Style in "Idioteque"

In the song "Idioteque", Radiohead uses a slow electronic beat that gets chirpier as the song breaks into chorus, coinciding with their switches from serious situations to a few moments of relief.  Radioheads begins their song with a slow, mysterious beat to set the perfect mood for their opening lyrics about women and children going into a bunker first.  As the song moves into the chorus, the beat gets longer and happier to show the audience that although all of these negative things (nuclear war threats, Ice Age warnings, scaremongering, mobile takeover) are happening in our world, we are here, alive.  Radiohead also repeats the last line of every verse, differentiating between fading out and staying solid.  When the verse fades out, Radiohead is letting us know that these times have past, and when the verse repeats the entire line, these times are still occurring.  By repeating certain lines, Radiohead is also making sure that their audience is grasping and remembering everything about their song.  Lastly, "Idioteque" is ended with yet another mysterious beat that trails off with the line "the first of the children" to reiterate one of their conflicts and to also add to the overriding tone.      

Style in "Us and Them"

In the song "Us and Them" Pink Floyd has a unique style that combines soft tones and a psychedelic rock style alongside powerful lyrics to create a strong reaction in the audience. The song begins with gentle and soothing sounds that provide a false sense of safety for the listener. The song itself has an almost comforting and peaceful introduction which briefly eludes the seriousness of the song's message. When the lines "forward he cried from the rear, and the front rank died..." come in, the dynamics in the song changes to inform us that this is their main point. It is emphasized to amplify the effect of the anti-war message on the listener. In addition, Pink Floyd's use of delay in the vocals leaves words resonating after they have been spoken which can be interpreted as a the long-lasting and almost echoing effects of war. The placement of several saxophone solos in the song produces a somber and 'bluesy' sound that invokes feelings of sadness in the listener. Pink Floyd uses many different techniques from the dynamics of the song to the subtle musical effects to create a song that is left reverberating in the listeners head, each time enhancing the growth of a bigger and bigger question. A question that asks; what is the point?

Ethos in Radiohead's "Idioteque"

Thom Yorke, lead singer and songwriter for the band Radiohead, is outspoken against climate change and has written multiple other songs in protest. This establishes credibility through the fact that Yorke is a huge activist against global warming. His song "Sail to the Moon" is a very powerful song that is also about climate change. He also wrote songs called "I Will" and "Sit Down. Stand Up." which in protest against the deaths of women and children resulting from war and genocide. "Thom Yorke would like to see the world a better place and expresses his feelings about change through his songs. In "Idioteque", Yorke describes a world in which people are too consumed by their technology to deal with global issues such as climate change and war. Yorke then reveals that the world he is describing is our world today. The song itself is very eerie, almost scaring the listener to come to their senses about global issues. It has lyrics like "We're not scaremongering; this is really happening" which basically says, "We aren't trying to scare you, this is just the way its going to be if something isn't done to stop it." Thom's credibility as a global issues activist proves that this song is accurately describing the world and that we all need to put an end to some of these issues.

Ethos in "Us and Them"

Pink Floyd "Us and Them"

The ethos of a particular group has to do with the way they act and portray themselves to the public. So this article is more about the group "Pink Floyd" than their song "Us and Them." Pink Floyd released their first album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" in 1967. Ever since then, they have been gaining massive amounts of followers? But why, what makes this group of stoner hippies so lovable and cherished? What draws people back, year after year, album after album? It may sound cliche, but it's the way they sing, with magic in their eyes and a fire in their hearts, that makes them so appealing to the masses. I've never been to a show, but my uncle who loves Pink Floyd has been to several concerts. He says the atmosphere and the vibe of their concerts is so genuine and welcoming that you are just glad to be in their presence. The ethos of "Pink Floyd" is so strong that just by looking at them and listening to them play, you feel this warm, fuzzy feeling inside you. My uncle once came back from a show and told me to always surround myself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, he said, surround yourself with people who see the greatness in you, even when you don't see it in yourself. To this day, that has stuck in my mind. You never think people could have such a profound effect on you, until you see it yourself. I'll take my uncles word for it, and say that Pink Floyd has a warm, welcoming ethos.

Pathos of "Idioteque" by Radiohead

The instrumental of Radiohead's "Idioteque" features icy synthesizers that give the song a very eerie effect. It immediately draws the listener in, and then the demurring lyrics press even further upon them. The song kicks off with the lyrics "Who's in a bunker? Women and children first". These lyrics instill a sense of despair that comes with the great number of deaths of women and children that coincide with war and genocide. The lyrics "This is really happening" show the listeners that although not everyone is aware of how serious, not to mention unnecessary, the deaths of these women and children are, they are really dying. Global warming will eventually come to haunt us as well, as the song reveals with the lyrics "Ice age coming". The whole point of the song however, is that our ignorance only makes these situations worse. The listener feels a sense of disappointment in our generation, and in themselves, for their obtuseness.

Pathos in "Us and Them"

Pink Floyd's powerful song "Us and Them" appeals to pathos by drawing in and exploiting the emotions and imaginations of the listener to create vivid images that encapsulate the horrors of war. The lines "Forward he cried from the rear, and the front rank died. And the General sat, as the lines on the map moved from side to side" create a very strong image in the listeners mind that emphasizes how nothing is really accomplished during war. In these lies, Pink Floyd's message is that the battles rage on but neither side will win. The lines "moved from side to side" really mean that each country pushes to win battles but in reality, both sides are losing. Pink Floyd appeals to logos by reminding many of the listeners of the time period (1973) and the police brutality experienced during times of protest. The lines "haven't you heard it's a battle of words the poster bearer cried. Listen son, said the man with the gun, there's room for you inside" is open to interpretation. One possible interpretation of these lines is that the people who were protesting war were being threatened with jail time if they continued protesting. More specifically, the lines "there's room for you inside" could be referring to the actual prison. If you listen closely, Pink Floyd includes an audio recording of some sort which says, "I mean they're not gonna kill you, so give em a quick short sharp shock and they won't do it again, dig it? He got off easy cause I didn't give him a thrashing I only hit him once..." Pink Floyd added this after the lines "there's room for you inside" to create an even stronger appeal to the emotions of the listeners who themselves may have experienced police brutality when they were protesting. All these things, as well as the soft, sad composition of the song create a very strong appeal to pathos by inducing images and emotions within the listener.

Logos Appeal for "Idioteque"

In the song "Idioteque", Radiohead uses many terms and ideas that lead you to believe they know exactly what they're talking about.  The opening lines of the song ask "Who's in bunker, who's in bunker?" and then precedes to telling the audience that the "Women and children [are] first".  A few stanzas later they say that the "Ice age coming, ice age coming".  The only time in American history when women and children went into bunkers and the thought of an ice age was relevant was during the times of the Cuban Missile Crisis.  These are two specific ideas that occurred during the war and only a person who really knows what was going on would know these facts.  Radiohead also uses the term "scaremongering" to describe what the public thought of scientists views on global warming.  By including this scarcely used word in their song, Radiohead is showing their audience that not only do they have a clue on what has happened in the past, but they also pay attention to what is happening in our society now.