Radiohead

Hey, hey, hey!

How To Disappear completely was amazing!

And so was The National Anthem.

I see what you are hinting at mind you....

I agree!

Totally!

It was just not THE best performance I have seen!

Is it just me who finds Radiohead's records generally great and their gigs boring and introverted?

i second that.

amazing....did anyone see them at Earls Court?? bloody brilliant.

Were they simply overcome with ennui? Or are Radiohead becoming the new Take That?

Kinda wish I'd gone really, since I haven't seem them in years and HTTT is now my favourite 'head album... still, can always see 'em next tour (though when I said that about Fugazi last year they promptly decided to break up for a year or two...)

The author was hinting at the way the band managed to effortlessly unite the crowd, more than offer a comment on the style of music, I would think. It wasn't exactly Bon Jovi at Wembley, now!

Does no-one remember when the Head played smaller venues and their power took over... that will be missed forever now but Cardiff's gig was awesome in it's own way.... they are still the finished article and of the 6 times I've seen them now, that was the 2nd best gig I've seen by them... you're never going to recapture the greatness of the Bends tour in Oxford with Supergrass!!!

There There
Everything in its right place
Knives out
Idioteque
2+2 = 5
You and whose army?
Motion picture soundtrack
Optimistic
Pyramid Song

9 tune-drenched classics there (admittedly, it took three albums to get them).
But surely it would be a bit silly to say they've forgotten how to write a song, wouldnt it?

I have no desire to witness songs about spinning plates "live". If I had been stupid enough to shell out thirty quid I would EXPECT a proper set full of proper songs such as 'Creep', 'The Bends', 'My Iron Lung', 'Lucky' etc etc.

Having witnessed that godamnawful show of tunelessness at Glastonbury, uninformed is not the correct description of my comment, unimpressed would probably sum it up better.

If Radiohead weren't an established band and released Kid A(trocity) or Hail To The Thief as their first records they would be banished to playing the Water Rats every other night without fail, and before you give me the "they've earned the right to do what they like" spiel, experimentation should not be used as an excuse for making poor, unlistenable records.

Dom G.

Agree with you about Jet and co., but this year's 'long awaited' releases by Radiohead and Blur weren't about moving music forward, but more of an exercise in pretentious art for art's sake posturing.

Dom G.

Widespread humiliation?!?

Keep on taking the tablets, Zoo, whoever you are.

dom- you need to wake from your denial and realise that you love radiohead. 'the gloaming' is your favourite song. we know it. you know it. you need to come clean. you need to escape from the self-hating trap you're in. it's okay to love radiohead.

remember, dom, we love you. whenever you need us, we'll be there for you.

we'll always be there.
XXX

Zoo1

I LOVED Radiohead when they made records that mattered, wrote tunes that meant something, actually responded like they cared.

The thing is since Kid A(bysmal) they've sacrificed any thoughts of making music that is actually listenable for the sake of "art" as Mr Yorke cares to put it.

If you're happy to accept substandard rubbish, fine. As for many of the thousands who witnessed their recent disappointing shows, we'll think twice about shelling out our hard earned cash next time.

Dom G.

a few million people are behind your gene pool, dom. the result is definitely 'wrong'...

Zoo 1

So you need to be on shitloads of coke for Radiohead's recent output to make any sense!

I rest my case sir, I really do.

Hail To The Mighty Dom G.

dom, check your door for money and groupies 'cos your wit is off the scale.

Hail To The Facially Inept.

Future

Aside from being unsure of what a "Dis pole" is, you cannot argue with the fact that Radiohead's current popularity is due to 'The Bends' and 'OK Computer'.

If they hadn't released those two albums, no one would give two hoots about anything they've released since - FACT.
The national press wouldn't be cockfighting each other to give unlistenable relics like Kid A(bsurdly crap) and Imsoniac's Dream (which it was) 10/10 without listening to the damn thing - FACT.
If Either of those two or Hail To The Thief had been released prior to The Bends or OK Computer no one would be calling them "experimental, ground breaking geniuses". Instead they'd be dropped, unheard of by about 99% of the population and probably working in a library somewhere in Abingdon.

The problem is that because some people missed their aforementioned classics while they were too busy listening to Cast or 'Be Here Now', they feel they have to pretend Radiohead are these emotional geniuses who are getting better with every record when in actual fact they've got progressively worse with every album since '98 to the point of being aurally unbearable.

I do agree with your point about record sales however, as if that were a trademark of quality would all be listening to Westlife, Dido and the Cheeky Girls (all of whom considerably outsold Radiohead incidentally in either/both the singles and albums chart during 2003).

Dom G.

well last time i looked you didn't end up with a number one album both sides of the atlantic, with no promotional singles from it, by being a "joke".

:)

you know the one i'm talking about i'm sure...

No, you're wrong.

Their popularity is down to Creep.

Without that, they would have been dropped before having the chance do do The Bends

The simple truth is that without the success and the freedom to create which The Bends and OK Computer gave them, they would never have created Kid A, etc.

