#14 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Thom Yorke

Anima by Thom Yorke

Let’s start this review by stating the obvious: Radiohead is my #1 favorite band of all time. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying their albums since 1995’s The Bends, and if you’re counting (I always am), that’s 25 years of bias. So please take this “review” with a grain of salt.

Whew, ok, glad I got that off my chest. Now on to the absolutely stellar album from Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke. Anima is Yorke’s fourth solo album, including his 2018 soundtrack to the movie “Suspiria” (#22 that year). In addition to that, Yorke (solo and with his bands Radiohead and Atom for Peace) has appeared on the Top 31 many many many many many times. His solo albums don’t tend to veer too far off the path of what Radiohead does as a band, but I think it’s safe to say that Yorke’s bandmates add warmth to his otherwise cold, distant, disconnected electronic music.

Cold, disconnected music is not a bad thing (obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t love Yorke and Radiohead so much), and Yorke knows how to exploit those dark emotions in ways unlike anyone else out there. Whereas greats like Bowie and Prince would take cues from shifts in the musical landscape and perfect it, Yorke has found his niche and stays firmly planted there, never straying. He is a genre unto himself, wholly non-categorizable.

He is also a master of the visual form. For this release, he worked with one of my favorite directors, Paul Thomas Anderson, to create a 15 minute short film, or long form music video, if you will. The video is only viewable on Netflix, but I do highly recommend watching it if you have a subscription and 15 minutes to spare. Additionally, he released the above animated video, for the song “Last I Heard (…He Was Circling The Drain).” I devoured every second of it when it came out.

By now you know who Thom Yorke and Radiohead are, and you know if you like him. This album is not going to change your opinion of him in the slightest. Chances are, if you’re a fan, then you’ve already heard it. In fact, if you’re surprised to hear that Yorke released an album in 2019, I’d love to hear how you remained in the dark for so long!

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15. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Parts 1 + 2 by Foals
16. Gallipoli by Beirut
17. My Finest Work Yet by Andrew Bird
18. Four of Arrows by Great Grandpa
19. Designer by Aldous Harding
20. Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey
21. Our Pathetic Age by DJ Shadow
22. Juice B Crypts by Battles
23. Pony by Orville Peck
24. Hyperspace by Beck
25. Eraserland by Strand of Oaks
26. Dogrel by Fontaines DC
27. You’re the Man by Marvin Gaye
28. Big Wows by Stealing Sheep
29. 1000 gecs by 100 gecs
30. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights by The New Pornographers
31. Radiant Dawn by Operators

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2009-2018 Top 31s

#3 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead

Radiohead have only been on the Top 31 twice, both times in 2011, which is when The King of Limbs and its remix album, TKOL RMX 1234567, their previous albums to A Moon Shaped Pool, came out. But the band’s members have been on the Top 31 a few more times:

• Jonny Greenwood in 2012 with his score to The Master
• Tom Yorke’s side project Atoms for Peace with AMOK in 2013
• And Jonny Greenwood again, this year, with his collaboration Junun

A Moon Shaped Pool is a great album, and it’s a great Radiohead album. You can see other videos from the album here and here. I don’t really need to say anything else about it.

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4. Blonde by Frank Ocean
5. Are You Serious by Andrew Bird
6. Lemonade by Beyoncé
7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
12. Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer
13. Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones
14. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
15. Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit
16. Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses
17. Not To Disappear by Daughter
18. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
19. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

#8 on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar

AMOK by Atoms for Peace

Thom Yorke slays me. Throw in master producer Nigel Godrich, amazing session drummer Joey Waronker, percussionist Mauro Refosco, and Flea, and, well, you’ve got the makings of the #8 album of the year. But you’ve already heard and formed your opinions about this album, and nothing I say or do here will sway that. You either like Atoms for Peace or not.

The video above is not the best video from the album (see either “Ingenue” or “Before Your Very Eyes” for that honor), but “Default,” the song the video is for, is by far the best song on the album.

I had the enormous pleasure of seeing Atoms for Peace play the Treasure Island Music Festival back in October. But that pleasure was dwarfed by the sheer joy of getting my hands on one of the 100 “Judge, Jury and Executioner” 12" vinyl singles in a hand-printed sleeve that was sold only at Sonic Boom Records back in March (as chosen by Thom himself). It’s been an Atoms for Peace kind of year.

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9. White Lighter by Typhoon
10. Hummingbird by Local Natives
11. If You Leave by Daughter
12. Pedestrian Verse by Frightened Rabbit
13. The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River
14. The Next Day by David Bowie
15. Reflektor by Arcade Fire
16. We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic by Foxygen
17. Lanters by Son Lux
18. Howlin’ by Jagwar Ma
19. Impersonator by Majical Cloudz
20. Dream Cave by Cloud Control
21. Mole City by Quasi
22. Phantogram by Phantogram
23. Julia With Blue Jeans On by Moonface
24. Uncanney Valley by The Dismemberment Plan
25. Event II by Deltron 3030
26. Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots
27. Us Alone by Hayden
28. Pure Heroine by Lorde
29. Shaking the Habitual by The Knife
30. False Idols by Tricky
31. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart

2012 Musical Bacon Calendar
2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar

#22 on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar

Phantogram EP by Phantogram

The band here at #22 on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar is one of those bands that, when I heard them on the radio I’d say to myself “Man, I really like this song. Who sings this?” and it would almost always be Phantogram. This must have happened at least a dozen times. And even though the band has been putting out music for the last four years, 2013 was the year I started really paying attention.

I had the luxury of seeing the duo from Saratoga Springs, NY, at the amazing Treasure Island Music Festival down in the Bay Area back in October, where they opened for a little band called Atoms for Peace. They must have been super stoked to be there, because they blew everyone away by their light-show hard rock ’n’ roll extravaganza stage presence.

Then, three weeks later I had another opportunity to see them play, headlining one of the five amazing shows Barsuk Records hosted in celebration of the Seattle label’s 15th Anniversary. This time around the band had some extra players with them, and they once again blew us all away. And this was after we had just seen amazing band after amazing band leading up to Phantogram’s headlining slot. (I’d like to see you try and follow Menomena and manage to maintain the audience’s attention.)

While the band hasn’t released a full-length album since 2009’s Eyelid Movies, they’ve continued to keep their fans satiated by releasing four EPs, with the 2nd self-titled EP being the record that came out this year and made the Calendar. Just this evening, about 3 hours ago, the band announced their new full-length album Voices will be released on February 18. I’ve already reserved a slot on the 2014 Musical Bacon Calendar for it.

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23. Julia With Blue Jeans On by Moonface
24. Uncanney Valley by The Dismemberment Plan
25. Event II by Deltron 3030
26. Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots
27. Us Alone by Hayden
28. Pure Heroine by Lorde
29. Shaking the Habitual by The Knife
30. False Idols by Tricky
31. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart

2012 Musical Bacon Calendar
2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar

This new video from Thom Yorke’s side project Atoms for Peace came out a few weeks ago, and I missed posting about it until now. I love the combination of CGI, motion-capture and stop-motion animation in this video. But if you know anything about me, it’s hard for me to say a disparaging word about anything Mr. Yorke does.

I’m not proud.

You can also watch a brief video about the making of the video above, if you’re into that kinda thing.

Great little professional live video from Atoms for Peace’s club performance last month. SO looking forward to finally getting to see this lineup at the Treasure Island Festival down in the bay area in October.

Here’s Thom (Yorke) and Nigel (Godrich), two fifths of Atoms for Peace, doing a live DJ / video show at Le Poisson Rouge. What I would give to have been at (or to see in the future) this show.

Not sure whether the hashtag should be #superfan or #stupidfan (probably both), but I just acquired one of 100 hand screen-printed (by Thom himself) Atoms for Peace Judge Jury and Executioner 12-inches.

Here’s another music video featuring Thom Yorke dancing, this time for Atoms For Peace’s “Ingenue.” Yorke isn’t necessarily a bad dancer, but when paired up against a professional, Random Dance Company’s Fukiko Takase, his moves become less “I love when he’s crazy” and more “that’s just terrible.”

Another song from the forthcoming Atoms For Peace record Amok: “Judge Jury and Executioner.”

Pretty damn excited for this one.

Thom Yorke’s side project Atoms For Peace has launched a pretty amazing side-scrolling website to announce the launch of their upcoming album Amok, coming February 25. The song above, “Default,” is pretty good and falls right in with Yorke’s solo work as well as some Radiohead stuff, too.

The band has a pretty stellar lineup (as spelled out here):

Thom Yorke: Vocals Keyboards Programming and Guitars
Nigel Godrich: Production & Programming
Joey Waronker: Drums
Mauro Refosco: Percussion
Flea: Bass

And apparently they’re going to tour very soon. Strangely, this post just showed up in my RSS feed, but it’s dated December 4. Not sure if I’m the only one receiving it late, or if it was back-dated and truly posted today for some reason. Strangeness. Loving the music, though.