Radiohead Done Making LP's?

[dgp11776]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/aug/11/thom-yorke-radiohead

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more press.

The orchestral EP would be good, though.

[spacebrat311]

He says in the interview that they're not done with it forever, they just aren't in the place for it right now or for the forseeable future. They've said things like this before between albums. It just means we'll be waiting a while.

[Ian]

Weren't they just talking about being in the middle of a new album?

[Ian]

Aaaand here's a new Radiohead song that just came out of nowhere.  Maybe an upcoming EP?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ztWvuyXeU

[murlough23]

Boo hiss. If you can't be arsed to make groups of songs that work well together, that makes you a singles band. Which makes me no longer interested.

[spacebrat311]

Again, just for now. They aren't swearing off LPs, they're just saying it'll be a while before they're in the mood again.

[dgp11776]

Aaaand here's a new Radiohead song that just came out of nowhere.  Maybe an upcoming EP?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ztWvuyXeU

Sounds pretty good.

I've been listening to "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" all week.  I can't help but dream about how it would sound through the voice of Luciano Pavarotti.  It's really a perfect arrangement for an operatic tenor.

[murlough23]

Again, just for now. They aren't swearing off LPs, they're just saying it'll be a while before they're in the mood again.

Yeah, but it's been two years since In Rainbows, so now's about the time we'd expect a new album. "For now" probably means we shouldn't expect one in the near future, at least for another year. I realize they're still working on stuff, but it's all going to be miscellaneous one-off songs and possibly EPs with no relation to one another, and for me that's a real bummer, since Radiohead is a band where I like to play a full album and get immersed in it, even if I don't like every single song on the album.

[spacebrat311]

Yeah, but it's been two years since In Rainbows, so now's about the time we'd expect a new album.

I don't know, I'm pretty used to long waits for their albums. I'm moderately surprised they're working on new music right now at all.

[Ian]

So there are some somewhat credible rumors suggesting some kind of Radiohead related surprise on Monday.  It's looking like the song was purposefully leaked by Radiohead, and was encoded with a release date of 8/17.  Also, the phrase "Wall of Ice" is prominent.  Wall of Ice EP?  Impossible to say, and chances are that I've been reading too much atease, but I am intrigued as to what might happen this Monday. 

[bloop]

We have to remember also that Radiohead misdirects their listeners as much or more than they lead accurately.  I think they take some perverse joy in screwing with people.

That said, EPs are perfectly valid art.  They just aren't likely to top a year-end list.

I don't know, I'm pretty used to long waits for their albums.

1993
1995
1997
2000
2001
2003
2007

Huh?  The average gap isn't really all that long (I guess the longest was b/w Thief and Rainbows).

[spacebrat311]

HTTT to In Rainbows took most of the amount of time I've been a Radiohead fan.

[Ian]

HTTT to In Rainbows took most of the amount of time I've been a Radiohead fan.

Same here, I really only became a fan in 06.

And as much as I would prefer a full length, I can see where Radiohead could feel limited by this.  Maybe they don't want to write a bunch of songs that go well together.  It could be liberating to create a song without having in the back of your mind, "Now how will this fit on the album?"

[murlough23]

Same here, I really only became a fan in 06.

I became a fan in 2001, marginally speaking. 2003 to 2007 was more than half of the time I'd been a Radiohead fan when In Rainbows was suddenly unleashed.

And as much as I would prefer a full length, I can see where Radiohead could feel limited by this.  Maybe they don't want to write a bunch of songs that go well together.

I guess I consider this a pretty basic skill that any artist which aspires to be more than just a "singles" artist should possess. Plus, they've repeatedly insisted that an album like OKC where the songs all do fit together and seem to build off of one another thematically is not a concept album. Other albums like HTTT and IR had a pretty wide diversity of musical styles and lyrical themes; I can't think of one unifying idea or sound or characteristic that defines those albums, and for the most part I'm fine with that.

It could be liberating to create a song without having in the back of your mind, "Now how will this fit on the album?"

That pretty much describes Amnesiac, I think. See, Radiohead? It's not that hard.

What I'm getting from this big announcement is really just that they've hit a case of writer's block and/or are struggling to work together as a band. That's fine; take some time off. If you need to record some hodgepodge material to get the kinks out, then do it - it's not like we haven't seen such things before on EPs or live bootlegs or what have you ("Nude" floated around for 10 years before it finally made the cut for an album) - but don't assume that you'll never ever ever do a full-length recording again. That's just plain shortsighted.

This situation sort of reminds me of when Coldplay said that they'd better break up after A Rush of Blood to the Head because it was the best album they could possibly ever make. Man, they must feel stupid for saying that after they made Viva la Vida. (Which I hope is still not the best they could ever do.)

[bloop]

They never said they won't do a full-length again, I don't think, nor did they mention anything about a crippling case of writer's block, so I'd tend to just assume that they want to try a different approach.  Or that they're lying (which, as I mentioned, is quite possible).

I think Amnesiac is thematically tied together with Kid A, but anyway...

[spacebrat311]

don't assume that you'll never ever ever do a full-length recording again. That's just plain shortsighted.

I don't see where they say anything of the sort. In fact the interview seems quite calculated to specifically avoid that impression.

[murlough23]

I don't see where they say anything of the sort. In fact the interview seems quite calculated to specifically avoid that impression.

Now that I read it more carefully, I guess I can see that. But when the article is titled "No more Radiohead albums" and you guys start a thread here titled similarly, can you blame me for assuming the worst?

[spacebrat311]

I tried to calm the panic earlier in the thread, but apparently I went unheard.

[dgp11776]

"These Are My Twisted Words" is available for free on Radiohead's website as of today.

[bethany]

I'm trying to remember now when I first became a fan. I know that I first heard OK Computer sometime before Kid A...maybe 1999? I liked some of it, but I think it took me a couple years to really get into it (I was only 15 in 1999, and just starting to listen to good music). I'm guessing more by 2001 I would've called myself a fan.