the king of limbs (2011): an interpretation

[autumnsoliloquy90]

So I finally got my hands on a copy of Radiohead's latest, The King Of Limbs. It's a well-known fact that a majority of this band's fanbase is obsessed with interpreting every album like there's some kind of a hidden groundbreaking message behind them, analysing everything from the cover art to abstract meanings of randomly-strung lyrics by English-language major Thom Yorke. Whether or not there is some hidden message to decode, fact remains that every album has an overarching theme. Kid A is IMHO the journey of a fetus from conception to abortion, OK Computer might as well be the soundtrack to Orwell's 1984, Hail To The Thief is a politically controversial anthem to the Antichrist, and this time, I think The King of Limbs is about the postmodern man's world, which the band describes through the imagery of nature.

{#1} Bloom

Open your mouth wide
The universal sigh
And while the ocean blooms
It's what keeps me alive
So I lose and start over
Don't blow your mind with why

I'm moving out of orbit
Turning in somersaults
(Turning in somersaults)
I dive into those eyes
(I dive into those eyes)
Jellyfish swim by

The track opens with a chorus of erratic piano chords which eventually give way to dissonant melodies. As the opening track to the album, it already gives the impression that musically, this album is pretty much drifting away from the style of the previous, In Rainbows. Frankly, I think "Open your mouth wide" is directed at Radiohead-obsessed fans who've been waiting in anticipation for this. "The universal sigh" is a dig at these fans perpetually wanking to Radiohead songs, debating interpretations and making meanings out of nothing at all, LOL. But, in earnest, I think the "universal sigh" refers to the postmodern man's discontent with his life. Or perhaps to mindless consumerism, which is "what keeps me alive"? It's interesting that this track seems to be harking back to the opening tracks of previous albums, especially to Pyramid Song ("I jumped into the river, what did I see? Black-eyed angels swam with me / a moon full of astral cars").

{#2} Morning Mr. Magpie

You got some nerve coming here
You got some nerve coming here
You stole it all
Give it back
You stole it all
Give it back

Good morning, Mr. Magpie
How are we today?
Now you've stolen all the magic
I turn my back, walk away

You know you should
But you don't
You know you should
But you don't

Good morning, Mr. Magpie
How are we today?
Now you've stolen all the magic
I turn my back all day

This is an upbeat track with a cool dancy rhythm. Magpies are known to be attracted to glittery objects and making off with shiny things, but as symbols they seem to be associated with luck and happiness. In Ancient European cultures, they are the harbinger of omens - Mr. Magpie is a prophet perhaps? A modern-day prophet who foretells bad events in the future and then enriches his Swiss-bank account when we "turn our backs"? "You've got some nerve coming here" reminds me of A Punchup at a Wedding.

{#3} Little By Little

Turn to nasty now
The dark cell
The pillar of my soul
The last one out of the box
The one who broke this spell

Little by little by hook or by crook
I'm such a tease
And you're such a flirt
Once you've been hurt
You've been around enough

Little by little by hook or by crook
Never get earnest
Never get judged
I'm no idiot
I should look

Your clue on hold, snapped up
Crawling with my love
The last one out of the box
The one that broke the seal

Obligation
Complication
Routines and schedules
Drug and kill you
Kill you

Little by little by hook or by crook
Never get nervous
Never get judged
I'm no idiot
I should look

Little by little by hook or by crook
I'm such a tease
And you're such a flirt

Jaded, much? This is my fave track in the album. It's all pessimism and totally devoid of idealism. It's about "the last one of the box" i.e. Pandora's box, describing the emptiness, the mundane stuff ("obligation, routines, schedules") of postmodern life. Subversively, by any means necessary, it will eat your soul up. It's classic Radiohead nihilism in electronica form.

{#4} Feral

You are not mine
And I am not yours
And that's okay

Please don't judge me

Simple lyrics but I love it. It is about commitment phobia? Or independence, belonging to no country, being no one's property? Being one's own person, an independent entity? Is the plea to not be subjected to judgement for having this opinion directed at society? The title is obviously the attitude with which this message is delivered. Non-believers of marriage and conventions might very well be singing along.

