Fox On The Rocks wrote:
Chozal wrote:
One of my current bandmates is a rabid fan of Kid A and In Rainbows and is pretty adamant about the fact that the worst Radiohead album is ... OK Computer.
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I can see that. He probably digs the experimental stuff more. OK Computer is a monster, don't get me wrong, but Radiohead really reinvented themselves in the new century, basically stripped all of their old rules and tricks, and changed their career around. The past five albums have been key sources of innovation and experimentation for Pop Music, and I'm just fortunate that we've had the pleasure to listen to them, because they really are incredible records.
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I see Kid A as a sequel to OK Computer - and a brilliant one at that. I can't imagine enjoying one without the other. OK Computer is a fin-de-siecle work, charting the end of an age, and the world on the cusp of a new, virtual reality. Pyramid Song is key: "I jumped in the river... All my lovers were there with me, all my past and futures... There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt." OK, computer. You win. Erasing oneself by escaping into virtual reality. What's interesting is that in Radiohead's scenario, it's not robots forcing us into virtual reality (a la Matrix), but man himself willingly seeking the blessed relief from the disapointments recounted in "Let Down."
A philosopher has published a terrifying book, arguing that the statistical odds are that we are all probably computer programs. I think that Radiohead's work expresses these anxieties. Radiohead has continued to explore this theme about erasure ("The Eraser") beyond Kid A/Amensiac; see, for example, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi: "Why should I stay here? Why should I stay?... / I follow to the end of the earth and fall off ... / I'll hit the bottom and escape / Weird fishes." (Which sounds a lot like "we're fishes.")
It's no accident that "Everything In Its Right Place" was featured prominently in the sci-fi film "Vanilla Sky," in which Tom Cruise's character is living a virtual world, without his knowing it.
Edited by jude111 - March 26 2013 at 22:55