Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief" -- Brilliant or Bad?

[sundog]

I just don't know. It's not like "Kid A" that out of nowhere blossomed on me.

I've tried to listen to HttT repeatedly, and for some reason, it still doesn't click. I never have the urge to play it again.

The title is good though.

Anyone else have an opinion?

[Fenris]

1. Brilliant.

"Drunken Punchup at a Wedding" is one of their best songs.

[Myrina]

2. Some of the tracks are groovy ....

Where I end/you Begin
The Gloaming
Go to Sleep

are my faves.

The rest is neogtiable.

[WillyBrandt]

3. You don't like "Backdrifting"?

You fell into her arms...
You fell into her arms...
We tried but there was nothing we could do...

[IronLionZion]

4. i liked it

I was disappointed with Kid A though. I only like a couple songs on that CD. OK Computer has some good stuff

It's great that Radiohead think shrub is a thief too

[sundog]

5. See, I'm just the opposite, Kid A is my favorite Radiohead album

--

[Braden]

6. I liked Hail to the Thief

I must admit Kid A has grown on me more and more. I hope you had a chance to see HTTT live, the music was astounding stripped down and loud.

[schyzo-nas]

7. I wasn't really feeling the 3 last albums at first...

... but repeated listening turned them into my favorites. Don't miss them live, their shows are really awesome. I had the chance to see them in perfect conditions and the show was just magic.

[kariatari]

11. Indeed! 2+2=5=fecking brilliant live!

Overall, HTTT is a good album. Neither brilliant or bad.

I have a confession to make. I never liked OK Computer until I heard the songs live. Now I would marry it if I could.

:loveya: Let Down :loveya:

[asthmaticeog]

8. Myxomatosis is one of their best songs ever.

But I'm wishy-washy on the whole album. It contains many excellent tunes, but it doesn't hang together like I feel a proper album should. It's a fine collection of cuts with a few duffs, nothing more or less -- a little better in that regard than most conventional bands' albums. Which after Kid A/Amnesiac is a bit of a letdown (Amnesiac's my fave Radiohead album).

[sundog]

9. I think it's the massacre of "Morning Bell" that gets me upset...

The Kid A version was absolutely sublime - simultaneously lucid & disturbing -- a perfect synergy of lyrics & music.

[asthmaticeog]

13. I've got a whole big thing about that.

To massively oversimplify a complex pair of related releases, Kid A/Amnesiac is a birth/death cycle, Amnesiac being the death record (it's doom vibe is certainly off-putting to many folks, and even though I think it's their best, I listen to others more often for that reason - you have to be in the right mood). I found it really illuminating that they redid one of the songs from the first record on the second, in a way that fits its very different tone.

Ever read John Darnielle's amazing song-by-song exegesis on Amnesiac? It's what most strongly influenced my opinion of the two albums, and it's here: http://www.lastplanetojakarta.com/archive.html

[sundog]

16. I like darkness more when it is tempered with light...

I can relate to version 1, one of my faves by them...

Lol, I couldn't help but feel like a defensive parent when I first heard version 2: "You stay away from my baby!!!" :P

It's just a personal preference. Thanks for the link... I'll check out the site when I get some extra time.

[kariatari]

12. Agreed.

Couldn't have said it better.

But you like Amnesiac? I think that's my least favorite Radiohead album. I prolly have to give it some more spins before it grows on me.

[asthmaticeog]

15. I think it's supposed to be kind of repellent.

Check out the link in post 13. Our man at LPTJ articulates how that album feels to me way better than I could, but then, he's brilliant and I'm a dipshit on a message board.

Least favorite, though? Wow - that implicitly makes it worse than Pablo Honey, which for my part I will never even posess a copy of.

[chenGOD]

10. Boring crap

As is most of Radiohead post OK Computer.

[Dastard Stepchild]

14. Not bad, but Amnesiac blows it outta the water.

Also, can't go wrong with the timeless perfection of OK Computer.

[Tiberius]

17. Hail to the Thief

... combines the bleeps and blurbs of their experimental albums with the songcrafting of "the bends". Plus, i saw them twice on that tour and they were incredible nights.

Radiohead created my still-top concert experience during an earlier tour: I saw them at Red Rocks in the summer of 2001. I was on a business trip to Denver and the colleague who arranged for my car surprised me by choosing a convertible. I'm thinking, "this is KICK ASS, I'm rolling up to see Radiohead at Red Rocks in a ragtop on a gorgeous summer night." The fact that Radiohead was playing at Red Rocks the weekend I was there and it was all paid for was a fortuitous piece of timing. I went to the show by myself and it was absolutely magical.

After the show, I couldn't remember which lot on the mountain I parked in, so I was wandering around for hours. I walked out of the lot when it was light, and by now it was obviously pitch dark. I ran into some dude who was in the same predicament; he was driving across the country in a really beat up old VW, living hand-to-mouth, and sleeping in his car. We finally found both our cars. He absolutely begged me for a cot in my hotel room, and against my better judgement, I rolled the karma dice and let him stay in my room. His gratitude was enormous.

But seeing as how he knew I was on a business trip, he took advantage of my accomodations the next morning after I left for work. Sure enough, he ordered a nice breakfast on the room before leaving. At first I was pretty pissed that someone would do that without asking, but then I just blew it off, realizing that I had provided the best meal the guy had consumed on his whole trip. Er, I mean, my company did.







"Just 'cause you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there"

[Screaming Lord Byron]

18. I prefer it to OK Computer. For now.