Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Radiohead-head

Ok, all you Radiohead fans out there:

What is your favorite Radiohead Album and why? (Thanks to Mike for this great suggestion as a topic.)


By the way, they are possibly going to release their 7th album by the end of this year.

12 comments:

Mike said...

I like OK Computer as an album. For me, you get a great mixture of guitar-rock and moody "artsiness" with this disc. It seems like it takes you on a journey from the loud beginning of "Airbag" to the final quiet tinkling bells at the end of "The Tourist." Plus, I first heard this disc on a road trip on the highway. The arrangements and instrumentation sound so agonized-over-- all kinds of little details, like an echo here, a tambourine there, etc. It's such a BIG-sounding album.

As far as a collection of songs, though, I think I like The Bends just as much.

About the only music of theirs I CAN'T get into are the uber-electronic moments on Amnesiac.

But then again, I'm one of the few people who actually like Pablo Honey

jenn said...

okay, as you have guessed i pretty much like them all! and it really depends on the day which one is my favorite.

the bends was my first radiohead album so that holds a special place in my heart and most of the time thats what i call my favorite. its one of those cds no matter what my mood it usually sounds good.

unlike mike, i love amnesiac...something about how simple all the lines are but when brought together its just like great.

everyone has to like ok computer...lol! its just good! and i often hear the voice from the "fitter happier" in my head...i think this is a sign of me going crazy! :)

I'm so excited about the new album coming out...the eraser was nice for getting a little big of the radiohead taste while waiting for the new album...but it didn't quite quench the thirst! i'm ready!!!

greg said...

The Bends. I'm told by my students, the smart ones who aren't listening to Daughtry or Akon, that I should like OK Computer better. It's not like there is a bad Radiohead cd, but The Bends, with the title track, Fake Plastic Trees, Black Star, and High & Dry, is probably the most listenable for music dolts like me. That probably means I'd love Pablo Honey, but I still haven't heard it.

Amanda Fortney said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amanda Fortney said...

Ok, I don't think I can actually answer my own question directly.

I'm going to just give a run-down of each one.

Pablo Honey: I listened to this a few times and couldn't get really excited about it. It was a little too "pop" for me. But I haven't listened to it in awhile, so who knows, I might like it better now.

The Bends: This is one I thought was ok at first, and then it grew on me and I LOVE it now. I had listened to OK Computer before any of the other CDs, so I was comparing it to that and didn't think it sounded that unique. But now I really like it.

OK Computer: I think this has to be one of my favorites. It's just so good. The songs are so completely Radiohead and just have this "other-worldly" feel to them. But I definitely have to be in a Radiohead mood to listen to it.

Kid A: I really liked this one from the beginning. I don't think I could claim it as my favorite, but I just like it. It's just so different. You might think it wouldn't be that cool since it's so electronic, but it was AWESOME live. Well, all their stuff is awesome live.

Amnesiac: Maybe one of my least favorites, but I still like it. I don't think they could put out an album I didn't like. There is a normal version of Like Spinning Plates (where it's not backwards) that is absolutely gorgeous.

Hail to the Thief: This is one of my favorites. I just loved it the minute I started listening to it. They went back to being a little less electronic than the previous 2 albums. It's kind of cool, b/c it doesn't really sound completely like any of their other albums. They just seem to evolve in each album, changing it up a little bit each time.

I guess after looking at my list, I'm going to say I have two favorites: OK Computer and Hail to the Thief. But they are all good.

As far as Eraser, I have to agree. It has some cool stuff on it, but it's not Radiohead.

Amanda Fortney said...

Did anyone notice it took a novel for each of us to comment about our favorite Radiohead album?

Josh McCullock Photography said...

thats so true...
I'll be the odd man out and simply say I love amnesiac...even the uber-electronic parts. Which is strange cause I don't like electronica in any other context.

Mike said...

Josh has inspired me in his out-man-out-ness.

Pablo Honey, while it has one of the most notoriously bad album covers of all time, is underrated in the Rhead corpus. Here's why:

"Creep." It was successful amongst high school kids and gets asscociated with radio pablum. It is in the 90s alt-rock formula: soft, moody verses followed by LOUD chorus. No "SERIOUS" music fan wants to associate themselves with that. Fair enough. Let's throw that tune out for a sec.

The rest of the stuff on the album sounds not too far removed from the textures you hear on The Bends. In fact, I often confuese these two songs in my head. So I'd say it's definitely worth your time if you like Radiohead.

Another novel! Just one more point, I promise. Just listen to the minute-and-half-build of screeching guitar noise at the end of "Blow Out" and you'll hear the restless experimentation and "artsiness" that Rhead fans came to love in their later work.

Amanda Fortney said...

radiohead has a way of making electronica cool. i don't normally like it, but i like most of the electronica stuff they do.

Mike said...

Bad proofreading.

Make that "odd-man-out-ness"

Also, I confuse the two ALBUMS of Pablo Honey and The Bends.

Amanda Fortney said...

man, i need to find my pablo honey cd and check that out.

jenn said...

Pablo Honey did grow on me after listening to it about 10 times and i'm still not a huge fan, although i don't hate it like i used too... i can respect it as a really good first major album for them and i think that they would not have gotten so much attention without creep...