What is the appeal of Radiohead?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Archguy, Jul 31, 2020.

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  1. telecode101

    telecode101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    null
    I think the Bends is most accessible. Try that. Also, their first record Pablo Honey was a great 90s record.
     
  2. Abbagold

    Abbagold Working class hero

    Location:
    Natchitoches, LA
    I drop off after OK computer. Kid A and beyond are not my cuppa. I have to be in the mood to listen, which isn’t that often. Funny how fans of the band start and stop at different points in their discography. Different things click with different people.
     
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  3. wondergrape

    wondergrape Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    The appeal of Radiohead is their willingness to explore musically, their acknowledgement that the modern world is fraught with existential perils, good songwriting, and a unique lead singer who challenges conventional perceptions of how a lead should behave/sound.
     
  4. Panther

    Panther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    I was of the Radiohead generation. I was 21 when OK Computer came out, after two years of The Bends being cranked at every single small party I was at. Since the new one was effusively praised, I bought it... and I never liked it, either.

    I do like The Bends, though.

    Overall, they're a bit mopey for me. I prefer uplifting music.
     
  5. CassetteDek

    CassetteDek social distancing since 1979

    Location:
    Chicago
    The Bends is a better place to start. As someone else said, it’s their most accessible album, unless you have an aversion for 90s guitar crunch (I do not). It’s the record that got me to be a giant fan when it came out (I had liked Creep a lot, not much else of their first record, though).

    As for OK Computer, as I said I was already really into them, bought OKC on the release
    day, listened to it once, and was actually, slightly, disappointed.

    One and a half listens later, and I was completely hooked. It really is a great record start to finish. Really flows, especially from track 3 onward. It is a bit of a grower (so is Kid A).

    Truthfully OKC isn’t one of my absolute favorite albums by them anymore, because they’ve topped it at least 4 times since. In my top 5 favorite bands of all time. There’s plenty to love about them, though I get they’re not for everyone.
     
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  6. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    That's really pushing it. I believe there was a thing or two, maybe, between the Fab Four and Radiohead? :rolleyes:
     
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  7. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    I, too, am not 'hot' for Radiohead....I guess you 'had to be there', as Lennon once said.
    I DO, however, like the member that did the music for "There Will Be Blood"!
    So, can't be all that bad....
    and, you all here seem to love them......
     
  8. CassetteDek

    CassetteDek social distancing since 1979

    Location:
    Chicago
    You asked about other similar bands; not much comes too close, maybe Sigur Rós. Some early Andrew Bird stuff. Jeff Buckley a tiny bit. U2’s weird 90s records.
     
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  9. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    I was there, and you couldn't escape them among a certain age group. I'm sure whether or not one liked Pink Floyd or not, you couldn't escape them between 73 and 76 for instance. Same for "OK Computer" or "Kid A". The thing is there wasn't something similar to punk arriving to kick their butt. :D
     
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  10. malco49

    malco49 Forum Resident

    the appeal is , at least to me , that they have the uncanny ability to be liked by the masses yet remain interesting to the underground. not an easy feat to pull off.
     
  11. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Sigur Ros broke in a large extent thanks to Radiohead. I remember all my friends listening to them BECAUSE they were Radiohead's little proteges and they had opened for them!
     
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  12. Piiijiii

    Piiijiii Hundalasiliah

    Location:
    Ruhr Area, Germany
    I never got into Everything Changes, Exile On Main St and Animals ~ all forum favourites.
    So what?
    If you don't get Airbag at first loud listen I would move on. I don't think it's their best album anyway, it's good but not that good.
    In Rainbows is my favourite.
     
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  13. ghoulsurgery

    ghoulsurgery House Ghost

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Their main appeal to me is how they mix the sounds of my three favorite bands (REM, Pixies, and Joy Division) into something all their own. Thom Yorke’s voice and Jonny Greenwood’s guitar playing/orchestration/general noises are perfect together.
     
  14. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    You mean "Forever Changes"?

    Yeah, so what? There's this weird gospel about some albums. I LOVE Pink Floyd and "Animals" is one of theirs I like the least - I find it quite grating, actually, when, on paper, I should totally love it.

