the mongrel cat came home

holding half a head

proceeded to show it off

to all his new found friends

he said i been where i liked

i slept with who i like

she ate me up for breakfast

she screwed me in a vice

but now

i don't know why

i feel so tongue-tied

i sat in the cupboard

and wrote it down real neat

they were cheering and waving

cheering and waving

twitching and salivating like with myxomatosis

but it got edited fucked up

strangled beaten up

used in a photo in time magazine

buried in a burning black hole in devon

i don?t know why i

feel so tongue-tied

don?t know why

i feel

so skinned alive.

my thoughts are misguided and a little naive

i twitch and i salivate like with myxomatosis

you should put me in a home or you should put me down

i got myxomatosis

i got myxomatosis

yeah no one likes a smart ass but we all like stars

but that wasn't my intention, i did it for a reason

it must have got mixed up

strangled beaten up

i got myxomatosis

i got myxomatosis

i don?t know why i

feel so tongue-tied

 

Too fuckin' good!!

So good, it kinda scares me :(

:lol: there there Reilly... :lol:

i don't like it....well i heard the leaked version, i'll have to give the proper one a whirl i guess...but i'm not a huge fan of there there, though i can tolerate it

Dont waste your money if you dont like There There, its the easiest listen on the album and for those who find it hard to listen to and hard to find the beauty of just will never get it. It takes quite a while of heavy Amnesiac and Kid A listenings to get this songs automatically.

wow wow wow i love this album really rocks, the first time that i hear 2+2=5 i was like wow radiohead do it again this is my new paranoid android 8) i like the album a lot i cant put all the songs that i like because are almost all the songs on the album for exemple i like a lot sail to the moon wow what a lyrics, and also the music on sit down stand up wow 8) there there , i will , well all of them but specially a wolf at the door and myxomatosis wow this is the best album of radiohead only behind ok computer for me i love it ;)

neo

Hail to the Thief interpretations

 

What are your interpretations, if any, of lyrics/titles/meanings of Hail to the Thief?

 

I'll start with the very odd 2nd names for each song, y'know, how Go to Sleep is also called (Little Man being erased). Its a very strange thing, I doubt anyones ever done something like that before but it works, which is excellent.

 

Well, the 'code name' for Hail to the Thief is 'The Gloaming'. Recently Thom Yorke expressed in an interview that he gets some of his inspiration for song writing from history books on the time of the Nazi's, and mumbled something about a Third Reich. Hail to the Thief is a term about President Bush, and Thom has shown his disgust for leaders of America a lot too, and I think The Gloaming being another name for Hail to the Thief is something to do with Nazi rule coming back in a different form. On the album sleeve it says:

 

HAIL TO THE THIEF

(or, The Gloaming)

 

Meaning the recent times -Hail to the Thief- is just the same as The Gloaming (Referance to Nazi times).

 

Thats what I think.

 

Wolf at the Door seems to be about Thom protecting his little kid, Noah.

 

Stand Up, Sit Down is about people being ordered about or something.

 

2+2=5 obviously means a few different things but Im pretty sure its mainly about Bush and America, 'Are you such a dreamer? To put the world to rights?' And 'Its the devils way now, theres no way out, you can scream and shout, its too late now, because you have not been paying attention' possibly that towards people who havent stood up against Bush.

 

I have a lot more interpretations but I'll let you guys go.

i like radiohead...but...i like exit music for a film more than any other radiohead song...

 

i'm just not fond of the new album....

 

meh

Exit music ROCKS!! I LOOOOOVE that song!! :D

interesting you posted this... i was just having a vaguely similar conversation on the official board...

 

someone posted this which was bang on, i thought:

 

!ok computer sums up our generation's social climate/fears

HTTT sums up our generation's political climate/lack of understanding due to a willingness to turn a deaf ear"

 

i agree with that statement wholeheartedly....

 

key lyrics:

 

OKC: "i will stop at nothing. say the right things when electioneering, i trust i can rely on your vote... / it's just business, cattle prods and the IMF"

 

HTTT's powerful start, the fury of "YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION"

 

although this is from a socio-political standpoint... of course that's what separates radiohead from other political bands- songs are packed full of biting subtle remarks on such subjects, whilst dealing with fascinating aspects of the human psyche...

