Kid A

This was released around the same time my first born entered this miserable world. Joan and I would often refer to her as Kid A. How we would laugh. The Radiohead theme would continue, as when Hail to the Thief was released, that same child had recently been kidnapped, never to be seen alive again, which was a welcome relief, as she was a right little prick. How we laughed. Police investigations came to a head in 2011. Several dismembered body parts belonging to my daughter had been found in the local woods. Imagine our faces when we were told this news as Radiohead released King of Limbs. We could barely hold back our laughter.

More drones than the Obama administration

One of the greatest albums ever. Radiohead going experimental because they didn’t like their own rock sound anymore and not disappointing at all, this whole album is just an experience with beautiful songs. Everytime I hear this album my mind gets blown again. 10/10

I have no clue why people like radiohead. this is as boring as it gets. yeah creep was a good song but it was a real one-off. 0/5.

Straight bitch behavior lol. This could almost be considered white noise. Average Radiohead song: Whiiineeee and moaaaannnnn, moaaaninggggggg, sad violinnnnn, whiningggggg, why doesn't this girl like meeeeee, mooaanninnggg, im going to disappeaaaaarrrr, cuz i'm noothinnggggggg, whinnnning, moaninging!

Really good ! I was listening like three songs deep and I was like I get Radiohead now and I understand how artists like frank ocean are inspired by them and then that one track hit which he sampled in one of the interludes in nostalgia , ULTRA. Where the girl is like “what is a Radiohead?” 🤣🤣 And I was like damn bro i got the vision like that ?! Anyways crazy album to listen, lots of atmosphere, I feel like I’m in space like odyssey 3000! My favourite song first listen is The National Anthem that shit is nuts

atmorpshere lik e parmesan chees

With Kid A, Radiohead went directly from inventing and mastering a variant of modern prog rock with OK Computer to fully assimilating the innovations of Aphex Twin and harnessing them to a new form of pop music. It's one of the most astonishing one-two punches in all of rock history. Even more amazing is the subtlety and depth of human feeling Radiohead brings to electronica. Kid A is hypnotic and dreamlike. It also sounds gorgeous, which producer Nigel Godrich probably deserves a lot of the credit for. It's also brilliantly sequenced. I should mention that electronica is not the only influence here. There's Mingus, ambient, a brief appearance of guitar rock, and even an orchestra, but it's all subsumed and blended into as cohesive an artistic statement as I've ever heard. Stunning on every level.

I wish I could be as "into" this as I feel like I'm supposed to be. Like - is this cool and I'm not cool because I don't think it's cool? Or is the music inherently not cool, and that's what makes it cool - unless I think it's cool, then I'm a loser? What drives a band to never play their most popular song in public again because too many people liked it? It must be that cool = not cool? Regardless, based purely on it's musical merits, I like this album. Admittedly, some of it is too "out there" for me, but a lot of it is quite good. I especially liked Iditoteque and Morning Bell. I at least appreciate the rest of it. Overall, it's pretty cool (or it's not). I don't know.

Fucking random noise and incomprehensible singing. Can't stand anything by Radiohead

Fuck. It's weird seeing one of the albums that actually changed me as a person here. Obviously this is a 5/5 album for me. It's one of the albums that I would have given as an example of what a 5/5 album looks like. For me, it felt like rock n' roll was on a linear path until this album, and then it could no longer go on that path, for better or for worse. While the radio was trying to shove Puddle of Mudd down my throat, I had this masterpiece to listen to. It just feels special, right from those first notes. Then these alien samples start to accompany the tones. Then Thom's voice pierces through. "Everything in its right place" This album manages to be so strange and so familiar at the same time. The only real problem I have with it is that I've listened to it so many times that it's hard to actively savor it. Every time I notice the album, another song has gone by. Still, every time I tune in, there are amazing things happening 5/5

Every Track In Its Right Place. Sublime

I know this one by heart

My favorite album of all time.

First song. Painful. Like having a stone stuck in your tyre. Or like a kid asking you why over and over again. Second song. Good beat but the voice, wtf. I now know where fat white family got their inspiration. Tracks seem to have promise but don't go anywhere. Just whine on and on. How to disappear completely couldn't start any worse. DO NOT LISTEN IF ON THE EDGE. Fair enough write about your problems but don't put it on everyone else, it's selfish. Drones on about not being here, I wish he wasn't here to be honest and this is a low point for me in the album. Will try and finish it.... Didn't get any better and I never want to listen to Radiohead ever again

