Below
you'll find information about the songs that will be on Radiohead's
new album, Kid A.
Many of the descriptions below were written by someone close to Green
Plastic who attended the press playback of the album in New York City
in July. |
| 01.
Everything In It's Right Place |
| [4:12] |
|
| Features
samples of Thom singing backwards and forwards. Surprisingly
enough, the live version comes frighteningly close to the recorded
one. |
|
| 02.
Kid A |
| [4:48] |
|
|
| Another
brand new song which may have been originally built by a computer
program. The title of the song, "Kid A", may have
something to do with a project of Carl Steadman's about the
work of Jacques Lacan entitled "Kid
A in Alphabet Land." |
|
| 03.
The National Anthem |
| [5:49] |
|
|
| "The
National Anthem," is the album's "Exit Music."
Colin's bass line is wildly hypnotic and the pure and utter
body of this song forcing attention onto itself and away from
Thom's vocals, which are prominently less featured on this album
compared to the others. This is not to say that his vocals aren't
stunning, but the fact that Yorke's vocals were ProTooled around
with (small vocal parts cut and pasted to repeat over and over
again), displays the band's interest in concentrating less on
the centerpiece of the band and more on the collective entity.
The bombarding and escalating brass ensemble on "TNA,"
first appear almost cliche in it's perfect disorder -- horns
of all kinds coming from everywhere in a very discomforting
manner -- the cliche ends once Thom screams and begs out "Turn
it off!" with as much conviction as possible. That's when
you get the idea. That's when you understand that it's the anti-cliche. |
|
| 04.
How to Disappear Completely |
| [5:55] |
|
|
This
epic of a song debuted during the band's North American tour
in April 1998. The song was written by Thom in June 1997 while
Radiohead were in Toronto, first referring to it as "This
is Not Happening". At this early stage the song is very
lengthy and quite repetitive but is of course up to the expected
Radiohead standard.
"How to Disappear..." took it's name from a title
of a book about how to erase your own identity and assume a
new one. Here is the description from the publisher: (thanks
to Seth)
"How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found is for
everyone with a need to not only disappear from their former
life, but to start a new one. It tells how to plan a disappearance,
document a new identity, find a job, and establish credit, plus
coping in the first few days, and more."
The book is now out of print.
Quotes:
-Nigel:
(when asked if the song had gone over 10 mins): "No no
no no no no. It's going good I think. haven't touched it this
year. 6 minutes, I hate people who exaggerate." January
19, 2000
-Thom:
(when asked about the meaning of the line "I float down
the Liffey"): "I dreamt i was floating down the liffey
and there was nothing i could do. i was flying around Dublin
and I really was in the Dream. the whole song is my experiences
of really floating" December 19, 1999
-Phil:
"parts I & II are finished - the final movement is
proving a little tricky though." December 3, 1999 |
|
| 05.
Treefingers |
| [4:47] |
|
| "Treefingers"
will hands down be one of the biggest surprises on Kid A. It
has no real melody and is instrumental. Despite rumors, it is
not "Egyptian Song" under a different name. |
|
| 06.
Optimistic |
| [5:00]] |
|
|
By far the best song on the album, "Optimistic"
is, perfect. This is the song that Radiohead nailed everything
right on. From the vocals to the brilliant orchestration which
closes the song. This is the song that everyone will love. The
studio version is considerably slower than the live one.
Quotes:
-Ed:
"i really love the words, especially the line 'this one
just crawled out the swamp' reminds me a bit of PJ Harvey's
blues stuff. cool." July 12, 1999
-Hilda Carr (Radiohead's Tour Manager):
" an extraordinary song, so exceptional and outstanding."
and "at the first few bars, I recognized it. it's that
kind of song, once it's in your head, it never leaves you."
|
|
| 07.
In Limbo |
| [3:49] |
|
|
The
studio version is very close to the live one.
Quotes:
-Ed:
"after only nine months work its starting to sound like
its getting somewhere. good in fact." July 22, 1999
-Ed:
"thom thinks we've already recorded the definitive version
whilst in Paris. not sure about that, mind you he admits that
thats because of the way hes singing it (which hes only done
with a tape alone whilst driving). i really like this new version,
as much as anything for its relentlessness and energy."
August 3, 1999 |
|
| 08.
Idioteque |
| [5:35] |
|
|
| Another
song that fans have no clue about, "Idioteque" can
be seen in two ways: A blatantly stupid attempt at making a
cheesy dance song (hence the name), or genius. What "Idioteque"
essentially is, is a dance song, beats, and all. This, of all
the songs on the album, is the experimental one that stands
out as much as "Electioneering" did on OKC. It will
either be your favorite song, or your most hated. However, it
can't be ignored. |
|
| 09.
Morning Bell |
| [4:30] |
|
|
| This
is one of the more catchier songs in the tracklist for Kid A. |
|
| 10.
Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| [3:19] |
|
|
A
favorite of Thom's, he expected it to appear on OK Computer,
but unfortunately the band decided not to include it. The song
has been played on a few occasions on the OK Computer
tour, often as a powerful encore with just his voice and an
acoustic guitar.
If the future of funerals has a sound, this is it. In it's organ
driven glory, "MPS" is actually one of the more put
together songs and optimistic songs on the album (despite the
funeral reference). This is actually the song that you hear
when you're going up to Heaven and arriving at the Pearly Gates.
The cascading harp ending pretty much backs up this theory. |
| quotes: |
| Thom:
"Motion Picture is half done. We kind of have a rhythm
track. We want to try keyboards and endless guitar solos. Then
I suppose I'll have to sing it again as I was not completely
there first time around." October 12, 1999 |
|
| 11.
Hiden Track |
| [0:59] |
|
|
From
ne pas a.v.a.l.e.r.:
Instrumental. End of the film music. Sounds like the intro of
another one. |
|
| back to GREEN
PLASTIC RADIOHEAD |
|
