RadioBallet's Opinions on Sound Waves

[RadioBallet]

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Year: 2010
Label: Merge Records
Genre: Indie Rock // Pop Rock
Producer: Markus Dravs // Arcade Fire

Tracklist:
1. The Suburbs // 9
2. Ready to Start // 8
3. Modern Man // 8
4. Rococo // 7
5. Empty Room // 6
6. City with No Children // 7
7. Half Light I // 8
8. Half Light II (No Celebration) // 7
9. Suburban War // 8
10. Month of May // 8
11. Wasted Hours // 8
12. Deep Blue // 7
13. We Used to Wait // 7
14. Sprawl I (Flatland) // +
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains // 10
16. The Suburbs (Continued) // +

The theme and feel of this album is my favorite part about it. The production can be a bit of a nuisance on songs like Empty Room where every instrument is simply blaring to the point of becoming obnoxious. Yet the album is very cohesive and well-written. Sprawl II is amazing.

Album Rating: 8

[RadioBallet]

Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Year: 2013
Label: Merge Records
Genre: Art Rock
Producer: Markus Dravs // James Murphy // Arcade Fire

Tracklist:

Disc 1
1. Reflektor // 9
2. We Exist // 9
3. Flashbulb Eyes // 7
4. Here Comes the Night Time // 7
5. Normal Person // 7
6. You Already Know // 7
7. Joan of Arc // 7

Disc 2
1. Here Comes the Night Time II // +
2. Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice) // 8
3. It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus) // 9
4. Porno // 7
5. Afterlife // 9
6. Supersymmetry // 7

There are a number of great moments and songs here, but these are partly cancelled out by the unnecessary length of the album and the many lesser tracks (none of which are bad, just, not as good as the best on the album). I like a lot of the ideas that were played with here (though some are expendable, like those sounds at the end) and I do enjoy the album quite a bit, even if it was quite a grower (took like two years for it to click). I like the production work by James Murphy as well. This could've been amazing, but it's still as solid as you'd expect from this band.

Album Rating: 8

[RadioBallet]

Radiohead - Pablo Honey

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Year: 1993
Label: Parlophone
Genre: Alternative Rock
Producer: Sean Slade // Paul Q. Kolderie

Tracklist:
1. You // 7
2. Creep // 10
3. How Do You? // 4
4. Stop Whispering // 5
5. Thinking About You // 8
6. Anyone Can Play Guitar // 7
7. Ripcord // 6
8. Vegetable // 5
9. Prove Yourself // 5
10. I Can't // 5
11. Lurgee // 6
12. Blow Out // 7

I only posted this one to have all of Radiohead's discography here, my need for organization won't let me skip it. I personally find that nothing here is noteworthy other than Creep, perhaps Thinking About You is a bit of a gem but that's about it. This suffers from a lot of the things that debut records tend to suffer from, perhaps even more so because of the lead single's success, yet that is arguably the very thing that made Radiohead what it is today (I'll discuss this further on the next post). Anyway, Creep really carries a lot of weight here, it stops me from hopping off the fence. I only dislike one song (How Do You?), while other songs have some potential, as watered down and soulless as they may be. Overall... Meh.

Album Rating: 5

[RadioBallet]

Radiohead - The Bends

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Year: 1995
Label: Parlophone
Genre: Alternative Rock
Producer: John Leckie

Tracklist:
1. Planet Telex // 8
2. The Bends // 8
3. High & Dry // 8
4. Fake Plastic Trees // 9
5. Bones // 6
6. (Nice Dream) // 8
7. Just // 9
8. My Iron Lung // 8
9. Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was // 8
10. Black Star // 7
11. Sulk // 6
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out) // 10

You know how you get diamonds? (No I'm not going to tell you. I won't explain what "the bends" are either, I'm way too lazy to do that). Anyway, the process of making diamonds is a decent metaphor for what happened in the making of this album. Under the immense pressure to follow-up a hit like Creep, Thom Yorke's artistic potential bloomed. He took his worries concerning things like his sudden rise to fame (hence the name of the album), his place in society, and other matters into his songwriting, giving these songs much more weight and depth than Radiohead's previous work. Their sound also matured into something more recognizable. Though there are a few dips here and there, the record is solid throughout and ends with a masterpiece. Yet this is only the beginning for Radiohead, I find a lot of the content here to be somewhat shallow when compared to Radiohead's future releases.

