Radiohead album by album

^ Yeah, "Reckoner" as we now know it was pretty shocking for those of us used to the "Horses" recording from 2001 and expecting it to be the same based on the NME's totally incorrect reporting on it. The band made it into a completely different song, apart from the word "reckoner" itself, which Thom dropped from his solo version of "Horses"

Again, this was initially a disappointment to me as I was over-familiar with the RAWK rendition of "Horses" and expected something in that vein, and expressed some rather stroppy comments to my friends that they shouldn't have thrown out such a good song. Glad to have been wrong about this!

It's one of those tracks that people walking by on the street recognize when you're playing it at volume from your car. Or maybe compliment your T-shirt with its lyrics printed on...

 

The calm that sets in near the end of this song leads perfectly into “house of cards.” That relaxed vibe sounded so new and unexpected from Radiohead at the time.

 

in the ending to Reckoner, where it gets kinda riffy, I guess that's a remnant of the other song. But yeah, it's a totally different song. However, Radiohead were working on the old Reckoner for the early In Rainbows sessions (Thom even played it live acoustic!), then they tried to write a new section for the song that was so good it turned into its own thing.

 

the final minute of the real Reckoner, the chords are different but it's the same rhythm as Feeling Pulled Apart...

 

Thanks for this post. I am certain I saw this when it was released, but not since.

I always agreed that this is the plan, but saw no evidence that it was actually coming. Which is to say it was still in the realm of science fiction dystopia when first viewed.

I'm afraid it is starting to look quite pedestrian and soon to be known by all. No, I don't think we were/are asleep nor were we dreaming.

Think I will go read that newspaper Radiohead included in the King OF Limbs now and not worry if the paper remains pristine. Newspapers are meant to be read. Records are meant to be played, etc. I just gave a young man at work a nice record that I really don't need. That's what I told him, records are meant to be played and he needs it more than me right now.

 

"Reckoner" is an extremely lovely track, and coming where it does on the record, the album's centerpiece. I really like the blend of the spacious percussion, Jonny's jazz-inflected guitar and of course, Thom's intricately stacked vocals. The song is a winner, and one that really benefited from evolving from the original idea, which was a jagged, clunky rocker. Awesome recording here.

I recall that the track played over the credits of the 2008 big-screen adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel Choke, which starred Sam Rockwell.

 

The band have also said that the opening drum pattern, overlaid with all manner of tambourines and other percussion, was initially started in the studio as a way of "getting out frustration" with the arrangement not coming together. Apparently, this is a tried and tested way of getting the band to stop playing their instruments in the usual manner — just shake away on something loud and groovy until you feel inspired to play notes again!

 

I love all the percussion on Reckoner. Colin sprinkles in some James Jamerson Motown grooves toward the end. Thom’s falsetto just effortlessly carries the whole track.

This was my favorite track on the record for a good while. It’s still up there but I think Weird Fishes or Videotape usually occupy the top slot nowadays.

 

A fiery take from 2001 on the OG Reckoner / Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses. Had I actually seen this in 2001, I probably would have been very pissed that it went unreleased. Looking back now though, this would have made zero sense anywhere in their discography. Pretty fun, though!

 

It was nice to see that Jonny played on Thom’s FPABH single. I wonder if the guitar track was taken directly from a Radiohead session.

 

Track 8: 'House of Cards'

From Wikipedia:

"House of Cards" is a song by English rock band Radiohead from their seventh studio album In Rainbows (2007). The song was serviced to American modern rock radio on April 6, 2008 as the third single from the album. It was initially released promotionally alongside "Bodysnatchers" in the United Kingdom. The music video for "House of Cards", directed by James Frost, was produced using lidar technology and released in June 2008.

 

From NME 2007:

Debuted in 2005 by Thom on just acoustic guitar, the song is minimal, reggae-ish and lighter in tone to the more orchestral moments on ‘In Rainbows’. The guitar picking is almost jolly.

From Pitchfork 2007:

In summer 2005, Yorke also performed "Reckoner" as part of a five-song solo acoustic benefit for the Trade Justice Rally. Making appearances in that set were four other unreleased songs-- "Nude", "Arpeggi", "Last Flowers (Til Hospital)" (now "Up on the Ladder" and set to appear on the * In Rainbows * ' bonus disc), and "House of Cards". That performance, at London's Methodist Central Hall, was the first airing of the track; the band itself would perform it the next year at three-quarters of its shows.

Unusual in the Radiohead catalog, it's a direct song that addresses a could-be sexual relationship and, like the twitcher "15 Step", carries echoes of American soul. Because it's such a departure, and so smooth and graceful, it could be a divisive song among Radiohead fans, which is frankly nuts-- the live versions are gorgeous stuff.

