josebajm

Well, Radiohead aren't a band that require much introduction, but in case you happen to be living under a rock all these years, here is an overview, of sorts:

Radiohead are a British band from Oxfordshire, England, comprised of five musicians. Though often classed as alternative rock, they have been deeply influenced by music from a variety of genres. Radiohead is often praised as one of the most creative bands of their era, known for their multilayered songs and artistic evolution from album to album. They are seen by many to have maintained musical and political independence despite recording for a major label.

They first broke into the music scene with the album Pablo Honey, containing the hit single 'Creep', a song about low self-esteem and self-hatred that many listeners could identify with. The song was so huge, in fact, that critics wrote the band off as one-hit wonders - a label that seemed to have weight after subsequent singles such as 'Pop Is Dead' were savaged by critics. However, Radiohead bounced back in the form of their second album, The Bends in 1995 - a much more mature-sounding rock album that spawned Radiohead's highest-ranked single on the British charts, 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'. Two years later came what many people have hailed their best album, OK Computer - an album that has made many "Greatest Albums" lists. Some have also derided their work for its bleakness and lack of instant accessibility - in part due to the double dose of nihilism in the next two albums Kid A and Amnesiac, but it is also proof of the band's willingness to experiment and explore the boundaries of rock. With their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, Radiohead brought guitars back into the picture while still incorporating experimental and electronic beats, thus creating a sort of synthesis of their previous five records.

On October 10, 2007, Radiohead released their latest album, In Rainbows. The band made headlines for the method of the release: a digitial download that buyers could choose the price of, even if that meant paying nothing. It was also available as a special edition Discbox with artwork, vinyls, and bonus songs. We at the Radiohead thread are happy to announce that In Rainbows is an excellent album, well worth the four year wait. The album was released via traditional means in January 2008.

Thom has a solo album, The Eraser, however he does not like to refer to it as a solo album and says he is not splitting up with the band - much to the relief of fans everywhere! Jonny also has worked on solo projects, including the soundtrack to Bodysong and the upcoming There Will Be Blood. In addition, he works as the BBC’s composer in residence.


Several sites:
Radiohead.com
Dead Air Space
Wikipedia page
Green Plastic
At Ease
Citizen Insane
Piemerica


Radiohead's videos.


Avatars and the like can be found in the 6th thread

Previous threads
Radiohead #7: Somebody's Got To Provide The Music For Murder Shows
Radiohead#6: The 'In Rainbows' Discbox-- It's like Christmas come early!
Radiohead #5: Because They Are All We Need
Radiohead #4: New album "In Rainbows" out October 10th online!
Radiohead #3: I thought you were a happy-go-lucky American band. Imagine my surprise.
Radiohead #2: It's Gonna Be A GLORIOUS Day!

goodnightboy

Yay, new thread!

The Bends - yes, great album. It's solid rock (which they don't quite do with as much aggression anymore, do they? I kind of miss it sometimes) and at the same time it sounds, well, Radiohead-ish. It's not as standard and cookie-cutter/forgettable as PH. It's my second least favourite album by them, but that's not to say that I don't like it - it's just Radiohead have just that many good albums.

First 4 songs of Kid A - love, love, love them. Kid A alternates with OKC as my favourite Radiohead album and is certainly the album of theirs that I listen to the most. The first three songs are great because they really set the glacial, post-apocalyptic mood of the album and 'HTDC' is just spellbinding. And the Paris 2001 version is even better

courtney921

Yay new thread!

Still love that title-- it's so funny to see compared to all the cute-sy titles on all the other artists in the Music forum

josebajm

I've realized that. Maybe it's because they're getting old or something, so they kind of prefer to move on to softer stuff.

Agreed. The first time I heard to the album though I was quite stunned. I discovered the band in the OKC era (I was like 12 then ) but the first CD I ever bought was Amnesiac. It might not be the best CD to start with Radiohead as it's quite dark and weird. But somehow I liked it. I didn't like it the first time I listened to it, but I warmed up to the songs slowly and now I just love that CD.

Then I read in a review (actually it was more than one) that Kid A was far more accessible than Amnesiac, so they kind of made me think that Kid A was going to be indie equivalent of a Kylie Minogue's album or something I'm obviously joking but it's true that the album turned out to be darker and weirder than my initial guess. In the first listen I liked Idioteque a lot. It's probably the song which has most probability of becoming your favorite in the first listens because of the beat and its upbeat rhythm. But then I started liking those 4 songs a lot, and now I even like them more than Idioteque.

The song that I enjoy the most of Kid A right now is HTDC. I especially love the lyrics. I know they're quite simple but you get to fully understand the anxiety that Thom might feel because of the fame and that stuff. It's a great song.

It's an indie title.

infinite sadness

Yeah, when they do rock out now it isn't as aggressive as some of The Bends stuff. Even just moving on to OKC the rocker songs don't seem "aggressive" And certainly not on Kid A and Amnesiac. But HTTT has some-- at least, I think '2+2=5' and 'Myxomatosis' are pretty aggressive, and the former is quite angry. But it doesn't have the 90's rock feel of anything off The Bends. And then IR, well, there's 'Bodysnatchers'... but that's more, I don't know, fun. It's not particularly angry or aggressive.

Ah, I feel the need to post my Bends ranking, since Joseba has recently experienced the joy of the album...

1) Street Spirit
2) Fake Plastic Trees
3) Nice Dream
4) My Iron Lung
5) Planet Telex
6) The Bends
7) Bones
8) Black Star
9) Sulk
10) High and Dry
11) Bullet Proof
12) Just


And as far as Kid A, 'Idioteque' and 'HTDC' constantly battle for my top spot on that album. 'Morning Bell' and 'Everything In Its Right Place' are the next two songs that I really love off it. You know, it's weird, the person who suggested Radiohead to me in the first place said that Amnesiac was a lot more accesible than Kid A, but when I listened I felt the exact opposite. Amnesiac took longer than any album for me to appreciate (well, I suppose I still don't appreciate Pablo Honey ). I think Amnesiac is their most inaccessible by far, much as I love it. Though it doesn't take a top spot on that list...

1) OKC
2) Kid A
3) HTTT
4) Amnesiac
5) The Bends (this hurts because I love it SO much, but...what can you do?)
6) Pablo Honey

I really still haven't decided where In Rainnbows fits in, so I'm still leaving it out. It's hard because it's such a different mood...well, they all are kind of, but I don't know...

goodnightboy

I don't know. I always imagined that they mellowed out after having wives and starting families, because you can't quite howl at the moon and go around smashing guitars (not that they do it) onstage when you're a dad, can you? That's why IR sounds so mellow (and lush, but let's not go there now). I love their new sound, but I miss the aggressive rock sometimes, they didn't rock out as much on OKC, Kid A or Amnesiac. '2+2=5' and 'Myaxomatosis' rock, but Thom doesn't quite scream the way he used to on The Bends. And 'Bodysnatchers' rocks as well, but they do play it relatively gently in the performances I've seen, certainly not as aggressively as they did in the '90s.

Ah, accessibility. Both are very inaceesible, but personally I got into Amnesiac first - only because I wasn't really paying attention the first time I heard both albums. If I had been then it would have been different. Like I've said before, Amnesiac may have more melodies than Kid A but it's a lot darker and hence difficult to listen to. Kid A is cold, but Amnesiac is dark and bent and twisted and hurts. So Kid A is certainly easier listening than Amnesiac is. I do like both albums a lot though. Does that say anything about me?

I don't think I had a favourite when I first heard Kid A though, I just found it too damn weird (listening to it for the first time on earphones in the dark at 2+ in the morning is creepy!). I do remember liking 'Idioteque' though - I still do. My favourite Radiohead songs change a lot, but it's usually up there.

Lists! Both of them. No idea. Can I cop out and say I don't know? Because they change all the time.

infinite sadness

Ah, Gwen, of course you can say you don't know. You always do.


It's funny to think of Kid A as "easy listening". I know you just mean compared to Amnesiac but still...

goodnightboy

It's a great way to avoid a difficult decision and still be true at the same time

Ha, don't you know, Kid A is the new lounge music! In the future, people will be sitting in dimly-lit bars, sipping their drinks, trying to catch the eye of some good looking person (very 'Jigsaw'-like, isn't it?) and chilling out to the dulcet tones of 'The National Anthem' and 'Optimistic'. You can see it can't you

josebajm

Yep. I agree. Those two songs are quite aggresive but nothing compared with what I've listened to on The Bends.

