So after hackers stole a load of recordings from the OK Computer era and demanded cash to not release them (or not, see this Pitchfork article), Radiohead decided to release them with profits going to climate change campaigners.
Theyāre one of the few really big bands Iād say any music lover should make sure to dive into at least a bit regardless of your musical interests. Looking back they were definitely the band that made me want to explore electronic music and certainly the first time I heard a modular synth was on Idioteque. Looking back on all the music I found for the first time just exploring their influences as a kid is pretty incredible. Boards of Canada, Kraftwerk, Charles Mingus, CAN, Brian Eno, Magazine, Aphex Twin, Arvo PƤrt, The Smithsā¦I could keep going!
The other thing about this band that I love is how much they clearly genuinely love each other. You can see it on stage, and you can hear it in the music. A band lasting this long consistently making great music with all the original members from childhood is amazing to me.
Thereās an interesting True Love Waits 1/3 way through the first disk. It has a crazy fm synth arp part. They did spend a lot of time searching for the accompaniment for that song. Very interesting.
I just⦠have no interest in them? I literally cannot name one song of theirs.
I got into electronic music because my dad had a bunch of 8-tracks of Isao Tomita, Wendy Carlos, Synergy, Pink Floyd, the Close Encounters of the Third Kind soundtrack, etc. Once I was old enough to have any disposable income, it went to cassettes of Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk⦠and then I stumbled into Skinny Puppy and everything changed
Iāve seen people claim theyāre āthe Beatles for Generation Xā and, well, no, they were too late to that party. That dubious title probably goes to Nirvana. (Or perhaps NIN should get it, given the parallels between Sergeant Pepperās huge emphasis on studio production, and Pretty Hate Machine being probably the first 100% home studio made hit record? Anyway.)
Iāve also seen people claim that one specific Radiohead appearance (on Saturday Night Live, I think?) was somehow singlehandedly responsible for the popularity of Eurorack, and again, that just strikes me as extreme hyperbole.
Anyway, I donāt want to turn this into āyour favorite band sucksā at all ā itās more like they just donāt intersect my world. I mean, to me, The Cureās Disintegration may have been the last good pop album ever made
I canāt really consider myself a Radiohead fan anymore. Between Thom Yorkeās public persona and the cult of personality around him (Iāve had multiple friends proclaim āThom Yorke is Godā over the years), my interest in their music has been steadily declining post-In Rainbows. Iāve got certain memories of people and moments in my life that will be forever linked to their music, but I rarely listen unless it pops up on film/TV or a playlist somewhere. At this point, Iād be much more interested in hearing Kid A and Amnesiac-era outtakes/demos/alt-versions/whatever if such things exist somewhere.
Which would actually be fine (although one could argue that itās not the topic of the thread to discuss the merits of Radiohead as The Band), but what rubs me the wrong way and motivated me to actually say something is that you are doing this, but you say that youāre not?
Which discourages discourse, right? Itās kind of like saying, āThis is how I feel⦠but weāre not talking about it!ā Shutting down the conversation before it starts, kind of thing.
Anyway, Iām not out here defending Radiohead; you like them or you donāt. Or, gasp!, some gray area in-between.
I seriously doubt Iād have touched a synthesizer if it werenāt for Everything In Its Right Place, so thank you Thom for that. His solo stuff recently has been so good, he continues to inspire me. Love that heās started messing around with a Shared System.
Radiohead are my favorite band. Hands down no questions.
Pablo Honey was one of the first āproperā albums I bought (ie. not Smash Hits or āNow Thats What I Call Music⦠ā) when I was a kid (maybe 10?). On cassette no less
Theyāve been with me for 20+ years. It feels like theyāve grown as Iāve grown and have continued to evolve⦠and for that I am so thankful. So yeah in short I love them
ā¦But I would agree with Thom Yorke⦠this doesnāt seem very interesting to me (or after a quick listen/scan through). The majority of the tracks have been released as the band intended them. The āanthem that never wasā Lift is ok. I Promise is an amazing track but itās already on the OK Computer reissue.True Love Waits is on the latest album (which is great) and beats any of the live recordings Iāve heard.
I think what they have done with all the profits going to charity shows real class (and is also a nice to the hacker).
They really got interesting when Kid A came out. Letās hear those minidiscās! Half an hour of Jonny Greenwood messing about on his modular would be just fine by me
Thereās definitely some miscommunication happening here, and Iām not sure where to start. Maybe restart, then?
Iām personally disconnected and baffled by recent (last couple of years, and especially the last couple of days) online posts proclaiming how important and influential Radiohead has been. Not to people individually ā thatās exactly where the ānot yucking anyoneās yumā comes in. Which I reiterate, I was not trying to do.
But Iāve seen claims that this band was supposed to have been broadly important to my whole generation, to electronic music, and to Eurorack especially. And that strikes me as really weird, because I have gone through my life without knowing anything at all about the band.
I fully admit (again) that this is probably partially an age thing, and partially that I am weird myself. I fell out of touch with pop in the early 90s when I started going down other rabbit holes instead ā but some exposure to pop music, in shops and restaurants and online, is inevitable. I couldnāt avoid Carly Rae Jepsen, who I donāt think anyone has said is culturally signficant, but somehow I missed Radiohead ā āthe Beatles of Generation Xā ā entirely?
So thatās where Iām coming from. I neither like nor dislike the band; I am confused by the hype; I am glad some people find them inspiring; I am glad theyāre donating the proceeds of this thing to charity; Iām not trying to shut down anyoneās conversations.
(ā¦and also, some posts here have me wondering if I should at least give them a try, but it is difficult to put aside preexisting biases/assumptions )