is bad. I'm listening to it right now. I enjoy it a lot, but tomorrow morning I won't be humming Black Swan.
19 - Glen Boyd
Ezrid,
The record is starting to grow on me...as I kinda knew it would. I still stand by my original review though for the simple reason it shouldn't take weeks of listening for the songs to begin to stand out.
Like you said, Kid A by comparison (and I agree the sequencing of something like "National Anthem" was a key factor) took about two listens.
Interestingly the one track that is starting to stand out for me is the one you specifically mention, "Black Star" (with the "this is fucked up" line repeated over and over again).
In any event, The Eraser, from a pure production standpoint is still a marvelous sounding piece of work.
Incidentally, if I didn't mention it already, the new songs played on tour this summer (I saw Radiohead in Berkeley) stood out IMMEDIATELY.
Thanx for the comment.
-Glen
20 - THE ERASER
..... THE MORE YOU TRY TO ERASE ME, THE MORE, THE MORE, THE MORE THAT I APPEAR, OOOH, THE MORE, THE MORE.....
21 - fan in ft worth
more indie feeling than latest radiohead albums. atoms for peace stuck out at first. fav song is skip divided. liked the album the more i heard it. same thought: where are the songs. without rest of band the songs felt less complete. lends to a raw, more indie feel.
22 - Damien
Hmmm... Listen again. The Eraser has something else to offer. Just see what's there. For me The Eraser is the best thing Yorke has done.