Saturday, June 19, 2010

Faust arp. - Radiohead

It is Saturday night and I am sitting alone in my relatively new house listening to Radiohead on my newly set up sound-system. Tres tragique.

Radiohead perfectly suits the reflective state of mind that I am in. Faust arp. is one of the more subtle Radiohead songs, with its somewhat unusual phrasing and curious time changes, as well as the surprisingly chromatic movement of the guitar part. Over this music we get a rambling impressionist discourse from singer Thom Yorkethat blends beautifully with the music.

Pay Attention to:
- The quiet simplicity of the String lines. They are just octave doublings yet they word to great effect.
- The thoughtful use of two guitars.
- The nice stereo-effect of recording Thom Yorke's voice twice.

This Song is on Radiohead's most recent album: 'In Rainbows'.
This song is on my playlist 'Audition-Day', made on the evening of a grueling yet enjoyable day spent on the audition panel for a play.

Why you should listen to this song:
In a genre as mercenary and one-dimensional as pop music, Radiohead take pop-song compositional technique and elevate it to an art-form. We hear unconventional rhythms and harmonies as well as unusual instrumentations, not to mention Thom Yorke's wonderful and distinctive voice. This song is an example of Radiohead's aesthetic where a focus has been placed on sensitivity. Like a Webern miniature this song is concise and yet within the short time period there is a subtle use of instrumentation which combines with the poetic lyrics to great effect.


What goes nicely with this song:
Good as a just before bed song, this song goes nicely with the quiter output of artists such as:
The fleet foxes and Nick Drake.


As always here is an attached youtube.com link to the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjkHmkCpQJA


Owen

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