I’ve been listening a lot to the new Radiohead album.
Ever listen to the BBC Radio 3 show LATE JUNCTION?
It’s a wonderful and eclectic collection of night sounds, from folk to jazz with lots of electronic and experimental stuff in between. But all, well, NIGHT stuff. What’s the word for that weird state between waking and sleeping?
Oh right — “hynagogic”. Kinda of spacey but sweet and not all there by any means.
Any tune from this short collection — from “Bloom” to “Separator” — would fit in great on LATE JUNCTION.
“Bloom” for instance is a subdued trip-hoppy thing. Dance music you can’t dance to. All of course with Thom Yorke’s pleasant croon. And did I mention electronics? Plenty, all through, and a garden of audio splendor.
I like this work. It’s a continuation of RADIOHEAD’s work of expanding pop into the ethereal.
However, take note: this is background music. I don’t think it bears conscious examination. Like “hypnagogic” dreams. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, really. But does
art have to make sense?
So me? I’m gonna play some of these cuts on my radio show, and in mixes, but if I play the whole CD again, it’s going to be in the background for mood or to focus on
something else.
Listening all the way through is oddly inconclusive.
