KID A

 

 

 

Tracklisting

1.Everything In Its Right Place

2.Kid A

3.The National Anthem

4.How To Disappear Completely

5.Treefingers

6.Optimistic

7.In Limbo

8.Idioteque

9.Morning Bell

10.Motion Picture Soundtrack

 

Running time: nearly 50 minutes

 

 

The album

 

So. Kid A. Possibly one of the hardest Radiohead albums to get into, but also one of the most rewarding. At the time of its release it must've been quite a shock to fans to hear a new more electronic oriented sound after the brilliant OK Computer. Fact is that this album needs quite a few listens in order to be able to fully appreciate it. I know my first reaction was something along the lines of “WTF is this shit? :freak:” but it's grown so much on me that it's one of my fave albums now.

 

Okay, let's get down to the facts. Kid A was recorded between the beginning of 1999 and Spring 2000 without a deadline from EMI. Recording the album was by no means an easy task. Early recording sessions in Paris and Copenhagen resulted in basically nothing. Part of the reason was that Thom had been hit with a giant writers block and was unable to complete any songs. Another part was Thom's growing interest in electronic music, something that's rather difficult to combine with a mainly guitar driven band (three guitarists and such). The band desperately wanted to make a record that would sound different from OKC, but stumbled upon many problems while trying to find a new sound.

 

"If you're going to make a different-sounding record, you have to change the methodology. And it's scary - everyone feels insecure. I'm a guitarist and suddenly it's like, well, there are no guitars on this track, or no drums. Jonny, me, Coz, and Phil had to get our heads round that. It was a test of the band, I think. Would we survive with our egos intact?" ~ Ed

 

For every member this meant they had to find a new place in the new sound. The band resumed recordings in April 1999 in Gloucestershire and eventually moved to their own studio in September. Gradually the album started to get shape when the members of the band got more used to the new more electronic sound and started to experiment more. According to Thom the critical moment in recording was when everyone accepted they wouldn't be in every song. "It got to the point where it was like, Now we've really got to sort this out. It was so that everybody felt comfortable, including myself. But it took a long time to sort it." Or according to Ed, "how to be a participant in a song without playing a note." By December six songs were finished, but the end wasn't necessarily in sight yet. Luckily the beginning of 2000 proved to be more productive. The band finished recording in April, after having recorded nearly 30 songs. Because the band didn't want to release a double album, they saved a lot of the songs for 2001's Amnesiac.

 

Initially Everything In Its Right Place was set to be the album's first single because, according to Thom, it was most representative for the new sound. But because the band wanted to distance themselves from the music industry, they ended up deciding to release no singles for Kid A. A month before release the album leaked to Napster, to which Thom responded, "it encourages enthusiasm for music in a way that the music industry has long forgotten to do." The album was released on 2nd October 2000, and a short European tour followed shortly after (in tents, with a no logo policy).

 

 

Reception

 

“I think people should just decide for themselves and we'll be getting on with something else. That's about it. No other feelings. If people have a problem with it, well, I wont be reading about it anyway. And I won't be apologising for it. You can't make music and then be responsible for the way that people receive it all the time. [sarcastically] Not unless you really know your market.” ~ Thom

 

Kid A got a generally positive critial reaction, but as expected also initially alienated some listeners. In the UK the album got some negative reviews because it wasn't what the critics had expected. Nonetheless the album was featured frequently in critics's end year lists. In recent best of the decade lists Kid A was often featured in the top five and not unusually first place (Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and The Times).

 

“Often, if you call it something specific, it drives the record in a certain way. I like the non-meaning. All sorts of bizarre things have come up in relation to it. But the one I like is based on the idea that, somewhere, some errant scientist has already created the first completely genetically cloned baba - Kid A. I'm sure its happened. I'm sure somewhere it's already been done, even though it's illegal now.” ~ Thom on the meaning of the album title

 

 

Artwork

 

Unlike OKC and The Bends the Kid A cd booklet doesn't feature any lyrics but rather paintings/computerized images of icy things. The front cover is great in poster size.

 

 

 

 

Track by track

 

I suck at this, but I'm gonna try anyway.

 

Everything In Its Right Place

Certainly no easy start when you're used to “old Radiohead”. Very much an electronic track with lyrics that make no sense (yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon) and are very hard to understand. But even so, it's one of the most accessible tracks on the album. It's also one of the songs that the band play at nearly every live show.

 

Kid A

The title track of the album starts off like a children's lullaby but quickly changes into something very weird. Because of the distorted vocals it's hard to understand what Thom is singing – meant that way. He kind of sounds like a slowed down monster and according to him the words to this song are “the most vicious I've ever sung.”

 

The National Anthem

A long bass-driven intro to an almost jazzy song. The musical part of the song overshadows the vocals, but that's not a bad thing. The horns sound like a traffic jam.

 

How To Disappear Completely

This might be the first song on the record that remotely sounds like OKC era Radiohead. Possibly the most beautiful track on the album and definitely the most haunting one (especially the “I'm not here, this isn't happening” part). Thom's vocals are excellent in this song.

 

Treefingers

Ed's song. You could either write it off as white noise or see the brilliance in it. I still can't believe it's a guitar, to be hones. It's a fun song for “guess the instrument.”

 

Optimistic

One of the few Radiohead songs that actually sounds cheerful.

 

In Limbo

Probably my least favourite album from this record. For me it feels like there's something missing here but I can't put my finger on it. Kinda sounds like a generic Radiohead song, if such a thing exists.

 

Idioteque

At first listen this might sound like a dance song (with the dance beat and all) but it isn't. The lyrics are kind of self explanatory and are apt for a number of disastrous situations. I always imagine some sort of natural disaster when I'm listening to the song. Any live performance is great and Thom's dancing is beyond awesome. The performance of this song in the docu “Reflections” is amazing.