I’ve been postponing this review for quite a while because this is one of my favorite records of all time and didn’t want to write a disservice to it, not that I think anyone is reading now that we are hundreds if not thousands doing this list, but now I have something really pressing from work so let’s procrastinate with this. here we go: The first time I listened to Kid A in full was when a friend of mine let me borrow the record back in 2000 so I could “burn” a copy of it. Man was I in awe. My previous contact with Radiohead was via MTV and I had listened to ok computer only like a year before and was still in awe of it also. To me kid A was something really different from everything I had ever heard before, it was hypnotic and I remember listening for hours and repeating it again and again, every track has its deep meaning and it’s place in the playlist of my life. Of course the first ones to make an impact were HTDC and Idioteque. The first with its melancholy and pain with that beautiful guitar and strings work, the amazing interpretation and the despairing story behind: the idea of searching “how to disappear completely and never be found”. Beautiful. Idioteque: the most comercial track from a singleless album, a stadium anthem from a band that does not like stadiums, I have memories of family trips pasted to this track as I was always with my discman while touring, the future of a genere in one song, I could never get tired of this song, really it was an obsession I guess now that I think about it. What to say about the national anthem? It’s better than all of the national anthems I’ve heard tbh, powerful AF, true jazz if you ask me. Kid A the song? A dream, in limbo? Optimistic? Sound landscapes that will take you somewhere else completely one after the other just like treefinger, same as morning bell with its plea: nobody wants to be a slave, release me, please… Did you know Motion Picture Soundtrack was in the works for many years prior its release? Beautiful and haunting, a suicide letter could not do it better (or worse?), search the demos if you can, my god do the band know how to find THE sound for a track even if it takes them years. Which brings me to other of the things that I love the most of this record: damn does it excel in starting and finishing, those few synth notes with distorted voices that break the silence from out of nowhere in Everything is in its Right Place? That’s how you start a great record god damn! Glorious track, they even started a movie with this song. But what about closing? Well, beautifully vanish the music not before saying your farewell: I will see you in the next life.

Greater than the sum of its parts. It can be skeletal at times, but also larger than life. It's cold and dark, but conveys so much emotion through the movements of the music. Every little piece of the puzzle matters and was well thought out, from the swells of strings on How to Disappear Completely, to the transition between Optimistic to In Limbo. A 10/10 album experience. Favourite Tracks: all of them

What an absolutely transformative album. The first three tracks were too much noodle and clang for me to feel anything other than cold and sad indifference - a little too weird for me to really enjoy. How to Disappear Completely burrowed into my soul. Treefingers expanded through me. I wanted to just lay down with my eyes closed and listen, focus. I'm at a spa, floating, inside a computer at a perfect ambient temperature. I emerged on another plane. I was on the ride until Idioteque, which brought be back to my earthly body. Motion Picture Soundtrack is beautiful, and I was genuinely sad to find the end of the album. Had a nice sit in silence after, what can you even play to follow it?

Revolutionary, ambitious, emotional, raw. Beep boop noises make me want to break it down.

I’m not sure where to start with this one. Is it a good album? Sure, yes, absolutely. See my rating. Is it the game changing, greatest record of all time that a lot of people like to say it is? I don’t think so. There’s an argument to made (and Radiohead fans, in my experience, usually don’t want to hear it) that there were other bands operating in very similar spaces as Kid A long before Radiohead. They just ended up being the right band, at the right time, with the right level of success to make an experimental album like Kid A a hit, especially coming off the success of OK Computer. Again, I think this is a good record. I don’t want to come off as down playing the quality of this release. I’m just not sure it deserves its reputation as a “game changing, no one has ever done anything like this” record. As an example, “Djed”, the 20 minute opener from Tortoise’s 1996 classic album Millions Will Never Die blends many of the same elements (glitchy electronica, jazz, krautrock, ambient and minimalism) and, in my opinion, makes for a more interesting listen than a lot of Kid A. (See also: Stereolab’s Dots and Loops LP from 1998) I’ll skip talking about the Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada influence that you’ll see in other reviews on this page. I have the feeling that if you were in tune to other experimental rock and electronic music in the late 90’s (or prior to hearing Kid A) you probably heard this record and thought, “What’s the big deal? They’re just doing what half the bands I listen to have been doing for years.” If you were coming at it from a more traditional rock perspective, without preexisting knowledge of experimental rock or IDM, I can see this record blowing minds. That said, I’m sure there are people who fall into the former category who also had their minds blown by Kid A and people who see Kid A as their gateway to experimental music. For that, Kid A’s greatest success was in its impact rather than its songs, I think. It proved that experimental rock could be successful in the mainstream.

Totally not my favourite Radiohead album but its very well crafted and recorded. Easy to put this on in the background and just blend right into it.

A lot of cool stuff on it but also too many tracks that don't really go anywhere.

Radiohead to start the year is always fun. virginity rocks. Motion Picture Soundtrack and How to Disappear Completely are such BANGERS!! (im depressed) 5/5 this album sucks lemons.

