radiohead

[bunnyben]

last few days i've had 'no surprises' and 'high and dry' in my head so i thought i'd make a cd of the best of ok and the best of the bends. they're a band that when they're good i like and when not i find them utterly tedious. how can they be so hit n miss?

[jadams501]

I see Radiohead as the Eagles of spacey alternative rock. They are great craftsmen, and have done some really excellent songs, and have done a lot to popularize musical ideas that resonate with me, but ultimately will never be as interesting as the many people they rip off. They were once one of my favorite bands, so periodically I'll get in a jag where I''ll listen to a lot of their stuff, but I don't understand why they are so popular even among music-heads.

I don't find them so hit & miss, though, at least during their heyday from 1995-2001. I either am really engaged by listening to them or simply don't care.

[James T]

I think from The Bends to In Rainbows they have been incredibly consistent in putting out great music. The newest album was the worst, much worse than even Pablo Honey. I can appreciate music like that, but Radiohead did it very badly. It made me laugh at least. There was one fantastic song on it though.

[TheWarmth]

Radiohead is one of my top three currently-active bands, with the other two being Spiritualized and Super Furry Animals (who are apparently on hiatus right now - sad face). Fair play to those who don't like them, but to call them hit-or-miss ... frankly that boggles my mind.

TKOL is their worst album? Mmmmmk. I love it. Easily in my top 5 for 2011.

[Kurious Oranj]

i like them but i find it hard to get too passionate about their music

it leaves me kind of.. cold? in a way

might have to do with thom yorke's vocals which i'm not crazy about

also they've inspired some really shitty bands

[Kurious Oranj]

i went through a phase where i was pretty obsessed with OK Computer and kid A but i almost never feel like listening to them anymore

[Mustard]

I'm a fan but don't listen to them that much these days. Sometimes go through a spell of repeated listening but it's seldom now. Bends/OK Computer is the period I prefer but generally there is something in each release that I will enjoy. TKOL - pretty disappointed on the first few listens but now I think it is ok (Why didn't they put Supercollider & the other side on the album? Wouldn't have been out of place in my opinion). I really liked In Rainbows but, for me, TKOL hasn't come close.

[bunnyben]

Fair play to those who don't like them, but to call them hit-or-miss ... frankly that boggles my mind.

some songs are great then the next song is, in my opinion naff- thom talking about watering cans. even albums like ok computer have naff tracks on it. my friend loves all of their stuff. of the recent stuff i like his solo album but the rh albums have done little if nothing for me- hence hit or miss

would you say spz are hit or miss? there are people here who miss the days of sitting in a damn sticky club listening to 2 hours of drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and then others who go to gigs and aren't keen on the drrrrr within a pop song. persoanlly i think they are consistantly good but i'm sure there are people here who may disagree

[TheWarmth]

No, I wouldn't say Spiritualized are hit or miss. I dig the majority of their catalog. The only album that doesn't really do much for me is Amazing Grace and even that record has a few tracks that I love.

"Consistently good" fits both Spiritualized and Radiohead, IMO, but of course that is a matter of personal taste.

[bunnyben]

indeed, as is the crux of all musical conversations

[redcloud]

I have total respect for Radiohead. I saw that band grow from a smallish English band in the 90's playing at the Town & Country (I was in London at the time) to the Brixton Academy and then eventually to much bigger venues like Earl's Court.

They took serious musical and artistic risks right when things were exploding and put out, in my opinion, their greatest work with 'Kid A'. I applaud them for pursuing a direction that most around them told them could have been career suicide. That to me is the sign of true artists who want to stay fresh, are not willing to compromise and are dedicated to the development of their craft and art.

'In Rainbows' is, for me, the best album they have released since 'Kid A'. It has a warmth that TKOL lacks. But, I do like TKOL. I just don't find myself going to it as much as the others. I also agree with whoever said it that 'Supercollider' should have been added to the album.

Paul, are you going to see them in Chicago? Their TKOL US tour isn't coming to Portland. As Portland is sandwiched between two bigger cities bands as popular as Radiohead tend to play Seattle then fly over Portland en route to San Francisco. Quite odd as they could easily play the Rose Garden Arena and sell it out. But, whatever. At $82 each tickets and a soulless 20,000 seater venue...my days of seeing them are over.

[Multi]

.

[TheWarmth]

I didn't realize they had announced a date or Chicago this year!? Is it Lollapalooza? I hope not, but I saw them there for In Raindbows and it was fantastic. Unfortunately, the dude who went with me fucking left before they went on, so I stood there feeling a bit alone in a sea of people. It was a weird experience.

[redcloud]

I didn't realize they had announced a date or Chicago this year!?.

http://radiohead.com/tourdates/

I guess your nearest gig is 5 hours away in St. Louis. This makes little sense. A show in KC and St. Louis yet, no show in the third largest city in the US? Seeing this makes their skipping of Portland seem less of a snub.

[TheWarmth]

I think they are going to announce more dates. There are rumors flying around online that they are going to headline Lollapalooza. If they do, I'll probably go for that one day and make sure I don't bring someone who is going to totally flake on me before the day is over.

[angelsighs]

I'm a fan of a lot of their stuff but not a fanatic or anything.
The Bends is great for angsty rock with some space rock trimmings on it, OK Computer is good but vastly overrated. Kid A is brilliant I think.

don't see how they could be worthy of hate really? surely they must be worth a bit of respect at least.. they've developed their sound from album to album, always with great production and artwork, do things their way etc. i've also seen them live a couple of times and really enjoyed it- very sonically impressive even in a stadium environment.
maybe it is the apparent 'pretentiousness' and the fact, that yes, the music can seem a bit 'cold'. I agree with that. there's not much warmth or heart there.

it does annoy me that there are acolytes who think that they can do no wrong, too.. Amnesiac is a mess, and King of Limbs fails as both pop music and experimental music. if KoL was released by anybody else it would have been totally ignored.

my top 5
Idioteque
How To Dissapear Completely
Motion Picture Soundtrack
Let Down
True Love Waits

[TheWarmth]

Maybe I am one of the "fanatics," but there are bits of Radiohead's catalog that I am critical of, so I don't think that's the case. "Cold" is a word that a lot of naysayers use to describe this band. I think it definitely applies to some of their material, but certainly not all of it. In terms of production, perhaps the use of electronics can be taken as a bit icy, but I think that is intentional ("Idioteque," for example). Songs like "Videotape" and "How To Disappear Completely", though, are emotional to the point of being overwrought. I don't see how anyone could argue that those songs (and many others in their catalog) don't have heart.

[angelsighs]

true enough, but those songs are the exceptions that prove the rule

my top 5 was largely made up of the 'emotional' ones apart from Idioteque, which is cold but like you say is meant to be. I find that song evokes alienation brilliantly. and its an awesome beat too

[sunray]

For all you Radiohead lovers, The Darkness covering Street Spirit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97IcMvkyw-Y