Required Reviews

Maybe this will be a thing I'll do again, but I thought I'd check out some albums that I've been otherwise disinclined to listen to and give review of them.  This time around, I'll be reviewing Radiohead's OK Computer, Funeral by Arcade Fire, and Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement, since those three albums are generally held to be the best by those bands that are too indie mainstream for me (heh).  I'll go song by song to start since these are first time listens, so I haven't had time to really understand the albums in their entirety.

RADIOHEAD -- OK COMPUTER -- 7/10
First song "Airbag" is actually kind of interesting.  The apparent lack of a chorus, or at least the subtlety of that chorus is a really hit or miss idea, but here the song moves enough to keep from falling apart.  If I listened to it more, maybe I'd understand the words or find memorable parts.
"Paranoid Android" seems to be the most popular song from this album, and I thought it was "Karma Police" at first for some reason because I'm bad at listening to words.  It sounds a bit like if Blur listened to June of 44, and, probably intentionally, fails to have much emotional impact.  Even the chord change 4 minutes in pales in comparison to the likes of Suede, JJ72, or Sunny Day Real Estate if you're looking for feelings from your music, and also doesn't quite compare to Slint or Rodan for really experimental music, but if you want the latter with some rhythm, I could see why you'd like Radiohead, or at least "Paranoid Android".  The peppy guitar solo at the end enforces my assumption that the song is meant to be unemotional, perhaps a commentary on the emptiness of human emotion?  I'm not sure.  As an angsty fellow, to be honest I don't by into it, but the idea itself could have value for some listeners.
"Subterranean Homesick Alien" has a bit more atmospheric sound to it, fusing U2 to like Spiritualized. The part where Tom Yorke repeats the word "uptight" over and over again is pretty memorable, and the background effects give it a complex sound that fits right at home with the first two songs.
"Exit Music (For a Film)" is considerably less kinetic, and seems to be a transitional point in the album given the relatively complex structures of the previous two songs.  It slowly builds up, adding additional sounds until Yorke raises his voice about 3:30 in, but for me it doesn't quite have the intended impact, if what they were going for was something like "Dagger" by Slowdive as sung by Tom Yorke.  Different strokes, I suppose.
"Let Down" is my favorite song on this album so far.  Unlike previous songs, it has good movement and momentum as well as some body, enabling the gradual build up to have a solid foundation, where in other songs the beginnings are a bit daintier.  While the lyric "crushed down, like a bug in the ground" is not my cup of tea, I'm an admitted fan of a song with the words "slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball," so I'm clearly a bit biased here.  The pause in the middle of this song in no way impedes its impact, which is quite the improvement over previous songs in this album.  I might even go out of my way to listen to this song, though I feel like I want it to take off near the end and actually get loud, but beggars can't be choosers.  Nonetheless, a lift-off like at the end of Suede's "Still Life," which maintains a persistent rhythm like "Let Down" but grows to a more powerful peak, would be an improvement, but in such a case I think "Let Down" would feel like more of a finishing song, so allowing the song to continue into "Karma Police" without it feeling like the latter is mundane in comparison is the right move.
"Karma Police" is, so far as I know, the most popular song on this album, though whether this is in the same sense that "Wonderwall" is the most popular song on What's the Story, Morning Glory? or in which "Cast No Shadow" might be (is there a consensus on this question? All the people I know hate Oasis :[ ).  "Karma Police" has all the strengths of its predecessor, but it feels like this song has nothing to grow into besides adding more sound affects to the background, so I'd say "Let Down" is still the stronger song.  Half-way through this album, here are my not in any way final thoughts on OK Computer, resisting the temptation to define Radiohead by it.  Radiohead's sound is to be fragile and paranoid, but I think it really digs them into a hole at times.  There's a potential for some of their songs to really explode into something bigger and more effective, but instead they stay contained in their shell with just more sound affects added.  Does this maintain the desired aesthetic, i.e. would it be un-OK Computer to get louder? Maybe.  Do I listen to too much Suede, Oasis, and Idlewild to appreciate subtlety? Probably, my shoegaze and post-rock listening notwithstanding.  That's my critique of Radiohead though.  I can't quite say they're the best band ever.
"Fitter Happier" is the "Bank Holiday" of this album.
"Electioneering" has the energy this album really needed, and it might actually be the true start of the second half, with "Fitter Happier" being the album divider.  If so, it really explains Radiohead's purpose for this album, not to make a collection of good songs, because the songs are unremarkable on their own, but a cohesive album.  Finally the paranoia is actually being expressed with some sense of urgency, which I think was what had to happen eventually.