The start of something different from Radiohead. Split their fan base massively. In truth, this is quite brilliant, uncommercial and unrepentant, more Radiohead than Radiohead. Still sounds fresh and novel, standing the test of time well, full of unusual time signatures, orchestrations and samples, it’s a modern classic. Top tracks: everything in its right place, the national anthem, how to disappear completely, optimistic, morning bell, motion picture soundtrack

An unforgettable masterpiece, produced by a band at the height of their powers and unconstrained by thoughts of satisfying their legions of fans. Each new release from Radiohead after "OK Computer" seemed designed to reduce the adoration and thin out their audience. "Kid A" saw me still staying on board.

Giving it a 5 because there isn't an option for more. Ambitious, fearless and original.

only marginally better than Our Kid Eh by the shirehorses. a proper headphones album, i've put the CD on in the car (shove your spotify) and it really doesn't work in that situation, but with headphones on this is a masterpiece.

Iconic. Infinitely iconic.

I mean. This is already downloaded on my phone and in many of my playlists. Awesome album. Would give 8/5 stars if possible. "Motion Picture Soundtrack" alone is a beautiful song.

Three points:- Kid A is probably actually Kid D in terms of Radiohead album rankings. Kid A is number one son Chris McCormick. This album is too old for Robert Plant's taste.

So my next album is Kid A by Radiohead. It has been a long time since I've listened to this. I was reading about this and how many Radiohead fans of the day were so gobsmacked by OK Computer - that it wasn't what we had wanted. Then I was reading about Rockism, and how people believe guitar based rock and roll is the highest form of musical art. I remember how they released this on the Internet and I had many friends who purchased it online. I did my best at the time to appreciate it. It was not accessible at all, and I wanted it to be a certain way. And with age and wisdom I see that was not an especially fair thing to do to a band. And evidenced by how much I enjoyed 'Moon Shaped Pool' their most recent album - I should have been more open minded. They have proven themselves to a be a band that confounds expectations and still produce some great work. I'm already thinking about this album is not easy to jump into, and I'm only 2 songs in. I think it's something I will have to live with for a while to get what it's putting across. On a cold and snowy morning, listening to Kid A on the way into work is an interesting experience. It made my highway driving on I-95 feel more cinematic. I'm enjoying this album the deeper I get into the tracks. I listened to Moon Shaped Pool quite a lot in the last few years. And I listened to OK Computer endlessly. I can see this album being a bridge between those two worlds and it's sounding good to me. It feels like a Radiohead morning. I'm not sure what that means exactly. Maybe it's the gray weather, or maybe the snow, or perhaps the cube farm I'm sitting in. It might be the fluorescent lighting. It's helping to make sense of my world.

Hot take as a Radiohead fan but the hype around this album has well eclipsed its musical worth. That’s not to say I hate this album - it still contains several of my fav RH tracks and sees the band continuing the radical experimentation started on OKC on their way through to In Rainbows. Mostly brilliant technically, though the mix of synths and guitars is a bit lopsided and makes the album feel a little bit short of gelling as a sum of its parts. Rather, the issue is that I’m tired of hearing about it. I’m tired of the never-ending Pitchfork/Stereogum/Reddit rehash of how Kid A is such a great album when there’s never any deeper level of discourse about it. I don’t understand why the music community collectively wanks over this specific LP so hard when its predecessor was much more daring and Rainbows was a much more well-realized album as opposed to Thom Yorker’s First Go at a Synthesizer (Plus Some Guitars). This album has become such a sticking point for entry into the band as a whole as well, and it makes me a little sad I see people put off by the circlejerking over this album as it just completely crowds out any wider discourse on the actual music or band itself. Maybe I’m just a salty Amnesiac fan who gets mad that the sister LP to this release gets completely shafted when it’s the much more expressive and organized released, who knows? But in any case, can we please collectively agree to put any further discussion of this album on ice until we have some actually meaningful things to say about it?

The album which convinced me I am not a Radiohead fan.

I once visited an art museum with a group from a class that I was taking. We stopped in front of this 10'x10' canvas that was painted black: no texture, no variants in shading.....just black. Our guide, as well as many in the group, waxed poetic about this important piece of art and blah blah blah. The truth is that they saw it for what it was but didn't have the guts to say so because they didn't want to appear to others as "not getting it". Anybody who gives this album more than zero stars is just like the group of sheep who don't want to call out a black square as being nothing more than a black square. This album was 45 minutes of hipster wet dream.

I will never like Radiohead, you can’t make me! Fuck this boring, self-indulgent drivel. I hate it.

I'll just say - I like it! And I'll listen to it again! And I'll listen to the rest of their albums!

