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Founded in Oxford, England, Radiohead is one of the most influential rock bands of our time. The members consisted of lead singer Thomas Edward Yorke, guitarist Ed O'Brien, keyboard Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway. In 1987, the band began performing in a tavern on the outskirts of Oxford, and in January 1993, the first album, Pablo Honey, was released. The most well-known songs include "creep", "paranoid android", "karma police" and so on. In 2009, he won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Rock Album.
Recently, the music scene has been very lively. Rock veteran Zhang Chu released a new song on May 4 and said that a new album would be released soon. On the same day, the veteran British rock band Radiohead released a new song "Burn the Witch" after a gap of five years. As soon as the new song was released, there was a cry at the bottom, and they all expressed their excitement and could not help themselves.
Among the many rock bands, the three generations of old, middle and young are counted, and Radiohead can be called the one who despises the old book and the most daring to explore. Therefore, they send out new songs that are particularly expected by music fans: Look forward to seeing what new moths you have produced? So is this new song a bold breakthrough, or a Radiohead-style repetition?
Let's listen to radiohead's new song.
As they always have, the lyrics of the new song continue the cryptic and metaphysical style, which is quite philosophical. Along with the new song, there is also the mv of the song.
Radiohead's record label manager said radiohead's new album "won't be the same as any music you've ever heard" and would be a way of playing that none of us have seen before. The book reviewer combed through several of the album's keywords to see if it was such a god.
Keyword 1:
Classical
It has previously been commented that the band's lead singer Thom Yorke decided the lower limit of Radiohead, while lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood decided the upper limit of Radiohead. The implication is that lead singer Tom can keep the band above the baseline from slipping, and as for how many dazzling "premium" tricks the band can play, it depends on the guitarist "GreenWood".
Jonny Greenwood has always been close to classical music. He studied classical music while studying at Oxford University, majoring in violin. In addition to the guitar, he can also play viola, piano, organ, banjo, harmonica and many other instruments. Since becoming Radiohead's guitarist, he has also been wading through the "muddy waters" of classical music, often working with the London Orchestra and being the artist-in-residence of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Radiohead's fusion with classical music did not begin with this new album, which has been traced in the past few years. In the 2009 single "Harry Patch" and the 2011 single "Spectre", the arrangement style of adding classical strings has been clearly revealed. This time, "Burn the Witch" also has a sudden burst of compact finger strings, and the classical strings have a strong sense of existence from beginning to end.
In addition to the classical string arrangement highlights, the meaning of saying that "Burn the Witch" has a "classical" style also includes that this new song seems to have the momentum to return to traditional rock. The dense, fast-paced soundtrack makes it easy to think of "traditional" and noisy rock 'n' roll. Electronic has been the musical trend of Radiohead's experimentation and exploration for a long time, as early as the 1999 album "Kid A", Radiohead has been playing electronic with great avant-garde. Compared with previous singles such as "Spectre", "Burn the Witch" for the first time began to have a trend of less electronic and a return to traditional rock and roll.
Burn the witch album cover
Keyword 2:
salute
Another focus of relish around Burn the Witch is its rather ghostly MV. MV is clearly a tribute to the British stop-motion animation "Trumpton", as well as the British film "Wicker Man", especially the latter "Wicker Man".
The mv of Burn the Witch is almost a retelling of the Wicker man story. The Wicker Man is about a Scottish police officer, Howy, who is reported to have disappeared on an island on the west coast of Scotland, where a girl named Ron Morrison is missing. Howie then comes to Summer Island to investigate, but finds the atmosphere on the island very strange. The residents first said they did not know the girl, and later said that the girl was dead. But Howie did not find the girl's body.
As the investigation progresses, Howie is surprised to discover that the island's inhabitants are a group of pagans who do not believe in Jesus Christ. The residents do not cooperate with Howie's investigation, and as he prepares to leave the island at a loss, he discovers the tradition of sacrificing living people at the island's May celebrations.
Looking closely at the mv of "Burn the Witch", it is not difficult to find the details that correspond to "Wicker Man". As for why Radiohead chose Wicker Man as the blueprint for mv shooting? Studying the lyrics of "Burn the Witch", we will find that the story of "The Wicker Man" is the same as the meaning of "Burn the Witch", which is a reflection and rebellion against the control of authority.
