What is the appeal of Radiohead?

Bwaahahahahahaha

 

Yeah, normal people would call that "a meltdown".

On top of the world with OK Computer, back to back flops with Kid A and Amnesiac, and then out there label-less begging for people to pay something, anything, for In Rainbows. Got a nickel? We'll take it.

Oh, but it's not career suicide. No Schnitz, it's "art". And you're just too dubm to see it.

 

speaking of too dumb to see it...

 

still not really buying in, but that’s okay.

 

Stick to creaming yourself over the Beatles and your Apple fixation troll boy.......

 

If Kid A and Amnesiac are flops, what does this guy call a success?

 

What's the appeal, OP? All i can say is that some things click with folks while it doesn't with others. Same could be said by most entertainment with a huge following.

 

I don’t see what Radiohead’s high standards for their own work has to do with what any other band does. There were clones of OK Computer in its wake as well. Radiohead also don’t strike me as a band that much cares about the perceptions of “image”.

Yeah, “back to back flops”. They sure were.
How in the world did they survive them?

 

Well, I disagree with that last affirmation. I think they come across as very self-conscious and calculated but that is not the point I was trying to make originally. Probably my fault for not explaining myself better.

 

Boy, I was just reading this page as in introduction to this thread: what nasty, nasty discussion.
It's just music, you know.
You enjoy it or you don't.
Sheesh!

 

don't feed the troll.

 

I don't know how "Kid A" could be seen as a failure. What some people don't get is that, in the 3 years between "OK Computer" and "Kid A", a whole new audience found out about them mostly through the internet, forums, etc. For people in their late teens, 3 years can be an eternity. If anything, their audience widened. I had a bunch of friends ( the ones I aforementioned) who waited for "Kid A" like the messiah, with one of them (who was just a "would listen to anything" type at that point) purchased"Kid A" on the day of release (and got the infamous first pressing with the indexing all wrong - and everybody thought it was intentional ). She still has it.

The communication and the IMAGE was very strong. These short videos were looped and shown on a big screen at my local record store. It was trippy and intriguing. I liked these short films a lot.Image, visuals were definitely something for Radiohead and part of their strategy to sell the album.

 

I guess I'm just not understanding your comment. Image conscious how? Like Pink Floyd and Tool, they never put their faces on an album cover, for what that's worth (besides Piper and Ummagumma in the case of Floyd).

It never seemed to me like Radiohead were chasing trends either.

 

Yet their album sales dropped in half.

This is pop music, not some art show. Whoever sells the most albums wins. Radiohead has been climbing down the ladder of success since Kid A shipped.

 

Just wanted to add my two cents, and say that I support those choices, and if you don't like those two at all I would end the journey there.

If you enjoy The Bends and In Rainbows, I would move on to Hail To The Thief and Kid A. If you like those two as well, then go to A Moon Shaped Pool and Amnesiac.

If you like those, and want to go even further, I'd suggest the following B-sides and EP tracks before you go to The King Of Limbs and Pablo Honey (which are their two weakest albums imho):

"I Will (Los Angeles Version)" from Com Lag: 2+2=5
"Bishop's Robes" from Street Spirit (Fade Out)
"Lozenge Of Love" from My Iron Lung
"I Promise" from OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017
"Last Flowers" from In Rainbows (Disc 2)
"Staircase" from The Daily Mail / Staircase
"Fog (Again)" from Com Lag: 2+2=5

If you by now have become a fan, the Radiohead Library at www.radiohead.com will give you countless hours of enjoyment, and you also have several more excellent B-sides and rarities to look forward to. Good luck, and I hope you find some tracks that click with you!

 

By 2000, Napster and music downloading had become widespread. I don't have the data in front of me, but I wouldn't be surprised if album sales dropped across the board.

This is like saying Michael Bay's Transformers are the best movies ever, because they made billions of dollars.

I won't even try to dignify this statement. Just because they stopped making music you like doesn't mean they suddenly ended as a band. Maybe find a new hobby besides bashing the band?

Or were the first three albums plus the early B-sides that comprised three additional albums worth of material themselves not enough of their early sound for you?

 

Since Kid A’s flop Radiohead’s mission has been to stay relevant and make money.

It’s only your imagination that’s making it into something more. You want these bleeps and bloops to have deep meaning and they don’t. Radiohead found their post-OKC niche and are milking it for all it’s worth. If you’d stop enabling them, maybe they’d make approachable music again.

 

How do Radiohead sleep at night knowing they’ve lost Modern Dad’s support? They must be gutted!

 

Yeah, with the whole world changing inbetween, like the collapse of the corporate music industry. "Kid A" came out at a time when people would download new albums in a big way - especially the young, college crowds Radiohead mostly seemed to attract. 2000 was a big turning point for that.

Maybe "Kid A" wouldn't have sold as much as "OK Computer" even without that (it's a less accessible album), but the context couldn't have helped.

 

Nope, it's not. You can admit you just don't like the new stuff though, and let the rest of us who do enjoy it.

 

When’s the last time you saw Radiohead live? What’s the last Radiohead album you purchased or listened to? Maybe leave the criticism to those who know the band, and thus know what they’re talking about.

 

This isn’t the fan club thread. The OP is asking why he can’t get into Radiohead and we’re discussing the reasons why. Whether good or not, the pivot Radiohead pulled after making their fans wait 3 years for Kid A was unprecedented and divided the fanbase. It’s a big part of their story and their legacy.

Please, by all means, enjoy Radiohead.

 

The reason why he can’t get into Radiohead is because their album sales have dropped?

 

What does the OP's question have anything to do with the style shift of Kid A? Seems like it's more you just inserting your opinion.

 

I'm the biggest Radiohead fan you'll ever meet. I just got out when they blew it. The Beatles have been gone for 50 years, Radiohead only 20, one is allowed to be a bigtime fan of a defunct band.