November 30, 2024 Uh, not first listen I swear I filled my noggin with the last few albums and now I kind of forget how this one goes. I do hear “Idioteque” and “Everything in Its Right Place” pretty regularly: classics What do I even have to say about this? It's Kid A. Probably didn't even care for this the first time I heard it, but does anyone? The abrasive noise (and brass) of "The National Anthem" so close to the healing frequencies of "Treefingers"* is some real whiplash; yet at 45 minutes, no trick or experiment goes on long enough to wear me out before the next one hits. It shares that tonal inconsistency with Amnesiac, but I believe the high points of this one are just that much higher. HL: Everything Actual HL: “Everything in its Right Place”, “National Anthem”, “How to Disappear Completely”, “Treefingers”, “Idioteque”, “Motion Picture Soundtrack” maybe even the title track *I swear it turned off my anxiety tonight, at least till the next song

One of the best albums ever released. Such a great encapsulation of melancholy and raw emotion without being gratuitous or over indulgent. And some equally great alt rock and experimental moments as well. One of my favorite albums growing up, a masterpiece. Top tracks: Everything In Its Right Place, How To Disappear Completely, Idioteque

This is my second favourite Radiohead album and in my personal top 30 favourite albums. It was quite a departure at the time but it rewards for repeat listens

Really good. im very glad I listened to this w/ headphones and not in the car or w/ shitty headphones or on a bad speaker bc I think the sound quality added a lot. I haven't really listened to any Radiohead albums outside of the ones we've gotten so far on this list, and I listened to the bends in the car w/ my mom and didn't really appreciate it fully and I just listen to songs off their other albums as I encounter them but I might just need to binge listen their entire discography bc I fuck with this HEAVY

So it’s just Radiohead minus some rock, plus some ambient? I’m into it, but I can’t believe that this one’s some big time controversial thing among the fans

An absolute classic, incredible start to finish.

