# Is Radiohead that good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343 "2003-06-12T15:19:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/21 "2003-06-12T22:11:21Z")
My semi-educated opinion: they take themselves too seriously. They make some good music sometimes but I get bored and mildly annoyed with bleak lyrics and instrumentation. I’ll keep listening to them casually but so far label me unimpressed. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/22 "2003-06-12T22:38:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nitroglycerine \* > \*\*OK. Here’s my two cents. Radiohead is just…boring. I’ve tried to listen to all of their albums but I always end up putting something else on. Its not that I think they suck, cause I dont. Its not that they’re dark and brooding or whatever…I love Joy Division. They just don’t inspire any feeling at all in me, other than boredom. > > I just don’t understand how they’re at the top of every critics list. But then again, I don’t understand the White Stripes worship thats going on either.\*\* I’ll agree. Obviously talented musicians, they just bore me. Like Moby’s **Play** , everyone was talking about how great it was but it just bored me to tears with one song droning into another. Blah. Don’t get me started on the White Stripes or the Strokes or whoever else _Rolling Stone_ is trying to fellate at the moment. So yeah, Radiohead is a very good band, but not someone I think is “great.” Of course, YMMV and it’s just an opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/23 "2003-06-12T23:21:05Z")
Listen to Aphex Twin? Heck, listen to some ambient Brian Eno. It’s not like the types of electronica Radiohead references are radically new. Those who like Kid A and Amnesiac might want to check out Brian Eno’s early-70s art rock cronies, guys like John Cale and Nico. In fact, try Nico’s “The Marble Index,” produced by Cale. It’s got a similar morbid-introspection thing going, and there’s some damn spooky harmonium. ---
**Author:** ![silenteyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@silenteyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenteyes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/24 "2003-06-13T00:15:37Z")
Yes, they really are. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/25 "2003-06-13T00:23:31Z")
I don’t know if any of you have ever listened to the NPR program “From the Top,” but it features performances by young classical musicians. I mean, we’re talking high schoolers. The host, Christopher O’Riley, a very talented pianist, regularly plays pieces by Radiohead. They sound just as fine as many classical pieces. I’ve never heard much Radiohead, but, based upon O’Riley’s performances, I’m inclined to think there’s something there. For Midwest dopers, “From the Top” airs at 7 p.m. CST each Tuesday on WFIU-FM, 103.7, the station of Indiana University. The skits are damned annoying, but those young musicians are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/26 "2003-06-13T02:03:08Z")
Brad Mehldau also does a mean jazz version of “Exit Music for a Film.” ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/27 "2003-06-13T02:13:46Z")
Listen to “The Bends” and “Ok Computer” and you’ve heard the best guitar oriented rock music of the last 15 years imho. They’ve taken the Jimmy Page “push it to the limit with overdubbing” as seen on “Presence” et al, and managed to make it sound new and innovative and heartfealt and if you don’t get it you aren’t giving them enough time. This is music that manages to meld the eclectisism of Pink Floyd and the guitarism’s of Zep with the obscure murkiness of angst that leaves enough ambiguity to make it interesting. There’s a reason people are putting them on those lists, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t listened to the works I’ve mentioned. did they break new ground with Kid A and Amnesiac ? No, see above references to Eno and mine now to King Crimson… Is there guitar rock song writing heads and shoulders above everyone else I"VE heard… yes… I mean, Jeff Buckley died ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Methos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Methos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/28 "2003-06-13T02:48:03Z")
I apologize if this has been posted or previously discussed, bu tim far too tired to read the whole threat. Does anyone actually know from a reliable source what is said in that Radiohead video where he’s lying on the street saying something, and then by the end of the video a bunch of ppl are lying beside him all whispering. I remember reading an article saying how noone other then the band really knew. Any takers?? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/29 "2003-06-13T03:51:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*Brad Mehldau also does a mean jazz version of “Exit Music for a Film.” \*\* Yep, that was used in the movie “Unfaithful”. He also does a very cool jazz-piano verison of paranoid android. And Radiohead is certainly not the best band going right now, but they are heads and shoulders above what else is currently being done at the the major-label level. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/30 "2003-06-13T04:09:55Z")
