radiohead : faust arp

Radiohead – Faust Arp.mp3

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One two three four…
Faust Arp is the sixth track on Radiohead’s seventh full length album In Rainbows and is my personal favorite song of the album. Being the only song that die-hard Radiohead fans had never heard previous to the album’s release, Faust Arp was anticipated to be a musical interlude, a throw away (ala Hunting Bears). No one would have expected that Faust Arp would be one of the premier tracks of the album. Below is a brief description of the track.

Thom begins by delicately placing the lyrics in succession, all the same note (F#), with occasional harmonies (B), until the lyrics “reasonable and sensible” (“duplicate and triplicate” in verse two) where he climes chromatically until reaching the culmination (B). Just after reaching the climax Thom returns, settles, and ends the verse. All the while Thom is articulating the subtle lyrics with simplicity, his voice is enveloped with a string quartet’s spinning harmonies and the guitar’s syncopated chords. For the conclusion, “You’ve got a head full of feathers, you got melted to butter” Thom joins the strings, spanning the octave. Finishing the theme, the lower strings settle together.

Also, on the note of In Rainbows, Puddlegum has an interesting article about the album and the hidden meaning / interpretation, especially in relation to OK Computer. Another interesting find over at Mortigi Tempo; it seems there is a ‘hidden’ background chorus at aprox. 2m49s into Reckoner, which happens to be the golden ratio of the album. Interesting stuff.
radiohead.com – faust arp chords – faust arp lyrics