heat shock protein

it's october 10, obviously you know what I am doing. as if it weren't awesome enough to have a day off in the middle of the week, radiohead decided to drop their album today. technically they did it last night, in california time.

added to those two things, I am seeing aesop rock tonight, and when I woke up and looked outside, it had rained. (in california this is the closest we get to the morning after the first snow.)

it's strange because I've heard all these tracks before, but I'll go ahead and do some "serious" analysis of them.

15 steps - obvious choice for opener. "how come I end up where I started?" signifies the end of something at the same time it's beginning over again. I don't know what thom was thinking of when he wrote that line, but it reminds me of the voice in the song "packt like sardines" - someone frustrated, stuck, not getting anywhere. then the beat gets more heavy and the guitar makes the whole song more fluid.

bodysnatchers - this is classic radiohead, pretty much. everything carries radiohead's distinct style, but there are certain touchstones, like "the trickster", which seem like prototypical radiohead, with this certain instrumentation and frantic, jumping rhythm. I love the chorus of this song: "I've no idea what I am talking about"

nude - BIG IDEAS BIG IDEAS AAAAHHHHH. that is my reaction to this song. how fucking long have they been kicking this thing around and performing it? I saw it performed at hollywood bowl in 2003. the studio version is sublime. the bass line gives me chills. when thom hits the high note in the line "you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thiiiiiinking" - DIG THAT. it kills me.

weird fishes/arpeggi - I've heard several versions of this song, none of which involved the tight beat at the beginning. I have to say that this is probably the least interesting song on the album, for me. the line "bottom of the sea/ your eyes/ they turn me" doesn't really do anything.

all I need - this one sounds least like radiohead. it sounds like keane, or coldplay or something. the beginning bass line sounds like something from a boards of canada song. I like at the end when it gets heavy.

faust arp - fantastic song that I have never heard!! the acoustic beginning sounds like "wolf at the door," but as it gets more heavily orchestrated, it becomes something else. I think this is one of the relatively new radiohead sounds, and I think they could do more songs like this one.

reckoner - I had heard a completely different song by them with this name, which had a bombastic beat and the lyric "feeling pulled apart by horses", so I really wasn't expecting this smooth song. but it really is one of the best. as far as I'm concerned it didn't have to end at 4:45, it could have gone on changing and taking on new tones and instruments.

house of cards - definitely a political song. I listened to this one a lot when it was first released as a live track, so I think I'm kind of tired of it now.

jigsaw falling into place - also known as open pick, which must have been a working title. this is like "bodysnatchers" with that frantic beat, and lyrics that talk about a relationship that seems to be both coming apart and coming together at the same time.

videotape - lots of people are going nuts about this song, but it doesn't hold a candle to "nude". still, it's the most ethereal, otherworldly song on the album, talking about life after death and mephistopheles. reminds me of "pyramid song".





add to this the new colbert book, plus watching george saunders talk about "braindead megaphone" on colbert, and you have me feeling like it's my birthday.