The Official Radiohead Thread

[dac]

Originally Posted by Rainard Jalen

I maintain that anybody who says that Kid A is better than OK Computer has got to be tone deaf or else just prefers albums without many good songs to albums with them in abundance.

No. That is a dumb comment. Period.

[debaserr]

yea thats out of line

[Blue]

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

It's not that there's anything characteristically BAD about Kid A, just that...nothing happens. It's such a boring album.

I disagree. I stand with sweet_nothing on this, I think it's incredibly beautiful. In fact it's my favorite Radiohead album. How to Disappear Completely, Motion Picture Soundtrack and Kid A are some of my favorite Radiohead tracks. I thoroughly enjoy every song.

[Rainard Jalen]

Originally Posted by sweet_nothing

If given a proper listen Kid A is a real sonic beauty. Just because it doesnt have any radio hits or catchy songs doesnt make it boring.

There are many ambient-oritented albums that are a LOT more sonically beautiful than Kid A. If Kid A REALLY stood out among electro-ambient soundscape music and was the genuine bona fide flagship of its genre, then you'd have a point. The fact is, it isn't. It's not even among the top 20 or 30 electro-ambient albums in existence. I was never saying it was boring because it lacks radio hits. I say it's boring because it just isn't very engaging. I mean, 90% of the crap I listen to is completely devoid of anything that could ever even be construed as potential radio music.

Seriously, to you and dac, this might sound arrogant but I'll say it anyway: I think the only reason that either of you really view Kid A as being something so amazing is that you are not, essentially, fans of that kind of electronic music in the broader sense.



Here's a great electro-ambient album from this year: Flying Lotus - Los Angeles. This knocks the socks off of Kid A and it wasn't even supposed to.

[Son of JayJamJah]

In Rainbows continues to fade from interest for me.

Anyone else feel like it's a 6-7 out of 10 at best?

[sweet_nothing]

Originally Posted by Rainard Jalen

There are many ambient-oritented albums that are a LOT more sonically beautiful than Kid A. If Kid A REALLY stood out among electro-ambient soundscape music and was the genuine bona fide flagship of its genre, then you'd have a point. The fact is, it isn't. It's not even among the top 20 or 30 electro-ambient albums in existence. I was never saying it was boring because it lacks radio hits. I say it's boring because it just isn't very engaging. I mean, 90% of the crap I listen to is completely devoid of anything that could ever even be construed as potential radio music.

Seriously, to you and dac, this might sound arrogant but I'll say it anyway: I think the only reason that either of you really view Kid A as being something so amazing is that you are not, essentially, fans of that kind of electronic music in the broader sense.



Here's a great electro-ambient album from this year: Flying Lotus - Los Angeles. This knocks the socks off of Kid A and it wasn't even supposed to.

But we're not talking about every electro-ambient ever made, we're just talking about Radiohead. And that boring remark was more towards lucifer sam. Also, I never said it was the most sonically beautiful album ever made, just that it was beautiful album that Radiohead did that was better in a sense than Ok Computer because they completely changed their direction in their music. So in many ways it is better album than it's predessor. But I'll check out that album.

[Rainard Jalen]

Originally Posted by sweet_nothing

But we're not talking about every electro-ambient ever made, we're just talking about Radiohead. And that boring remark was more towards lucifer sam. Also, I never said it was the most sonically beautiful album ever made, just that it was beautiful album that Radiohead did that was better in a sense than Ok Computer because they completely changed their direction in their music. So in many ways it is better album than it's predessor. But I'll check out that album.

I see what you're saying, but I don't think it's sensible to argue that one album by a band is better than a previous one on the basis that the album in question represented a great change in direction. It might make that album more important in the history of the band, but I don't think that's a reason to say that it's better.

With me, the deciding factor has always been fairly straightforward: OK Computer is more melodically beautiful than Kid A. It has incredible songs. The latter can't match it for songs. So OK Computer imo wins.

[GravitySlips]

Kid A is much better than OK Computer. There was me thinking everyone knew that, but apparently not!

[dac]

Originally Posted by Rainard Jalen

I see what you're saying, but I don't think it's sensible to argue that one album by a band is better than a previous one on the basis that the album in question represented a great change in direction. It might make that album more important in the history of the band, but I don't think that's a reason to say that it's better.

With me, the deciding factor has always been fairly straightforward: OK Computer is more melodically beautiful than Kid A. It has incredible songs. The latter can't match it for songs. So OK Computer imo wins.

I'll admit 2 of my top 4 Radiohead songs are from OK Computer, but I think Kid A functions better as an album. OK Computer might be better if you're a person who just listens to singles, but otherwise I think Kid A wins easily.

[Rainard Jalen]

Originally Posted by dac

I'll admit 2 of my top 4 Radiohead songs are from OK Computer, but I think Kid A functions better as an album. OK Computer might be better if you're a person who just listens to singles, but otherwise I think Kid A wins easily.

Tripe. OK Computer is a unified thematic piece in all senses. If you never spotted that, then you couldn't have given it much serious attention - in which case, I find it odd, since you seem to be a Radiohead fan and any Radiohead fan ought to have realized that OK Computer is pretty much a concept album (if not literally, then effectively). Hell, there's more thematic unity to OK Comp than there is to Kid A.

Originally Posted by GravitySlips

Kid A is much better than OK Computer. There was me thinking everyone knew that, but apparently not!

Nobody's particularly able to give any reasons as to why it is better than OKC, other than it just simple being the case. It loses on all counts of what makes an album good:

- quality of specific material
- consistency of general material
- flow and congruity
- thematic unity
- just simple good f'cking songs!