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Radiohead - Where to start


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I like Pablo, Bends, OK and nothing after. I think changing with each album can be a good thing (ie: Wilco) but I just never could buy into the direction they took. I tried, I really did. I'm not a Radiohead basher at all, they just make music for other people now. Just not for me.

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What has to be mentioned is that The Bends is one of, if not the best, Indie-Rock album of the past 25 years and sounds nothing like their latest stuff.

Indie? :huh

 

Anyways...I'm just going to mention Amnesiac here because hardly anyone else will and it's what I always do when a Radiohead thread pops up.

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Any of them, really. Though I'd have to say OK Computer and The Bends are my two favorites. OK Computer probably isn't a bad place to start. From there, you could go back to Pablo Honey/The Bends or you could go forwards to Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail to the Thief/In Rainbows. It's all good(well, except for maybe Hail to the Thief :stunned )

 

Perfect. QFT.

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Ignoring the first record, I'd start w/ The Bends their most conventional record (I realize this may be a contradiction in terms when we're talking about Radiohead.) From there, I'd get OK Computer, where music media in general started to pay attention.

 

Kid A, in my mind, is an electronic record - devoid of guitars. It's probably too esoteric for someone not familar w/ the band. Looking that their catalog in retrospect, on Kid A and then on, you see/hear a lot of electronic based tunes, which seem more like Thom Yorke solo projects than Radiohead as a band. Just my opinion.

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> I get sick of people shitting all over Pablo Honey because it's a good rock record and not a "Radiohead" record.

 

agree there. its the only 'radiohead' album i could listen to

Listening to Pablo Honey is like listening to the Beatles before they realized they were musicians.

It's not a good rock record; it's just a fun mess with the eversopopular Creep.

You can have all the fun you want with Pablo Honey, but it's like tipping for a cheap fix on the corner of 8 Mile and Woodward.

I could make more metaphors, but I could waste less space by suggesting a revisiting of the rest of Radiohead's catalogue.

 

And if you still want a good rock record from Radiohead, then choose The Bends.

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Listening to Pablo Honey is like listening to the Beatles before they realized they were musicians.

It's not a good rock record; it's just a fun mess with the eversopopular Creep.

You can have all the fun you want with Pablo Honey, but it's like tipping for a cheap fix on the corner of 8 Mile and Woodward.

I could make more metaphors, but I could waste less space by suggesting a revisiting of the rest of Radiohead's catalogue.

 

And if you still want a good rock record from Radiohead, then choose The Bends.

i think pitchfork could use another master of the metaphor. like they don't have enough already.

 

when first getting into a band, i happen to think it's usually better to start from the beginning and follow their progression. i believe that the bends is a terrific rock record and one of their best over all. but pablo honey was the beginning and it's not an album that deserves the snide remarks from those who jumped on the bandwagon after OK computer. i'm not saying you are one of those fans...but, i digress. pablo is where it all STARTED. obviously, they've PROGRESSED from there. there's no reason to undeservedly put that album down. i still think it is a great rock record and a debut that deserves much more than derogatory comments from the self professed-purveyors of what is or isn't "cool." NOW. this is just my opinion.

 

Do you also put down wilco's debut in like manner? even though AM was recorded at a different time and at a different place in their current musical progression, i still like hearing it from time to time. the fact that wilco has been playing some of those old songs on their current tour would indicate that they certainly aren't embarrassed by their debut. why the need to diss a bands humble beginnings? i just don't get it.

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The reason that Pablo Honey is a bad starter album, though, is that it has absolutely nothing in common with what came after. If someone is looking for a place to start to see if they may want to explore Radiohead further, it is useless, because no matter whether they love it or hate it, it's not going to clue them into whether they'll like anything else by them.

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The reason that Pablo Honey is a bad starter album, though, is that it has absolutely nothing in common with what came after. If someone is looking for a place to start to see if they may want to explore Radiohead further, it is useless, because no matter whether they love it or hate it, it's not going to clue them into whether they'll like anything else by them.

well, it was recorded by the same band...there's something in common. if i would have started with kid a or amnesiac, i would've wanted my money back and likely wouldn't have given the bends or OK a chance.

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Do you also put down wilco's debut in like manner?

Yes.

 

why the need to diss a bands humble beginnings? i just don't get it.

Like you, I also have opinions. NOW, this is just my opinion, that I have opinions too. I still love these Wilco and Radiohead, but I'm not going to fap over everything they do. Albums will come under scrutiny. People will love and hate A.M. and Pablo Honey. If you think it's awesome, cool beans! If I think it's awful, good riddens! Humble beginnings sounds more like "excuse them for making their first album", which is not a valid way of criticizing an album.

 

Nevertheless, I'm still going to encourage new fans to visit the genesis once they're done with the catalogue and let them make their opinion even if we can't agree on how horrible Stop Whispering sounds.

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i would also recommend skipping pablo honey for a while...

as someone who went into the deep end over radiohead [years ago, mind you...and i'm only 19], i would [like others] have to say that they became better at crafting music after the initial "british answer to nirvana" days [imitation so evident in that record, isn't it?].

 

that said, i'm glad that you started with the bends. when you get to amnesiac, i would hope that you could identify exactly what coldplay took from radiohead [and how incredibly smart they were for it]. amnesiac is my favorite--sometimes i like to mix in some kid a with it. i might be wrong [live recordings] is a fabulous combination of both albums [with a couple of extras worth listening to]. fall back to pablo honey once you've become comfortable [not sure if it's the right word] with the rest of their work.

 

i like to think that there is an appropriate radiohead album for almost every time of year/mood/state of mind. everyone to his or her own on that...

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it's taken me the better part of 6 years, but I'm officially "into" Radiohead.

 

OK Computer's great, Kid A's really good (look up Chuck Klosterman's 9/11 theory, makes it more interesting), I love In Raindows, The Bends is a good one, Hail to the Theif is so-so, The Eraser (Yorke's solo stuff) is better, and Pablo Honey is rock.

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