 

Morning Bell

The first of two versions of Morning Bell, the other one is on Amnesiac. I prefer the former because it feels more like a song (the Amnesiac version is too compact and too short). It's a song about divorce (“cut the kids in half”) and a bitter one at that. Very recognizable for me.

 

Motion Picture Soundtrack

Initially I hardly noticed this track because it's over rather quickly. It's a beautiful song though, but so so depressing. I don't really see why it had to be twice the length of the actual song, but it works with the rest of the album. As a stand alone track, the second part is rather annoying.

 

 

My opinion

 

Now, I love Kid A, but the first time(s) I listened to it, I didn't like it at all. Gradually I started to like Everything's In Its Right Place, How To Disappear and Idioteque and after a lot of listens I started to like the album. Kid A might be the epitome of albums that grow on you. It took me an extremely long time, but in the end I loved every track, except for In Limb. I just like that one. I don't think I ever tried this hard of an album, but Kid A was so worth it.

 

 

 

Well, that's it I guess, except for these tidbits.

 

 

“When we finished the OK Computer tour, I had a sort of big... block. I basically thought that was it. I thought that I wouldn't be able to do whatever it is that I do again. We were still sort of working, but I had no faith in it. So I was in this endless cycle - and it was very much on my own as well, because we didn't see each other much for awhile. And I was doing bits and pieces, mucking around really. But in the process I was discovering that I'd lost all confidence in myself.”

 

Would it be true to say that you have a generally pessimistic caste of mind, though?

 

“No. I don't think so.”

 

That's certainly your reputation.

 

“Yeah, whatever. It depends what it's about. No I don't think like that at all, actually. For me, even when things are incredibly bleak in terms of the world you see reflected in the newspaper, I still sort of find you can get excited when you look in people's eyes when they walk down the street and sometimes you see really nasty, terrifying things, but most of the time you just see a bunch of people trying to get it together and there's something really hopeful in that. It sounds a bit bonkers, but there you go.”

 

Now go watch this documentary if you haven't yet:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkzmyarSNzQ]YouTube- Reflections on Kid A[/ame]

:nice:

 

This is a pretty interesting article about recording Kid A. (warning: it's looooong)

Some quotes borrowed from this article and the extremely long one above.

 

 

Well, that was 1800 words for you. My browser is having a problem with youtube, so I'll add videos later. Or you could post a couple below and I'll add them to this post. :nice:

Probably my least favourite album from this record.

 

Think you mean song.

 

Treefingers

Ed's song. You could either write it off as white noise or see the brilliance in it. I still can't believe it's a guitar, to be hones. It's a fun song for “guess the instrument.”

 

One of my favorite tracks. Just because the eerieness and emptieness of it.

STOP WITH THESE USELESS THREADS

:vuvuzela:

I will admit that I was one of those people that thought "Kid A" was nonsense at first. It was one of the last Radiohead albums I actually got, and after hearing stuff from "The Bends" of whatever, this was vastly different. I was annoyed at the minimalistic nature of the album, so I ignored it for a while.

 

However, thorough listens have proved me wrong. I listened to this album during one of my Botany lectures last semester, and I realized that this album is actually quite good. There's so much stuff that I didn't notice, and with each listen, I like it even more. The "Kid A" listening party actually helped me out in this regard, too. It can take a few listens to get into, but once you do, you see where Radiohead was coming from. While it's still not my favorite Radiohead album, I really like it, and I respect it as a landmark in Radiohead's progression.

 

:nice:

Decided to flip out Kid A :nice: at Treefingers now.

I got into Radiohead in a "messy" order, I would say. I didn't listen to them all properly before listening to Kid A. Their discography was huge to me when I first wanted to get into them so yeah, I would say Kid A was my first full-album listen to them and I completely fell in love then. I then got what Radiohead was all about and it was an awesome feeling. :nice:

I got into Radiohead in a "messy" order, I would say. I didn't listen to them all properly before listening to Kid A. Their discography was huge to me when I first wanted to get into them so yeah, I would say Kid A was my first full-album listen to them and I completely fell in love then. I then got what Radiohead was all about and it was an awesome feeling. :nice:

 

Kid A is fucking love :heart:

STOP WITH THESE USELESS THREADS

 

I IS NEEDING TO NEEDLESSLY SHOUT

I IS NEEDING NEW KEYBOARD

When I first heard Kid A I almost had a seizure, that's how awesome it was.

 

Not but really, I was up on the loft scanning some drawings and I was like: HM LET MEH LISTEN TO SUM RADIOHEAD. And I turned on Kid A. Wasn't really expecting anything good :lol: But then when the first track started my face was like O______________O

 

It's my favorite Radiohead album, apart form In Rainbows :shy:

I like shouting rude things about bands I don't like, please ignore me

 

It's Radiohead week, right?

So isn't all this threads allowed?

 

Yup, I love what some mod or Ian has done with Dejan and Eddie's comments though :laugh3:

^ :laugh3:

I instantly loved Kid A. Maybe because I gave it a really good first listen, but I've loved it from the start. Good album. :nice:

 

Yup, I love what some mod or Ian has done with Dejan and Eddie's comments though :laugh3:

 

I'm loling.

Kid A is one of my all-time favourite albums.

 

I can still remembering ordering it in at the local "Ourprice" (any UK people remember them?) shop paying something stupid like £14 at the time and listening to the album straight. It was probably one of the first CDs I actually purchased (and I would say one of the few from that time I've kept, but that would be a lie as I got rid of it last year when the deluxe edition came out). It flows so well

fave songs MPS, HtDC, Idioteque.. ooh well can't really say. love love love this album

 

ps. where are Amnesiac, HTTT and IR?

Has Radiohead week died?

Yeah just short of a year ago.