Radiohead, the band early known as On a Friday, formed in the late eighties when apathy was at a high and there was a need for a brilliant and amazing band. Radiohead (Thom Yorke, Jonny and Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, and Phil Selway) were told that they were too 'american', but not giving a crap kept on doing their own thing.
They came out with their first album under the name of Radiohead, Pablo Honey, in 1993. The first single off that album, Creep, sent sales of the record past gold, but Creep was just as bad for the band as it was good. It became somewhat of an anthem of that whole 'Generation X' thing and Thom, was pegged an apatheic, angsty, self-loathing 'rock star'. Until the release of The Bends in 1995, Radiohead was merely known as the band that sang Creep. For all of you that have heard the song (Creep) think to the part just before the main chorus. ("You're so very special...") That chord/distortion/noise thing done by lead guitarist, Jonny, was an attempt to ruin the song during the recording (I read that he hated it! Could be just a rumour, though). The rest of the band liked the sound of it so much, that they kept it.
Their second release (The Bends, 1995) came out with such singles as High and Dry, Just, My Iron Lung, Planet Telex, The Bends, Fake Plastic Trees and Street Spirit [fade out]. This alblum proved that not only are the songs works of art, but the videos are, too. My favourites of the bunch are Fake Plastic Trees (the members of the band being pushed around a futuristic grocery store in shopping carts) and Street Spirit [fade out] (black and white using slow motion and regular speed motion at the same time? Now that's just plain cool!)
The Bends gave hints to what the sound of their new album, OK Computer (released in Canada on June 17th,'97) would be like. I've heard Radiohead refered to as Brit-Pop... strange? But Thom told Vox Magazine that Radiohead is actually a pop band and only play guitars because they don't know how to play keyboards. Ack!OK Computer has sort of an electronic thing going but still sticks with the usual guitars, bass and drums. They've added some fabulous new sounds along with the trademark piercing vocals of Thom and crazy guitar styles of Jonny. The sound of OK Computer can't be classified in any music categories. It has the feeling of creepiness (no pun-like thing intended), eeriness and paranoia... Like having the last bit of you scraped out and put on an LP. Haunting tracks like Paranoid Android, Exit Music [for a film] (which was featured in the ending credits of the film, Romeo and Juliet, but not in the Soundtrack. Talk Show Host was also featured in the film and put on the soundtrack), Karma Police, Climbing Up the Walls, No Surprises, Electioneering and Lucky display that the 'head is a band of fabulous talent and great originality. Not all the songs on OK Computer are 'dark', there is more to that band called Radiohead then some critics think.
I want to see pictures of the band!
huh? cait's concert experience?
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