{#5}Lotus Flower

I will shape myself into your pocket
Invisible
Do what you want
Do what you want

I will shrink and I will disappear
I will slip into the groove and cut me off
And cut me off

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
And now I'll set you free
I'll set you free

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
So now I'll set you free
I'll set you free

Slowly we unfurl
As lotus flowers
'Cos all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if
Just to see what is
I can't kick your habit
Just to fill your fast ballooning head
Listen to your heart

We will shrink and we'll be quiet as mice
And while the cat is away
Do what we want
Do what we want

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
So now I'll set you free
I'll set you free

'Cos all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if
Just to see what is
The bird lights float into my room

Slowly we unfurl
As lotus flowers
'Cos all I want is the moon upon a stick
I dance around the pit
The darkness is beneath
I can't kick your habit
Just to feed your fast ballooning head
Listen to your heart

Released as a single before the album release, it's most noted for Thom's weird-ass-looking dance moves. The lotus flower is a symbol of sexual purity in Buddhism and Hinduism. I believe the whole song is a thinly-veiled euphemism for describing a dick ("the moon upon a stick") and the sexual act itself ("shape myself into your pocket"). In fact, it seems to be about nymphomania ("We will shrink and we'll be quiet as mice / And while the cat is away / Do what we want") and addiction ("I can't kick your habit"). Might it be a metaphor for religious euphoria - the attainment of Nirvana-like state? It's funny how it ends with an attempt at romanticism. It might be reflecting people's endless and sometimes futile search for the divine.

{#6} Codex

Slight of hand
Jump off the end
Into a clear lake
No one around
Just dragonflies
Flying to the side
No one gets hurt
You've done nothing wrong
Slide your hand
Jump off the end
The water's clear
And innocent
The water's clear
And innocent

"Codex" is another fave of mine in this album, with its melancholic passivity akin to Pyramid song. It might seem to be about suicide at first glance, but the general emotion here is emptiness loneliness. The imagery of "no one around, just dragonflies" is very depressing. The "clear and innocent" water may be describing lost souls or at least what they used to be at the very beginning, just like everyone else. A codex is a boon-binding method that was popularised through the widespread publication of the Bible -- the religious element tying it back to the message of Lotus Flower? The electronic birds sound that segues to next song is a cool effect.

{#7} Give Up The Ghost

Don't haunt me
Don't haunt me

Gather up the lost and sold
In your arms
In your arms

Gather up the pitiful
In your arms
In your arms

What seems impossible
In your arms
In your arms

I think I have had my fill
In your arms
In your arms

I've been told to give up the ghost
Into your arms
Into your arms

This is a freaky song, with the repetitive "don't haunt me" in the background. Giving up the Ghost is a euphemism for dying, but ironically enough, death seems to be presented in a more optimistic or uplifting light; it reminds one of Jesus or even a modern philanthrophist. "Into your arms" - whose arms? God's arms? Mankind's arms? The poor's arms? In any case, it seems to be about sacrifice. Death itself isn't negative; perhaps once again referring to attaining religious enlightenment, freeing the soul from the confines of mortal flesh? The whole album gives that psychedelic meditation feel, with its many religious symbols especially relating to Buddhism.

{#8} Separator

It's like I'm falling out of bed
From a long, weary dream
The sweetest flowers and fruits hang from trees
Falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me
It's like I'm falling out of bed
From a long and weary dream
Just exactly as I remember
Every root
Every gesture

I'm a heart in cold ground
Like I'm falling out of bed
From a long and weary dream
Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying

As my woman blows her cover
In the eye of the beholder
I'm a fish now out of water
Falling off a giant bird that's been carrying me

I fell open
I laid under
At the tip count
I was just a number
I want to tip it over
And lay back under

And if you think this is over
Then you're wrong
If you think this is over
Then you're wrong
If you think this is over
Then you're wrong

(Wake me up, wake me up)
If you think this is over
Then you're wrong
(Wake me up, wake me up)
Like I'm falling out of bed
From a long, weary dream
The sweetest flowers and fruits hang from trees

When I ask you again
When I ask you again
Wake me up
Wake me up

What an upbeat track to end with! A stark contrast to the rest of the album. It's like being in that limbo between deep dream and awakening -- where you know you're dreaming but not quite ready to give up the visual and sensory delights you're experiencing. It gives off the vibes of liberation and freedom ("Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying"). Perhaps it is related to the liberation of the soul that Give Up The Ghost seems to be longing for?

"Blows her cover in the eye of the beholder" - the glass has been shattered; love had made him blind, but he is blind no more hence the feeling of being like "fish out of water", of having "fallen off a giant bird". It reminds me of that movie "MIND GAME" which might as well have been called MIND FUCK, for it was probably conceived in the writer's head while on acid trip. "If you think this is over, then you're wrong" -- this is Aizen Sousuke's anthem, yo. Might have also been credits theme song for the film Inception.

