Fluxblog
May 16th, 2016 6:14am

The Touch Is Like A Breeze


Radiohead “The Numbers”

The first time I heard A Moon Shaped Pool I was walking through an unfamiliar chunk of West Hollywood at twilight, finding my way back to where I’m staying. I’ve only heard it in Los Angeles since, and I’m sure I’ll associate it closely with the city for the rest of my life. And sure, a lot of that is just how memory works, but I think it matches this setting rather well. There’s something in the negative space of this music that feels right here – other Radiohead records feel claustrophobic, but this is so light and airy, like it’s just drifting in a daze. The music is crisp and elegant, but Thom Yorke seems numb and disconnected. Most of the songs address his recent divorce from a woman he’s been with since he was still in school, and he sounds like a man who’s trying to figure out a new way to exist.

The circumstances of my life are very different, but that search for a new way of being in the world fairly late in life resonates with me a lot right now. One of my favorite things about my life in this moment is being pushed out of my comfort zone, and discovering that it’s not actually uncomfortable. I don’t think I’m about to make any major life changes, but it is nice to feel like I can change and adapt, and that there are other contexts I can feel at home in.

“The Numbers” feels like it’s in motion, it sounds like a feeling mid-transition. The piano notes and guitar chords seem to float in mid-air, and drift by in slow motion. There’s a lazy drag to this song, and it’s slightly at odds with the majestic string arrangement that drops in about two thirds of the way through. It’s like stumbling around in the dark, and making a turn around a corner to suddenly behold a gorgeous waterfall or a stunning vista. The sense of implied scale seems important, particularly in the context of dealing with loss and change.

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  1. Peter says:

    Yeah this song and album is great walking around town music. Breezy warm sounds.


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