antiReviews:
RADIOHEAD
| Amnesiac Review by Dr Fever
RADIOHEAD
| Amnesiac Label: Capitol
Rating:
Tracks: Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
Pyramid Song
Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
You and Whose Army?
I Might Be Wrong
Knives Out
Morning Bell/Amnesiac
Dollars & Cents
Hunting Bears
Like Spinning Plates
Life In A Glasshouse
Radiohead is one of those bands that's
just damn hard to figure out. With "The Bends" the had some radio accessibility
to them, with "Ok Computer" they still had some accessibility to them but
it just got a little weirder, with "Kid A" they had NO accessibility, BUT,
they garnered HUGE critical praise with a trippy, ambient album that just
seemed like Tom Yorkes way of flipping the bird to expectations. So, when
"Amnesiac" was set to come out, everyone waited with baited breath, hoping
and praying that it would be a return to the sound of "The Bends" and/or
"Ok Computer". Well, those people are going to have to just keep waiting.
"Amnesiac" is (unlike what most critics
have said) a pretentious album. It's another experimental-type release
from guys who like to experiment. What's so wrong with that? If a band
release 5 albums in a row that sound EXACTLY the same, then it just gets
boring. So, Radiohead doesn't do that, and I respect them for it. Admittedly,
i'm fairly new to the ways of this band. I was a late bloomer in discovering
them, but now they qualify as one of those bands that I just enjoy listening
to.
This album was exactly what a lot of people
didn't want, "Kid A Pt 2". It's trippy, ambient and out there for sure..but
it's in fact a damn good album and I think the guys in the band are really
enjoying making albums that sound like this, but not enjoying the backlash
they've been getting. I think the message lies lines from the first cut
("Packt
Like Sardines..."). Yorke mumbles "I'm a reasonable man, get off my
case" over and over..but yet, doesn't seem repetitive. Like I said, this
might just be a reference to all the flak the guys have been catching,
but what do I know, I don't over think with albums I just enjoy the one's
that are good and this one certainly qualifies.
Basically, if you are a hardcore fan of
Radiohead then chances are you're reading this and agreeing with me..if
you're a person who just loves "Ok Computer" but doesn't 'get' all the
trippy crap that "Kid A" brought, then chances are you DO NOT agree with
me. But, I guess what i'm saying is, everyone just needs to stop overanalyzing
and bitching and just recognize that this is a damn fine album. Then, after
you've done that, go out and pick this thing up. It's worth the money.
Posted by Mchao:
I too claim radiohead to be an underated pool of genius. I own all of their CD's and cherish them. I admit, Pablo Honey was a little sketchy, but giv'em a break, they were just getting started. I don't know how many times I've listend to songs like "I might be wrong", "Talk Show Host", "Climbing up the walls", "Nice Dream", I could go on and on. Their B sides are phenomenal. For all of those who love Radiohead as I don, don't hesitate to buy "Strung Out On OK Computer" which is a string quartet tribute to Radiohead. It's gold.
Posted by Thin Tin Man:
After years of waiting,
Nothing gained,
and you realize your looking in
looking in the wrong place.
Get off my case.
Posted by Mr. huh? saying, "My Generation Sucks!":
I hate so-called "fans" who think that the music is supposed to be made to their specific rules, thus hampering the songwriting and creativity of their artists. ace(further down on this board) said it best. The artist is the artist, not you. Sometimes fans of anything can be some of the most arrogant things in existence. They refuse to take and judge something on its own merits. Take Sugar Ray for example. I have all their albums, and while their new direction is definately different, I think that most of its nice, meaningful, upbeat pop-rock. Who cares about what style an artist was in or whether or not they changed. Artists can only write for themselves not the fans. Granted, they do need to make it somewhat musical and listenable, but they should never be expected to write according to the fans' expectations.
Posted by the first man in baltic sea:
radiohead are gineus the only band who have changed the style they sound so much and so good noone ever has done it.yes there are few bandz that changed their style but they are nothing and after the changing they somehow allways sound worst.THERE ARE NO BIG = GREAT BANDS (for example nirvana, the beatles,pink floyd...)THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY THEY SOUND SO GOOD AS RADIOHEAD DID THAT! AND RADIOHEAD IS THE GREATEST BAND AFTER THE BEATLES BECAUSE IT HAS SO SWEET BUT VERY GREAT SONGS LIKE NO SURPRISES AND FAKE PLASTIC TREES AND KARMA POLICE.. AND THEN THEY HAVE SONGS LIKE KID A AND DOLLARS AND CENTS AND IDIOTHEQUE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE DONE IS THE BEST THAT WE HAVE SINCE BEATLES UNTILL RIGHT NOW !AMNESIAC IS NOT BETTER THAN KID A BUT ITS A GREAT ALBUM SO IF YOU LIKED KID A THIS ONE YOU WILL LIKE TWO .NO THIS DOESNT SOUND LIKE B-SIDES ITS LIKE KID A PART 2! OFCOURSE THE SECOND PART ALWAYS IS BORING BUT THIS IS REALLY GOOD!!!!I PROMISE IT WONT SOUND LIKE ANOTHER THING ... !KID A AND AMNESIAC IS FULL OF EMOTIONS AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT BILLION TIMES AND YOU WONT GET BORED BECAUSE THERE IS SO MANY THINGS IN IT EVERYTIME YOU LISTEN TO IT YOU DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW AND IT SOUNDS LIKE ITS MADE WITH HEART AND SOUL! I REALLY LOVE IT!I LOVE THEM BOTH!i could talk and talk but ok now you now that i love kid a and amnesiac and its a very good music for now its something new now when theres only f##ing s##t like limp bizkit lnking park and slipknot....common DREAM AWAY ...FLOAT IN YOUR DREAMS AND LISTEN TO RADIOHEAD!
