In Rainbows’ release paved the way for music being released directly to fans at a moment’s notice, simultaneously revolutionizing and fucking up the system. The move pissed off Trent Reznor, who then realized he was Trent Reznor and used a similar tactic for his next two Nine Inch Nails albums. As the music industry wheezed along and rock bands like Daughtry dominated the charts, Radiohead released their seventh album straight to fans, famously using a pay-what-you-want model. Such a forward-thinking nature was difficult to discredit with the release of 2007’s In Rainbows. However, while those bands were draped in traditional rock nostalgia, Radiohead was always ahead of its time, never wanting to be a “rock band.” As impressive as the numbers were, Radiohead still never sold as many combined units as then-popular modern rock bands like Creed or Kid Rock. Hail to the Thief sold nearly 300,000 copies its first week, coming in at no. Amnesiac sold 230,000 copies its first week, debuting at no. But that’s a silly assessment as Radiohead spoiled fans with its restless energy, jumping from reversed beats (“Like Spinning Plates,” “Backdrifts”) to riff rock (“I Might be Wrong,” “Myxomatosis”), funereal ballads (“Pyramid Song,” “Sail to the Moon”) to Orwellian paranoia (“Life in a Glasshouse,” “2+2=5,” “A Wolf at the Door”).īoth Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief sold more in their first week than Kid A, but didn’t debut at no. Neither had any “hits,” and they weren’t considered as mind-blowing as Kid A or OK Computer. The band made up for the lack of energy on 2003’s Hail to the Thief. Yorke told Spin that the Kid A companion was “some of the most reassuring stuff we’ve ever done,” but critics weren’t infatuated with the supposed return to form. The band perfected the cocktail on 1997’s OK Computer, an album that features riffs that all beginning guitarists half-assedly play (“Airbag,” “Paranoid Android”) and lyrics loners memorize (“I’ll take a quiet life, a handshake of carbon monoxide”).Īfter Kid A, Radiohead continued moving at its own pace, releasing 2001’s Amnesiac. He’s usually singing about love, isolation, and the creeping sensation that says “we’re fucked” ( the feeling usually comes after staring too long at pricks in the bar). In the midst of this distortion is Yorke, the wailing singer born with a paralyzed eye who shakes out his nerves on stage. You can hear Greenwood continue to destroy alt rock’s loud-quiet-loud formula on 1995’s The Bends in songs like “Black Star,” their first track produced entirely by the future de facto sixth member of the band, Nigel Godrich. Even while recording “Creep,” guitarist Jonny Greenwood was actively trying to fuck up, according to guitarist Ed O’Brien. After “Creep” made them rock stars in 1993, Radiohead spent the next two years destroying any goodwill associated with it. Pretty good for an album the band’s singer Thom Yorke described to Rolling Stone as “getting a massive eraser out and starting again.”ĭestroying and rebuilding wasn’t new for Radiohead pre– Kid A. Still, Radiohead’s fourth album debuted at no. Chuck Klosterman wrote that it predicted 9/11 (more on that later). Upon its physical release, Kid A was considered “ornery.” Nick Hornby hated it. The record was streamed in its entirety on channels like MTV2, and through the band’s own website media player, iBlip. The Myth of ‘Kid A’ Has Existed As Long As ‘Kid A’ ItselfĪt first, the question proved difficult to answer since Kid A had no singles or pre-release videos. Anticipation for the OK Computer follow-up built a comparable head of buzz to Britney Spears doing it again, Eminem threatening moms, and Mystikal yelling, “Shake ya ass, but watch yourself.” Amid the pop noise, one of the more intriguing questions in music in 2000 was, “What will Kid A sound like?” For the past 25 years, these five creeps have defined alternative rock.Ĭonsider Kid A, which turns 20 this week. Similar to predecessors like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and R.E.M., Radiohead has legions of fans, and endless cycles of rereleased, remastered, and reappraised albums. I don’t get it,” like Kid Rock did in 2001, and … well, who is going to argue Radiohead with the guy who wrote “Bawitdaba”? The fact is Radiohead is Radiohead, existing in its own musical world. Many will say “Radiohead is the soundtrack to my life,” and those people aren’t wrong. To mark the occasion, The Ringer is putting everything in its right place, ranking the band’s best tracks and exploring the myth of Kid A. Twenty years ago Friday, Radiohead released Kid A, the landmark experimental record that declared the most interesting rock band in the world wanted to do more than just rock.
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