Here I'm alive; everything all of the time

Before this project, I've once established a list of my 100 favorite albums of all time. Radiohead's *Kid A* was album number one. This record is so ingrained inside my musical consciousness that it is difficult for me to find words to express my relationship to it now. Which takes the cake, since friends and I have discussed this album for hours on end in the past, trying to use the right words to convey what makes this genius work about alienation in the postmodern world insanely great. Yet in the end, words are useless to explain the goosebumps this music can trigger when addressed to the right lonely soul. You'd have to be there with me, inside my brains, to fully understand. What do you mean, "it's impossible"? Am I not here with you right now? And aren't you with me? Is anybody else out there? This record is a paradox. *Kid A* indeed conveys a sort of emotion that is one-of-a-kind, because this emotion comes from the sheer impossibility to properly feel or express emotions themselves. And this here is not merely an intellectual take on the album. It's first a purely sensory one. Once you understand on a *gut level* that it's what this record is all about, you'll feel those goosebumps too. It may not be the greatest album of all time (some say it is), but it's certainly the greatest *frigid* album of all time. So I am now writing a music review on a phone app. It's about *Kid A*, by Radiohead. I want this review I'm about to write to be sincere and heartfelt. I want it to feel right, even if that review will only be read by people I've nor even met. Who knows, maybe that review will *never* be read anyway. Whatever the case may be, I am here confiding my feelings to a technological device. I don't feel alone, but I am. Or maybe it's the other way around. And all of this is, actually, the very subject of *Kid A*, by Radiohead. The circle is now complete. *The Bends* was the best britpop album ever, made by a band that, for all intents and purposes, were more inspired by American acts than their British peers; then came the elated and melancholic tracks of the groundbreaking *OK Computer*, a truly epic statement that opened all prog rock and electronic gates out there, not only for the band, but for most of their audiences, too. *Kid A* was the next step, but it took you to the future this time. A scary one thematically speaking, but so enticing on the musical level. The mere fact that this record about alienation in the digital world sounds as if it was mostly recorded through electronic instruments whereas 95% of it is actually analog stuff tells a lot about Radiohead's bravura and ambition here. *Kid A* deserves its reputation on all counts. Everything good that has ever been said about it is just right. Maybe you can't feel it, and in that case, I'm sorry for you. But know that it's right, somehow. I'm losing it, I have a review in mind but it doesn't make sense anymore. I'd need to cut some stuff out. I wish all those voices in my head would shut up now. Nobody's gonna send me a "thumbs up" for this one. I am a complete failure. I wish I could disappear... *Kid A* - Radiohead - 2000 Restrained and yet incredibly intense album that saw the British rock band changing gears in quite an unpredictable way, with influence going from Aphex Twin-like electronica ("Kid A") to Charles Mingus-inspired brass extravaganza on a bass-and-drum killer rythm pattern ("The National Anthem"). "Everything In Its Right Place" is just the perfect album opener, in keeping with its title and lyrics. Ballad "How To Disappear Completely" is drawing on Schönberg types of atonal glissandos on strings to tell its yarn of trauma and oblivion as a way to cope with the latter, and it is overwhelming, to say the least. "Optimistic" is the rare rock cut in the tracklisting and it's as good as anything on *OK Computer*. As for "Idiotheque" and "Morning Bell", the first is an abrasive, sardonic and yet incredibly catchy piece of electronica, and the second builds up to a climax that actually never comes, clearly emphasizing the themes of loss and disconnection the whole album points to. "Motion Picture Soundtrack"'s voice-and-orchestra-and-theremin anoints the end of the record like a soothing balm after all the crazy shenanigans before, and it is the stuff dreams are made of. A stunning album by all counts. Favorite tracks: everything, even " Treefingers" and "Limbo", even if I consider them more like interludes. Gosh, what is this crap? Why can't Radiohead just play stuff like "Creep" anymore? Pretentious posers... The A in "Kid A" is A for Adorno. Radiohead just applied the German philosopher's negative metaphysics to their nineties rock formula, and this is what came out of it. They *are* indeed pretentious posers. But being quite a negative sort of person myself, I can't help loving them for having the balls to do this. Oh my god, this album is soooooo cool. Reminds me of that 2000 summer holiday with Mark, Alex and Ruddy. We would smoke joints in the afternoon and drink bottles of wine in the evening, and get lost in those hypnotic sonic landscapes until the wee small hours of the morning. Good times. 5 stars. I'm not here, this isn't happening... 18/07/2022. I'm in the south of France, near Avignon, for two weeks of camping there. There are not enough trees in this campsite to protect us from the sun. Fortunately, this cold, cold record is a breath of fresh air to my soul. 5 stars. For the album that is, not the camping site. Slow apocalypse in the manner of TS Eliot ("not with a bang, but with a whimper"), and it has never sounded any better than here. One for the ages. Or what's left of them. I'm having a panic attack just listening to this thing. Whoever praised this record is just a masochistic nutcase. 1 star. You can try the best you can, you can try the best you can, the best you can ain't good enough. Does that mean I should try harder for this album. Or maybe this review? Un album magnifique, qui a donné lieu à une des plus fameuses batailles d'Hernani de l'histoire du rock. Deux décennies ont passé, et les fans ont gagné. Brilliant. I now understand why Frank Ocean loves Radiohead. Those girlfriends of his should just shut up and let him chill out. I had never listened to a full Radiohead album before. They're a cool electronic act. Oddly enough, I always confused them with another band that had a similar name. What was it again? Talking Heads? Weird that I can't remember. 4 stars. Mais um ótimo disco do Radiohead. produção impecável. Sem tantos hits, mas demonstra bem o caminho musical deles. Braucht man eigentlich nicht viel dazu zu sagen. Über-Album. "Kid A"--the title track--is the best depiction of the ramblings of a depressive IA ever put to tape. Come to think of it, it's the ONLY depiction of the ramblings of a depressive IA ever put to tape. From that early point on the album, after the iconic "Everything In Its right Place", you just know everything after is gonna be fantastic. Surely an essential listen if there is one. Seguramente es que no estoy capacitado para entender esta música. Incluso la canción que se titula optimismo, me da ganas de encerrarme en casa tras la ventana para ver cómo llueve y pensar en el asco que me da todo el mundo. One of the best albums of all times. Enough said. Here I'm alive Everything all of the time Here I'm alive Everything all of the time I feel like I'm in the eye of a cyclone listening to this record. Everything is "in its right place" and yet the winds of hell are blowing outside of hypnotic auditory 10 kilometers radius I'm in right now. I can sense them coming. Oh lord, help me. I'm lost at sea Don't bother me I've lost my way I've lost my way The static of our modern lives has never been so beautifully represented than in this album. The cover says it all. Is this a chain of majestuous moutains looming on the horizon, or a pixellated simulacrum of them? Whatever the case may be, here you are, floating towards them? What the hell is this? There must something wrong in my headphones, this just can't be a Radiohead album. It doesn't rock, and the ballads are insipid. 0 stars. Ice Age coming, Ice Age coming Let me hear both sides Let me hear both sides, let me hear both The first time I listened to this recording, I was like, "what?". The second time I had shudders down my spine for the whole time. I And subsequent listens have *never" worn out this album for me. Five stars. We're not scaremongering This is really happening, happening We're not scaremongering This is really happening, happening Yes, I do "think you're crazy", Thom. But madness has never sounded so beautiful and heartfelt. *Kid A* can go to hell. Heck, this is what hell sounds like for me, so I guess said kid never left it anyway. Next! Another message I can't read Another message I can't read Another message I can't read Another message I can't read Can someone in here contact me? I'm afraid the review I have in mind for this record will be too long for this app to memorize it anyway. Ooops, I'm out of battery on my phone right now, could you at least tell me if I can downl Mobiles skwerking, mobiles chirping Take the money and run Take our money and run, take our money When I'm so tired that I can't sleep, this is what all music sounds like to my ears. This album led the way to everything that came after it. Yet nothing that came after it was *this* good. I don't like this. What the hell is wrong with me? Nice background music. Three stars. A stone-cold masterpiece. Well, "stone-freezing" would be more like it. What's this with this strange drone a few silent moments after "Motion Picture Soundtrack"? I think I must have dreamed it before. But was that dream mine of yours? Hello? Are you still reading this? Hello? Same here. But I don't know *when* this last review was posted. Is there someone still alive here in this group? They said the world ended on the radio yesterday. I didn't see any of their heads though. And I'm all alone now. This network is still on. Or so it seems. Can anyone read me? Hello? ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... *This was fun to write. I hope some of you out there had at least a little fun too as you read all my nonsense up here. Good night.* And now the usual closing credits: Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 855 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 80 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 36 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 30 As a bonus, here's the review I *really* wanted to post about "The Bends", also by Radiohead. The one I posted here was botched, clearly. I think its revision here might be slightly better: "Radiohead - The Bends "Creep" saved Radiohead. This single came from a half-baked album, *Pablo Honey*, clumsily mixing britpop with some more "American" influences. But "Creep" was a hit and showed Radiohead they had it in them to make a record for the ages. And since the Oxford quintet was not afraid to take a long, hard look at what they had just done with their first LP (a mindset they would mostly keep for their whole career, up until today), they knew what needed to be done. A perfect balance between self-confidence and self-criticism was the key. And it opened a door that led to one of the most brilliant discographies ever put to tape. In the course of this discography, *The Bends* is therefore Radiohead's first masterpiece (there's been five of them by my count, but first times always have their peculiar charm, don't they?), here aptly mixing twisted rockers and heartwrenching ballads. Everything is stellar in it--the songwriting, the lyrics, the vocal performances, the intricate bass-and-guitar arrangements, John Leckie's clean yet no-nonsense production. To say the tracklisting is "dynamic" doesn't even start to explain how songs segue into one another, starting with the gooovy "Planet Telex", followed by the intense title-track with its thick wall of guitars, and then going to all the gems of this record--the melancholic "High And Dry", the devastatingly beautiful "Fake Plastic Trees", the tight and angular "Just", the sinister and sardonic "My Iron Lung" (and its guitar hook spun on you as if it were a cobweb), not to mention the epic and poignant closer "Fade Out", with its elegiac arpeggio and truly *haunted* chorus. Thom Yorke and friends tick all the boxes that need to be ticked when you want to record a legendary album : they know when to get topical, with whiffs of a dystopian atmosphere that will further be explored in *OK Computer* and *Kid A*, and they sweep through a large array of (indie) rock styles, from brit pop to US alt-rock, from grunge to torch songs. And more importantly, they know how to make the whole thing sound cohesive, every vocal intention and guitar lick serving a discourse that transcends style or genres.  So just like OK Computer, there's no filler, no malfunctioning ride in this ominous and melancholic theme park about alienated souls stranded in the middle of late capitalism--each track has something unique going on for it, even the ones not mentionned up there. But this is no surprise (and no alarm, to quote a later song). Just as opener "Planet Telex" states it, Radiohead are never sounding better than when they lament that "everything is broken", only to pick up those disparate pieces and shape them into a single body of work that's unique, moving and relevant. They're THE postmodernist rock band of the late nineties / early aughts. And as such, they deserve to have their seats at the table of the greatest acts ever... "