 

i definitely agree with the references to nazi germany, although i would hesitate to say he is drawing this allusion as an attack on bush- i think the fact that people have come to that conclusion speaks volumes. it's not suggested that the evils of bush's administration can be even compared to hitler's regime, but it's certainly got everybody thinking.

 

2+2=5 - definitely right about taking a backseat to see what's happened to our world... these are uncomfortable times. a hit out at living a passive life- it doesn't matter if you're not doing anything bad- why aren't you doing anything productive? the title 2+2=5 jumped out at me instantly as an orwellian reference... 1984 uses this nonsensical sum as an ongoing example of 'doublethink' - this totalitarian society has exercised complete control over the minds of the civilians- they control the news and the so-called 'facts'- up to the point where should they choose to, the population could be taught to believe that 2+2 actually equals 5. this isn't the first time they've referred to orwell - in optimistic, thom sings: "This one dropped a payload, fodder for the animals, living on an animal farm"

 

I find it incredible that these clever references can be made whilst maintaining the emotional side- this is a massive step forward.

 

when you say that sit down stand up sounds like people being ordered around- it highlights the power that the goverments have- that we fail to realise the extent of. "We can wipe you out, anytime."

 

sail to the moon to me seems about escapism. the album is a haunting reflection of modern times- STTM uses beautiful imagery to make us dream what it would be like if things were different. If there was to be a president with a true sense of moral duty. If it was possible to sail off along a moonbeam to a magical faraway place.

 

backdrifts- this always makes me think of the void between ok computer and kid a. the band at that time were at their most fragile- at the very edge of splitting... they had created and extensively promoted an album hailed as their masterpiece- where were they to go from there? backdrifts reminds me of these fragile times for them. "What the hell we've got nothing more to lose" / "All evidence has been buried, all tapes have been erased, but your footprints give you away so" - These lyrics to me seem to be a reference to when they decided to ignore their previous work and give it their all in moving into a different direction altogether. They had nothing to lose, they took that chance. But now- they still feel that they can never truly forget their roots. However- the lines about the destruction of evidence instantly draw up images of the old east german secret police- or alternatively the thought police in 1984 again. So therefore it's an example of yorke's brilliantly ambiguous lyrics- in my opinion the most effective since dylan.

 

i'll post more on the rest of the tracks soon...

wow - impressive stuff guys and very interesting reading - not far from the thoughts the album has given me too :)

im not sure i agree with you reilly because i thing "go to sleep" is probably the most accessible :shrug:

 

but still it is quite a slog on first listen - give it time those who haven't found it immediately catches you - all us RH fans have been living with most of the tracks for 6 months as they played many of them live previously which makes the whoel process a lot easier :)

okay heres i go ...

2+2=5 an awsome song to start off an album with...very entergetic and for me easy for the ears. i rate this song a 8

sit down stand up. i had downloaded it and burned it before i got the cd and for some reason i didnt like it. well now....i LOVE it the ending is superb

sail to the moon- the song i listen to the most. great song to fall asleep to (in a good damn way) its soooo lovely his voice the music awsome!

backdrifts- i havent listened to it much probably juding the song by its openbing music which is stupid because thats what i did with there there and now im in love with it....i for sure will give it another listen

go to sleep- pretty good...not the BEST i give it a 7.5

where i end you begin- AWSOME another one of my favs...just a great song

we suck young blood- this song really helped me yesterday when i got PISSED at my dad. i went upstairs put it on full blast and sang it at the top of my lungs. the tone is very appealing

the gloaming- when i first heard this i was (for some weird reason) saying wf!/ now..on the flip side after hearing it...i love it also

there there- dont even get me started! its the only song on the album that i learned all of the lyrics NOT from the booklet thing but from playing it over and over again....2nd fav song on this album..1st is sail to the moon

i will- short and lovely and a good song maybe like a 7.5

a punchup at a wedding- AWSOME AWSOME AWSOME AWSOME AWSOME my radiohead song of the day

myxomatosis- wait did i listen to this? i dont think i did

scatterbrain- i skip way too many songs- ok lol sry...i am listening to it righhhht now..argh my cd player ....ok now lol...ill write bout it later

wolf at the door- 3rd fav song i rate it 9.5 kick ass awsome superb soo firggin good..amazing song!

 

 

overall....my new fav album....gosh its amazing yay! worth the wait :D :D

hey hey, welp i got this album today or better say yesterday since im writing this at 2 in the morning. So far, i totally agree with reilly on the flow of the album and it's somewhat inconsistency but i still think it's awesome. Im only on 'the gloaming' so i havent listened to the whole thing yet, but so far i like it but i think i have to listen to it a little more to like it even more, it has to get to me. 2+2, backdrifts has really caught my attention so far, oh and sit down too.

'we suck young blood' is a rare song, i dont think ive ever heard something like that before, and of course 'there,there' is a great song. But, i still have a couple more to go so i cant rate it yet. ill be back.

alrighty i just finished listening to the album and i didnt pay that much attention after 'there there' i dont know, but 'a punchup at a wedding' woke me up, i enjoyed that one but the rest after 'there,there' im not a big fan of, i guess i have to listen to it when im awake cause im about to knock out. Anyways, i rate the album prolly a 7 or 8 i dont know. I really like the transition that 'sit down' and 2+2 has, i enjoyed those two and backdrifts and most out of all of them.

;) oh and sail to the moon sounds a little familiar dont u think? :-o

whoah, got a little confused there, everything that ive said about backdrifts, i meant sail to the moon.

Ok i got the album last night ... and well i've had it on constantly. I managed to ignore the temptation of clicking a link and downloading it.

 

I did see the band on their "Club Tour" so i had heard several of the songs live ... and to be honest "The Gloaming" and "Mxyomatosis" sound a million miles better live.

 

"Where I End And You Begin" would probably be the best song title in history if they hadn't written a song called "Punch-Up At A Wedding". As far as my favourite song on the album goes i'm torn between four songs "There There", "2+2=5", "Sail To The Moon" and "Go To Sleep".

 

Oh fuck it ... the whole album is unbelievable a close second to Kid A, in the stakes for their best album.

no more thoughts...?

for those of you who said go to sleep and there there were the most acessible i'd have to disagree... heheheh

i've been forcing (trying to convert) people to listen to more radiohead and the first song i made them listen to was a wolf at the door because ITS SO DAMN ASSED CATCHY but then again im also biased because its my favourite song

 

but.. for some reason my friend (after listening) remarked "WOW.. it sounds so much like coldplay" AND I FREAKED OUT AND STARTED HITTING HER.. NO! IT DOES NOT SOUND THE SAME.. DAMMIT frickin people

but then she also said that (after listening to 50ft. queenie) PJ Harvey resembled Hole... coulda smacked her then too :lol:

i think im too violent

i dont think cuz me head blowed uppy

KA-POW :oops:

:(

Re: Hail to the Thief

 

This is such a wicked album, the songs dont hold together at all, which is unfortunate yet interesting. It IS like a colaboration of all Radioheads albums thus far, like a Bends tribute band meets an OK Computer and Kid A/Amnesiac tribute band, but dont be fooled, its not like re-hashed ripping off of themselves, its still fresh and quality. They've just resurected some of the factors we felt they were leaving behind, for example, the ability to rock, like, reaaally rock. I dont know if they ever have rocked like they have on this CD, not through the whole thing (As most of it ISNT rockin') but for a few examples, like 2+2=5, they just blow away.

 

And the more subtle songs are just excellent, like Sit Down Stand Up, Backdrifts. Songs like that are just too different than something like Go to Sleep, but theyre all great songs so I cant complain much at the same time.

 

Have fun come Monday/Tuesday.

wicked, my new favorite word :) ..great way to describe it

WICKED!! DUUUUUUUUUUDE... righteous

ya i agree ever since i first heard wolf at the door, i thoguht it was thom protecting his kid..i love that song

Scatterbrain is my favorite song.