"Climbing up the Walls" seems to be a return to timidity and lethargy, however, which is not what I was hoping for to be honest, but I think maybe fits better with the real identity of this album.  That said, I'm not quite sure where the development of this album is coming from.  While listening to "Electioneering" I was expecting a quiet-bold transition over time, a bit like a backwards 100 Broken Windows, or like Swervedriver's debut, Raise.  "Climbing up the Walls" gets louder half-way through, but doesn't get any clearer
"No Surprises" seems from the beginning like it is the song meant to be the hit from this album.  I quite like it actually, much "Let Down".  It, unlike the other songs, seems frank and penetrable.  It actually sticks out quite a bit from the rest of the album, somewhat like "Love Steals Us From Loneliness" on Idlewild's Warnings/Promises which I will review later, and seems like it probably made the best single.  I can't see the rest of OK Computer following that model, because it really comes out of nowhere, but it wouldn't necessarily be unwelcome.  Considering Diary, but Sunny Day Real Estate as a comparison, it's often good to have sensitive parts, like "47" or "48," to break up continuity of one emotion - angst there, paranoia here.
"Lucky" is clearly a return to the rest of the album's sound, however, and sounds a bit like a slower "Karma Police", with a very Dark Side of the Moon aspect to it.  In fact, it's hitting me that OK Computer is much more a classic rock inspired album than an indie inspired one, which perhaps is why it's become so popular.  It takes old methods and applies them in new ways, as it's undeniable that the paranoid aesthetic is a unique one.  Aside from Parklife closer "This is a Low," it's a very trademark sound.
Finally, "The Tourist" slows the album down, helping it to cruise into its finale.  How does it some up this album? It's a very cohesive album, maintaining a consistent sound all the way through, but to be honest it's an album with no surprises.  I felt no urge to skip any of the songs, so the quality was very good throughout, but it was just not particularly interesting.  Granted, perhaps it's a challenging album - the first time I played Dog Man Star and Alien Lanes they befuddled me, but now they're two of my all-time favorite albums.  There were some very memorable moments on those albums though, and on this there are very few.  The impression that I get is that it's sort of a background music album, or that maybe it's amazing when you listen to it high or something.  My opinion, though, is that there are albums that would be good for that, like Souvlaki, Loveless, or Spiderland that are less boring.  8/10 for good but unremarkable, highlights include "Airbag", "Let Down", "No Surprises".

ARCADE FIRE -- FUNERAL -- 8/10
First things first, the titles are rather ambitious, which is definitely not a bad thing.  It just says, "This is a work of art", rather than a fun album like anything by Guided by Voices, Oasis, or Superchunk.  We'll see how it goes.
"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnel)" already seems a lot more enjoyable than OK Computer's first run-through.  It has pace as well as an apparent soul.  While I'm not a huge fan of indie-vibrato, I'll take songs like these warts and all.  It even gets louder over time without just adding more sound effects! I'm just going to say I don't really like Radiohead that much.  This is a breath of fresh air in comparison.  NOW THERE'S A CHORUS WITH REAL EMOTION!? I always found the hoopla around Arcade Fire a bit annoying, but based on this there's some basis for it.  It reminds me a bit of Jeremy Enigk's The Return of the Frog Queen, with its quaint instrumentals and bittersweet verses.
"Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" sounds very Talking Heads to start, but also adds a bit of the minor key sensitivity of "Neighborhood #1".  The album in general has what I might call a somewhat burlesque sound, like old impressionist paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec or Renoir that are set inside bars and clubs, with their shadowy and jagged faces obscuring some real soul beneath them.  The song builds up eventually into a semi-passion that takes away from this effect a bit, but the point stands.
"Un Annee Sans Lumiere" seems a bit brighter and more conventional, until it builds up to the fast paced bit at the end, which is exactly what OK Computer was missing when I listened to it.  Funeral has so far lulled me into complacency before upsetting it again, which makes it a more interesting listen.
"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" is much the same.  The intro begins with a thick and dramatic series of chords, but it develops into a more rounded sound that is neither upbeat nor dirgeful.  This movement that it accumulates throughout is also enjoyable.  While I have a moment, I should note the presentation of the songs - it's like a washed out lo-fi that instead of being a whimsical effect as in early GBV, fuses the singing into the guitar distortion, giving it a bigger impact.  This effect has also been used eventually in some of The Strokes' songs, as well as memorably in "Best of Friends" by Palma Violets.
"Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" isn't quite as interesting to start, with relatively mundane lyrics and a folky but drab presentation.  While it changes about halfway into the song, there's no real chorus to speak of.  Then again, this is the last song of Side A of the LP, so it's presumably meant to conclude the first half so that the second is more effective.
"Crown of Love" is also slow to start, and builds into a ballad somewhat reminiscent of some of the more sensitive Built to Spill songs, like "Reasons" or "Velvet Waltz," but with a bit less movement.  Rises and falls in dynamics add some interesting nuances, but both lyrically and musically it doesn't quite compare to the first and second "Neighborhoods".
"Haiti" I actually have on iTunes for some reason.  It's a more lush song, with a more impassioned apex than "Crown of Love", which perhaps implies that the next song will be the apex in terms of energy and emotion.  I'm not here to make predictions I suppose.  I will say that "Haiti" is a pretty good song and definitely more interesting than the two songs that came before it.
"Rebellion (Lies)" is a more fast paced song, and by the time the female background singers come it, there's some real energy emerges, but it seems to dissipate almost immediately when I want it to keep building.  My simplistic hook addicted brain can't handle this clever music.  That said, it does eventually develop into something with some momentum behind it, with the chorus of "Every time you close your eyes," so there is some salvation for me.
"In the Backseat" is the album finale, beginning with a sparkly falsetto from the woman singer in the band, accompanying it with a dainty violin refrain and a tip-toing piano riff.  A single guitar strum about 3 minutes in beckons a pretty noticeable crescendo that finally builds some real energy and a true climax, though I keep wanting it to get darker, louder, and deeper than it does, it still has its desired affect.
The only thing about this album, as well as with OK Computer, is that I can hardly understand any of the words, so they have basically no effect on me, which is somewhat sad.  They also apparently have a somewhat empty and quiet sound compared to a lot of the music I listen to, also limiting their emotional appeal.  Nonetheless, the composition at the start of Funeral is magnificent, and the crescendos in each song are pretty powerful as well.  The album seems to lose some of its momentum over time, a bit like in Diary or His 'n' Hers, though a bit more consistent, with no individual track quite equalling the likes of "Song About an Angel" or "Do You Remember the First Time?" but with the less memorable songs still being pretty good. Even so, it's still a unique and moving musical work and the start really is remarkably strong.  The quaint sound of the album is a bit timid at times, but often still imbued with heavy drama, especially in highlights like "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" and "In the Backseat".  While I think it's still hard to beat The Twilight Sad's Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters if you're looking for emotional, folky indie music, Funeral's melodiousness may give it an edge for some listeners.

PAVEMENT -- SLANTED AND ENCHANTED -- 8/10
I'm listening to this album on recommendation of a friend whose musical tastes generally line up with my own, so I guess my expectations are a bit different.
"Summer Babe (Winter Version)" is a solid opener - your typical lo-fi intro.  It seems to fuse Velvet Underground attitude with Archers of Loaf loudness and Built to Spill naïveté.  It's a catchy tune that has a lot of that lo-fi, attic tape charm to it.  I might not do this track by track because I realize that if I did that for other lo-fi albums, like Icky Mettle or most GBV albums, I'd be like "this song is kind of derivitive," for 3 or 4 tracks, which is actually part of the charm.  "Trigger Cut/Wounded Kite at :17" is even better, with it's bittersweet guitar bit in between the verses.  Each song morphs over time into something else, with "No Life Singed Her" beginning with an edgy noise-rock sound akin to the likes of "Me and You" or "Sick File" from Icky Mettle, but mellows into a more typical lo-fi song by the time the chorus comes in.  Similarly, "In the Mouth of a Desert" starts out slow and slowly gains energy.  The album, much like Icky Mettle, alternates sensitivity and edge in a way that accentuates each.  Overall, Slanted and Enchanted is a fun album with a bit of a heart to it as well.  There are some nice soft moments like "Zurich is Stained", "Here", and "In the Mouth of a Desert".  Lyrically, the content is random and nonsensical much like that of early GBV, but has a much more Americana feel to it.  All in all, it's a fun listen, without any particularly terrible songs as you might find on Guided by Voices' Alien Lanes or Bee Thousand, but without the incredible and obvious moments of genius on those albums.  That said, all through the album there's much to enjoy. Highlights include "In the Mouth of a Desert," "No Life Singed Her," "Zurich is Stained".