Morning Bell: Difference between revisions
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==Other versions== |
==Other versions== |
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"Morning Bell" has been covered by [[?uestlove]] of hip-hop collective [[The Roots]]. His smooth version appeared on a 2006 tribute compilation. A modern [[jazz]] version also appears on [[Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist)|Chris Potter]]'s 2006 release, Underground. Furthermore, the song has also been covered on numerous occasions by |
"Morning Bell" has been covered by [[?uestlove]] of hip-hop collective [[The Roots]]. His smooth version appeared on a 2006 tribute compilation. A modern [[jazz]] version also appears on [[Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist)|Chris Potter]]'s 2006 release, Underground. Furthermore, the song has also been covered on numerous occasions by mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 03:20, 29 November 2007
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2007) |
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"Morning Bell" is the ninth track on the Radiohead album Kid A (2000), also found in another version on Amnesiac (2001). The song is linked to the previous song on the album "Idioteque" by a transition. The sampled electronic sounds of "Idioteque" continue as they are absorbed into the beat of "Morning Bell."
Two versions
According to Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, the song went through many stages, and the Amnesiac version was actually the first to be written, before being "lost" and then suddenly remembered again, leading to the other version. Both versions were committed to tape during the same period of recording sessions in 1999–2000 (along with the rest of the material on both albums). However, the Kid A version was released first and is better known. It also forms the basis for the song's live performances.
Driven by electric piano chords played on a Rhodes, "Morning Bell" as it appears on Kid A is in a 5/4 time signature, with the fifth ('extra', as it were) beat filled in with a drum roll. A programmed drum machine is used in the album version, but in live concerts the tense pattern is played by drummer Phil Selway.
In contrast, the Amnesiac version (officially identified as "Morning Bell/Amnesiac") is based in common time, features desolate acoustic orchestration (including organ) and no audible percussion. This version is also one minute and fifteen seconds shorter and lacks the climactic ending, however, the rest of the lyrics are unchanged.
The band has described[citation needed] Kid A and Amnesiac as two very distinct albums, although products of the same recording sessions, with "Morning Bell" providing an intentional link.
The song
Thom Yorke, who wrote the song, said in an interview that the lyrics were 'extremely violent'[1]. The song contains lines like 'cut the kids in half', in contrast to its quiet yet hypnotic melody. Allegedly[citation needed] benefiting from the Dada method of cut-up poetry, "Morning Bell" has been taken as a typical example of Radiohead's cryptic style on Kid A, privileging atmosphere and sound over literal sense.[1]
Whatever the song's meaning, "Cut the kids in half" may be[citation needed] a reference to a scenario from the Bible in which two women are fighting over custody of a baby and the wise King Solomon is asked to adjudicate. He proposes a fair solution: that the child be cut in two and one half be given to each woman. Shocked by the cold logic of such a proposal, the real mother attempts to save her baby's life by saying she would rather have the baby be alive with the other woman than be cut in half. King Solomon sees that she is the real mother and gives her her baby.
When asked about the relationship, if any, between Kid A and Amnesiac, Yorke described the albums themselves as "twins, separated at birth."[citation needed]
Other versions
"Morning Bell" has been covered by ?uestlove of hip-hop collective The Roots. His smooth version appeared on a 2006 tribute compilation. A modern jazz version also appears on Chris Potter's 2006 release, Underground. Furthermore, the song has also been covered on numerous occasions by mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile.