An Analysis of A Moon Shaped Pool

[@Stemp]

if you're just stumbling onto my channel now i'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe! i plan on doing more videos like this going forward and if you have any ideas on what albums/artists I should cover feel free to let me know!

[@kjl3080]

Octavarium by Dream Theater is a concept album that ties in a lot of ideas together but I can’t convince anyone of it- if you want you can take a look at it

[@kjl3080]

People say it’s not a concept album, but I’ve always seen the main idea is you create many ways to face adversity and cope (negative or not), only to end up where you started, with a better understanding of your place. Hell, the self titled closer says “we move in circles… the story ends where it begins” removing all interpertation needed for it. Even the album cover is a Newton’s cradle, a symbol of cyclic nature. Every song on the album focuses on this idea I would say it almost mirrors siddhartha by Herman Hesse in ideology and the Buddhist idea of samsara I’ve worked on a script for a video essay on it a year ago but I never finished it

[@Stemp]

I’ll take a look at it!

[@krishg602]

subbed! you did this beautifully...

[@MauricioJara]

The last album my dad listened to from Radiohead was TKOL and he’s been listening to Radiohead since the release of Pablo Honey. We recently got the album on vinyl, and I’m excited to see what he thinks of it! It’s definitely in my Top 4 of Radiohead’s discography

[@Stemp]

2nd favorite for me! Definitely an amazing album!

[@jackqtvsstuff715]

What did he think of it?

[@Exventory]

Decks Dark the 🐐no🧢

[@kjl3080]

I’ve always heard that

[@anabell7184]

I agree with David Byrne of Talking Heads saying that AMSP is cinematic. The album really feels like a movie soundtrack, and the highlights are 3 subtle piano tracks: Daydreaming = beginning, Glass Eyes = middle, True Love Waits = end. I'm sure there's a reason why they arranged the tracklist, that way, besides the alphabetical order.

[@g.labrosse8262]

I'd never noticed it was in alphabetical order before!

[@_Rosebud]

To me personally AMSP is in top 3 RH albums ♡ It is like IR's depressed big sister & its amazing

[@maxmoore5857]

‘True love waits in haunted attics. And true love lives on lollipops and crisps’ these lyrics are amazing. They feel like love lost as you grow older and away from being scared of haunted attics and away from the times you spent with them eating lollipops and crisps.

[@Frost-ze6rw]

In my opinion, this is the best Radiohead album. It brings everything full circle

[@realalienhehe]

AMSP is my favourite album ever and I glad you reviewed it. The quality is so cool!

[@Stemp]

With that username I think it only makes sense this would be your favorite album, I’m glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@travis4082]

There’s not so much said about this album. Thanks for the deep dive and for showing your love for it. It’s certainly made me want to listen to this one again.

[@homebase8999]

After watching this analysis and giving the album another listen, I come to love and appreciate the album more. Your analysis really changed my perspective of the album.

[@Stemp]

I’m happy to hear that!

[@GIBKEL]

It must have been quite a meal to take this bands discography in such a short time. When I was in school I devoured many a bands catalog. It can be overwhelming and intoxicating. I’ve really enjoyed these album thematic dissections as I’m a groove/sound junky. I pick up words, ideas and themes here and there but especially with bands I love, I just peek in, here and there. Radiohead have triggered immense emotion in me and it’s mostly evoked by sound. I have been suffering from an unknown illness for over 30 years that wasn’t diagnosed until last year but these sounds and vocals comforted and simultaneously exposed me to the core of what has been stripped away on almost a daily basis as it turned out to be a neurological immune disease. It has spared no part of me and is beginning to take larger bites at a time when I’ve never been happier yet more afraid and feel the loss so acutely. Maybe because Thom has always laid bare, a commercially risky artistic place to exist in, that somehow through transmutation, I’ve been given permission to purely be. It’s the only music that has ever affected me in this way, so ironically it has given me so much joy. Looking forward to others you might cover.

[@ljennn]

A fantastic analysis of one of my favourite ever albums. Add onto that a beautifully edited video and powerful backing audio that makes you feel the essence of each song as they're analysed, makes this probably my favourite video analysis of the many I've seen.

