Radiohead - There There

There was definitely a time in my life when I bought vinyl simply because it was there. Back in the early 2000's, it wasn't commonplace to find anything good on vinyl in high street record stores - HMV and the like typically had a small section that was mostly dance 12"s and the occasional good 7". With the HMV in Winchester I thought that by buying all the 7" records they got in that were remotely my taste, they might get more. I wanted to start the vinyl revolution myself, but I suspect it took a lot more than one long-haired dude buying vinyl in Winchester to reach the point we're at now.

A good example of this rampant vinyl buying is this 12". I was a fan of Radiohead (and still am), but was fine with just having the albums. However, this 12" single was a mere £2 in HMV (£1.80 with my student discount!) so I didn't even think twice about buying it.

First thing to note is that There There sounds incredible on 12" at 45rpm; the deeper grooves really benefit and I've never enjoyed the song as much on the album as listening to it here. Worth the price by itself. However, the things I was most excited about at the time were the b-sides - Paperbag Writer and Where Bluebirds Fly. The former is a nice song, and very indicative of where Thom Yorke's solo career was heading, as well as Radiohead to a certain extent (most recent album excluded). It's nice, but definitely not an album-candidate. The latter sounds like what I imagine a stroke is like at the start, and the glitches continue throughout whilst Thom sings some things that might at certain points be words (but mostly aren't). Again, another fine b-side, but I'm glad it wasn't on the album.

Hail to the Thief was a funny album - after the excitement of Kid A (and my inability to get into Amnesiac) I was excited to hear it, but it took a long time to get into. The trick, it turned out, was to listen to all the songs individually, rather than the album as a whole. I stumbled across this trick by accident, after my mp3 player kept playing me great songs from it when I had it on shuffle - eventually I realised there were 14 great songs on that album. A 12" single of one of the (many) highlights then seems incredibly appropriate.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 3
Cost: £1.80 new
Bought: HMV Southampton
When: 08/06/03
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

My relationships with Radiohead albums vary a lot - some have been instant favourites, others slow-burn and some I've just never really got on board with. I became a Radiohead fan around the release of Kid A so they'd already begun their journey away from indie-guitar-music. Amnesiac I've always struggled with and Hail to the Thief required me to realise how great each of the individual songs were before I started to enjoy it (it was the first success of my old mp3 player, as a result of having my entire collection on shuffle). In Rainbows was hugely popular with myself and my friends - I have very fond memories of hearing nearly everyday on a holiday we went on in France, an instant hit.

The King of Limbs is up there with Amnesiac as an album I really struggle with. For me there are few really notable moments and when I look at the tracklisting I never think "that's a good/memorable song". Generally speaking, it's much more heavy on the electronica than I really care for, although I feel that as Radiohead fan you're not really allowed to complain about electronica. It's certainly the star of the album, more-so than Thom or any of the other band members - all the songs feature pops and clicks very prominently. Perhaps my lack of knowledge (or care) for the genre means I can't appreciate the songs as much; I'm sure I'm not the only Radiohead fan suffering from that.

Morning Mr Magpie has Thom nearly spitting the verses with anger but a surprisingly dull chorus - the highlight (for me) is when the electronica actually drops away for a few moments. Little by Little is quite good but Feral that follows it just feels half-formed and like filler - something you can't really afford to do on an 8-song album. Lotus Flower was the closest thing to a hit from the album if I remember correctly - I can certainly recall people raving about it. There's a more traditional Radiohead feel to it and it has a great chorus, but it's also very typical of the rest of the album. Codex is a bit of a surprise in that The King of Limbs could have easily been an album without a slow, reflective number; it's nice to have it though.

This copy is the deluxe edition that was available for pre-order. It was pricey but I was still on a In Rainbows-kick so was very excited for a new Radiohead album. The package is, as we've come to expect, lovely. It's hard to know where to begin - the records are on crystal-clear 10" vinyl, the newspaper is vast and detailed, there's a square thing of tiny art and the whole album on cd too. It's a very nice release indeed.

I don't listen to The King of Limbs often. As is often the case, I now feel I should do - it's still a good album, just not the sort of Radiohead album I often want to hear. However, if I'm not necessarily in the mood for Radiohead but want a good album, then it is definitely an interesting option.

Format: Double 10", cd, picture sleeves, newspaper, art, bag
Tracks: 8
Cost: £30 new
Bought: Website
When: 13/05/11
Colour: Clear
Etching: Side A: "Endless branches" Side B: "Uncountrollable" Side C: "A never ending mesh" Side D: "Intertwined in to everything"
mp3s: cd

Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong - Live Recordings

I was pretty late to the party when it came to Radiohead. Towards the end of the 90's everyone at school was reaching an age where they were getting into music and a lot of people were getting very obsessed by Radiohead. I don't remember having very strong opinions on them either way for quite a long while - I knew and enjoyed Karma Police and a few other songs from OK Computer. People started going crazy when Kid A came out and it took me nearly a year to actually listen to it.

The turning point for me was a well-timed concert. It was the summer after GCSEs and I was on holiday with my family visiting my uncle who was living in Boston at the time. He was going to see Radiohead whilst we were there and asked if my sister and I would be interested in going. We'd both started going to gigs and were really excited to see a show in the US. Radiohead were playing outside at a horseracing stadium/track. It was probably the biggest concert I'd been to at that point (excluding Reading Festival), or it at least felt that way. I remember being blown away by the new songs from Kid A; there was something mesmerising in how loud and intense it all was. Songs like The National Anthem and Idioteque are just mean to be played loudly.

After that trip I bought a copy of Kid A, then this live album, then filled out the rest of the back-catalogue. I was very excited to hear these live versions in the hope they'd remind me of that time first time I saw, which they do. I've seen Radiohead countless times since and they always impress me, even though I'm not such a huge fan of all of their records. This record always takes me back to that first time. I'm sure I would have got into Radiohead eventually, but I love that it was a chance-concert that converted me.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Tower Records, Southampton
When: 07/06/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no