**Methos** , if anything really deep was said, we’re not gonna find out. The band probably still gets asked about the _Just_ video and refuses to tell. Maybe if you watch and can read lips. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/31 "2003-06-13T05:32:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\* > I came across a web site a while ago that identified around 50 subgenres, with samples and descriptions of each. I wish I could find it again. \*\* You’re probably thinking of Ishkur’s site. Unfortunately, he’s working on updating it, so it’s not available at the moment: [http://www.ishkur.com/features/music/guide.htm](http://www.ishkur.com/features/music/guide.htm) For the record, I listen to **OK Computer** over & over, but I can’t get it to connect with me. I don’t dislike it, but I’m not compelled to listen to it. Maybe I need to try their more electronic stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/32 "2003-06-13T06:01:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Which two types, electronica and minimalism? No, I meant rock and a minimalist approach to electronica. At least coming from a rock band. I won’t reiterate the reasons I think so. Thanks to the people who explained, though - for once, some genre stuff appears to make sense. 😉 > [@](#): > > Is Radiohead that good? Have we established that this is pure opinion without a consensus yet? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/33 "2003-06-13T10:28:02Z")
Are they that good? And some. I don’t know if I’d say that they’re band of the century. But, better than the Beatles? Without a doubt. They haven’t had a bad album, unlike the Beatles, they have more to them than being influential, unlike the Beatles, and they make good music, unlike the Beatles. They’re the sort of band where you’d have no problem naming the Bends their best album ever, except for the fact that they’ve got 2 or 3 or 4 albums that are even better. If you know what I mean. They rock out. No-one does wild, uninhibited guitar noise like Radiohead. They do solos that don’t sound like solos (or don’t sound like Led Zeppelin solos, which seems to be the basis of solos in rock), they love feedback, and when they quieten things down they can make some pretty music. They’re not afraid to try something new and different. Kid A really is an example of this. They and Bjork are probably the only two vaguely mainstream artists who are doing cutting-edge electronica (even though you can find more innovative stuff further underground). You wouldn’t find anything like ‘Idioteque’ in mainstream music at all, and very little outside certain Jungle circles. Kid A (the song) is the same: you’re not going to hear anything like this outside of underground electronica artists. However, they’re not indulgent. Everything (forgive me) is in its right place, and nothing is there that shouldn’t be, seperating more indulgent experimentalists of the past, such as all those horrible prog bands or Pink Floyd. What’s more they have something to say. They’re lyrics are good, but they’re also delivered well. Radiohead is not just depressing. They’re songs are tightly wound, paranoid, at times hurt, manic, and even sometimes happy. Korn is depressed. Radiohead have a range of emotion. For your next album, you should buy Kid A or OK Computer. They are both equally good, both amazing albums. Amnesiac is almost as good, while I haven’t made my mind up about Hail to the Thief. I like Pablo Honey but it isn’t amazing like the others. It is good early 90s Brit Rock, however. [/fanboy] ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/34 "2003-06-13T17:12:08Z")
If RadioHead isn’t the “best band going right now” what are their competitors? White Strypes, and The Strokes, just don’t come near. Moby? Maybe? Now I’m not talking about popularity of the band, I’m asking about ‘musical quality’ which of course is a highly subjective idea. But without liking Bach it is easy to hear his musics great ‘musical quality’. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/35 "2003-06-13T18:24:36Z")
> [@](#): > > If RadioHead isn’t the “best band going right now” what are their competitors? Burning Airlines Tortoise Fugazi Pinback – Guitar work is better in Radiohead, but ABSIV in Pinback is in a league of few on the bass…and Pinback are just as good (if not better) at songwriting. All of this of course is IMO, and YMW likely V. Keep in mind that isnt to be taken as a knock on Radihead…I love 'em. And, as I stated: At the major-label level, they are clearly the best. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/36 "2003-06-13T18:41:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bippy the Beardless \* > If RadioHead isn’t the “best band going right now” what are their competitors? FTR, I love **Radiohead** , but there’s a lot of great alternatives if you know where to look: **Godspeed You Black Emporer!** , **Wilco** , **The Flaming Lips** , **Sigur Ros** , all of whom have released great CDs in the last couple of years. On preview, I’ll also second **mouthbreather’s** mention of **Tortoise**. Their _Millions Now Living Will Never Die_ is just as abstract, complex and experimental as anything from _Kid A_. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/37 "2003-06-13T21:43:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gex gex \* > **I don’t know if I’d say that they’re band of the century. But, better than the Beatles? Without a doubt. They haven’t had a bad album, unlike the Beatles, they have more to them than being influential, unlike the Beatles, and they make good music, unlike the Beatles.