OK, I’d never heard Radiohead before. But I was at Target and the had OK Computer on sale, so I picked one up.
It was good. Melodic, singable, quirky with a couple of rocking sections…I liked it. Enough to buy another Radiohead offering.
So then I bought Kid A…
What the…this mess…I just…I mean…
WTF???
Bunch of repetative sound effects that even Roger Waters and Sid Barret would have grown tired of. It’s like they hadn’t actually wrote any songs and just through some crap together and called it an album.
So. Which of these is more standard Radiohead fare?
Neither. If you start with Pablo Honey(First Album) and work your way up to Hail to the Thief, you notice that besides Amnesiac and Kid A, no 2 albums really sound similiar at all. And the reason that the 2 of them sound so much alike is that they were recorded at the same time. If you like the sound of OK Computer, I would say that the most similiar sounding album would be Hail to the Thief. I would say it’s like 50% OK Computer, 50% Kid A; take those 2, throw them in a blender and Hail to the Thief comes out.
In spite of my name, I would rank my favourite albums like this:
The Bends
OK Computer
Kid A
Hail to the Thief
Amnesiac
Pablo Honey
So, you’ve never heard of Radiohead before? Where have you been living under a rock?
They both are. OK Computer was Radiohead in 1997 and Kid A was Radiohead in 2000. Amnesiac followed Kid A, and, since it was recorded at the same time, sounds a lot like Kid A. As an album, I would say Amnesiac is more accessible, but Kid A has the tracks that really stand out, like “The National Anthem” and “Idioteque”. There latest album, Hail To The Thief, mostly adheres to the same style as Kid A and Amnesiac, but I’m guessing it’s the last one they’ll do like this. And, what the next one will sound like is anybody’s guess. Radiohead has changed/evolved/matured over the years, so labeling one album as a departure from the norm wouldn’t be accurate.
I understand your reaction to Kid A, because, for the most part, it’s hardly conventional. But, I’d recommend listening to it once or twice more before writing it off. I find that the albums that throw me at first often turn out to be my favorites. That’s probably because they don’t sound like everything else.
If you liked OK Computer, but not Kid A, you would probably really like The Bends. It is very singable, quirky, and awesome. You might not like anything more recent than OK Computer though.
The Bends - OK Computer - Kid A is my favorite 3 album sequence ever.
Radiohead is a great group that likes to experiment with completely new and different sounds on very album (except the two noted). It’s certainly not for everyone and even if you are a fan there might be whole albums you don’t like.
Dr.Porkchop’s advice is pretty good. Me, I like waking up to National Anthem from Kid A
Get The Bends - it is wonderful. . .as far as Kid A. It’s a “wintery” album in my opinion, and needs to be listened to repeatedly. Same with OK Computer, really - OKC is more accessible early on, but even on repeated listenings, it gets better. Much better. Same will hold for Kid A. My Vote:
Ok Computer
Kid A
The Bends
Amnesiac
Hail to the Thief
Pablo Honey
Not including EP’s “Airbag: How’s My Driving” and “My Iron Lung EP”. Thom Yorke has indicated that the band may no longer release albums - just EP’s in the future.
Never heard Radiohead? Ok I guess its possible but you may have heard older songs (Creep, High and Dry, etc) and not realized you are listening to the same band on OK C and Kid A.
Well its all been said above already but let me add that if you still have trouble getting into Kid A and Amnesiac (after multiple listens) but still want to give them a shot, buy or borrow “I Might Be Wrong”. This is their live recording of songs from these two albums.
“Idioteque” is much more powerful, “Spinning Plates” gets a piano intro, “National Anthem” gets the crowd started and you get “True Love Waits” which was never released until then.
But if you can’t get into the repetitive beat and jazzy horns in National Anthem then it just might not be your cup of tea.
spooje set Kid A aside for a little while and listen to OK Computer. Then come back to Kid A every now and then. All Radiohead growns on you. Kid A is very dense and experimental and doesn’t give up all its secrets at once.
I’ve found that I hated many of my favorite albums the first time I heard them. Then I come back and check them out later for some unknown reason. “Eww! This sucks! Let’s listen to it again!” Kid A was like that for me.
I went to see Radiohead this Wednesday. Incredible concert as ever.
This is my take: Kid A and Amnesiac are not for listening to. They’re not rock. They don’t, IMO, stand up to a casual play in the house or while driving down the road.
But live they are something else. Totally hypnotic experience, like listening to some bizarre modern classical music. I don’t like those tracks on my CD player, but do they ever work in an arena.
I call that the Timeline Effect. In my experience, songs you like right away get annoying after a short while, but the songs you hate at first and then grow to love, you love forever.
The only exception is Radiohead’s “Let Down” from OK Computer, which is probably one of the most beautiful rock songs ever written. Everlasting love at first sight.
Kid A and Amnesiac are great to put on in the background, if you don’t like them right away. They can slowly invade your subconscious and erode your defenses, and you won’t even notice how much you’ve grown to love and depend on them until you catch yourself humming, “There’s someone listening in…”
gallows fodder - no doubt there truly is such an effect (TIMELINE EFFECT). . .it’s why Radio has gone to shit, and finding quality stuff is hard to do, especially once you get older, work full-time, and live in Nebraska (although we did just get M2).
I found the “Timeline” effect occurs for all of my favorite music, including Radiohead. After buying **OK Computer **and steadily falling in love with it over the course of a few months, I purchased **The Bends **and **Kid A **at the same time. I quickly got into the former, while initially not liking the latter at all. Two months later, I couldn’t stop listening to Kid A, while **The Bends **received just the occasional listen (and songs like “Bones” were skipped past entirely). I still consider “Fake Plastic Trees,” “Street Spirit” (which is heartbreakingly gorgeous live), “Just,” and “Planet Telex” to be among Radiohead’s finest work, but there’s a delicate magnificence about **Kid A ** that I don’t think any other Radiohead album manifests quite as well. They’re both wonderful albums, but I feel like, while **The Bends **is a collection of great songs, **Kid A **is an experience, one that I relive every time I play it.
My personal ranking of the albums changes fairly regularly, but at the moment, it comes out to be:
I found Amnesiac far more accessible and engaging than Kid A, after OK Computer. I still don’t see the big fuss over Kid A but I suppose I’ll be along shortly.
Yeah, Kid A is one of the increasing number of albums that are taking elements from classical “modernist” music and stripping them down for a pop music format.
So it may sound slightly “off” at first, but give it some time.