    The funny thing is that, sometimes, the gospel changes. I remember when I got into the Stooges, I only knew "Raw Power". And I read a couple of times that their first or second album were the thing, their best stuff. 15 years go by, and then I read "Raw Power" is their best one. Oh well!
     
  15. I keep seeing people say The Bends is their most accessible album... sure maybe in 1995, but most of it sounds seriously dated now as a first exposure to the band, IMO. If you’re really into ‘90s rock it’s a good place to start but if not I would say In Rainbows is the most accessible and Hail to the Thief second. However, I wouldn’t even recommend full albums to dip your toes into Radiohead, I would recommend some tracks that give a really good representation of their sound. “There, There”, “Paranoid Android”, “Street Spirit”, “Weird Fishes”, “Pyramid Song”, “Everything in its Right Place”, “Lotus Flower”, etc would give a good sampler of their sound and it’s evolution throughout their career. Find what you like and go from there.
     
  16. Saintbert

    Saintbert Forum Resident

    Location:
    Helsinki
    I don't think there's another band comparable to Radiohead. I don't have any one favourite album. At the same time I recognize they are an albums band, and they are an EPs band too. My Iron Lung was my first taste.

    I like to dip in and out. It's not music that stays with me but it draws me in, if that makes sense. It's in the moment. Very atmospheric.
     
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  17. jboersma

    jboersma Tower of Power

    Location:
    St. Cloud, Florida
    Sounds like a brainwashing exercise a la A Clockwork Orange
     
  18. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    See, one thing that I always found rather grating about Radiohead's posturing post "The Bends" is how they were this cool smartass band reluctantly admitting (and yet downright dismissing) so-called uncool prog rock references. Turns out I would hear a lot of these "uncool" references in their music than, say, Pixies. :rolleyes: For me, Radiohead really was "closet prog" in many ways from "OK Computer" onwards.
     
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  19. ghoulsurgery

    ghoulsurgery House Ghost

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Thats very possible! I listen to basically no prog so I have no frame of reference. I wouldn’t know what to compare them to. I’m sure the influence is there. But it’s distilled and mixed with other influences in a way that I love.
     
  20. brew ziggins

    brew ziggins Forum Prisoner

    Location:
    The Village
    I have long struggled with Radiohead, but it has seemed 'important' to figure it out. They still come in and out of focus for me. I think I most 'got it' from this performance. Watching the music happen in a real space, 'Radiohead' just looking like an unassuming rock band, you can see the pieces fitting together.

     
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  21. CassetteDek

    CassetteDek social distancing since 1979

    Location:
    Chicago
    They must’ve created something all their own, because I’ve never been able to get into to any of those three bands much (or the Smiths, or the vast majority of electronic music, for that matter, yet Radiohead connect in a big way with me.
     
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  22. ghoulsurgery

    ghoulsurgery House Ghost

    Location:
    New Jersey
    For folks who like Radiohead, are you fans of Liars? I hear a lot of parallels in their careers (though obviously liars have never been so famous) and I know Thom was a big fan of their Drum’s Not Dead LP
     
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  23. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    They would say things like "don't worry we won't be the next King Crimson" or that Genesis was an atrocious band but they'd stolen elements from them...That was rather petty. Because, yes, I could hear that in their music, even if not just that.

    I also hear a lot of Radiohead on this album ,sections here and there, but I don't remember them mentioning VDGG or putting them down, thankfully.

     
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  24. Piiijiii

    Piiijiii Hundalasiliah

    Location:
    Ruhr Area, Germany
    Oh yes, it's of course Forever Changes :)

    Animals is not even in my PF top 5.
    Raw Power is inferior to the first two Stooges albums which are groundbreaking.

    There are some really really great tracks on OK Computer but as an album it's "just" very good.
    Airbag, Karma Police and Exit Music are masterpieces though.
     
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  25. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I remain ambivalent about Radiohead. There are some great ideas, lovely guitar and Thom has a great voice when he stops trying to impersonate a constipated lamb. However, I just don't feel anything for them. From Kid A onwards, everything they've done has had this smug, calculated 'knowingness' that alienates me. And I loved OK Computer when it came out. Problem is, I've heard it so many times that I can't 'hear' it anymore.
     
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