[@Stemp]

Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed!

[@hurrdurrimagrunt]

True Love Waits is just too much for me, man. It's one of the few songs I ALWAYS skip, and I honestly hope that never changes.

[@Bruceboot]

Video goes hard. Seems like a lot of effort congrats man.

[@TanguyBlanchard2]

Making it out the hood with this video mark my words

[@oscarriley9265]

Didn't realise how little views this had, it deserves so many more, it deserves to make it out the hood😢

[@jisef2270]

I really love this album, its definitely one of their best

[@Klui_]

Fantastic analysis, loved every bit of it. AMSP is a beautiful, heartbreaking album, and maybe my favorite from Radiohead (still debating with myself), it's darkness, it's pretty moments, it's lyrics and music, it's powerful and yet one of the most depressing things I've heard too. You put into words a lot of the thoughts I had of the songs (as a fellow Present Tense truther I salute you), great work, will definitely check out the rest!!! PS: The second I heard that first synth of Seeds of the Crown, I knew this would be a great video, love Hyper Light Drifter

[@the.derealizer]

this is probably the best analysis of amsp on yt, and i love the inclusion of the shoegaze version of true love waits.

[@inachos5759]

i love your videos and your commentary on present tense is perfect, i was really worried since it's my favorite song

[@elgatonegro1703]

99% of the time valid criticism of a song you love doesn't mean you can't still love it. That having been said, thank *fuck* Thom Yorke didn't go with 'Burn the (white) witch" as the title.

[@MicahBuzanMUSIC]

These are some of the best analysis videos I've ever seen. I really like your style and top notch editing. The amount of research you put into these pays off, and you manage to share your personal subjective opinions in a way that is always respectful and open to a difference of opinion. Please keep making these.

[@GIBKEL]

First your angry about the world, you become aware in, then life happens, and you become truly sad and disappointed. Aging has its ups but it has its devastating downs, health crisis you can’t overcome; relationship failures and death, and now this new social b.s that I’m engaging in. They’ve been with me from their beginnings and a fine friend to me despite my understanding of where I’m at on this crazy ride. Love the weird noises, the weird fishes.

[@lewisbaitup6352]

Present tense is definitly my favourite it just sounds like heaven

[@swagg3rcat]

Definitely a great analysis and video. Though the part where the Tinker Tailor analysis didn't take up half the video was kind of a weird choice. guess it was just that good that you forgot about it

[@mr.sadghost8507]

Yooo, shout out to the Hyper Light Drifter soundtrack in the background!

[@christiandelvalle282]

I like your interpretations and learned a lot. AMSP is my favorite RH album, alongside IR, and you just gave me further insights into it and I appreciate that

[@trentpelletier1477]

A wonderful analysis of a wonderful album! Thanks for this!

[@bambosgejming4358]

Tinker Tailor is my personal favourite

[@krishg602]

you have a nice narrating voice! this is my most favorite Radiohead album!

[@Stemp]

Thanks! One of my favorites as well!

[@DeclanVH]

You did such a good job with this video! I already love AMSP, but now I love it even more. Probably the best analysis video I’ve ever seen done on Radiohead, and it deserves way more views and likes than it has right now.

[@gregorysmith2005]

I feel the same way u do about present tense. It's incredible. And the outdoor sessions they did of the numbers and present tense are amazing! I really wish they would do more songs like that

[@tristynkelleynexus]

beautiful analysis. loved the format of this video and can’t wait to check out more of your stuff. it’s was haunting and calming through and through

[@morgothbauglir5054]

Thank you for making this video.

[@diegoceron23]

I see thay you used the True Love Waits (Shoegaze version) that's been around on KZbin, its such an awesome edit of that beautiful song, me being a fan of both Radiohead and Shoegaze, it such a perfect combination that I whis had more to it than just some few edits. Anyhow, just finished watching all your Radiohead videos and can simply tell that you gained a new suscriber, I like this kind of video of analysis and storytelling of an album, showing the history of each track seems really interesting to me, it would be cool if you could do it with the remaining Radiohead albums and other ones, guessing that you like Shoegaze would be cool if you talked about Loveless by mbv or Souvlaki by Slowdive, or even darker shoegaze like Deathconsciusness by Have a Nice Life or others you know really. Thank you for these videos I love them so much and good luck with your life and proyects!

