Radiohead: the anti-Wilco
October 10th, 2007 Posted in Other Reviews
Back when I was living in Toronto, I was lucky enough to see Wilco a few times live. The highlight of the shows, for me, was a beautifully spare and moving unreleased song alternately introduced as “Spiders” or “Kidsmoke” that frontman Jeff Tweedy played unaccompanied on acoustic. I simply loved the song — having not really listened to Wilco a lot prior to seeing them live in concert, you could go so far to say “Kidsmoke” was the song that made me a fan of the group. It’s just that good a song.
And then they ruined it.
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco utterly and completely destroyed everything that was beautiful about the song. I mean, they wrote it, so I guess they’re allowed to do what they like. But they shouldn’t expect me to applaud. Occasionally I’d do an mp3 search for the latest live version, only to hear it mutating and devolving over time while they fussed and fidgeted the poor thing to death on the road. By the time Wilco wrapped up their tour and headed into the studio, the alt-country Tweedy was knee-deep in an ill-advised flirt with electronica. The completed studio version of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” that I’d waited patiently for for years? A tragic ten-minute hot mess of shitty drum loops and untuned guitars. Even if you’re a diehard Wilco fan, I’m sorry, but it’s embarrassing.
Okay, time to tie this into Radiohead and In Rainbows. If you’re a Radiohead fan like me, you’re doubtlessly aware of the cumbersomely large back catalog of unreleased songs these guys have. Live and demo versions of great songs like “Lift,” “Follow Me Around,” “Big Boots,” “Big Ideas” and many, many others circulate around the net, but to date haven’t made it onto an album. Worse, Radiohead at this point is well-renowned (infamous?) for their experimental (indulgant?) studio noodling, spending months and even years recording endless variations of their songs. Every time a new Radiohead album comes out, I’m always a bit leery of hearing some previously unreleased and long-cherished song of theirs in its new electronica-dance-ska format.
Concerns were not appeased after I’d heard several of the new songs purported to be on their next album, which they’ve meted out in dribbles over the past two years while trying out the material at live shows. Granted, you’re hearing these songs through a glut of crowd chatter, through the use of the shittiest recording equipment available, so it’s always best to take a wait-and-see attitude. Still, it was hard to listen to a brash, sloppy, dischordant live track like “Reckoner,” to take but one example, and not think to oneself, “Wow, that really doesn’t sound very good.”
Listening to the new Radiohead album over coffee this morning, one track in particular jumped out at me as one of the more acheingly, beautifully melancholy songs I’d heard in years, and demanded immediate repeat listens. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up my mp3 player to find out what this track was called: “Reckoner.” Radiohead took a song that — well, I’ll risk offending the diehards and just say it, the live version of “Reckoner” is complete shit — and massaged it into one of my all-time favorite songs by the band. Perhaps by any band.
I should probably wrap this up with a bow at this point, so you don’t feel like you’ve slogged through all this for nothing, so I guess my point is that studio noodling sometimes works, so long as you’re able to keep Jeff Tweedy away from a Casio beat machine.
16 Responses to “Radiohead: the anti-Wilco”
By Peter Lynn on Oct 10, 2007
Your choice of title for this post is interesting, considering that Wilco was once widely touted as “the American Radiohead”.
There’s a solid case to be made that Tweedy should only get to record demos. Once he gets fiddling around in the studio, it’s like the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry shaves his chest: He doesn’t know where to stop, and he ends up ruining everything.
By Jon on Oct 13, 2007
I thought for sure you were going talk about them not fucking up Nude/Big Ideas on the album.
By Jay Pinkerton on Oct 14, 2007
Actually, for all the “ten years in the making!” hoopla surrounding “Nude,” it didn’t sound a hell of a lot different than when I first heard them play it.
