AMNESIAC

I consider to KID A-AMNESIAC to be one, 2-disc album. As such, the 5-star rating I've assigned includes both albums. These two albums were recorded at the same time, and the themes of both albums overlap and complement each other. I consider both albums to be so culturally relevant and important musically that, while we can quibble about individual songs, the albums really are beyond mere "I like it" or "I don't like it" criticism. These are albums that you deal with; and if you don't, it's at your own risk.

The two versions of "Morning Bell" on both CDs makes it clear that conceptually they are of a whole. Other songs act as doubles as well: "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" and "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" continue the sonic explorations of "Everything In Its Right Place" and "Kid A," while "Pyramid Song" might be the loveliest (and creepiest) song of both albums. "Hunting Bears" is a moody instrumental, perhaps the doppelganger of KID A's "Treefingers." "Like Spinning Plates," along with KID A's "Idioteque," may be Radiohead's most radical moments, and points toward new directions for popular music. Finally, the closer "Life in a Glasshouse" resurrects the big band horns last heard on KID A's "The National Anthem."

I find that with OK COMPUTER, KID A, AMNESIAC (and the albums afterward to a lesser extent), the band has crafted a musical universe that one doesn't merely listen to, but rather *inhabits* (in the same way Floyd did in the 70s).