Change. Seems like a simple word. However, the incomplexities of its grammatical compound are dramatically altered when we consider the word's meaning. What is change? Is all change good? Is change rather just another form of personal taste? And finally, is it possible for change not to occur?

Ultimately the concept of perception is fundamental in the subsequent quest for the gist of change. Change without perception of what was standard before that change and the differences that therein are applied post change is irrelevant. You have to have the basic function of an observer's perception of that change. By that token every single entity in the world is a valid candidate to recognize and perceive change. It is up to those individuals' perception of that change to judge and interpret the variances.

But what happens when you are the voice of a generation for proactivating change but fail to offer any proponents of such change? You are Radiohead. More directly you are Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer.

What happens when you are Radiohead and are endlessly caught up in the spinning, out-of-control whirlwind world that OK Computer portrayed? Like Dylan Thomas, you "rage against the dying of the light," by releasing 2000s Kid A and 2001s Amnesiac in an attempt to steal back the technology by harnessing and embracing its presence. It was to no avail. The change that needed to occur to prevent the prophetic claiming of 1997 had grabbed you by the ankles and pulled you under in 2000 and 2001...and there was nothing you could do about it. You were submerged in the unwanted changes. Your lungs were full of the ideals and technology that you vowed against. The world and you the band had become, "fond but not in love...empty and frantic...fitter, healthier, and more productive."

What do you do now?

In the example of Radiohead you take a sabbatical. You go your five separate ways. You spend time with your respected families, you watch Bagpuss and the Bony King of Nowhere, you read tabloids, you watch Manchester United, you drive your VW to the shore to eat cheese, you watch Countdown, you smoke, you drink, you call gasoline 'petrol'...you're British.

The cause and the effect of all above is the band's rediscovery of the joys of music; and it is obvious on 2003s release, Hail to the Thief. Not to say this is an album of twelve 3 minute pop songs nor is it without darker moments. Rather, the sense of "imminent ice ages" that was predicted on OK Computer and present on Kid A and Amnesiac have had their polar ice caps melted.

The energy that is apparent on such tracks as '2+2=5' and 'Where I End and You Begin' is a stark contrast to the various type of computer driven energy on earlier album releases. They ensure a sense of human driven rawness. They provoke a sense of relief that there is a human operator behind the sportscar.

Songs such as 'We Suck Young Blood,' 'There There,' and "A Punchup at a Wedding' give a unique melodious feel that only Radiohead can seem to conjure up from the depths of musical limitations. 'We Suck Young Blood's' sporadic clapping seems to almost represent a feel of a sense of soul shackled to slavery. The type of clapping is most relevant to American "slave" songs and is hauntingly reminiscent of O' Brother Whereart Thou's chain gang intro. Elsewhere, 'There There' and 'Punchup at a Wedding' offer political accusations and misconceptions with a droning sense of midtempo rock.

While the albums darker moments musically, 'Wolf at the Door,' 'The Gloaming,' and 'I Will' still grasp that feeling of desperate loneliness, it no longer leaves a vague and discontented ending. It's a proactive stance. 'I Will' takes the side of an Iraqi family and their perspective of the war. It tries to provide a human element to that which most people view as a war against a single man rather than affecting lives of average citizens. (side note, if you play 'I Will' backwards, you get the melody for the basis of Spinning Plates.)

Though the album is one that leaves behind the cold and dark of Radiohead's prior two releases it never really catches the same element of raw rock that was so vibrant on The Bends. Not that the intent of this album is to do so. Rather this album embarks on a blending of change. It's not all computers and drum machines, it's not all guitars and powerchords. Rather it is an ingenious blend of piano, guitar, computer, drums and vocal harmonies that require multiple listening sessions to fully comprehend both lyrical and musical ideals.

If you are afraid of change from the happy-go-lucky-corporate-drivel, fear this album. If you are optimistically looking for alternatives to the doldrums of the plethora of fridge buzz emanating from the radio today, change looks good and it's nice the voice of change has finally spoken.

Contributed 14 August 2003
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