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Radiohead KidA

lamstonite

Entry posted by lamstonite

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(5 weeks and 1 day ago we had a baby called Katie, she's lovley and beautiful and is begining to smile and react to things.....)

Radiohead: KidA

When Radiohead started they were a normal, if a little shite, indie band with 1 or 2 (depends on who you ask) decent tunes. They got played on MTV and seemed to fit in and look odd all at the same time. Then they released The Bends and became huge to the People Who Knew. It was a cracking rock album angsty, vunerable, nonsense, gentle. They did cool wierd videos and hung out with REM. Things were looking up.

Then they went and released OK Computer and people litteraly creamed themselves listening to it. It was (and still is, unlike its predeceser) genius. It was unlike anything else heard before and in a time of bland Britpop it sounded like a spaceship had reocorded it. It made Radiohead so big that these days people denounce their new records without hearing them. Everyone had an opinion wether it was that they were genius, dull and depressing or "that weird bloke with the funny eye, the one who drowns in that video for that boring song". I read somwhere that at one point they did actually rule the planet.

They toured and toured and got praised and praised and praised and got totaly sick of it all.

So they released a follow up which was pretty much as uncommercial as could be. It had Electonic tunes on there, pieces rather than songs, spooky cover art, it was recorded with a Sister album and nearly broke the band up. Alot of the songs had half the band absent from the recording, or at least playing a table leg or something. It split their fan base in 2. It was a rather brave release for them.

I can't explain why i like certain music that well, but the mood of this album was perfect for me at the time. I liked the fact that lots of people hated it. I liked the fact that it was 2 fingers to the industry. But mostly i like the tunes. I hadn't come across a band before who melded electronic and rock music so well. Who's music was just what i needed at the time.

The songs had wicked beats, weird vocal effects and soothing sounscapes. It had only 2 conventional 'Rock' songs which were swampy and huge and scary.

I still play it alot now and its one of few albums that can still make me shiver, theres so much beauty hidden in there.

Radiohead haven't come close to being this good since. They've had thier moments (There There, 2+2=5) but for me i could never hear another Radiohead album again and they would still be one of my favourite bands, just because of this album.

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PeterD

I dont say it to be contrary, but I really think after the bends they became so really bad. Tunes disappeared and to me at the very least it was like a droning blippety-blip ness wrapped up in avant garde pullovers. There is a song by ballboy that's called avant garde music....

The girl who works in the record shop

She says that I am not avant garde enough

Well so what

She only works in a record shop

She only works in a record shop

And I don’t give a f**k what she says or she thinks about me

Essentially he is saying, you are retail, dont lecture me. You ONLY work in a record shop.

I think that goes some way to expressing what I feel about radiohead, they released a debut that was a pretty ok indie rock album, they released a follow up that was stunning, and then it seemed as if they actively went out of their way to alienate fans, but they didnt, they wrote albums that are hailed as critical masterpieces and have sold bucketloads, they just alienated me.

They only write pop songs is how I view them.

I am not adverse to challenging music, I have sonic youth albums, I have yo la tengo doing sun ra , I have more american analog set than a normal person should have, but I guess I just dont get kid a, ok computer, in rainbows or hail to the thief. The odd thing is, lisa doesnt like them or my music loving buddies either.

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lamstonite
seemed as if they actively went out of their way to alienate fans, but they didnt, they wrote albums that are hailed as critical masterpieces and have sold bucketloads, they just alienated me.

i think they activley went out of their way to move forward with their music, and not go over old ground. It was bound to alienate some people but for them as a band they needed to do it.

I'm sure you rather they did that than release The Bends.2 and.3 and.4 etc

but i'm sure we could argue Radiohead all day long :(

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