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Kid A - Why does everyone love it so much?

post #1 of 116
9/22/09 at 6:34am
Thread Starter 
I'm not flaming or being negative, but can all of you fans try and explain why it's making so many "Best Of" lists? Such as on here and Pitchfork?

Just curious.
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post #2 of 116
9/22/09 at 7:16am
Well, what music do you normally listen to? When I was listening to Simple Plan and Blink-182, I hated The Beatles. Now, thankfully, it's the other way around, although I still have a guilty pleasure for some of Blink-182's songs.
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post #3 of 116
9/22/09 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule View Post
Well, what music do you normally listen to? When I was listening to Simple Plan and Blink-182, I hated The Beatles. Now, thankfully, it's the other way around, although I still have a guilty pleasure for some of Blink-182's songs.
I listen to and enjoy Radiohead. Always have from the Pablo Honey days. I think Kid A is great. I really do. I'm just curious why so many people think it's THAT good that it is topping their lists. Before I found this board, I had never heard nor seen such high regard for it. I personally feel OK Computer is a MUCH better album.

And as far as the Beatles go...as much as my tastes have changed or even grown, I still am not a fan at all.
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post #4 of 116
9/22/09 at 8:56am
A lot of people would agree that OK Computer is better, but it was released prior to 2000, so it doesn't qualify for the lists you mentioned. Kid A seems to be their most highly regarded album from the 2000's.

As for Kid A's popularity....I don't think there's really a good way to explain why so many people like any album. However, if you also like it, you should at least understand on some level why it's popular.
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post #5 of 116
9/22/09 at 9:56am
Kid A was the album that pulled me into Radiohead. It was just so hypnotizing with all the crazy sounds and effects I had to appreciate it for its creativity immediately. At the time I was listening to mostly hip hop, house music and a bit of jazz. That probably has a lot to do with it. "Everything in its right place" I must have repeated about 10 times before I let the rest of the album play. It is pure genius.
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post #6 of 116
9/22/09 at 10:20am
Hard to say.... Some of the songs are brilliant, IMO.... though for the most part I prefer The Bends and OK Computer. Since then Radiohead has been hit and miss for me. Then again, maybe it is the move away from songs toward sounds that began to lose me. Not sure....
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post #7 of 116
9/22/09 at 10:47am
"Kid A" is a great album but I certainly prefer earlier albums (The Bends, Pablo Honey) better.
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post #8 of 116
9/22/09 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule View Post
Well, what music do you normally listen to? When I was listening to Simple Plan and Blink-182, I hated The Beatles. Now, thankfully, it's the other way around, although I still have a guilty pleasure for some of Blink-182's songs.
No need for guilt. It's perfectly acceptable to like both!

As to the OP's question, I have often wondered the same. I like Kid A, but it has never been an album I think of when trying to come up with a top 10 list. I can understand the point about OK Computer being from before 2000, but even when restricted to post 2000 I like In Rainbows much better than Kid A.
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post #9 of 116
9/22/09 at 10:55am
it's a matter of inclination, i'm sure. i tend toward more experimental music with quirky arrangements and/or non-standard instrumentation, so i think Kid A is by far Radiohead's best album.
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post #10 of 116
9/22/09 at 10:57am
Yep, basically what VicAjax said. I think of it as a concept album, and I love concept albums, so thats another plus for me.
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post #11 of 116
9/22/09 at 11:18am
I like concept albums too.... and think OK Computer was a more coherent whole, while Kid A sounds like more disjointed and cobbled together electronic experimentation. There's nothing like the flow of Exit Music (For a Film) into Let Down on Kid A. Powerful stuff! OK Computer strikes me as a more thoughtful and refined work of art.
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post #12 of 116
9/22/09 at 11:18am
Disclaimer : I'm a pretty hardcore Radiohead fan. Not so much compared to people on At Ease but, well, I have 300+ Radiohead songs on my iPod.

Kid A is my favourite Radiohead album. I think one of the reasons I find it so captivating is firstly the way it seems to flow so well together as an album. Songs seem to fit together in a way that each song is markedly different and yet the transition from one song to another isn't jarring. Of course, Idioteque to Morning Bell is pretty amazing, but that's not really what I mean. Then there's the expansive nature of the sound, it creates quite a large atmosphere in my mind.

I've listened to Kid A many times, but the definitive listening for me was one time I was lying on my back in the grass of a sunny park, listening to the full album with my sound-isolating headphones. It was a pretty special experience.

Oh, and I haven't done drugs but I'd imagine Kid A is pretty good for that too.
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post #13 of 116
9/22/09 at 11:20am
I never really understood the fascination with Radiohead myself. I always thought their early stuff was sort of wimpy sounding post-nirvana alternative which I don't really care for that much. It wasn't till Kid A and all the hype surrounding it that I actually bought one of their albums. It's a nice album. I like how complicated it sounds, how expansive. I went back and got OK Computer which sort of leads up to Kid A's sound. I appreciate both albums for what they are, but if I were honest, I'd say that both albums... as varied, complicated, deep, etc. as they are... are... well... boring. Really. Its like all of the right ingredients are there. All the talent. Depth. Time. But it never really goes anywhere. I find I actually get frustrated listening to their albums because I want to like them, but there's just no "click"... no connection... just a bit of boredom.
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post #14 of 116
9/22/09 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by adrift View Post
but if I were honest, I'd say that both albums... as varied, complicated, deep, etc. as they are... are... well... boring. Really. Its like all of the right ingredients are there. All the talent. Depth. Time. But it never really goes anywhere.
If they combined half the songs from both into one, they'd have a real winner IMO.
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post #15 of 116
9/22/09 at 11:38am
Chud, that is the worst suggestion I've ever heard.

Each is a unique, complete artistic expression. It's like saying that you like the beginning of "The Matrix", but you prefer the end of "Bladerunner", so splicing them together in the middle would make a better movie.

Keep in mind, though, these decade-spanning "best-of" lists aren't really based on music, but on pivotal albums that signal major changes in direction. Kid A, in that sense, introduced electronic experimentalism back into mainstream music, or so the sentiment goes.
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