The general facts, as I understand them: Thom Yorke separated amicably from his partner of 23 years and mother of his two children. Shortly thereafter she died of cancer. I don't know when this song was written in this timetable, but it's such a powerfull distillation of both loss and possibility, "switching on a light, one I didn't know." It has to be very dark before that light is switched on... "Let me go upon my way."
Lyrically and musically, this is among the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It captures a type of optimism born out of sadness, with a spirit of surprise at what's possible in life. It makes me think of moments when I stand outside looking at the night sky, watching my breath in the cold air, comparing the vastness above to the warmth of my home and family a few hundred feet away. Comparing the days when I didn't even know what I was looking for to the present, when on some days I feel like I've found everything I need. "Different types of love are possible." Will I someday look back on these times comparing what I've lost to what I once had?
My personal experience with this song: No band has moved me with their music as much as Radiohead over the past 20+ years, but somehow I missed "A Moon Shaped Pool" - never really digested it. And haven't listened to Radiohead much recently. But with the release of the Radiohead Public Library I've revisited everyhing and rediscovered that no other band's music suffuses me with as much pure emotion as Radiohead. And to discover that "Desert Island Disk," a song I somehow missed is as good as anything I've ever heard? Just, wow, thanks Radiohead. This is why we listen.
The general facts, as I understand them: Thom Yorke separated amicably from his partner of 23 years and mother of his two children. Shortly thereafter she died of cancer. I don't know when this song was written in this timetable, but it's such a powerfull distillation of both loss and possibility, "switching on a light, one I didn't know." It has to be very dark before that light is switched on... "Let me go upon my way."
Lyrically and musically, this is among the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It captures a type of optimism born out of sadness, with a spirit of surprise at what's possible in life. It makes me think of moments when I stand outside looking at the night sky, watching my breath in the cold air, comparing the vastness above to the warmth of my home and family a few hundred feet away. Comparing the days when I didn't even know what I was looking for to the present, when on some days I feel like I've found everything I need. "Different types of love are possible." Will I someday look back on these times comparing what I've lost to what I once had?
My personal experience with this song: No band has moved me with their music as much as Radiohead over the past 20+ years, but somehow I missed "A Moon Shaped Pool" - never really digested it. And haven't listened to Radiohead much recently. But with the release of the Radiohead Public Library I've revisited everyhing and rediscovered that no other band's music suffuses me with as much pure emotion as Radiohead. And to discover that "Desert Island Disk," a song I somehow missed is as good as anything I've ever heard? Just, wow, thanks Radiohead. This is why we listen.