Again we are here with quite a quandary. If you like it then you roll with the sheep, if you don’t then you run with a few wolves.
I’d dare to bet that if any group other than Radiohead released Amnesiac, the critics would probably pan it as too abstract for edification. So in listening to the album, I tried to put myself in those very shoes, to listen to the music without putting a face on it. It is hard, almost impossible, but I was up to the challenge that it presented.
“Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box” brings the noise, literally. Through a high pang that pings in your ear, you can barely hear the voice you paid to enjoy. “Pyramid Song” wrestles a beautiful piano stroke that opens the door to melancholy madness, rolling out the patchwork of futuristic Egyptian clatter.
For every song like “Knives Out” that bustles with Radiohead of old, we also get too much of their seeming future with the non-sense of “Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors”. And for all those opened ears who will enjoy “You And Whose Army?”, there is also the deceptive “Hunting Bears”.
All that comes in between seems to be uncertainty, both of self and the future. The last glimmer of hope is the final cut, “Life In A Glasshouse”. If there were more of this from these peculiar bastards then I would have hope. This is a jewel that leaves us with the question “Is someone listening?” A silly question for sure, but if you aren’t that secure, it’s a perfect tactic to get someone to answer your question.
Radiohead may be helping music to progress, but is it worth it? Is it worth sacrificing themselves for music as a whole? Can’t they allow someone else to be the pied piper? Perhaps our expectations are just too high and it’s easier to shrug them off by making music that isn’t for mass consumption.
Like it or not, Radiohead is a franchise like Pepsi, Coke, the Beatles, or anything else you can buy at Wal-Mart. Each franchise has their day, some are in the sun, and some are in the rain. Remember Pepsi Clear? Not much of a hit. But let’s also remember how in only a few years the Beatles went from twisting and shouting to telling us love was all we needed, a huge change in what was really no time at all. Radiohead is a mix between the two. They’ve matured leaps and heaps, but it’s not always edible, except by a few devote fans. Amnesiac offers what could be and what should be. Neither is certain and the future of Radiohead’s sound is just as high in the air. Where they go next, I don’t know. Will you be investing your shares? I’m still on the fence.
+ charlie craine
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