** **gex gex** I respect your take on music - I have often found your posts in music threads I post to and lurk in, and find your take on things insightful - clearly, you spend time both listening and in framing your opinions. Your take on Radiohead is an example of that - I don’t necessarily find them pleasing to me, but between critics’ take and your articulation of their strengths, I do find myself realizing that I need to give them another listen. Have said that, your take on the Beatles weakens your position. Look, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you don’t like the Beatles, more power to you. But to toss off a statement like “and they make good music, unlike the Beatles” is not just small and immature, but it damages your credibility. Again, choose not to like them - that’s your call. But to somehow stand in the face of an overwhelming tide of critical and public appreciation of the artistry, influence, songcraft and production quality of the Beatles and say “I am **gex gex** and I say the Beatles suck!!” - can you see how that approach - no matter how correct you think your opinion might be - is the wrong way to go about framing your argument? I read your post in another thread where you took apart Sgt Pepper’s song by song - that’s fine - frankly, I agree with you, it is not their strongest. But to try to say that with albums like Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, the White Album and Abbey Road, that the Beatles are anything less than revolutionary in the course of modern music and produced songs that will endure well beyond our lifetime is short-sighted and, well, kinda silly. Think about it - you take music seriously, clearly. Help us take you seriously. Thank you for being patient with this hijack - back to your regularly-scheduled post… ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/38 "2003-06-13T22:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Peyote Coyote \* > \*\*I don’t know if any of you have ever listened to the NPR program “From the Top,” but it features performances by young classical musicians. I mean, we’re talking high schoolers. > > The host, Christopher O’Riley, a very talented pianist, regularly plays pieces by Radiohead. They sound just as fine as many classical pieces. > > I’ve never heard much Radiohead, but, based upon O’Riley’s performances, I’m inclined to think there’s something there. > > For Midwest dopers, “From the Top” airs at 7 p.m. CST each Tuesday on WFIU-FM, 103.7, the station of Indiana University. The skits are damned annoying, but those young musicians are awesome. \*\* Also, O’Riley just released an entire album’s worth of Radiohead interpretations on Sony Classical, titled _True Love Waits_ (and yes, that song is on there, and it’s one of the best :)). It’s really beautiful stuff, much better than “Strung Out on OK Computer” or the other anemic Radiohead tribute albums I’ve heard. One little quirk that makes this record especially interesting for me is that, in addition to being a very well-respected classical pianist, O’Riley is also as dedicated an internet geek as any of us- he’s one of the most prolific posters over at the [ateaseweb.com](http://ateaseweb.com) message boards. You can hear clips from _True Love Waits_ at [http://www.truelovewaits.cc/](http://www.truelovewaits.cc/) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/39 "2003-06-14T00:45:18Z")
I was playing Radiohead at my desk today (free discs from the radio station yay), and a coworker said she loved them, but couldn’t work with them on, because they were so depressing. I was kinda thrown for a loop; they’re not depressing to me at all. Lush and soothing, but not depressing. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343/40 "2003-06-14T13:20:45Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Wordman_ > gex gex I respect your take on music - I have often found your posts in music threads I post to and lurk in, and find your take on things insightful - clearly, you spend time both listening and in framing your opinions. Well, first of all I’m thrilled that anyone notices _anything_ that I post. > [@](#): > > Your take on Radiohead is an example of that - I don’t necessarily find them pleasing to me, but between critics’ take and your articulation of their strengths, I do find myself realizing that I need to give them another listen. > > Have said that, your take on the Beatles weakens your position. Look, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you don’t like the Beatles, more power to you. But to toss off a statement like “and they make good music, unlike the Beatles” is not just small and immature, but it damages your credibility. Again, choose not to like them - that’s your call. But to somehow stand in the face of an overwhelming tide of critical and public appreciation of the artistry, influence, songcraft and production quality of the Beatles and say “I am gex gex and I say the Beatles suck!!” - can you see how that approach - no matter how correct you think your opinion might be - is the wrong way to go about framing your argument? I read your post in another thread where you took apart Sgt Pepper’s song by song - that’s fine - frankly, I agree with you, it is not their strongest. But to try to say that with albums like Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, the White Album and Abbey Road, that the Beatles are anything less than revolutionary in the course of modern music and produced songs that will endure well beyond our lifetime is short-sighted and, well, kinda silly. > > Think about it - you take music seriously, clearly. Help us take you seriously. Yes, you are right, I do have a possibly irrational dislike of the Beatles. I certainly acknowlege that they were revolutionary and extraordinarily influential; I would say that there’s very little music I listen to that doesn’t have Beatles echoes in it, particularly as I’m a fan of well-crafted pop. And their production: so many tricks they - or George Martin - invented that provide the basis of music today. Double tracked vocals. You could arguably claim they pioneered feedback. It’s just that when I listen to a Beatles’ record, it doesn’t grab me. I certainly can’t deny that they wrote some great songs: _Eleanor Rigby_ is haunting, _Tomorrow Never Knows_ is a perfect example of their experimentation and their songwriting skills perfectly matching up and _Happiness is a Warm Gun_ is brutal yet compelling. It’s just that the unrelenting adoration gets to me sometimes. I’ll try to keep it in check, though; I’m sure it must get annoying when I constantly bring it up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-radiohead-that-good/181343.md?page=3)