Familiar yet strange. Relentlessly atmospheric. Sterile, bulky and complex yet to the point and simple at the same time. Fav songs: Everything in its right place, Optimistic, Idiotheque

All timer.

This album was an experience. I wanted to lie down on my bed and close my eyes and be with it. It felt almost cinematic, like I was on a journey for this whole album it flowed so well, such interesting sound. This would be a great album to trip to honestly. Favourite songs: Everything in it's right place, Treefingers, Idioteque, Motion picture soundtrack

One of the most important rock albums ever made, completely changing the trajectory of the band. An almost ethereal listen from start to finish.

Trippy and spacey. Feels like floating. Never really listened to Radiohead aside from their big songs. Definitely a good listen. Will revisit!

It's Kid, fricking A. What more do I need to say? I will say that this is an album everyone should experience at some point in their lives. Sure, you may be peeved of by the pretentious nature many people who praise this can come across, but it's totally worth it. I may have favorites, but each track on here embodies its own world to me, each with a unique atmosphere compared to the rest. For that reason, and its incredible production, is why I love this so much Favorites: Everything In Its Right Place, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Idioteque, Motion Picture Soundtrack

Absolute shocker, as I had listened to it before. But the ATMOSPHERE. This album has such an exquisite sound scape, and while I do not think any individual song would be in my rotation normally, somehow the album will.

Good, sad, atmospheric.

