Arts & Entertainment

 

 

“All I Need” by Radiohead

By Pat MacKenzie

song of
the week

I you like dark minimalism with a
gathering climax, then “All I Need” is a
song that deserves a serious listen. Taken
from Radiohead’s latest release,
In Rainbows, “All I Need” is
a slow jaunt through a sparse

soundscape overseen by a {
repeated bass line presumably
played on a keyboard. But J
as the song progresses,
the soundscape becomes
increasingly cluttered.

At first with subtle noises, like
the sound of rushing air, “All I Need”
becomes somewhat orchestral as it

 

  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

culminates in a miasma of sound. Piano,
bells, crash cymbals, organ and Thom
Yorke’s distinctively mournful vocals
give “All I Need” a perverse climax;
at the end, the song seems to linger in
a strangely listenable discordance—a
recurring feature in much of Radiohead’s
music.

As is probably expected, at
least by Radiohead fans, the lyrics for
“All I Need” are dark and seemingly
impenetrable. The speaker of the words
talks in metaphors: “I am the next act
waiting in the wings/I am an animal
trapped in your hot car/I am all the days
that you choose to ignore.” The concrete
imagery supplied by trapped animals
in hot cars and the tragedy inherent in
waiting, automatically suggest
~; that there is a certain
desperation being expressed
here. It is never made clear
if this is someone’s personal
; f experience or if it’s the general
ie experience of humanity.
| However, given principle song
writer Thom Yorke’s propensity
to _ concentrate on the dark side of
life, one expects it’s the latter.

 

 

 

“qn

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