By Omar on Oct 18, 2007
I have to completely agree with you on this. In Rainbows is, as a whole, a very meticulously crafted and wonderful record, but to me “Reckoner” stands out as the standout track. Other favourites are “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” and “All I Need”. Until reading this post, I hadn’t heard what “Reckoner” originally sounded like, but WOW, they have really tweaked the shit out of it to the point where you can barely trace it back to its origins.
By Omar on Oct 18, 2007
Oh, and I have had “Big Ideas(Don’t Get Any)” for a while, and its true that it hasn’t changed much, but that might be a good thing, as it has always been a really solid song. The tweaks they did do to it made it a better part of a whole, if you ask me.
By Harveyjames on Oct 22, 2007
I’m still listening to the live bootlegs of House of Cards and Arpeggi over what’s on the album, though.
By Andy Pants on Nov 22, 2007
Radiohead suck almost as much as Muse. Both of their lead singers mumble their way through their songs in a pathetic attempt at singing.
I hate emo with an undying passion but I can safely say this vocal ‘technique’ is worse then emo. At least the little whiney kids in mascara can articulate rather than groaning glottyls in what seems more like an expression of mild annoyance than actual singing.
By Xazak on Dec 5, 2007
Too bad emo bands are absolutely terribly godawful when it comes to lyric-writing. Articulation doesn’t help ANYONE when it’s your nth song about how you were scorned by some girl in high school and how DEPRESSED you are about her five years later.
By The one on Dec 13, 2007
Emo’s are gay. NEWSFLASH!!
By The one on Dec 13, 2007
Stupid clone bastard’s.
By Ryanjamescookagain on Dec 14, 2007
Popped back for a visit; ‘ello.
I have to agree that Reckoner is a very moving track. I love it when Radiohead do this sort of thing - take a really great hook and evolve it through 4-5 minutes of song. I got to hear the live version on the ‘Rolling Stone’ online ‘preview’ article - I can’t even see how they got it to the studio version (or even INTO the studio in the first place).
Lots of diehards have actually complained at the ‘reduction’ Nude has received, claiming live versions made more of the song. The differences are very clear (although the Rolling Stone article is basically a live version of the album track) but I actually like the subtlty of it and stripped back nature of the song - it certainly does nothing to hurt Radiohead’s reputation in that it reminds everyone that underneath all the production, track-sculpting, stubborn need to produce an original sound and modern technological trickery, they write truly sublime songs.
Andy Pants - don’t worry yourself, the clear and concise singing styles of Celine Dion are available on her Christmas release, perfect for that dinner party you have next Wednesday. Charade-tastic.
By jlowe on Dec 14, 2007
Here’s what happened.
Radiohead made a new great song.
They decided to title it RECKONER which was previously the title for FEELING PULLED APART BY HORSES (see youtube clip above)…
It’s a new song. With an old name. To fuck with you.
By k on Dec 14, 2007
you’ll be happy to know i thought the new radiohead was such crap, i deleted it off my computer after about 3 listens.
reckoner one of the best radiohead songs of all time?
did you miss the kid a and amnesiac albums? radio head has been getting worse ever since.
By Jay Pinkerton on Dec 20, 2007
Well, there’s certainly nothing more subjective than music, so I won’t argue the point with you. When I listen to Reckoner, I hear angels singing. When you play it, you hear a junkyard full off dogs farting. And that’s fine. It just means we’ll buy different music.
(It also means I’m right and you’ll be hit by a truck because the Gods of Good Music HATE you.)
By George on Dec 25, 2007
So…there hasn’t been an emo band mentioned in this entire thing. There have been a few retards’ vain attempts at labeling these amazing bands AS emo, but as for the Alt-Country and Alternative bands mentioned here, there is no emo to be found.
Even Wikipedia doesn’t mention emo in these bands genres…and Wikipedia is the WORST when it comes to genres.
By George on Dec 25, 2007
I love both Wilco and Radiohead. I just tend to keep them on different levels. It’s all mood oriented.
Radiohead’s new album is one of my favorites of recent years.