I have not a bad thing to say about this album. It’s a beautiful collection of ambient music, punctuated with the perfect amount of noise. I have been reading a little about the critical response to this album, which is fairly hilarious. Radiohead got slammed for straying too far from their established sound *and* for not straying far enough and being derivative. It’s not the bravest, most revolutionary piece of music ever made, but it represents a real inflection point in their sound and it has aged really well over the past 20 years. I appreciate that they chose to openly challenge themselves musically and take their audience along for the ride. Not many artists are willing to do that at the height of their popularity. Fave songs: Idioteque, Kid A, The National Anthem

enjoyed this a lot through headphones, speakers didn't deliver the same experience

eerie cool makes me feel like i’m in a movie

Superb. Cannot be faulted.

I assumed I would be somewhat familiar with this, but wasn't at all, so it seems like I never actually listened to this record at all. It's a lot better than I was expecting and different than I was expecting. There is more ambient/noisy sounding tracks on it which is a good thing. Liked this way more than OK Computer for sure.

It's cold and dark, but there's a glitter of warmth within the fog. It's a barren metal wasteland, but there's a kindness in the fallow. This destruction was wrought by human hands. Kid A is an experimental, artsy, dark rock album that I found very enjoyable. It almost leans into slowcore or ambient styles during some tracks. Idioteque's end-times drone and Treefingers' subtle beauty are clear standouts to me. All the instrumental tracks are incredibly strong.

Amazing mix between electronic music and art rock. Easy to get lost in the music listening to this album, 4.5.

It asks a bit of the listener, doesn't it? Certainly, it's not their best record, but deeply interesting throughout, if lacking in the killer or truly first-rank track. Opening of record sets the tone, for a band clearly in transition and very much in the mood to experiment.

I'm a bit late to the Radiohead party but after repeated listenings its slowing worming its way into my head. I think OK Computer is more accessible, and Kid A is a shift towards a more experimental sound, but it is equally good if you give it a chance. I like the Mingus influence in The National Anthem and Everything in its right place is a pretty good song to kick off the album.

4/5. In Rainbows > OK > The Bends are all better, but this still bangs cause it’s Radiohead 🤷‍♂️

Mais um ótimo disco do Radiohead. produção impecável. Sem tantos hits, mas demonstra bem o caminho musical deles

9/10, Seminal Radiohead album, and the best, what cemented them as the greatest modern band within recent memory

No. 206/1001 Everything In It's Right Place 3/5 Kid A 3/5 The National Anthem 2/5 How To Disappear Completely 4/5 Treefingers 3/5 Optimistic 3/5 In Limbo 3/5 Idioteque 3/5 Morning Bell 3/5 Motion Picture Soundtrack 3/5 Untitled 3/5 Average: 3,0 I still don't really get Radiohead.

Spacey and atmospheric. Like getting stuck inside a computer. I should listen to more radiohead; they're weirder than I thought. Overall don't know if any individual song really grabbed me but this would be a great album to throw on while working or driving or something. Also The National Anthem sounds like mouse got loose in the brass section (in a fun way)

I don't get Radiohead

Fine I guess. There's a layered sound here that could be interesting but I just find it to be too cold. Idioteque is a total banger though

I didn't hate all of it. Most of it is low rent glitch electronica and you would be better off spending your time listening to Autechre or Boards of Canada. If only the majority of the album was like Motion Picture Soundtrack which is the more amazing song and my outright favourite Radiohead track. Like I often say, maybe I am missing something but I just don't get the adulation this album receives

Not my favorite Radiohead album and I'm not so sure as to why it's a 'Must Listen', but a good attempt on a new direction in sound for the band. 3/5.

I expected to hate this album. And there were times when I started to feel the hate flow through me. But, somehow, Radiohead managed to bring it back around before it got too bad. Is it pretentious? Hell yes. SO very pretentious. Is it repetitive? ||: Yes. :|| Is it a noisy mess sometimes? Again, absolutely. But, for some reason, it's still not totally off-putting. In fact, a lot of the album is actually engaging and fun. So, while I didn't love it, I certainly didn't hate it. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it was pretty alright on balance.

It’s alright. I’ve heard this one a couple times before and I really want to like it because of the hype as well as my liking for Radiohead. I would expect the album known to be the most experimental Radiohead album (I think) to be at least ONE OF my favorites. But it’s one of my least favorites. I just find it fairly boring. I’m not in love with all of the sounds which could have been it’s saving grace. I’m sure it fits a certain situation perfectly but I haven’t been there yet haha. Hahaha robot sounds hahahaha

Everybody loves Kid A. And, in the grand scheme of things I guess I do too. But I think it's in the middle-third of Radiohead records. At the time of its release it was so important for me to see a guitar-based band eschew all that for a completely electronic sound. Because they had hooked me with OK Computer and The Bends and there was no turning back for me. So they pried open my mind. They pried open a lot of minds at the end of the 90s, a decade that saw rock music go from the fresh/raw grunge revolution to the gaping yawn of new-metal and Nickleback. Radiohead made it feel like there had been a fork in the road and a lot of bands chose the wrong path so far back that they'd never be able to backtrack and catch up. If that makes sense. I love this record for that. There are beautiful sounds that I find calming but Annie has confirmed that this record actually sounds like anxiety. She's probably right. One other important note: this was recorded at the same time as Amensiac. Kid A is an objectively better record, but I prefer Amnesiac more. They could have been a double LP together. But instead were released about a year apart. Interesting choice and one that honestly gave people the ability to digest the monumental change without feeling overwhelmed or glossing over tracks that would've seemed like filler on a double LP.

