In Rainbows.

Radiohead
In Rainbows

Brit-rockers Radiohead have always been known for pushing the boundaries of music and now they're pushing the boundaries of music distribution thanks to their forward-thinking decision to allow fans to pay as little or as much as they want for their latest album, In Rainbows (which is available only by download via their website inrainbows.com). Radiohead feels that their fans should choose the price they feel the album is worth.

Apparently, this decision has been paying off well, because the band is getting people to pay for something they can readily get for free. According to a British survey about a third of the first million customers paid nothing, but the remaining two-thirds paid about $10 on average for the album.

Not only does the name-your-own-price tag make this album irresistible, but the music rocks as well. While their last album, Hail To The Thief, had themes of disaffection and cynicism with song titles like "We Suck Young Blood" and "A Wolf at the Door", their latest release offers a more uplifting message. In Rainbows also takes steps toward more straightforward territory with vocalist/songwriter Thom Yorke penning his most direct lyrics in years.

The album opens with "15 Step", a busy, clicky and profoundly addictive song that comes across something like an upbeat version of Hail To The Thief's "Sit Down, Stand Up." The next track is "Bodysnatchers" in which the band launches into rock mode with guitarist Johnny Greenwood delivering a deliciously fuzzed-out guitar riff. Here you see Yorke's theme of paranoia and fear of control that is present on previous albums. "I have no idea what I'm talking about/I'm trapped in this body and can't get out" he yelps.

On next the couple of songs the band slows the tempo beginning with the beautifully floating "Nude" on which Yorke's milky reverbed voice sails on a cloud of strings swells and choral overdubs. Following it is the gentle melodic structures of "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" and "Faust Arp", which sounds eerily like the Beatles' "Julia."

Although In Rainbows is certainly not Radiohead's most guitar-oriented album the sparse and simple riffs should not be taken for granted. This song structure works particularly well on the romantically direct "All I Need" which features almost no guitar. The undercurrent theme of eroticism ("I'm an animal trapped in your hot car" and "I'm a moth who just wants to share your light"), droning synth backbeat, and climatic ending make this song great for headphones. It is followed perfectly by the cymbal-crazed "Reckoner” and "House of Cards" with its lazy, clipped guitar chords coasting on waves of reverbed feedback.

The closing track is "Videotape" with its slow burning piano elegy playing against a stuttering, off-kilter drumbeat. "When I'm at the pearly gates...This is my way of saying goodbye," Yorke sings. Other themes of death and mortality run throughout the song. There is also mention of Mephistopheles, the Faustian name for the devil. It's perhaps the most rueful songs on Rainbows, but it is truly beautiful in it's sadness.

The main downside, is that the album is on the short side lasting about 43 minutes. However, the upside is that the songs on the album flow together as a tight cohesive unit. It is a great album to put in the CD player and let go --then again, most of Radiohead albums are this way.

Grade: A

For the record, I paid $0 for the album. Radiohead is great, but I am in college after all.

Bob Dylan is doing car ads now?

First, Zeppelin, now Dylan? I just don't get it.

Finally, a sound opinion...

Many music fans and critics alike have lamented about the lack of true music criticism (which to a large extent is true). Most modern music writing is mild criticism with Q & A attached. However, that doesn't mean there aren't a few music writers out there holding it down for true, abashed criticism. One of those writer is Jim Derogatis. Jim has written several of fantastic books, one of which is among by favorites (Milk It!). Jim has gotten a bad rep for being brutally honest, in particular butting heads with Rolling Stone head honcho Jann S. Wanner and Billy Corgan (which involved the lead singer calling him a "fat fuck" and banning him from shows). I love it :]

Make sure to check out Jim "Sound Opinions", his weekly podcast with fellow rock critic Greg Kot. Available on iTunes.

Take A Walk...

