In Rainbows by Radiohead
I feel like I can safely assume that everyone knows or has heard of Radiohead. I haven’t had the chance to fully immerse myself in Radiohead’s music. I kind of started backward. No, I haven’t listened to Kid A in its entirety yet, nor do I know all of the words to “Creep.” I started my deep dive into this beloved band with In Rainbows.
I know enough of Radiohead to know that their music is sad. It just is. Thom Yorke knows how to write poetry and it can be heart wrenching. He can tap into the idea of sadness very easily and it comes through in In Rainbows.
In “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi,” Yorke sings about falling to the bottom of the ocean and escaping. It’s confusing because he kind of wants to, but it seems like it is only because he fears that everyone else will leave or that they already have. The idea of being at the bottom of the ocean is often used in music to signify loneliness and Yorke expands that idea. He’s lonely, but he’s also scared.
This idea hits close to home. I had a conversation with my friend last summer about depression, something I deal with frequently, and she explained how when people are depressed, their brain tells them to isolate and that this moment is the loneliest they’ve ever been. That no one cares and no one is there for them, so then their reaction is to distance themselves from everyone who is actively trying to be there for them because their depression is telling them not to trust those people. This is something I do often. I feel like this idea is super prevalent in “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi.” It breaks my heart, but also brings me some comfort in knowing that these feelings are real and valid.
In “15 Step,” a similar idea emerges. Yorke sings “How come I end up where I started? How come I end up where I belong?” He describes being caught in a loop. Stuck. That’s what real sadness can do. It’s about always being where you feel like you’ll be, sad, but not wanting to accept that.
My personal favorite on the album is “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” because if you’ve read some of my other reviews, you’d know that I love when sad and happy intermingle. I think it’s a real artform. The music is upbeat and I felt myself dancing along, but the lyrics and meaning are dark. This song in my opinion is where the music really had the strongest voice. I love Radiohead’s musicality because their music has such a voice of its own. There are so many layers and so much depth. It gets shown off beautifully throughout In Rainbows, but I think it is most emphasized in “Jigsaw Falling Into Place.”
While the music and lyrics of In Rainbows on their own make this album iconic, it’s the way it was sold that has had a huge impact on the music industry. In Rainbows was released on October 10th, 2007. Right before its release, Radiohead has stopped working with their label, EMI. As NPR states, “For its first new release in four years, one of the world’s biggest bands would have no major-label representation.” What did Radiohead do about it? They released it online and told their fans that they could pay whatever they wanted for it. Remember that this is pre-streaming services, so downloading music off of the internet for no cost was basically unheard of. This act, known as the “In Rainbows Experiment” got international attention and the media didn’t know where to side. It was such a topic of debate. Why would a band just give away their music? However, that got people thinking. The idea of legal online free music wasn’t a common practice at the time, but things changed pretty quickly after that.
In Rainbows is an album that was able to grab the attention of every music lover in the world at the time of its release. Now, it has been able to capture my mind and has made me reflect on my mental health and the spirals that I have had. In Rainbows is artistic and wild. It’s a great album with beautiful music.