Bears and Bullets: Bears and Bullets Top Ten Albums of the Decade

#7: In Rainbows - Radiohead

In Rainbows exists as an anomaly for Radiohead. It rarely appears in the same conversation as OK Computer, The Bends or Kid A, but at the same time it's still regarded as an immense accomplishment on the band's part. So what is it, then, that makes In Rainbows a vanguard in the Radiohead catalog? Culturally, it's the self-promotion. We all know the story; the band leaves their long-time label, EMI, and produces the album themselves, allowing users to download all ten tracks for any price they please, including 'free.' Never before has the tactic been used by such a popular band. The result, as some regard it, is a shockwave that will inevitably destroy the record industry. If not destroy it, it certainly didn't help.

But the reason In Rainbows grabs the number seven slot on Bears and Bullets' list of the Top Albums of the Decade isn't solely because of its impact on the industry. The album, on its own merits, is an exploratory measure of how far the band has come and the beautiful and meticulous transformations that come with it. Some of the overbearing and unsettling electronic overtones of Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief are toned down here, bringing Johnny Greenwood's jagged guitars back to the forefront again. However, it's not the same college-radio bombast of old Radiohead -- it's smarter, cleaner and more conductive than any album since OK Computer.

The band's previous records, to a degree, had a variant of challenge in them; either they needed more than one listen, or they sounded completely different from the previous record. But that challenge with In Rainbows isn't distant - it's easy. Every genuine, tightening note hit by Thom Yorke is louder and clearer than ever. With "Nude" and "All I Need," Yorke evokes more with two notes then he has in nearly a decade, and that's saying more than a lot.

The argument of 'free' will continue, along with the discussion of whether In Rainbows sits amongst Radiohead's best work. Looking back two years, it's acclaim continues to climb, and sooner than later it will be in that discussion.

Radiohead - House of Cards