The repetitive "wake me up" is ironic; being in that state of euphoric limbo, why would you wanna wake up? It's like one would rather give up the "sweetest flowers and fruits" of delusion in order to achieve truth -- if you ask me, this is a rather optimistic view of mankind to end the album with.

The King of Limbs

The two figures on the album art are freaky-looking like aliens or spectres with long limbs, with eyes that remind of "The Silent Scream".



Who is the king of limbs? Is he the King AMONG limbs, or the limbs are a descriptive feature of this royalty? In any case, apparently in the Savernake Forest in Wiltshire, there is a massive, decaying oak tree named "the King of Limbs."



So he's a leader of massive forest, a la The Ents from Lord of the Rings? Anyway, the site feelnumb has found the "King of Limbs" in Chapter 23 of the Koran as well:

The site of al-Khushoo is in the heart and heart is the king of the limbs, so if one intends to pray wholeheartedly the limbs will follow the heart as Allah says: 'And seek help in patience and Salaat and truly it is extremely heavy and hard, except for Khashi'oon.' The meaning is that the burden of prayer is heavy indeed; except for those who have Khushoo.

According to a definition provided by the Islamic Bookstore, "Khushoo means calmness, concentration, humility, and bring present-minded while performing prayers." It's crazy how much religious elements this album has.

THE HEART IS THE KING OF THE LIMBS

The heart/soul governs the person's actions - I believe this is basically the overarching message of the album, if any. Despite the very neutral-sounding electronic feel of the music, the whole album gives off the most feminine vibe among all their albums. Maybe it's the whole nature elements of water, flowers and zen. Fans are saying that this album reflects Radiohead's green awareness (hence the recyclable newspaper album), that it is a tribute to mother nature. LOL. Perhaps so, but I think beyond that, the animist feel to it is more a plea to encourage us to return to nature, because we've lost touch with nature? Whatever that means.

Radiohead is moving with the times. No other band has successfully mastered the Internet as a platform to interact with their fanbase. First with the online pay-as-much-as-you-want download of In Rainbows which was unprecedented and unheard of. Members of the band apparently occasionally post anonymously such as "Aporia" around active Radiohead fanboy forums like Mortigi Tempo. Maybe the whole newspaper thing was a just gimmick, but in any case, it does reflect Radiohead's quirky nature.

KOL is an amalgamation of different elements with distant relevance to one another which may or may not even be there, leaving it all up to the individual listener's interpretation. It isn't THE best or even one of the better Radiohead albums IMHO, at least thematically or musically speaking, but the different possible interpretations that arise from every listening through the whole album makes it one of the most interesting one from this band. It's not as restricted in scope as HTTT (which is obviously more political in nature), and in the linear history of the band's musical evolution, this is a watershed transition of the band into more serious experimental electronica, a departure from their more distinct unique style. Is this the future of Radiohead? Thom Yorke has been quoted before saying they don't need guitars to make music, because "tunes are dead, rhythms are the way to go".

Anyway, KOL is a breath of fresh air from the band, who IMHO never releases a dud. It's an acquired taste for me, like half-broiled aburi salmon belly sushi. Going back to the interpretation that KOL is about man's discontent with postmodern life, the king of limbs represents mankind. We have destroyed the trees (nature) such that we became the trees, living long sordid lives like the oak trees through our "modern advanced" medicine, populating the earth, grabbing and consuming everything with our long limbs, living dreary sedentary lives. But nevertheless, the album dishes out Hope: that in the end we may find spiritual meaning if we look for it. There are many ways; sex is one of them, reaching out to another person is another, so is the power of dreams. But it also sounds out a foreboding warning: "if you think it's over, then you’re wrong" -- what is it? The not-so-clear-cut suffering of mankind? Or perhaps it's, again, up to the individual to define for himself?

Final verdict: 8.5/10
Best for: music while studying, zoning out, writing, reading a book, traveling

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

hello, this is Ate. Why is your interpretation so long? Ah, you're such a fan. I lol'd at this: "The not-so-clear-cut suffering of mankind? Or perhaps it's, again, up to the individual to define for himself?"

I also liked the album but I think it's radiohead trying to be indulgent with their craft again. They always churn out good stuff but musically, this is quite "at ease"..that's why I liked it. It's shorter and easier to plough through than all the other albums.

Anyways I really liked Separator, Lotus Flower, Morning Mr. Magpie and Codex (in that order).