Polish Avant Art Rock Composition?

Radiohead is one of those bands, man.

Radiohead is one of those bands that has a huge following of people who analyze everything they do and try to make a huge sweeping idea out of it all. And, from my experience, Radiohead is also one of those bands that is seen as “legit” in the concert music community. That’s interesting in itself, but it’s true that the music they produce is really quite great. I’m always impressed at how much I can discover when listening back through OK Computer or Kid A. And their latest record, The King of Limbs, has been a recent favorite of mine. Dear listener, if you aren’t a hip college student like I am, check out them Radioheads. It’s great stuff, from Oddslot Creep, to House of Cards.

But this is all beating around the bush to what I really want to talk about. I want to talk about Jonny Greenwood.

Greenwood is the lead guitarist/keyboardist/everything player for Radiohead. He is one of the big creative forces in the band, and as wikipedia informs me, was named #48 in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” That’s pretty high praise, there. He also does a variety of work alone. Notably, he was the composer for the soundtrack of There Will Be Blood.

So this guy is mad talented. But his latest solo record makes my heart explode with pride, as a “classical” composer, myself. He just released a solo record in collaboration with (wait for it…) Krzysztof Penderecki.

This is a big deal guys. Penderecki is a Polish composer, widely known for his piece, Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. The piece pushes the limit of what music is, what sounds a string orchestra can make, and also haunts my nightmares to this very day. But don’t take it from me, listen to it below, and be afraid.

(Composer nerd note: This piece is a great instance of what goes into a title. This piece was originally titled after the length of the piece itself-8’37”. Later, Penderecki changed the title to the very programmatic and evocative, Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. Is the piece less valid because Penderecki changed the name later? Is it still a lament for the victims of that horrible attack? How much does a title mean?!)

So that is a scary piece of music. An absolutely incredible piece of music, but by no means tame. And Jonny Greenwood released an album with this piece on it! The rest of the CD is another piece by Penderecki (called Polymorphia) and two original compositions (in a similar vein to the Penderecki!) by Greenwood, called Popcorn Superhet Receiver and 48 Responses to Polymorphia. And Greenwood’s pieces actually stand pretty well up to the Penderecki! That’s a pretty big deal, considering that Threnody is considered a staple of 20th Century Avant Garde Repertoire (too many qualifiers, there).

Take a listen to Popcorn Superhet Receiver….

(Also of note: Greenwood borrowed a bit from this piece in his score to There Will Be Blood. Interesting. Also might have cost him an Academy Award. )

I love this, though. The rock music industry and polish avant garde are not as far apart as one would think. In fact, the raw unpolished sound that Greenwood can get from his guitar in Radiohead isn’t too far away from the glissandos and rawness of this collection of strings. Music is music, regardless of what makes it up. And Greenwood is a shining example of that.

I encourage you all to buy the album. Because it’s really quite incredible and I doubt you have anything like it in your iTunes right now.