ok, so ive read threads where u guys call sonic youth and spoon, two bands i love, overrated. im gonna start a thread on a band i think is HUGELY overrated. ive listened to kid a. and ok computer. and all there albums, except pablo honey. i just dont get the appeal. i mean im not calling them a piece of rap, but a great band? no way. feel free to tell me why you disagree, maybe im just missing something.

Not only is this thread utterly pointless and not "just indie" but you can talk about this here, here, here or here if you want!

i don't know man i like them alright

Everybody's overrated to somebody.

I understand if you have recently listend to those Radiohead albums that you could conclude "overrated". But I think you're missing cultural context. Now, you can hear every band out now that sounds like Radiohead, or better versions of Radiohead, or whatever. Even looking before them, you can see bands that influenced Radiohead's albums. But if you had heard OK Computer in 1997, you would think "wow, I didn't know rock music could sound like this". And then you would wait over 3 years to see what was next. And all that you would hear was Puddle of Mud, Fuel, and Audioslave. You would be near giving up on Rock music all together. Then Kid A comes out. Does it sound like OK Computer? Not at all. Does it sound like anything else being released? Not at all. Now, it blends in to all these great things that were influenced by Radiohead's expansive and progressive sound. Their greatness comes not from the actual notes they play, but from the significance their music means, the freshness that their albums have always offered to stale music scenes, and the impact that they had and continue to have.

It's hard for me to imagine listening to Radiohead's great streak of albums (The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac) for the first time now with fresh ears. Like Tyler mentioned, they were so influential, it might be hard to distiguish the original with the imitators.

It is a little bit like Quentin Tarantino movies. There was such an imitation of his style -- there still is, in fact -- that if you saw Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs today for the first time, you might not understand what the fuss was all about.

All I know is that when I bought The Bends when it came out, I loved it immediately. When OK Computer came out, I thought it was the best album I'd ever heard (and probably was at that time). When Kid A came out, it took some time for me to love it because of how it initially sounded so different from OK Computer. But, I grew to LOVE it, and I still think it doesn't sound dated or of its time at all.

That's actually what I think is great about Radiohead. Kid A kind of taunted other bands by saying, "We know that you can copy 'Creep' and 'High and Dry', but try copying this."

With all that said, I still think all the albums hold up really well and do not depend on context to be held up as great albums. Overrated by critics or rabid fans? That's hard to judge. But, I do know that the music is great.

That's for the older folks here.

quote:

Originally posted by TylerTmoney:
I understand if you have recently listend to those Radiohead albums that you could conclude "overrated". But I think you're missing cultural context. Now, you can hear every band out now that sounds like Radiohead, or better versions of Radiohead, or whatever. Even looking before them, you can see bands that influenced Radiohead's albums. But if you had heard OK Computer in 1997, you would think "wow, I didn't know rock music could sound like this". And then you would wait over 3 years to see what was next. And all that you would hear was Puddle of Mud, Fuel, and Audioslave. You would be near giving up on Rock music all together. Then Kid A comes out. Does it sound like OK Computer? Not at all. Does it sound like anything else being released? Not at all. Now, it blends in to all these great things that were influenced by Radiohead's expansive and progressive sound. Their greatness comes not from the actual notes they play, but from the significance their music means, the freshness that their albums have always offered to stale music scenes, and the impact that they had and continue to have.

Radiohead is one of my favorite bands but I don't think cultural context has anything to do with the quality of the album. The greatness of an album comes from the actual music and not from its historical impact. For example The White Album is one of my favorite album's and though it is no longer groundbreaking like it was when first released it is still a great album because it has great songs. I wouldn't even say that Radiohead are an especially groundbreaking band. What makes them great is their ability to cherry pick dissparate elements from other music (Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin, Pixies, The Beatles,Ornette Coleman, etc.) and blend them into their own unique sound which is challenging but also has mass appeal. Infact this is the same thing that made the Beatles great.
In response to "Just Indie"'s original post I would say the key to Radiohead's greatness is repeated listens. When I first heard OK Computer I thought it was good but after four or five listens I thought it was great. Same with Kid A.

i don't know about repeat listens being the key to radiohead.

i started typing the story about the first time i heard 'ok computer' here, but it's a bit too personal, so i'll just conclude by saying that at least in my case, the first listen changed the way i listen to music, and that's no hyperbole.

quote:

Originally posted by golden flea:
..... so i'll just conclude by saying that at least in my case, the first listen changed the way i listen to music, and that's no hyperbole.

