31 replies to this topic

[cartwheels]

sure maybe i'm giving him too much credit. but i'm just realllllly digging thisshit.

[pokemon]

yeah, it's probably better than the Eraser but D&C calling him "a true EDM renaissance man" is ridiculous hyperbole. Thom's a pretty small and inconsequential fish in a big pond of awesomeness. Makes a nice change, really, from being Radiohead.

 

I think he is. What do you consider big, consequential fishes in the pond then?

[Pickled Dog]

well, pretty much anyone else ...? basically the majority of the people asking him questions in the second part of that Dazed article (which is why that bit's a little weird - it's like if the band came here and started asking one of us questions). plus others. 
 

you can think what you like about his own solo stuff - i don't rate it that highly, but that's just me - but even if you love it, Thom's not a big deal in that scene on his own merit. only because he's that guy from Radiohead. he's a fan of that sort of stuff obviously, and good friends with a lot of the big players, but that doesn't mean he is one. 

[Master Shortpants]

I don't know if you are considering caribou and Flylo the "big players" but caribou's "edm" album isn't some great shakes and Flylo albums are just a hot mess of decent unfinished ideas. If you mean guys like Aphex Twin or Daft Punk then well yeah, Thom doesn't have the chops solo. But fucking modeselektor/SBKRT or whatever, he's on par at least (never mind that most of these afp songs are um, actual songs with a melody and the works)

I don't really know where I'm going with this but I guess my point is Thom indulging in the edm scene isn't some arrogant fuck off like if a Bono or a Dave Grohl were to say "hey look at this bleep bloop record I made, am I 'in' yet?

[Pickled Dog]

Not FlyLo. FlyLo sucks. But absolutely Dan Snaith, His solo album had some of the best dance tracks of last year on. Might not have been consistent, but it was a damn sight better than anything Thom's done away from Radiohead. Also, the 7-hour DJ set he did to celebrate its release is probably one of the best things I heard last year. Also, Keiran Hebden doesn't really put a foot wrong ever in recent years. 

But there's basically anyone else. The UK has a really vibrant "scene" - I realise I keep using that word and it feels weird to type, but I don't know what else to call a large number of musicians making a similar type of music in one country at one time, probably more like a resurgent "movement" or something - and Thom just doesn't have a place in it. I'm not saying it's arrogant either. I really enjoyed the Dazed interview (some of his responses at least), but it's just got such a weird reverential, butt-kissing vibe that only seems warranted because of Thom's Radiohead chops (which he obviously can't shake off).

 

I'm just saying that I find it really backwards that Dazed has put him in the context of that article as "Thom Yorke: King of EDM", which, given what we have seen of him in terms of The Eraser, Atoms for Peace and his occasional (shoddy) DJ sets, is ridiculous. He doesn't put himself up there, but I'm sure Dazed wouldn't be the only ones (probably even a few people on this board would)...

I just don't see any reason whatsoever why?

[Jordasm]

No matter what he does he will always be the guy from Radiohead (And maybe that guy from Atoms for Peace soon).

He's pretty hit and miss with his DJing anyway, that Boiler Room set in particular was so horribly awkward to watch, and whilst I think the electronic stuff he's released is cool - it could obviously be better. He isn't a big part of the EDM scene and I think he knows that, he just occasionally likes dabbling in that area, it's a hobby. So yeah I think calling him a big EDM artist is a bit of a stretch.

 

 

Still, he's better than David Guetta so at least there's that.

[Master Shortpants]

He's a bad dj, just say it. It's the truth

[Jordasm]

From the Low End theory stuff I've seen he's actually seems okay? It's just that Boiler Room set which was an absolute fucking mess. I'm pretty sure during the AFP DJ sets he just kind of stood there too, occasionally pressing a button whilst Nigel did everything else. I think he has some really great song choices, but just can't really fit them together well?

[cartwheels]

THe boiler room set was kinda weird but this dazed mix is pretty smooth and he's got bravado in that it's fucking weird but it works.

[pennyroyalty]

It appears that the artists asking him questions are interested in what he's doing and the fact that he is Radiohead is no doubt a factor in that, what's the problem? Thom pushed the band down the relevant path and it's not at all beyond the realm of possibility that some of these artists are doing what they do partly because of influential ear-opening records like Kid A. Are any of these people making music that shits over Idioteque? I think not. A lot of The Eraser isn't exactly EDM in the first place and we haven't heard the AFP album yet. As things stand his role in that scene is mainly ambassadorial, obviously, but I don't exactly find it a remarkable notion that he's an influence on it, and that's mainly 'cos of his work as/in Radiohead but depending on where he focuses his energies that could change.

[Pickled Dog]

I totally agree that he's an influence - although, as much as I think Idioteque is a brilliant track, I wouldn't bit it above a lot of the stuff made by the other people featured there - but it's not the fact that they were asking him questions that I found weird, mainly the vibe of the main article. 

Just think "EDM renaissance man" is a ridiculous phrase to use in the context of Thom.

[Ed O'Beard]

anyone still got this???

 

and maybe the new radio session????

 

cheers