Key lyric: "I don't want to be your friend/ I just want to be your lover"

Here's the promo video

 

Live from The Basement

 

"House Of Cards" is a great track. Love the warm guitar sound on this one. An example of the band doing something kind of new for them stylistically, and it pays off nicely.

A song that fits perfectly with the vibe of the rest of the album, and a surprising choice for a single.

 

I love everything about this track. The wet guitar sound, the expressive ondes martenot lines, those counterpoint vocals singing “your ears should be burning” at the end before Thom’s falsetto comes in. The overall effect is so soothing. Just as a pleasant experience in sound this track is such a gift, and the minimalist approach to the songwriting makes it feel even more wide open.

 

yes! All of this, 100%

 

house of cards is not a wall of sound. it's a pool of sound. it's that wet

 

Sorry catching up. This is the quintessential ‘Big Ideas (Don’t get any)’ or ‘Your house is at risk if you don’t pay your mortgage’ or ‘Nude’ or whatever it ended up being called. And it’s not my fave just cause I was on the rail at this show. San Francisco, 1998.

 

One of my favorites for sure. The tour they did that summer was pure gold. Played those YouTube mp4 videos of the In Rainbows tracks that surfaced minutes after the shows probably hundreds of times. When this dropped it floored me having just seen them in Boston a few days before.

honestly I haven’t commented much on the thread as I (don’t shoot me) think they took a wrong turn at Kid A and finally found themselves again on this album/tour. Got back to their roots. Started playing as band, ripping off sonic youth again, stopped trying too hard, playing as if their careers depended on it cause it did. I guess they were close to breaking up.

Anyway. Seeing them in Boston on this tour got me back into them. Hearing Videotape live. Jigsaw. Saw them twice on the In Rainbows tour proper and felt they were dialing it in but that preview tour is amazing. I have bootlegs of all of them and they shine.

IR is probably my second favorite LP of theirs after OKC. The Bends is close third. The second disc of IR is a masterwork and should be considered alongside IR just like i think of Kid A and Amnesiac as basically a double album.

 

House of Cards is my absolute favourite Radiohead track. I was lucky enough to see them in London in the spring of 2006 and they played this and I was blown away. I couldn’t wait for it to appear on an album. I later purchased the “No matter how it ends / No matter how it starts” t-shirt when they played Vancouver in 2008. Alas I’m not the same build as I was when I was 26 and it no longer fits .

 

Track 10: 'Videotape'

From NME 2007:

The most highly anticipated new song. First played live in 2006, the song is minimal and sparse, build around Thom Yorke’s sombre guitar. Juddery drums and swirly effects kick in later in the song, but overall it remains an understated, tender number. Another song picked out by fans as a highlight.

From Pitchfork 2007:

A comedown in the mold of * Kid A * 's "Motion Picture Soundtrack", this was originally debuted on Nigel Godrich's online show * From the Basement: *

Even with the full band in tow, live performances of the song have been piano-led and often solitary, making the song a favorite with some but a drag to others. In April 2006, Yorke posted the lyrics to the song on Dead Air Space, with his typical disregard for spelling and grammar: "when im at the pearly gates thisll be on my videotape when Mephistopholis is just beneath and he's reaching up to grab me this is one for the good days and i have it all here in red blue green you are my centre when i spin away out of control on videotape."

Sadly, the Mephistopheles namecheck reminds us of Sting. Come to think of it, "I will turn your face to alabaster" sort of sounds like a Thom Yorke lyric as well.

Key lyric: "This is my way of saying goodbye/ Because I can't do it face to face/ I'm talking to you after it's too late"

 

The Story behind Videotape by Radiohead

The Story behind Videotape by Radiohead


Here's the Live from The Basement performance

 

I feel like a broken record when it comes to songs from this album, but they’re all so beautiful. This one is heartbreaking. The “no matter what happens now, I won’t be afraid...” lyric that closes the song sounded joyful and triumphant in the early live arrangements, but the record sounds resigned and a bit defeated. The most perfect day is in the past at that point, and all he can do is look back. It’s a perfect closer to the record and hasn’t lost any of its emotional power for me over the years.

 

I feel like I must have missed something with all the buildup and anticipation of this material performed live in 2006-2007. My head must have been somewhere else completely at the time, as I never heard the live takes of this stuff before the album like most.

That said, "Videotape" is an intriguing closer. The sparseness and outward simplicity of it is deceptive as there are some interesting rhythmic things going on. This video breaks down the syncopation of the rhythm:



As said, a good closing track to one of the band's finest albums. They sounded refreshed again after the all-directions excess of HTTT, and reached a new level of maturity musically here. Thankfully, it also wasn't boring.

 

Ever since I first saw that video, I hear the “correct” tempo of the song when I listen and kinda bop around accordingly. Despite how crushingly sad it is.