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Splendid Theory

Thom Yorke

The White Stripes,“Red Rain”
Jack White, looking creepy as ever with his pencil ’stache, does what he does best, kicking out the heavy-as-hell slide-guitar blooze while Meg pounds along, bouncing up and down on her stool and giving the crash cymbal a rest every now and then to bang out the song’s two main hooks on the bells.

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, “Mom’s Marmalade”
British electronic-musician Kieran Hebden (a/k/a Four Tet) and veteran free-jazz drummer Steve Reid, who released two collaborative albums last year, do their improv thing, with Hebden layering high-pitched bleeps and airy whirs over Reid’s relatively straightforward jazz rhythms. Nothing amazing about the music, but it’s exciting to see an old cat like Reid interact with a young dude like Hebden.

Thom Yorke, “Videotape”
In his solo vocals-and-piano rendition of this new Radiohead tune, which the band played on their spring/summer tour last year, Yorke distills the song’s base elements: its unusual chord structure and haunting melody. The only hint of its tricky off-beat rhythm is Yorke’s barely audible foot tapping.

Thom Yorke, “Down Is the New Up”
Another song that Radiohead introduced on last year’s tour, “Down Is the New Up” is one of the best of the new lot. Yorke gives an emotive performance, half-sneering and half-laughing as he sings, “Your future’s bleak/You’re so last week.”