To dismiss the widespread media acclaim as everyone not have listened to it is rather short-sighted - there's nothing the media like more than a fall from grace.

Just because their last few albums haven't been made in the straight off chord for chord, four-four, seven-eight songwriting structure we all cherish, doesn't mean its bad.

Does anyone seriously wish that Radiohead had done what Oasis did and remained the same?

Kid A is a truly classic record and commands continued and repeated listening. Admittedly, I didn't fully appreciate this until listening to it back-to-back with Amnesiac, but that is the whole point here.

The rest of the reasoning is set out <b><A HREF="http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/7193.html"target="_blank">here</A></b>

It's not right to dimiss something you don't understand.

Future

Kid A is like a paper tissue.
You use it once then realise its not as good as you thought it would be so it ends up in the bin.

Nobody wanted Radiohead to end up like Oasis.

However, it would have been nice of them to at least treat their audience with a little respect and A) Release something resembling a tune every once in a while; B) If they're going to charge upwards of £30 to see them at least play a fair quota of the songs that got you there in the first place.

Dom G.

You can see the set lists from recent shows on VirtualFestivals.com so that covers that.

The 'tune' issue has also been mentioned. If you fail to respect how Everything In Its Right Place, Spinning Plates, Knives Out, Idioteque, There There, 2+2=5, I Will et al are considered TUNES then you're just peeling away the remaining layers of respect that I have for what you say.

Andy

Future

To be perfectly honest, I care not whether you respect what I say.
The fact is, and you have provided NO evidence to dispel this, that Radiohead have not made a decent, tuneful album since 'OK Computer', and looking at various setlists compiled on your website DOES NOT substantiate your argument one bit.

U should know u have yr
mouth round it most offten

Future

You and every other PR licking writer who reviewed it had little option but to give it a 5 star review, or the freebies would have dried up!

And since when was stating a fact about Radiohead not releasing a decent album since 'OK Computer'tantamount to being stupid?

You collect setlists, great. I collect Nottingham Forest football programmes.

Likewise, as with your setlists, the songs that were played prior to them being hyped as "geniuses" would have been better than what is being trawled out now, as was the team listed on the back of the programme that won the European Cup in 1979 better than the one currently languishing in the bottom half of Division One.

My point being, that just because Kid A, Hail To The Thief and Amnesia (because it was forgotten about after the 2nd track) carry the Radiohead trademark, as does the curent Nottingham Forest football team, it doesn't mean the quality is there any longer.

Dom G.

Depends on what you call moving music forward.
If you mean being different for the sake of being different but sounding like a cat being dragged through a lathe backwards, then I'm really not interested.
If you mean using your inspirations in a positive manner and then creating something worthwhile and beautiful then I'd go with people like Adult., Punish The Atom, Muse even, to name but three.

As for Radiohead and Blur, it's time they split up, along with the Manics, Oasis, the Bluetones and many other remnants of the Britpop era whose sell-by dates passed years ago.

And before you ask, yes I have been/still am a fan of all of those artists at one point or another.

Dom G.

Muse! ! !!!!
(dies in howls of laughter)
And it was all going so well too.

You've got to admire Radiohead for having the balls to do something different as well. They could have gone and created space-rock all they liked, but they saw they had to do something different, and although not everyone liked it, they did what they wanted.

McDonald had a fucking reality tv show she became the star of
Carey had millions $$$$$$ worth of promotion, the Sony boss as husband, MTV, etcetcetc........

Both of those are from totally different spheres - both musically, and the entire machinations of the industry behind their fame/progress to the 'top' (of the charts..). You're an intelligent person though so that was surely just to wind me up, i can't think of any other sensible reason. wherever did i mention "inspirational geniuses (sic)" anyway?

Radiohead put out a record that in comparison to the first 3 was 'difficult' / 'obtuse' / 'pretentious' / 'unfriendly' / sundry other accusations from eg: people who wanted them to remake OKC for the rest of their careers. and in no way at all were expected to perform so well beforehand, let alone once you'd heard what was on the record. no press saturation, no singles, no mtv videos, very scant interviews. summat *happened*, and they went stellar. in the midst of nu-metal, bad Steps-pop and the rise of uk-garage. and i think of all of this, then look back at Kid A, and just can't reconcile the two, can't work out how the hell it happened. Other than what a stunning album it is, alongside The Bends it's the best album they've done (imho..)
And perversely, given those accusations, that album set them up as being more popular than they'd ever been before, and they're only getting bigger. I think those who stoutly insist Radiohead in the 21st Century are a joke are rather the minority of old fans who whimper about them not playing Creep live when they see them. and some IDM heads who look down on em with mirth/disdain for their programming and edits not being as hot as Gescom's or whatever. And your good self (wouldn't want to stain your dignified superiority you preen so much in this thread above by claiming you whimper).

This refers to several things you've posted really...though with that last reply either you're being thoroughly awkward or just plain stupid , I'll give you the benefit of the doubt as its Christmas ;)

I think things are getting on my tits even more than usual the longer we've no hot water here.....

rhubarb.