Not their best work

Some amazing tracks such as everything and national anthem but a lot of it leaves me cold - gimme the Bends any day of the week

Not.my fav radiohead album but decent

Not my favourite of theirs but still good.

It was aight

Certainly not my favorite album from them, but not bad

This is pretty much where I start to hate Radiohead in their discography. I just can't stand electronica and I blame them for really pushing the genre back into the mainstream after its birth in the 90s. This album just drags for me.

My heart sank. I don’t know what it is about me and Radiohead but I just don’t get the hype, and especially not for this album. I don’t even like the Mark & Lard’s The Shirehorses spoof album “Our Kid Eh” which has very little Radiohead related content. Go figure.

It almost feels unfair that I should be rating this album, because I honestly don't get Radiohead. Kid A was the big one kicking about when I was at university, and so I know it almost through osmosis. Didn't get the appeal then, don't get the appeal now. I fundamentally think I'm hardwired to dislike this band.

Dreary album but had some bright spots 4/10

I wanted to love this album. I came away not hating it. I found myself getting distracted during the album when I should have been listening. It was a bit “noodle” for my taste and didn’t really speak to me in any meaningful way

My impression of this record is if a less talented version of The Beatles made Sgt Peppers. I already listened to it once on Apple Music's 100 Greatest album's countdown and that was enough for me. OK Computer was nothing but certified bangers but Kid A is awful. It honestly took me a minute to realize that I had even intentionally listened to it before, so that should tell you how forgettable that album is for me. Hard 1 star, no good songs. They are all equally bad.

The reviews for this album are so polarized - you either seem to think this album is profound & nuanced brilliance, or noise vomit. I tend to think the latter.

Well holy fucking moly. That album sucked so bad. At best, it sounds like an ambient movie score (but for a boring arthouse film that thinks it's way cleverer than it really is). It's fitting that there's a song called "Motion Picture Soundtrack" on this snoozer. At worst, it's a self-fellating & pretentious mess. I realise that music, like all art, is subjective. But I refuse to believe that this album would have received any critical or fan acclaim had Radiohead not already garnered so much credibility following "The Bends" and "OK Computer". Who would dare question the genius of Radiohead at the end of the 90s? They were too cool to criticize. Imagine this was their debut album. Who would truly give a fuck (or even heard of) Radiohead afterwards? Thom Yorke's vocals on this are just lazy & boring. Melody & storytelling is ditched and replaced by mostly humming, moaning & whining. Except the track "Optimistic", where he seems to be doing a weird Liam Gallagher impression. And what the fuck is the point of the song "Treefingers"? Please, somebody explain its existence. Am I too stupid to grasp the brilliance at play here? I've heard more euphonious farts. I fucking loved "The Bends" back in the day. I hate this album just as passionately. ✌️❤️

Pretentious tripe that I will never understand the hype for. Dull, annoying, repetitive, and forgettable all at the same time. 1/5

ugh, no matter how many people say Radiohead is their favorite band, I just cannot get into it. I like wailing sadness sometimes as long as it evokes some deeper feelings. All I feel is bored.

The OG Emperor's New Clothes bullshit. Initially sounded better than I remembered, but sure enough the tuneless whining began in earnest. Just dreadful and so derivative, e.g. forgot about the pointless glissando piano on the last track obviously stolen from Mercury Rev. I bet there's another 2 or 3 turds from these fuckers left on this list for me to endure. Ughh...

I just don’t get it. I love The Bends but this is annoying and forgettable. Would probably go 2 stars but knocking it down to 1 for the iconic status.

Most overrated band in 30 years

Utter shite

Radiohead sucks, and whoever built this list apparently thinks the sun shines out of Thom Yorks ass.

Oh boy is this album bad. After the first couple of songs my thought was "This is dog shit." Then the album continued and it improved but only slightly. Thankfully the album was only about 50 minutes. I do not know what was so special about this album. Now it is absolutely better than some of the albums that have received a 1, but even though I would describe it as dog shit, it is still lesser than a 2. No need to listen to this album.

Dont understand this album and I am not interested in trying again.

Overrated

no maam

This is just weird. Not good at all. 1/10

I hate this so much.