[@Stemp]

I'm glad you've enjoyed! Deathconsiousness has been on the back burner for a little while now, once I get time to give it justice I will for sure make a vid on it!

[@clashpanda120]

Great video about a brilliant album. Thank you for making this, keep it up, love to see them all! Edit: I have to agree with you about Present Tense being my favourite too, I am a brit and haven’t heard of Tinker Tailor game but it seems like it could’ve been like the british version of eenie meanie miny moe catch a tiger by it’s toe… However what the great song is about has kind of been a mystery. There is not much to go of lyrically, but I personally think it’s about, that secretly there are some really terrible humans out there, staying hidden “in the shadows” or in the “holes” “out of sight and out of mind” such as internet trolls possibly, (which shares continuity with Burn the Witch) “the lonely” and “the one you light your fires to keep away” and just ignore “I don’t want to know”. It’s about the grime of mankind, and the careless who are manipulating and destroying the Earth, creating this post-apocalyptic imagery of the birds staying up in the trees and the fish swimming down to the deep, even nature has had enough of us humans, we are extremely close to ruining it all for everyone and close to going beyond the point of no return. Global warming is real, much to some fools disbelief. These are the ignorant who live in the holes, the grey expressionless silhouettes as seen on Stanley Donwood’s brilliant art work and talked about in Burn the Witch the ones being compared to babies crawling on their bellies. Thom turns the metaphors around on the last few lines, he talks on behalf of nature “come to me before it’s too late”. We must change our thinking, we the people have this power to shed light on this ignorance, and sometimes it can be as easy as just saying yes. That is my analysis on this songs meaning anyway, you may think I’m crazy, maybe just killing time, talking into a void, apologies for getting quite political but I think this was possibly Thom’s thought process in 2016 and it’s a shame to see that not much has really changed since then… Let me know what you think Stemp and thanks again for the video. Hope this song can click with you one day and you can appreciate it. 👍

[@Stemp]

Im glad you enjoyed and Thanks for the diffrent perspective! Sorry there were troubles with posting the comment!

[@clashpanda120]

@@Stemp Thank you. That’s alright, yeah I was worried for a min that it wasn’t going to work. Thanks for hearing me out.

[@spadesran]

Thank you for this great album analysis of one of my fav album! AMSP for me is their most heartbreaking and emotional album. My fav tracks are Present Tense, Identikit and True Love Waits (btw thank u for giving me another perspective on this song). Keep up the good content!

[@martinkojour8879]

Thank you so much for making a analysis of my favorite album of all time ❤️❤️❤️ "true content waits.... True content lives in stemp's KZbin channel

[@TanguyBlanchard]

Stemp more like the stamp on the letter that sends the youtube link to a great video to you

[@EchsYT]

Really good video, i can tell you put alot of effort into this one, good job stempy!

[@Stemp]

thank you sir !

[@PatrickCrawfordVideo]

Love your videos dude. Keep up the good work!

[@shiv2033]

I see Radiohead and I can't stop myself from smashing my thumb on the screen. RADIOHEAD IS A GENRE!! SUBSCRIBED👍

[@lolfind7]

wow this video is amazing

[@Stemp]

Thank you :)

[@Itsyaboy88]

Great job on this brother love the other ones too

[@sevenhinnov2180]

love this analysis!

[@ziademad4707]

I think Present tense is my favourite track from them , nice commentary tho , an analysis for ANIMA album will be great too

[@danielplainview2584]

3:10, adding on this, Thom is paralleling the Salem Witch Trials with the McCarthy trials of the 50s

[@danielplainview2584]

12:03 also -- the horn on Ful Stop is meant to sound like a train horn.

[@oscarriley9265]

Yep, a play called the crucible also ties those two in and essentially compares them

[@NarrowShouldersOpenMind]

Jesus was betrayed for six pieces of silver

[@raksasakirby3244]

CHANNEL NEEDS MORE VIEWS I WILL DO MY BEST

[@schwuischwui]

bro this makes me wanna decipher the lyrics to identikit

[@Stemp]

its about something thats for sure

[@kjl3080]

I’ve always thought identikit is literal- the person singing the song doesn’t know who he is or why anything means, and is rambling on in a fit of venting.