Agreed in the first two, maybe I'd interchange them, I don't know I really like Fake Plastic Trees even more than Street Spirit. It's so beautiful, with the eerie keyboard melody on the background, it just gives me chills. Literally. I mean, goosebumps form in my skin when I hear the last 20 seconds of FPT. I don't know why I find those 20 last seconds intense, but it has that effect on me.

And I see you've placed Just in the last place. I honestly like that song a lot too. Have you seen the videoclip? (Stupid question, of course you have). I love it.

For some reason I never listen to Radiohead at night. I prefer Sigur Rós or Explosions In the Sky to go to bed.

I think no record of Radiohead is easy to listen to, of course we can make comparisons between the albums, Kid A is definitely more accessible than Amnesiac. That said, I really don't like accessible albums, cause they're too ephemeral. Yeah, you enjoy them the first week, but after that not so much. I downloaded Kid A like a year ago more or less and I still hear it. That doesn't happen with Rihanna (yes, I sometimes listen to mainstream music, sue me).

courtney921

Yes-- lyrics from "Talk Show Host."


I like your ranking Infinite, but I differ a little. Your 1 & 2 are the same as mine, but I place "High and Dry," "Black Star," and "Bulletproof" towards the top of my list.

goodnightboy

But Rhianna is horrible then again I really hate 'Umbrella', so maybe that's why. And I wasn't really planning on listening to Kid A then, it was just that I couldn't sleep and I had nothing better to do. Trust me, not a good idea

I love 'FPT' too. It's my favourite from The Bends, it used to be my most favourite Radiohead song ever but I played it a bit too often as for the 'Just' video - who hasn't seen it/wanted to know what the guy said? I like the video - one of their best, really - but the song itself isn't great. Lyrically it's a lot weaker than the rest of The Bends and I just don't get into it very much. I don't hate it as much as Simone though

This is a bit old, I've heard it a few days ago, but it doesn't matter.

I hate EMI! I hate them so much! They're being so petty and vindictive, this cashing in on Radiohead makes my blood boil. It's nice to see the band members be so philosophical about it but I guess they're used to it (seeing as their albums have all been leaked, except the first two and IR) but it's really ridiculous. I'm sure they're steaming inside though, and I don't blame them.

josebajm

I know and I hate myself when I listen to it. I suck. `

I've wanted to know that like since ever. There were some theories, right?

It's so sad. *****ing leeches.

infinite sadness

A lot of people love 'Just'. In fact, I think when people ask for rankings of The Bends at MT, 'Just' regularly makes most people's top 5 at least. I've just never dug it. I think it sounds like a Pablo Honey song, with better production. It sounds like a song from any band. There's nothing Radiohead about it to me-- in fact, there are even a couple Pablo songs I like better than it. But hey, I'm glad you like it 'cause that just means there's even more for you to enjoy on the album.

And the video is great, definitely.


And I know what you mean about the end of 'FPT' it's just... One of my other favorite parts of the song is when he sings: "He used to do surgery / For girls in the eighties / But gravity always wins..."

But 'Street Spirit' definitely beats it for me. 'Street Spirit' is in my top ten favorite Radiohead songs ever, and, really, the only song from The Bends to even make my top 20.

goodnightboy

and yeah there were some theories. But honestly, it doesn't matter because they're never going to tell. That's the whole point of the video.

'FPT' is amazing. My favourite line is the one I've used as a signature. The way Thom sings it so wistfully but I like his vocals in the entire song, really, it has so much emotion. And not to mention the music - yup, those keyboards and when it gets loud in "she looks like the real thing" only to cut out at "and it wears me out", wow. I do love the line Simone mentioned as well. The whole song has great lyrics really. I like the video too (even if I don't really understand it).

'FPT' is a song I like more than 'Street Spirit', but it's okay, everyone has their preferences

infinite sadness

I was in a big 'FPT' mood the other day, I listened to it about 10 times in the span of maybe 2 hours... it really is a great song.