Come to my country - LATVIA I feel loneley!
Posted by jac:
I loved Kid A. I like Amnesiac also. I think it's great that they don't settle into a particular style and that they experiment. They remain true to themselves.
Posted by redheadspy:
AMEN!
i'm a long-time fan of radiohead; i was listening to them when no one had even heard of them. they're musical geniuses, and i utterly respect all of their music because they do it in the face of all the BS that comes from the commercially driven pop-infatuated critics who would rather fill their heads with exhibitionist showmanship and egotistical melodic tinkerings which could hardly be termed "good music". radiohead has always been a group of pioneers; their music has never been produced from or aimed at the mainstream of accepted "music", and there is no reason for them to stop exploring because the world finally started to realized that what they've already discovered is awesome. the fact that they are so commercially inaccessible but at the same time appealing to such a wide range of people is respectable in itself. i urge anyone who "doesn't like" radiohead, or who "doesn't get" their new albums to just sit down and listen to them again. just try it again, without your bias. the first time i ever heard a radiohead song, i hated it. but then i heard it again, and then i listened to it again on purpose... and after that i was hooked. there is something there to be heard, i promise. i've seen so many former skeptics turn into lovers that i know i'm not the only it's happened to. every album is something totally special, and every song is in itself unique. everyone today seems to be talking about the so-called integration of rock, jazz, jazz, hip-hop, electronica, country, etc., etc.... all genres of music into one, and hailing bands like kid rock and limp bizkit and linkin park and so-and-so (not that i would directly slam any of these bands in this forum), but come on, there's more than one way to do that, and if it's so acceptable in the form which caters to media hype and anti-authority-for-the-sake-of-rebellion-against-mom-and-dad-cuz-they-won't-let-me-stay-out-late culture, i can only hope that there are ears out there for that which is truly different, perhaps in a more intellectual and introspective way, but defintiely worth it. anyway, i loved the bends, i loved pablo honey. i loved ok computer. kid a was awesome. and i feel the same way about amnesiac. everyone who is "disappointed" because it wasn't more of kid a or the bends or whatever reminds me of my little brother, who buys a CD so he can listen to the band's one hit single over and over again, without listening to the rest of the album, as if the song wasn't overplayed on the radio as it is... get a life.
Posted by Monty Newman X:
Amnesiac is, in my mind, and alternative to Kid A... Rather than a stepping stone to some new sound. Without question the album offers a different approach to an underdone thing... experimentation. Somehow I think that the band is experimenting less than it's fans, no?
Posted by k:
k
Posted by booimpact:
a great album indeed. Radiohead made Amnesiac more accessible than Kid A. With the same approach s their last album, they left rock gene with confidence.
Posted by question mark:
i think it's a really great album. radiohead shows us that you can have music with an incredible amount of emotion without having to scream your head off. whether it's done with guitars or with computers doesn't matter as much as the emotion being conveyed thru the music. as long as that honesty and emotion is there, i will always be listening.
Posted by ace: I think that enjoying music is like going
with the artist on their journey, not being a backseat driver, telling
them where to go and how to get there. The only music worth listening to
is music that comes from the soul of the artist.
Posted by
Bradoro: Dude, chemicaldistress, calm down
Posted by
ChemicalDistress: F\/CK expectations, you morons. They promised
NOTHING. It was ALL rumour. They recorded 32 songs, released 10 with KID
A and another 11 with Amnesiac. Amnesiac is one of the best records they
have put out to date, blowing away KID A and Pablo Honey for SURE. OK Computer,
The Bends, or Amnesiac? I really don't know which is better... Damn, I
would hate my fans if I was Thom Yorke. Appreciate what you get.
Posted by
Anthony: I think everybody needs to forget all
expectations of what Radiohead will put out next, because you're gonna
be wrong...Radiohead is too much of a surprising band!
Posted by
home skillet: the album is supreme. the intro track
is a great opener followed by the adventurous "Pyramid Song" -- it takes
me on a journey for sure.
Posted by
your mother: it's a dissapointment. not that it's bad
or anything, it's pretty good, but i was expecting a bends type album,
which is what they promised
Posted by
headbanging_munky: i have no comment on this sh'tty album
