Album Retrospective: Radiohead - In Rainbows

Album Rating: A+

Is it possible to define a band with as diverse a catalog as Radiohead?  The band has grunge songs and gregarious rock anthems, they have acoustic ballads and all-encompassing electronica albums, albums that sound cinematic and albums that sound apocalyptic, and albums that are safe and albums that end up being The King of Limbs. Radiohead is a band of constant change that it seems would be hard to define in just one sentence or just a couple of words.

The Daily Blair: The Ultimate Album Theory

I have always had a huge problem with greatest hits albums because they are rarely anything more than just a simple collection of hit songs. Greatest Hits albums do not have the flow of a studio album, they do not have the unique feel of a studio album, and they often struggle to gain any momentum. Greatest Hits albums are usually made when the band or the artist needs money badly, when a record company is desperately trying to squeeze some money out of an artist, and when an artist or a band has absolutely no new material. I have always thought we should call them "Greatest Quits" albums.

But I have come to accept that not everyone enjoys music the same way I do. A good percentage of people would get a bands greatest hits before they picked up everyone of the bands albums because this saves them not only time but money. Greatest Hits have become the logical listen in our culture of immediacy. We have to accept that not everyone wants to go through a bands discography, not everyone feels obligated to write every day on a blog, not everyone cares enough to put every album in historical context, and sometimes Greatest Hits albums are the best way to Dizcover new Muzik.

The Daily Blair: Fitter. Happier. Ok. Computer.

It takes something really special to leave me speechless. A reverse dunk might leave me speechless, a beautiful woman that actually talks to me might leave me speechless, an eye opening "bring me to my knees" religious experience might leave me speechless, or a surprisingly tragic event in my life might leave me in a sad speechless state. It seems like I am always writing or talking about something that is of minor importance to everyone but me and that is just the way it has always been and especially when it comes to music.

But I have to confess that OK Computer has always left me speechless and with an awkward case of writer's block. I feel like whatever I write about OK Computer will not even come close to doing it justice. I felt scared that I would never be able to describe the breathtaking beauty of just about every song on this album, I felt like whatever I wrote would be an insult to something so magnificent, like my every word would be the neutering of the musical version of Michelangelo's David, I felt like every organized paragraph would be an slap in the face to the most beautiful faceless thing I have ever seen or heard, and I felt like anything I described would just be scrutinized to the point of no return. Ok Computer has always been the "jump over the car" dunk that makes you question the very existence of gravity, it has always been the girl so symmetrically perfect that her muttering "hi" is like rounding third base with a angel, and it has always been the car crash that left you bleeding on the concrete yet took you to pearly gates afterwards. Ok Computer has always been too magnificent for speech or even a whisper. Maybe it is because its sheer existence is the only review or words it has ever needed.

2011: My Favorite Albums (Blair Chopin)

What can I say about 2011 that has not already been said? Nothing. So here's my 42 (I love you Coldplay) best albums of the year:

42. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien

Lenses Alien is just a cluster mess of potential. Once Cymbals Eat Guitars stop trying to make songs that sound like 8 minute Built to Spill and Mars Volta covers and find their own sweet spot they will be one of the best bands around. Right now they are just really inconsistent. The album has a few moments of brilliance though that make it one of the better listens of the year.


41. Bomb The Music Industry! - Vacation

Vacation is the poor man's version of Knife Man. That makes it one of the best records of the year.

2011: My Favorite Moments In Music

2011 has been one of the more unique years in music for me as a listener. I listened to albums by hip-hop artists, dubstep artists, indie artist, punk artists, and even female artists. I enjoyed albums from bands I had never heard before, happy songs from one of the most depressing bands on earth, songs about being a "straight white male in America," songs about working in the fields, songs about plowing girls, songs about being a woman, and songs that tried to define America just based solely on its hyperbolic contradictions. 2011 expanded my music taste and produced more moments from more artists than any year in recent memory. Here are my ten favorite moments from 2011.....

The 14 Day Spiritual Journey

It has become clear to me that just about everyone likes music to a certain extent. Their are people who like music, people who like music a little bit more, and people who absolutely love music. Their are many things that separate people who like music from people who love music. People who like music view it simply as "music" while people who love music view it more as experiences or moments in time, people who like music can name you three mainstream albums while people who love music are constantly editing their albums of the year list, people who like music view music as a hobby while people who love music view it as something that is a critical reflection of the health of an individual and the health of a society. For people who simply like music it never really gets past anything other than catchy choruses and lame music videos, but for people who really love music the music becomes somewhat spiritual. Spiritual because it gives us so many different moments and experiences. And spiritual because it means so damn much.