Hanson
Cooking Vinyl
The Walk

It's hard to believe that Hanson is still making music after a mid-90s explosion on the pop scene with their hit-single "MMMBop." On their latest release, The Walk, Hanson has created quite a compilation of sappy piano-laden rock ballads, power pop, and watered down blue-eyed soul numbers. That makes is easy to that this album will be in the CD players of many soccer moms all across the country. And for those of you clamoring to get your paws on the Hanson's latest release you can rest assured that Walmart has it in stock.

This time around its seems the Hanson brothers have tried to deviate from their bubblegum pop past. However they've only to succumb to creating a brand of non-threatening soft-rock that unfortunately breaks no new ground. Their middlebrow adult contemporary streak can be best heard in the trudging wannabe anthem "Watch Over Me" and the Coldplay-esque "Fire on the Mountain." On another track, "Running Man" the group tries to channel their best Maroon 5 impression with a shimmying rhythm that sounds like something straight out an 70s soft rock compilation CD.

Sadly, It’s not too much of a stretch to say that among the artists that emerged from the teen-pop boom that Hanson has not strayed far from their roots. And if the slick pop production isn't nauseating enough the group has managed to make an album with enough mounting piano chords and tortured soul vocals to make James Blunt look like Barry White --seriously.

Grade: F

Pavement 2.0?

Rotary Downs
Chained To The Chariot
reapandsow, Inc.

From the start of this album start the influence from 90s alt-rockers Pavement is plainly evident. From lead singer James Marler's deadpan vocals to the off-kilter, swirling textures of guitarist Chris Columbo, to the eccentric, but catchy choruses. For this reason, it is entirely appropriate for their appearance on this years' Voodoo Music Fest lineup which features 90s rock giants The Smashing Pumpkins and Rage Against The Machine. However, there is more to this New Orleans band than Pavement comparisions.

Their lo-fi sound combines funky grooves, alt-country, and quirky rhythms a la Odelay-era Beck. The lyrics flow freely between being the quizzical and cebebral. With that, the band has created a unique sound by using the musical textures to blur and bend the lyrics to create a flow of sounds with syllables. For example, "Drink up, drink up the kingpin tin cup/ For a pistol of tricks sir a crystal exlir/ blissful breath from a rock bottom riser" does not make sense literally. However, when its put in context with the music all the words fall together like a row of dominoes, and despite Marler's laid back vocals and sing-a-long choruses, many of his lyrics bear a greater depth than one might first expect. Hurricane Katrina is an obvious influence in songs like "The Big Parade" and "A Feast in Squalor." The addition of horns and keyboards really fill out the sonic landscape on this album, creating a rich and full sound. Although, at times, the horns do make it hard not to conjure Cake caparisons.

Bury Me.

Between The Buried And Me
Colors
Victory Records

Colors is a 64-minute prog-metal rollercoaster that incorporates free jazz, acoustic pop, arena rock, and polka among other things. The opening track, "Foam Born: The Backtrack", begins with a gentle piano melody as vocalist Tommy Rogers sings tenderly over it. However, don't let his soothing Ben Folds-like vocals and lulling piano chords fool you. Approximately fifty-five seconds later, the drums kick into full force, along with a distorted guitar chug, and Rogers goes into full metal mode delivering hell-bent cookie monster-style vocals. Listeners may find themselves wondering what they just witnessed, and rightfully so. The entire album reflects this pattern: one minute the band is slapping you in the face with brutal thrash, the next they're gently caressing you with sweet melodies --kind of like the musical equivalent of a crazy ex-girlfriend.

While the constantly changing time-signatures and various music stylings keep this album from being monotonous, there are some moments where songs seem unsettled. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to hear a young band pushing its creative limits. The strongest track on the album is probably "Sun of Nothing", a ten-minute sonic voyage complete with laughing babies, Pink Floyd-inspired melodies, and a guitar interlude that would make Brian May smile. For the most part, the blending of music stylings on Colors work, but sometimes fails miserably. For example, the bizarre polka breakdown in "Ants of the Sky." Polka does not belong anywhere on a metalcore album. On the whole, Colors comes across as being deliciously weird, horrifying, and enthralling. If you can stomach the guttural vocals and metalcore brute, Colors is definitely worth giving a listen to.