Monday, February 21, 2011

Radiohead -- "Codex"

By this point I just assume that everybody has heard The King Of Limbs. I would write a review of the whole album, but I think it is more fascinating to discuss how the indie community reacted to the record as a whole. When speaking of the media and the release of 2007's In Rainbows, Colin Greenwood discussed the idea of sharing in the online community. In Rainbows allowed for a shared and very unique moment in music's history. The case with The King Of Limbs is no different, if anything, it amplified the notion Greenwood discussed in regards to In Rainbows. Radiohead's music, more so than any other band in the blog/indie world, brings a certain joy to our somewhat little bubble; a special moment where we all silence our opinions and instead just listen to the music. The release of The King Of Limbs was not a moment of innate critique, but rather it warranted a celebration of the music of these five brilliant men.


Most of what I have read from bloggers and major music publications makes it seem like most people found this album to be a grower and I would agree. It took me about four full listens before I finally got to the point where I said "wow, this is truly something special." In particular, "Codex," which originally was the one of tracks that I thought was overly wearisome, is now one of my favorite cuts on the album. When I listened to this album in complete isolation for the first time "Codex" gave me the chills, which is pretty rare for me. If you might have just skipped over this song or not loved it as much as the others or perhaps haven't heard this song at all, please get out some quality headphones and go to a quiet place... you will not be disappointed.

-- Greg

2 comments:

  1. This is precisely how codex should be listened at. It transforms it from a decent song to a masterpiece..

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  2. I agree 100%. It took 3-4 listenings until I realized how great this song is... I get chills listening.

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