Album Rating: 8

[RadioBallet]

Radiohead - OK Computer

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Year: 1997
Label: Parlophone
Genre: Alternative Rock
Producer: Nigel Godrich // Radiohead

Tracklist:
1. Airbag // 9
2. Paranoid Android // 10
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien // 9
4. Exit Music (For a Film) // 9
5. Let Down // 9
6. Karma Police // 9
7. Fitter Happier // +
8. Electioneering // 8
9. Climbing Up the Walls // 10
10. No Surprises // 10
11. Lucky // 8
12. The Tourist // 8

There's not much that I can say about this album that hasn't been already said. It's rare to find a band that can explore a theme as thoroughly as Radiohead can. It's on this album that Thom Yorke's genius begins to shine through as he analyzes his own loneliness and fear all while criticizing society and consumerism. He paints a sometimes terrifying picture of an Orwellian society that becomes more and more ominous as the lyrics are read deeper into. Although the theme here is mostly developed lyrically, Radiohead made some advances in production with this album that had considerable repercussions on alternative rock. Consider the guitar solo in Paranoid Android, the alien-guitar in Subterranean Homesick Alien and the creeping atmosphere in Climbing Up the Walls for example. Yet what is most intriguing about this album are the very real implications of the themes explored. The album is very well paced, well-written and the songs are all far above average. It's also ambitious (which I love to see) and it really brings you in to its own terms and ideas. If there is one album that you could call "flawless", this would be it (though this isn't even my favorite Radiohead album).

Album Rating: 10

[RadioBallet]

Radiohead - Kid A

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Year: 2000
Label: Parlophone
Genre: Art Rock // Electronica // Experimental Rock
Producer: Nigel Godrich // Radiohead

Tracklist:
1. Everything in Its Right Place // 9
2. Kid A // 8
3. The National Anthem // 9
4. How to Disappear Completely // 10
5. Treefingers // =
6. Optimistic // 9
7. In Limbo // 7
8. Idioteque // 10
9. Morning Bell // 8
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack // 8

One of the things I admire most about Radiohead is that they successfully explore their themes and ideas in multiple ways rather than simply using lyrics. This is evident here, as different themes or narratives could be followed depending on what one decides to pay attention to as the listener. Lyrically, this album deals with Thom Yorke's fatigue, loneliness and overwhelmed state after OK Computer. It also has its fair share of ideology, similar to its aforementioned predecessor. Though the lyricism is as excellent as usual on Kid A, what tends to stand out most is the sonical side of things as Radiohead take a full turn away from the popular rock sound that they had achieved and inject electronica into their musical formula. It is from a production viewpoint that an alternative theme within this album begins to show. The contrast between cold, synthetic and claustrophobic songs such as Everything in Its Right Place and light, organic, humane songs like How to Disappear Completely convey a sort of struggle between technology and humanity. The clone narrative (the idea that this album is about the first human clone, named "Kid A") gives this album some extra depth as well, making it about the inner conflict of this character as it tries to figure out whether it is human, robotic, or if it even matters. Lots to think about with this one, but I tend to find it just falling short of receiving all my praise. I mean, Treefingers doesn't do it for me, and In Limbo feels too directionless for its own good (though that may have been its purpose, you never know with these guys). Additionally, this album doesn't "click" with me every time I listen to it. Nevertheless, very solid, definitely up there.

Album Rating: 9

[RadioBallet]

Top 10 Arcade Fire Tracks

I spent an hour making a really pretty list with my favorite lines from each song and everything but then my browser crashed (twice). So screw aesthetics, here you go:

10. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
from Funeral (2004)

9. We Exist
from Reflektor (2013)

8. (Antichrist Television Blues)
from Neon Bible (2007)

7. Reflektor
from Reflektor (2013)

6. Intervention
from Neon Bible (2007)

5. The Suburbs
from The Suburbs (2010)

4. It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus)
from Reflektor (2013)

3. Wake Up*
from Funeral (2004)

2. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
from Funeral (2004)

1. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
from The Suburbs (2010)

*10/10 from here on

If you disagree or something feel free to PM me, I wanna know what songs you think should or should not have made it.

[Anti]