Radiohead
Amnesiac
(Capitol)

As Radiohead releases its second foray into electronica, the title Amnesiac prompts the dutiful listener into a contemplative position and strikes an odd chord, which subtly alludes to a curious situation:

What if the entire listening audience was to suddenly become amnesiacs?

What if there wasn't the watered-down rock of Pablo Honey?

What if there wasn't the eccentric guitar work of The Bends?

What if there wasn't the boldly experimental OK Computer?

What if Radiohead went the way of Pallas Athena and suddenly sprang forth from the head of a synthesizer, fully developed and ready to wage war on the Titans of today's pop culture with a debut release called Kid A?

What would happen to these heroes of rock and their swarms of fans and critics?

First, there are the tens of thousands of anti-trendy kids that would become suddenly bereft of their icon of icons, a pillar of rock and roll to withstand the test of time. To console themselves, they would desperately search for the new anti-trendy trend large enough to absorb and consume and pin on their backpacks and sticker their rusty automobiles of early nineties vintage with. They would most likely also devote an extra ten percent of their time to their trendy-bashing efforts in order to compensate for the sudden deficit in their lives.

Second, thousands of another category of Radiohead fans would now have to find another band to fill the void left in their litany of CDs that, though they don't really listen to them, would still be able to somehow give credibility to their otherwise poor taste in modern rock. I envision a typical scenario to contain a mix of Creed, Everclear and Green Day, and perhaps a little Limp Bizkit to sweeten the pot.

And, lastly, critics would lose their last bastion of rock with nationwide recognition and be forced to go back to listening to worthless bands that, through some miracle of God, continue to gain mainstream media attention and require a review to be written. But all this aside, the most pressing issue is what would become of the music and ensuing public opinion?

Taking the public for what it most frequently is, public opinion would most likely follow the way of the critic. The critic, as a tool of the record company, will probably see no desire to praise this with undue adulation, and a mediocre review is the most likely product. We will see no "Best Album of the Year" nominations, no mind-blowing experiences, and most likely of all, no special feature in MTV's primetime showcase.

In terms of the critic, I imagine a typical review would consist of the following:

If there weren't enough already, yet another British band is attempting to cross the great divide and win the hearts of American listeners. Radiohead, an Oxford-based group, has recently released its debut album entitled Kid A. Anything but conventional, this record utilizes an interesting combination of electronic instruments, as well as the more standard rock accompaniment of guitars and drums. It begins with a calm Thom Yorke singing about the agonies of an over-dominant society and the difficulties of life.

The second track presents a robotic voice with nearly incoherent lyrics and feels remotely like a sci-fi movie dialogue. This is followed by a track which begins quite comfortably but turns into an extremely bizarre cacophony with wild saxophone riffs and raging drums. One feels one's hand begin to edge towards the volume knob for fear of damaging one's hearing.

The album also contains an instrumental interlude, which sounds as if someone fell asleep atop the synthesizer with the "record" button depressed. "Idiotheque" presents a high point in the album but comes quite late in the roster, as the synthetic drums roll the listener along with the intricate beat.

The finale is considerably bearable, but a bit confusing as the song ends, where it abruptly returns with another strange mix of effects, reminiscent of the earlier interlude. Overall, the lyrics seem to be an insight into what could be Thom Yorke's next effort, a book entitled Catchy Phrases and Lyrics: From the Streets to Your Record. His style is quite obscure, and one can only glean minimal meaning, if any, from the lyrics one can understand. His voice can be quite strong at times, but the content is a muddled mess.

The band seems to demonstrate in their atypical song structures a sufficient amount of potential to be able to sustain a low-key career. Kid A, on the other hand, can wait till next month's allowance.

Following the appearance of this review, Kid A would have submerged into the depths of musical culture where there are no music videos, no broad world tours or even tours in econoline vans through the club scene of America. They would then retreat to their college town and begin work on their next album.

As Amnesiac seems to be more of a disc two of Radiohead's Kid A, most people would be no more impressed by the new record, which would be deemed "a sophomore effort by a British band." The fans they had gathered over the year would appreciate their album, but again, mainstream recognition would be a distant glimmer. The reviews would take the same approach as they had previously and would contain similar content, most notable of which would be the column inches spent trying to figure out how a second version of "Morning Bell" made it onto their next full-length release.

Radiohead would become one of those bands where people are thoroughly excited to meet other fans. "You listen to Radiohead?! I thought I was the only one in this God-forsaken town! That's so great. Did you go the show in [insert nearest big city]?" Welcome, Radiohead, to the sub-culture of America.

However, as most of you have probably know, such a hypothetical situation does not, in fact, exist. Radiohead has indeed released their fifth album. They sell out concerts in a matter of minutes. They have demonstrated a remarkable growth in their music. And, they are all the quiet rage.

I, for one, am no different from the rest. Allow me to demonstrate.

Amnesiac is not simply a repeat performance of a prior album. Thom Yorke's voice soars across the entire record. "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box" comes pounding through your skull door with a full, bold bass line, seeping in to your inner recesses, sitting comfortably in your favorite chair, calming your mood. The robot voice has again made an appearance with another adventure into oddity in "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors." It feels almost like a dark, futuristic Laugh-In, full of abrupt halts and pauses.

The listener catches a glimpse of a daydreamer's mind in action with "You and Whose Army," as the mellow vocals evolve into the voice of a haunting man of action at the climax of the song. The guitar has returned with a vengeance on this album, featured on six of eleven tracks, and it seems it hasn't missed a step. "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" is an elegant reconstruction, with precise orchestration and an eerie, dreamy warmth.

Radiohead has taken another step in experimentation with Amnesiac; exactly in which direction is difficult to discern, but a welcome step by any measure. It is evident that Amnesiac cannot stand to wait for next month's allowance, and we will hold hands together while we hope and pray that no hypothetical situations become real.

-David Hong

Junkmedia
07.01