Stills from the 1973 edition of The Wicker Man
Screenshot of "Burn the Witch" mv screen
Keyword 3:
fable
It's nothing new to say radiohead is "obscure," but this time the new song is even more obvious. In particular, the allegorical lyrics, combined with the bright colors and dark themes of the mv, together create a cryptic but terrifying atmosphere that strikes people's hearts.
Where does this sense of allegory come from? The lyrics begin with the following sentences: "In the shadow of the crowd / Cheers for hanging / This is a grand round-up". Combined with the story of "The Wicker Man", it is not difficult to think of this scene of the islanders sacrificing living people in the event celebration.
Through this allegorical scene, Radiohead extends this round-up to modern life. Thom Yorke then sang: "Casual talk at the table / Abandon all reason / Avoid eye contact / Please don't react / Just shoot the messenger / This is a panicked low-altitude attack".
If the first half of Burn the Witch is a Wicker-style allegorical scene, the second half of the lyrics clearly points the finger at contemporary political/social life. Contemporary society, like the islanders, or "Big Brother", looks at your power everywhere, sometimes from government agencies, sometimes from the repression of work, and more ubiquitous, with its extensive social media.
From the album "Ok Computer" released as early as 1997, "Paranoid Android" (paranoid robot), "Airbag" and other early "famous songs", we can already see Radiohead's keen observation. Today, every statement posted online is subject to all public scrutiny. On social media, every idea that pops up randomly runs the risk of being judged as a "problem." Burn the Witch is quite understandable as a sharp mockery of this trend by Radiohead.
Although the new song is only released now, in fact, as early as 2002, during the "hail to the thief" period, the original version of "burn the witch" was already formed (note the red letter in the lower left corner, it is burn the witch). This is in line with the "tradition" of radiohead's habit of hiding songs.
After the release of "Burn the Witch", many fans speculated that the theme of the entire new album to be released by Radiohead is likely to revolve around contemporary issues such as "politics", "social media control" and "environmental protection". Whether this conjecture is correct or not will only be revealed after the release of the entire new album. However, compared with radiohead's sudden emptying of all social media messages, the fans are really relieved and painful: they empty social media, not to be disbanded or "stopped" by the outside world, on the contrary, they want to return with new works!
Listening to the book critics nagging so much, how do you think about this new song that has been called for after five years and has made fans cry? Don't forget to leave a message to tell the book reviewer.
Finally, the book reviewer has excerpted several British music fan comments to share with you, is there anything that coincides with your opinion?
acclaim?
Lucy Brouwer is 41 years old from Nottingham
Rating: 5 out of 5
Overall: "Dark, evil, sexy"
As if cut and split, but at the same time extremely dense strings, coupled with roaring bass, combined with lead singer Thom Yorke's powerful, prophetic lyrics, the song really makes us feel "this is a round-up". Imagine this scene: a room full of fans huddled together, singing "We know where you live."
The rhythm of the loop matches the classical strings just right. Burn The Witch gives us a glimpse of the talent that Jonny Greenwood has always had, and I can even sniff out the tone he played for the film There Will Be Blood. The frightening atmosphere conveyed by the song is so strong that we have nowhere to hide. The ever-increasingly strong soundtrack at the end of the song sucked me into a tense, claustrophobic, dark atmosphere. This kind of outrageous power, like the band's music all along, is impeccable from start to finish.
Or bad reviews?
Danny Angove, 20, Plymouth
Rating: 3 out of 5
Overall review: "It's a Radiohead's pipeline product. ”
I was disappointed by this new song. Ironically, the band, which has always prided itself on being "unpredictable", is now returning to the public eye with such a new song that has no adventurous spirit. I dare say that for the average listener who hears the song randomly, it doesn't have anything to catch the eye and attract attention. I'm really ashamed of that.
I'm not saying it's a bad song, But Yorke's lyrics are as touching as ever. I was impressed by the song's mv in stop-motion animation form. There's also the soundtrack of the whole song that clings to me all the time and is enough to create a hair-raising feel. But there's something missing in this song that makes me want to loop all the time. Radiohead, next time please give us a little less repetitive stuff, thank you.
This article is integrated and compiled: walk away, six boys, music fan evaluation part compiled from the guadian, original link: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/04/disarmingly-melodic-fans-and-a-newbie-review-radioheads-new-single-burn-the-witch. EDIT: Go for a walk. The image comes from the Internet. Unauthorized reproduction is not permitted.