Anyway, back to Radiohead one of the greatest bands never listened to by the mainstream because of the first paragraph mentioned and in this article we say..
Happy Birthday to Kid A.
I'm not talking about a kid who is named after the first letter of the alphabet. I'm talking about the fourth album made by Radiohead that was recorded at the beginning of the millenieum and really divided fans of the band. So, it's been ten years since this album was released and we still think Kid A is a classic in the alternative rock genre. IT has been named Album of the Decade (the 00s) by Rolling Stone Magazine, Pitchfork beating out other classics such as The Strokes' Is This It, The White Stripes' Elephant and Jay Z's The Blueprint.
What's interesting is that it's been a year since I've bought it and it's only for $9.99 when I first started liking Radiohead. Most of the teachers in my school liked this band while kids are just morons to know about them.
Pre Kid A
Radiohead in the 90s was much difficult to hear. Their debut single 'Creep' became an instant hit unexpectedly in 1993 while Nirvana and Pearl Jam were must listen bands. These bands form grunge and it's bringing alternative rock to the mainstream where the lyrics and tone much range around angst and adolescence.
'Creep' was a radio hit in Israel and despite this success, Radiohead was shocked to learn about that and suprisingly for any music artist they were angry because that single had gave them too much pressure into recording.
When grunge turns itself into the grave, the band recorded their second album 'The Bends' and again they were stuck in the middle of a breakthrough genre in England called Britpop with popular bands such as Oasis, Blur, Primal Scream and Pulp. The Bends proved to be a success that spawned hit singles like 'High and Dry', 'Fake Plastic Trees and Street Spirit. It was critically acclaimed because of Thom Yorke's (the lead singer) falsetto voice.
But much success came with OK Computer, their follow up of The Bends. It was an album that like a best selling novel spawned many allegories. There were many themes towards angst, consumerism, social isolation that were inside each song. It might also comment on the politics of England when Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister of UK. OK Computer is still considered one of the greatest albums of all time.
The birth of Kid A
Recently Linkin Park an album called A Thousand Suns where it was Farewell Nu Metal and changes their music completely. Kid A was like that. It was a complete change in style for the band in which Radiohead mostly preffered that option. Whilst recording, Yorke suffered from writer's block and attempts to fill ideas to songs recorded in the studio.
Kid A was influenced by many genres outside of rock. Jazz, electronica and classical were the main influences. And during the initial release, Radiohead had avoided traditions of each musician. The band didn't release a single, the lyrics were so abstract and 'amazingly' these principles actually work because of unique marketing that involved animated 'blips' shown here.
The album was neither a concept album nor a pop album. It looks like an album with audio filled with abstract paintings that will question itself into what each song would mean. It might be an arthouse album and even though Radiohead never had said about its imagery, it was an album that would divide many listeners of music and many of the band's fans.
Kid A was then released to critical acclaim with Pitchfork Media rated this album 10.0/10, a rare rating for the publication who never done this before to any album reviewed to the site. The album went Platinum (+70000 units) in Australia and was a best seller.
Review of Kid A
Rating: 5/5
Kid A may have been a sudden change for Radiohead, but when I was starting out to like Radiohead, Kid A is almost a beautiful album. It sounds like a soundtrack or a score of a really eerie movie and it's almost visceral to say Radiohead is working towards being one of the greatest bands of all time. Radiohead nails the music with influences from jazz, techno and krautrock that creates such a head trip to the album without a touch of Jonny Greenwood's guitar. 'Everything In Its Right Place' and 'How to Disappear Completely' shows off its true angst, while 'The National Anthem' make itself look epic. Not everything's changed in the album. Thom Yorke's falsetto vocals is still intact despite the distortion of his vocals in the title track. Kid A proves to be a state-of-the-art classic by saying to itself 'I can make my own music' without pulling to the finger to the mainstream society...still listening to dopey artists.
Best tracks:
- Kid A
- The National Anthem
- How To Disappear Completely
- In Limbo
- Idioteque
Post-Kid A
Since Kid A, Radiohead had been recording albums by this style. Their follow up Amnesiac is the follow up to Kid A and had still been successful with their experimental use of music. Later, they released Hail To The Thief where it was influenced by politics. But these two albums still divide fans on whether this style of recording would work for them.
But Radiohead returned back to their roots with their recent album In Rainbows where it was independently recorded. It can sell for any price to download on their website even for free. It was critically acclaimed for being so chilled and at the same time, its lyrics were so seductive.
Radiohead will likely to release a new album any time soon,
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