Radiohead

Kid A

[Capitol; 2000]
by Mr P

Whether we shop at small independent music stores or big corporate chains, we
music lovers share a commonality: expectations. We expect the bands that we love
to get better and better, and not just linearly, but exponentially. It's unfair,
it's stupid, it's puerile, and the worst part is that we are all guilty of such
ridiculous preconceptions. It's an arcane phenomenon in rock music that is
especially common with such behemoth groups like Radiohead. The longer we had to
wait for the follow-up to the acclaimed OK Computer (1997), the higher
our expectations elevated. Because of the subjective superiority of OK
Computer over The Bends (1995) and likewise The Bends over
Pablo Honey (1993), fans-- either hardcore or casual-- naturally expected an
album that would surpass the paranoid schizophrenia of OK Computer and
the organic beauty of The Bends. And with the rise of the Internet (chat
groups, message boards, web pages galore), the hype for Kid A grew to an
unprecedented level, further nurturing any initial expectation. However, what
the fans actually received was an album so different from its predecessors that
it had little to actually compare-- at least in the musical sense. And this is
what makes Kid A so damn successful.

A constant battle between digital versus organic plays throughout Kid A,
like an organism trying to reach homeostasis but is instead suspended in a state
between entropy and equilibrium. The result: a continuous tug and war that ends
only after the album reaches its 40 minute mark. But mentioning the battle on
Kid A is not complete without mentioning the balance, and the balance is one
of the key aspects of the album acting like the human blood through the wires in
a robot. Who says there is no guitar on this album? Who says there are no real
drums? There are plenty of organic instruments, and although most are
electronically manipulated, the notion that Radiohead has strictly transfigured
into electronica artists is a premature conclusion derived from poor listening
skills and lazy journalism. Kid A is beyond genres and styles. It is a
morphing of a wide gamut of diverse elements that trying to pigeonhole the album
is like trying to figure out what to put in your AIM away message: it's trivial.

But while listening to the album, one begins to wonder how much control Thom
Yorke had in the making of the album; there is little doubt in my mind that Thom
ultimately guided the group where he wanted. This theory is evident on opening
track, "Everything in Its Right Place." Warm, dreamy keyboards, a pulsating 10/4
metered beat, electronically manipulated vocals-- Kid A could not ask for
a better opening song. Because the instruments are primarily digital in nature,
there is little room to dynamically fluctuate; the life of the song relies on
the intricate layering of sounds and Thom's powerful vocals. Thom starts the
song with a soft but strong falsetto, but as soon as the second verse comes, he
transforms his vocal infliction into a driving bellow, sustaining the energy
throughout the rest of the song. There are only four lines in the song ("Everything
in it's right place / Yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon / There are two colors
in my head / What is that you tried to say?"), but Thom stretches them out
like saran wrap over last night's Thai food. It emanates a mood that is neither
melancholy nor exuberant; it is a detached, insular mood yet still bears as much
raw emotion as a solo acoustic guitarist playing to a capacity of ten.

But where is the rest of the group? Apparently, the only two who worked on the
song was Thom and producer Nigel Godrich. In fact, much of the recording process
was done by one of the five in isolation, and a lot of the times, the other
bandmates had no idea what the person was recording at the time. This isolated
recording leaves Kid A with plenty of open space, opposed to 70% of OK
Computer being recorded live. At best, the space provides a unique sound,
and each sonic idea from any given member receives a fair chance; it's not
cluttered and you can discern the leftfield experimental noise from the organic
sounds with ease. At worst, some may accuse the band of relying too heavily on
the computer, trading the heart for the hard drive. But I think the warm tones
and unyielding amounts of emotion more than make up for the unorthodox recording
techniques. And on the other side of the coin, after Thom recorded the raw
tracks (acoustic/vocals) on "How to Dissapear Completely," the rest of the
recording process was relegated to the band.

The only song that does not immediately conjure Radiohead of past is "Treefingers."
By far the most visionary, and the most unique, and the most aurally difficult
to accept with open ears; the song requires full attention. But it succeeds on
so many levels. The watery synth-like sounds are actually made entirely of
sampled guitars; thus, Radiohead, possibly inadvertently, created a new way to
hear the guitar, which is plenty more than you can ask than another acoustic
ballad a la "Fake Plastic Trees." It is quite possibly the closest the band
could get to sounding like Brian Eno (circa Music for Airports). Other
influences are evident throughout the entire album: Aphex Twin, Bjork, Miles
Davis, Autechre, and Can. Yet with all these influences, the music sounds
unmistakably Radiohead. Rather than originality in a specific sense, originality
for Radiohead is the culmination of these styles injected into something that is
so profound and creative that any rubbed-off influence is nothing less than MSG
on Chinese food.

In short, Kid A sticks out whether they like it or not; it's an album
that reserved six months until its lackluster follow-up, Amnesiac. But
during that transient moment of pure musical bliss, we experienced one of the
most exhilarating moments in recent rock history. In retrospect, I have come to
realize that I took that perfect moment in music for granted. Though I loved the
album, I had no idea that its lasting ability was so strong, and I still
approach the album at varying degrees in order to hear it from every possible
angle. But there's plenty of time left in the future to catch up, and as soon as
I leave this multi-complex TinyMixtapes building, I will listen to the album in
its entirety-- in the dark-- with headphones, sporting my Radiohead shirt and my
British-looking slacks, and most importantly, with no expectations.

1. Everything in Its Right Place
2. Kid A
3. The National Anthem
4. How to Disappear Completely
5. Treefingers
6. Optimistic
7. In Limbo
8. Idioteque
9. Morning Bell
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack