New York, NY
Q Magazine readers recently voted Radiohead’s OK Computer as the best album of the past 25 years. No big surprise there, right? The band also took three other places in the top 30 – compiled to mark 25 years of the magazine – with The Bends at eight, Kid A at 18 and In Rainbows at 23. 13 years ago, Q Magazine had a similar poll where OK Computer was also named best album of all time. Now that is staying power.
Full list after the jump.
(thanks to Peter)
Take some time today to read this article about how Radiohead’s OK Computer and In Rainbows were meant to complement each other. Now, this is just speculation but some interesting points have been raised. What do you think?
Ten years after OK Computer shocked the world, Radiohead released In Rainbows on October 10 (10/10). Though no one was expecting the album to be released until 2008, Radiohead announced In Rainbows just ten days in advance. In Rainbows, which consists of ten letters, has ten tracks, and would be downloadable from a rumored ten servers.
Radiohead preceded the release of In Rainbows with nine cryptic messages. They repeatedly emphasized X, the Roman Numeral for ten, in phrases such as “March Wa X”, and “Xendless Xurbia”. The tenth message was posted on October 10 with a photo of the band drinking tea.
There has been a lot of speculation over Radiohead’s emphasis of ten surrounding the release of In Rainbows. One theory suggests that Radiohead was typifying a binary code of ones and zeros,1010101010. This has come to be known as the Binary Theory, also called the TENspiracy by some.
Puddlegum first addressed the Binary Theory in Radiohead: 1010101010. Someone associated with Thom Yorke contacted Puddlegum, sharing Thom’s reaction to Puddlegum’s article:
“The meaning behind all of this is right in front of our faces, we’re just overlooking it. [Thom] has been expecting an article much like this one for a couple of years, as have I. But I’m willing to wager he’ll have fun waiting a few more. On the other hand, it seems to annoy him that no one ‘gets it’ yet, given the mountain of clues.”
Ten days after our original article, we have come to believe that OK Computer and In Rainbowswere meant to complement each other. During the writing and recording process of OK Computer, Radiohead used the working title of Zeros and Ones. If OK Computer is represented by 01, and In Rainbows is represented by 10, then we have 01 and 10. In binary code 01 and 10 complement each other.
Consider that In Rainbows was meant to complement OK Computer, musically, lyrically, and in structure. We found that the two albums can be knit together beautifully. By combining the tracks to form one playlist, 01 and 10, we have a remarkable listening experience. The transitions between the songs are astounding, and it appears that this was done purposefully.
The lyrics also seem to complement each other. There appears to be a concept flowing through the01 and 10 playlist. Ideas in one song is picked up by the next, such as “Pull me out of the aircrash,”and “When I’m at the pearly gates, this will be my videotape.”
To create the 01 and 10 playlist, begin with OK Computer’s track one, Airbag, and follow this with In Rainbow’s track one, 15 Step. Alternate the albums, track by track, until you reach Karma Police onOK Computer, making All I Need the tenth track on the 01 and 10 playlist. Follow Karma Police withFitter Happier from OK Computer, for tracks eleven and twelve. These two tracks act as a bridge between the first ten and the following ten tracks on the 01 and 10 playlist. Then continue to alternate the albums again, picking up with Faust Arp on In Rainbows, with Electioneering on OK Computeras the following track.
Radiohead – 01 and 10 playlist:
1. Airbag (OK Computer)
2. 15 Step (In Rainbows)
3. Paranoid Android (OK Computer)
4. Bodysnatchers (In Rainbows)
5. Subterranean Homesick Alien (OK Computer)
6. Nude (In Rainbows)
7. Exit Music (For A Film) (OK Computer)
8. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (In Rainbows)
9. Let Down (OK Computer)
10. All I Need (In Rainbows)
11. Karma Police (OK Computer)
12. Fitter Happier (OK Computer)
13. Faust Arp (In Rainbows)
14. Electioneering (OK Computer)
15. Reckoner (In Rainbows)
16. Climbing Up The Walls (OK Computer)
17. House Of Cards (In Rainbows)
18. No Surprises (OK Computer)
19. Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
20. Lucky (OK Computer)
21. Videotape (In Rainbows)
22. The Tourist (OK Computer)
Cracked.com has more about this, as well as a conspiracy theory about Kid A.