Changed the way you listened to music? It's a rock and roll album with a couple filler tracks, man. I mean, yeah, the songs are pretty great, the production rocks, etc, but.....to me, it's a pretty standard rock album.

I'm staying out of this once I say:

SY, Spoon and Radiohead all deserve the hype. Along with the Beatles, Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, NMH, the Pixies, Pavement, Iggy Pop & the Stooges, etc.

They were/are all really fucking good at what they do/did!!!

Radiohead are great. Although this new album seems to be taking a unusually long time, it's a little annoying. I'm with Cuney on this one-everybody's overrated to somebody.

I agree the all people have different interests and opinions, and that everyone is overrated to somebody, however i understand exactly where the poster is coming from. i was obsessed with radiohead and kid a a couple of years ago, because i had never heard anything like it. now, listening to radiohead is like doing hard labor because it is not in the least bit enjoyable to listen to (at least harmonically and melodically, with the exception of a few songs). Same thing with drums not dead (new liars album ROOLS), its brilliant but its like the sonic equivelant to requiem for a dream. And while im on my hate spree im going to say jglass is mostly right, except for Sonic Youth. They fucking blow harder than a whale that has been submerged all day and then comes to the surface to spew that water, except in this case its terrible music, out its blowhole at 500 mph.

idk, ive listened to them alot. maybe there just not my thing.

quote:

Originally posted by harrisonOWNSmccartney:
They fucking blow harder than a whale that has been submerged all day and then comes to the surface to spew that water, except in this case its terrible music, out its blowhole at 500 mph.

Hee hee. I quite agree. Also, quite the brilliant simile.

I hate it when a magazine like Q have a top 100 albums of all time (from either critics or readers) and OK Computer is 1st or 2nd. That's ridiculous! One list rated it higher than The Beatles Revolver. Now, I'm not one of those babyboomers who thinks that the 60s is the be-all and end-all of good music, but I think each album they've done have a couple of good songs on them meanwhile people treat them like a religion or something. I guess they're like Dylan - you join the religion or you don't. The Bends sounds like U2 - and if you like U2 then that's fine, but it's sooo middle of the road! We'll see if Radiohead have the longevity (as in making consistently good music) of REM or Sonic Youth.
p.s. That Fitter Happier song sounds like Sonic Youth's Providence. And the piano bit in Karma Police reminds me of Sexy Sadie.

The Bends sounds like U2?

I guess if the Edge could write a melody as gloriously melancholy as "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was," or a guitar lead as beautifully chaotic as the one that closes "Just". And if Bono could write lyrics half as disheartening as "Fake Plastic Trees," or as emotionally reserved and simultaneously devastating as "Black Star".

Not to hate on U2, as I actually love quite a few of their songs (and consider at least two of their albums seminal classics)...but Radiohead has not even had a mediocre release since their first album. That's a five-album streak of top-notch musicality, a feat in and of itself, not to mention the fact that they have constantly mutated and updated their sound over the entire span of those albums.

It's fine to not like them, but to call them overrated seems a bit absurd.

quote:

Originally posted by in limbo:
The Bends sounds like U2?

Yeah, tons.

quote:

Originally posted by in limbo:
I guess if the Edge could write a melody as gloriously melancholy as "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was," or a guitar lead as beautifully chaotic as the one that closes "Just". And if Bono could write lyrics half as disheartening as "Fake Plastic Trees," or as emotionally reserved and simultaneously devastating as "Black Star".

Yeah, they have.

I agree with FKA that 90s Radiohead sounds quite a bit like U2. This isn't a slam on either band. I think Achtung Baby and Zooropa were big influences on The Bends and OK Computer. Try listening to U2's "Acrobat" or "Zooropa".

I agree with eric that U2's albums were big influences on Radiohead. I also think that R.E.M. is a huge influence on Radiohead or at least they were. This also isn't a slam on any of the bands but even if you ask Radiohead, they will admit that they were/are heavily influenced by many amazing bands like the aforementioned ones.