If you've ever grown tired of Radiohead's eight LP's, then you have no doubt probably ventured into their many b-sides. These b-sides range from elegant movements and acoustic works that would fit perfectly on any album, to haunting ambient pieces and spastic creatures that wouldn't seem to fit comfortably on any official Radiohead release. Hell, they even have a Dick Dale-inspired surf rock jam. And it's great.
Having such a wealth of unused material just extends and deepens the charm of Radiohead, and further shows that while they may not commit everything to an official record, they're not afraid to lay down pretty much anything to a track. This is not a trend that one should expect to stop. Much of the controversy over King of Limbs was its short duration in addition to it lacking many of the songs that Thom Yorke had been playing for a year or two. Now it appears that some of these songs are beginning to see the light of day. Just yesterday we got "Staircases", recorded for Radiohead and Nigel Godrich's internet show, From the Basement. It's a synthy-piece, and not too far removed from the sounds of King of Limbs. Which begs the question; why the hell wasn't this one on the album? It's damn good, and easily better than the "Morning Mr. Magpie" frankenstein monster or the schizophrenic "Feral" (these are my only two real complaints with the album--I loved it past those. Your opinions may, and probably will, differ).
Expect more questions of these types to come up, since it's also been announced that fan favorite "Daily Mail" was recorded during these sessions as well. This is one of the most glaring omissions to TKoL's tracklist, so I'm really excited to finally hear a full-band version of it. They haven't announced when this song, and the rest, will be available. There seems to be some sort of embargo with BBC for now, so it's possible it may end up on British television before it hits the web. Either way, more exciting stuff coming from the Radiohead camp!
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