(via Kottke)
Earlier this year we told you about Jonny doing the score for Norwegian Wood, a movie based on the Haruki Murakami novel. Well, the soundtrack was released on November 10 but before you get too excited, it is only available in Japan. Get ready to shell out some Yen. In addition to Greenwood, German Krautrockers Can are also included on the soundtrack.
Here’s the tracklist:
Norwegian Wood: Original Soundtrack:
1. Jonny Greenwood – “Want to Organize Myself a Little More”
2. Jonny Greenwood – “”Grasslands, Wind, Woods”
3. Can – “Mary, Mary, So Contrary”
4. Jonny Greenwood – “I’ll Come See You Again”
5. Jonny Greenwood – “Don’t Read What Hasn’t Been Baptized by Time”
6. Jonny Greenwood – “Reiko”
7. Can – “Bring Me Coffee or Tea”
8. Jonny Greenwood – “Naoko Is Dead”
9. Jonny Greenwood – “Be Good and Stay Quiet”
10. Jonny Greenwood – “Wondered Around”
11. Jonny Greenwood – “Quarter Tone Bloom”
12. Can – “Don’t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone”
13. Jonny Greenwood – “Just Take Me When You Take Me”
14. Jonny Greenwood – “Stormy Auditory Hallucinations”
And the trailer which prominently uses the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” but it also has some original music, likely written by Greenwood:
Thanks to Roberto. (via Exclaim.ca)
More than 2,000 people braved the wind and rain to form an image of King Canute designed by Thom Yorke
Yorke explained, “The plan is to make images visible from the skies to remind those in Cancun that we can’t keep putting this off.”
The public art display was designed to send a climate warning to political leaders in the run-up to the UN Climate Talks in Cancun. According to legend, King Canute set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the tide to halt, only to be soaked by the ocean’s waves. Just as Canute realized his own hubris, world leaders today must realize the dangers of ignoring climate change and rise to solving the challenge.
Thom Yorke added his voice today to the growing chorus of artists supporting this coming week’s first-ever planetary art show: 350 EARTH.
From November 20-27, the week before the UN Climate Meetings in Cancun, Mexico, artists are working with citizens in over a dozen locations to create massive, climate-themed public art installations that will be photographed by satellites traveling 17,000 m.p.h. nearly 400 miles above the surface of the planet.
The initiative is being coordinated by the international climate campaign 350.org and DigitalGlobe, a Colorado based company who has donated hours worth of free satellite time to photograph and process images of the events.
Yorke explained on the Radiohead website, “The plan is to make images visible from the skies to remind those in Cancun that we’re running out of time. We can’t keep putting this off.”
“Art can convey in a different way than science the threat that climate change poses to our planet,” said 350.org founder and environmental author Bill McKibben. “The world’s best scientists have tried to wake-up politicians to the climate crisis, now we’re counting on artists to help.”
As part of the project, Yorke is working with 350.org to gather thousands of people on the coastline in Brighton, UK on November 27 to form an enormous version of the image from the cover of his album The Eraser: the picture of King Canute, a Norse ruler who futilely tried to control the ocean.
In a 2006 interview, Yorke explained the symbolism of the story:
“In the paper one day, [Friends of the Earth activist] Jonathan Porrit was basically dismissing any commitment that the working government has toward addressing global warming, saying that their gestures were like King Canute trying to stop the tide. And that just went “kaching” in my head. It’s not political, but that’s what I feel is happening. We’re all King Canutes, holding our hands out, saying, “It’ll go away. I can make it stop.” No, you can’t.”
350.org will be unveiling the images throughout the week of November 20-27 on the 350 EARTH website and over social media. Hi-res satellite photos and aerial images of each art project will be available for the press and online media, as well as displayed at the UN Climate Talks in Cancun.
“Our leaders are still labouring under the assumption that they can turn the tide of mother nature,” said Yorke. “Enough of this. There is no more time.”
Thom writes at Dead Air Space:
Nov 27th @ 11am..
(that’s a Saturday morning at a civilised hour errr right..????)
Location Brighton.WANTED 2000 people who want to be part of human King Cnut type image facing the sea that is visible from space as part of the Earth350
People who want to be part of it need to register here: http://earth.350.org/locations/england/
🙂
