I’m not sure if I should file this under ‘Conspiratorial Artistic Genius’ or ‘Hobbyists In Need Of Hobby’ but, some intrepid Radiohead fans have begun peeling back the perceived layers surrounding the release of In Rainbows and its (supposed) relationship with 1997’s Ok Computer. From Puddlegum:

Radiohead: 01 and 10

Ten years after OK Computer shocked the world, Radiohead released In Rainbows on October 10 (10/10). Though no one was expecting the album to be released until 2008, Radiohead announced In Rainbows just ten days in advance. In Rainbows, which consists of ten letters, has ten tracks, and would be downloadable from a rumored ten servers.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg…

These guys at Puddlegum have been down this road before but, this time, they’ve expanded the theory to suggest that Ok Computer (01) and In Rainbows (10) are not merely distantly connected or companion pieces. They have, in fact, proposed that the two should actually be merged!

Radiohead – 01 and 10 Playlist
1. Airbag (OK Computer)
2. 15 Step (In Rainbows)
3. Paranoid Android (OK Computer)
4. Bodysnatchers (In Rainbows)
5. Subterranean Homesick Alien (OK Computer)
6. Nude (In Rainbows)
7. Exit Music (For A Film) (OK Computer)
8. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (In Rainbows)
9. Let Down (OK Computer)
10. All I Need (In Rainbows)
11. Karma Police (OK Computer)
12. Fitter Happier (OK Computer)
13. Faust Arp (In Rainbows)
14. Electioneering (OK Computer)
15. Reckoner (In Rainbows)
16. Climbing Up The Walls (OK Computer)
17. House Of Cards (In Rainbows)
18. No Surprises (OK Computer)
19. Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
20. Lucky (OK Computer)
21. Videotape (In Rainbows)
22. The Tourist (OK Computer)

Now, I wouldn’t send you off down a mysterious hall without checking it myself, would I? Yes. Yes, I would.

In this case, however, I assembled the playlist using the suggested 10-second crossfades and I threw it on my iPod for Monday’s train ride home. Turns out, it’s rather pleasant; quite like a collection of songs from your favorite artist that have been creatively sequenced…

The transitions are all, surprisingly, quite smooth and there do seem to be thematic similarities. (“Exit Music (For A Film)” > “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” is one of the more stirring juxtpositions.) But is the connection legitimate? I’m not sold. Dark Side of the Moon does sync remarkably well with The Wizard of OZ, however, it was not composed with that intent.

Another web poster with too much time on his hands has found that if you apply the idea of The Golden Ratio to the running time of In Rainbows. According to his post, you’ll find yourself queued to a point in the song “Reckoner” wherein the backing vocals begin to sing, “In Rainbows.” Crazy? Perhaps. But, honestly, a hair more believable than the 01 10 concept…

Stay with me. Now a further posting suggests that if you drop “Fitter Happier” from the 01 10 (or, as I call it, Ok Rainbows) playlist the golden section falls on the same point in the same song!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNOQUPmgbnY[/youtube]

From the film, π

I haven’t mapped either of those out but, I did cue to the point in “Reckoner” to hear the backing vocals… It might be rubbish. It might be real. It might be, as my wife suggested, akin to a schizophrenic delusion. Either way, I still love those two albums. And my new playlist is pretty ok, too.