Radiohead - Kid A

Ok. Deep breaths. This is a band I will admit that I’ve tried to like since childhood. I bought 3 or 4 Radiohead albums over the years, which was just the thing to do growing up in the early 2000’s, each time hoping this would be the album that made me UNDERSTAND. Alas, I never did. So this will be an exercise in maturity and opening myself to changing my preconceived notions. 

I listened to half of this album before learning it’s number 20 on the Rolling Stone list. Out of 500 albums, this is considered the 20th greatest. Then I listened to the rest of it, and then, perplexed, moved on to the next album on my list without knowing what to write about this one.

The next day, I listened to Kid A again. I cranked the volume up and used my good headphones and lit a candle and everything. I was in a great mood and ready to love anything I heard. Then I listened a third time.

And now, I have to write the first thing I’ve ever written on the internet that might get me canceled - I believe this album is an inside joke from the music industry. Everywhere I look, I see detailed write-ups about how you have to experience Radiohead albums the right way, with the right understanding of their music and previous work, and maybe I don’t have that context - although I did listen to Pablo Honey, The Bends, and OK Computer many, many times in search of the cool music my middle school peers spoke of. 

So maybe it’s me, just uncultured, uneducated Dave. But I also think that, for this album to be at #20 all time, it can’t rely on the other 13 albums by the artist to prop it up. You know what the rest of the top albums of all time have in common? They don’t require decades of detailed explanations for you to “get” why they’re the best. Cultural context plays a role in other albums being considered great, sure, but that’s different than saying an album is great because it reinvented an artist’s sound relative to their previous albums. If that’s the argument, you’re really saying that the 20th greatest album of all time is a compilation of Radiohead’s first 4 albums, not just Kid A.

I sincerely apologize to the 95% of other people on the internet who seem to love Radiohead. I have failed to change my opinion, and I will face the consequences bravely (just kidding I’m a coward, please don’t throw sticks at me).

On a side note, this album has also given me a great idea for a post about how to gracefully dislike music. I probably need to work on that, along with the rest of the internet.

Brain Rating: 5 (I guess? To keep me from getting dragged too badly?)

Taste Rating: 0

Originally part of Preparing For a Post-Streaming World.