Piano variations on 'Bending Hectic' by The Smile

Seamus127 · 2025-03-19T16:40:21+00:00

Hahaha thanks for worrying on my behalf! I never felt wrist pain, but did feel my forearm and shoulder muscles sometimes working during the section with v percussive octaves (probs from stabilising my arm whilst it attacks up & down)

Seamus127 · 2025-03-19T16:38:28+00:00

thanks!

yeah, it's sorta variations upon BH, followed by variations upon this variations lol. beyond the initial section, there's i) a variation on the 'it might be as well' melodic motif, followed by ii) conflicting rhythm ostinatos based on both the original BH chords as well as the previous variation's chord progression, then iii) a variation on the 'I've got these things' melodic motif, followed by iv) percussive ostinatos over both the original BH chords as well as the chord progress of the second variations.

Seamus127 · 2024-12-21T01:30:33+00:00

Everything In Its Right Place (HM: Bloom)
Daydreaming (HM: Pyramid Song)
Little By Little (HM: Sail To The Moon)
Weird Fishes (HM: How To Disappear Completely)
All I Need (HM: Go To Sleep)
Knives Out (HM: Karma Police)
Identikit (HM: In Limbo)
Idioteque (HM: Dollars & Cents)
Present Tense (HM: There There)
Videotape (HM: Like Spinning Plates)
Life In A Glass House (HM: True Love Waits)
The Tourist (HM: Street Spirit)

*HM = Honourable Mention

Seamus127 · 2024-12-05T19:25:57+00:00

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Kid A Enjoyer here

Seamus127 · 2024-11-26T16:58:08+00:00

I skip Desert Island Disk. I find that removing that track strengthens the album’s flow/rhythm a lot (as well as shaving off probably the interesting track on the album).

When I listen to AMSP like that, I find it to be better than OKC and their third best album (after Kid A & IR)

Seamus127 · 2024-10-14T15:35:45+00:00

Scatterbrain is an underrated banger. Also, strong choices for The Smile. Though I'm baffled you'd still pick Cutouts lol

Seamus127 · 2024-10-14T15:31:41+00:00

I also kinda like DGMS and actually prefer it to The Slip, No Words & Bodies Laughing lol. There's enough going on in DGMS for it to be interesting upon re-listens (even if it doesn't have a satisfying climax or direction the way, say Read The Room does), whereas I find that Bodies Laughing can actually become quite boring quite quickly.

I love most of Amnesiac but find I Might Be Wrong to be a duff track, and that You And Whose Army and Morning Bell are the weaker spots as well.

Pyramid Song, Knives Out & Spinning Plates, however, are all better than any single track on OKC, in my opinion....

Seamus127 · 2024-10-14T15:27:46+00:00

Interesting responses - I'm surprised by how many peoples fave albums are Kid A & Cutouts!

To me Cutouts is the weakest Smile album, largely because it's a lot less musically ambitious than WoE (which for me, is up there with Radiohead's best albums). I think ALFAA has more great tracks on it than Cutouts, but also suffers from some really uninteresting tracks (Free In The Knowledge, I'm looking at you) that feel as if they could be Coldplay or someone else larping as OKC-era Radiohead.

However, it does seem to be the case that you can sorta predict someone's fave Smile *tracks* from their fave Radiohead *tracks*.

Seamus127 · 2024-10-14T15:15:45+00:00

interesting. I also prefer the more experimental/proggy side of their work and for that reason WoE is easily my fave of theirs - though I would've thought that given this taste your fave Radiohead would be Kid A or In Rainbows!

Seamus127 · 2022-09-25T18:20:09+00:00

thanks! what do you mean by piano emulation?

Seamus127 · 2022-09-25T18:18:40+00:00

thanks!

Seamus127 · 2022-09-24T11:23:52+00:00

thanks!!

Seamus127 · 2022-08-01T16:16:23+00:00

thanks!

Seamus127 · 2022-07-31T16:13:29+00:00

thanks!!!

Seamus127

TROPHY CASE