[@jamessandwich330]

This video is SOOOO GOOD! thank you for this. Just got the album on vinyl. What’s your personal favourite on the album?

[@Stemp]

Love present tense, so probably that! Glad you enjoyed!

[@justvic19]

Great video as always!

[@Stemp]

Thank you! I appreciate it!

[@oldchicken2]

Awesome breakdown!

[@okayandre]

THE LEGEND

[@Stemp]

no u

[@familiagallego10]

god its so beautiful, the music of HLD fits perfectly

[@dibs0equiped]

Best band of all time...

[@carloaldaysolis9650]

Great video, dude, congrats👌👌 No need to force that much the voice, tho, it's already nice.

[@oscarriley9265]

Underated

[@FrDynamiteTrigga]

Greatest video of all time

[@therealjohngalaxy]

Love this series. How about a video on Nick Cave & the bad seeds.

[@santiagorojaspiaggio]

Decks Dark always made me feel this kind of "Third Impact" musical sequence (from Evangelion) feeling. Even before i watched Evangelion for the first time. I'd LOVE this True Love Waits version, if it wasn't for that little throat thing that happens at the 2:02 of the song. One technical second that distracts me from the overall sensation/experience of the song. Without headphones you don't notice it as much though.

[@CatsBlox]

stemp!!!!!!!! lve your content man

[@Stemp]

Thank you!

[@martinkojour8879]

Hey stemp. What's that grungy version of true love waits in the end. Could you send me a link? 😊

[@Stemp]

Right here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5uVYn18qL5grK8

[@Noloveforspectre]

ever notice how the cover of AMSP looks like a heart or a head? a moon shaped pool of blood

[@christopherwillcock-irving8538]

Fun fact, the track listing is in alphabetical order.

[@MordykKateryna]

I LOVE Tinker tailor soldier sailor rich man poor man beggar man thief

[@MrRusCrack]

majestic casual

[@kaivarsano7663]

Can u pls do a video like that on hail to the thief? (Its my fav album)

[@Stemp]

At some point probably!

[@kaivarsano7663]

Great can't wait

[@Propulsion4]

I’ve been a fan of Radiohead since Pablo honey. Way Before the hit of ok computer. And now they aren’t just a band… (in a good way)

[@val777gray]

i never got why ppl don't like tinker tailor. it's an epic song with cool sounds and engaging arrangement esp with the strings. i always took the lyrics to depict the first interaction between dog and man, and this wild lovecraftian scale event of cross species friendship that shook the whole world and scared all the other animals. i think a lot of the lyrics kinda reflect that cataclysmic type shift.

[@alligator3904]

you should really do a vid on yellow house!

[@Stemp]

O_O

[@alligator3904]

@@Stemp interesting…

[@iysil]

I wanna put a comment if these tears let me see the screen.

[@naturalbrawler4311]

There's been some discrepancy between different lyric transcriptions on Present Tense. Some say "This dance" like the one that you used, but others say "distance," which, in the context of protecting himself from reality, makes more sense to me.

[@user-lc6np8rq4j]

I FUCKING LOVE IDENTIKIT

[@afnanrahmani4957]

hi. I really want to know what version of true love waits is that playing in the background in the end

[@Stemp]

it's a fan made shoegaze version, if you just look up true love waits shoegaze it should come up!

[@lestersmiley1781]

So burn the witch was about cancel culture and not the wicker man? Wow great analysis

[@metry]

omg first!!!1

[@barryjones2638]

Not much of an analysis of Rich man Poor man, that’s one of my favourites, if not my favourite track from AMSP!!!❤ seems like he was saving it all for True Love Waits!!!😒

[@eduardozepol2000]

Great video but that vocal fry is driving me insane

[@syphonunfiltered]

At ~3:04 you used "infers" when you meant "implies"

[@trendingtrash1170]

Thank you so much for this video!!!! Got all their albums and i had some pieces of information regarding a.m.s.p but this is like christmas in october!!! Respect sir