Perhaps this album is really nothing more than a departure from OK Computer (whatever the hell that album sounds like--I haven't heard anything from it); it seems to me that it's quality is nonetheless undeniable.

Without going too far into my own theories of music and the apprehension of music, I'll note that Radiohead seems to have grasped the fact that lyrical content is relatively unimportant to a musical expression. Who cares if I don't understand the singers in an Italian opera? I still leave the opera house having experienced the emotion that the music (which includes the voices of the singers) evokes. The same goes for Kid A; the phrases may be repeated, and some of it may be unintelligable--it is still evocative and damn powerful.

This album seems to be an experience, not merely a collection of songs from which a few favorites can be culled and then played on the local radio station. It has its flaws, sure, but it is still a work of brilliance--though this may not be understandable to one who is accustomed to listening for "hits."

From the perspective of one who has never heard Radiohead before Kid A, I say bravo.


A challenge, but maybe not as good as it's made out to be.   March 16, 2003
 45 out of 71 found this review helpful

Atmospheric. Detached.

Half the time i'm not sure why a rock band would ever even want to make some of these sounds, let alone how.

Spacious. Bleak.

I hated this record when it was released, and went on hating it for the better part of a year. It simply isn't a rock record, and there wasn't a reason for everyone to get so excited about so many blips and processed vocals.

Precise. Assured.

The more i heard Kid A, the more i began to realize that everything on it was being done intentionally. It was orchestrated, but players in the orchestra were replaced with a recluse rock band and their endless banks of processors. Not such a bad thing, really.

Mysterious. Mythological.

Thom and the boys are saying things that i don't think i get the point of. In fact, i didn't get the point of this album until i bought Amnesiac. Falling into the strange times and places of that disc, i realized that it was no different from Kid A other than that it offered no context for its songs; they exist separately from each other.

Geshtalt. Unified.

Kid A is not an album you can make mix-tapes from, with the possible exceptions of "Optimistic" and "Idioteque." As a result, these two might seem as though they're the sole highlights when you first hear them. Listening to Kid A in a coffee shop is all but useless. Hunkering down with a pair of good headphones might not produce any results. Getting stoned might not help.

The only thing i can say, especially as a previous despiser of this piece of work, is that you must give this entire disc a chance. Do not think of it as a cycle of single songs. Think of it as a complete fifty minute submersion into a sonic world this is distinctly different from the one you might have been expecting.

Challenging. Different. Don't expect to like it. Entertain the possibility of being surprised.


This is music?   October 13, 2000
 37 out of 71 found this review helpful

I have to admit, I had high expectations for this album. Very few bands nowadays release two unquestionable classics (in Radiohead's case, those two are The Bends and OK Computer)and then follow through with a third. Of all the bands around today, I thought Radiohead, the most innovative musical minds of our generation, could pull it off. Having listened to Kid A countless times since it's release, I can't help but be dissapointed. Looking over the reviews, I'm not sure how anyone could have given this album a five star rating. Is it the most innovative album in a long time? Yes. But in the process of being innovative, it seems much of the music has been sacrificed.

I'll grant Kid A this: it's typical Radiohead in that it's unlike anything you've ever heard before. But what I won't grant it is that it's a musical masterpiece for the new millenium. It's not a poor effort, and I was just as shocked to see one star reviews as I was five star. There a few songs on here, particuallrly "How To Dissapear Compltely," that send emotional shivers down your spine like only Radiohead can. But for the most part, a lot of the music is just out and out bland, despite the synthetic twist put upon it.

In fact, I wouldn't even call a few of the tracks on here "music" at all. Is the title track supposed to be a joke? It sounded like an outtake from the Super Mario Brothers soundtrack. Perhaps if I had a joystick in my hand and was watching an Italian plumber bounce around on screen, I could tolerate it's incessant noise. But from a purely musical perspective, it's crap. It's essentially nothing but various annoying sound effects, and that's what you'll find on many of Kid A's tracks: much noise,little essense.

What made OK Computer such a phenomenal success was it's operatic complexity. None of that is present in Kid A. In fact, many of the songs keep the same exact rythm from start to finish, with virtually no chord changes whatsoever. And one of Radiohead's biggest assessts, Thom Yorke's angelic voice, is lost in the background to the ceaseless sound effects that try so deperately to promote this album as an avant-garde classic.

If Kid A were released by any other band, people would certainly view it as unique, but I doubt many would harald it as a classic, and I'm extremely skeptical that it would have debuted at number one. My theory is it landed so high because everyone was expecting another OK Computer, but that's not what you'll find here. What you will find is something that, with each return listen, sounds less and less like Radiohead, and more and more like mediocrity.


A Totally New Departure   October 4, 2000
 34 out of 44 found this review helpful

It's been a long time coming,this a new c.d. from Radiohead.We've had the long build up of all the Radiohead sound-a-likes,we've had all the sneak previews from the music media,telling us what the c.d. will sound like.Before I get into the review itself,I'd just like to mention briefly all the preconceived notions people might have about this c.d.Basically most of the reviews have given this c.d. a lukewarm reception.Why?-because it's very different from what they've done before.I believe Radiohead are in a catch 22 here.On the one hand you may think people are dissappointed because it's not 'O.K. Computer' mark 2.Radiohead were always going to have enormous difficulties following up that c.d.No matter what they produced the reaction would probably be pretty harsh.On the other hand because it's Radiohead I think some critics who don't like the album are really afraid to slate it completely.Instead there have been lots of uncommitted,safe reviews.With all this in mind I was actually worried listening to the c.d.-just in case it was complete over-indulgent rubbish.Thankfully I had no reason to be dissappointed.Yes this c.d. is so unbelievably different to anything they've done before.This is evident from the c.d.'s first seconds of music-a gentle synth with very distorted vocals.Thom Yorke's vocals in this song-'Everything In It's Right Place'sounds like a man trying to sing with a dental drill in his mouth.This then interchanges with his normal(undistorted)vocals.What transpires is a truly beautiful song.No guitars,no bass,no drums-just synth and the usual high on angst vocals.If the first songs vocals sound distorted,then the vocals on 'Kid A'sound like the dentist drill underwater.Electronica dominates again here.On this track a drum machine has been added.The track can be best described as ambient/electronica.The 3rd song 'National Anthem' is also excellent.It's closer to the Radiohead we've known from the past.Driven by an excellent bass riff and marvellous drumming,with synth and guitar effects-it's a really riveting song,especially when towards the end a complete brass section breaks in and seem to go ,well,'nuts'.The next song is a normal high standard Radiohead slow song-with acoustic guitar and very little electornica.The song is actually about Dublin and the panic felt by Yorke before the group were about to headline their first outdoor concert.The effects in the background are amazing in that they compliment Yorkes sentiment of 'worry and dizziness' in the lyrics.Most c.d.'s have their dodgy tracks and track 5 'Treefingers' is probably the one here.It's basic ambient synth chords,all very slow moving,very much a'kin to Brian Eno's 'Apollo Missions Soundtrack'.Then we have the most accessible song on the c.d.'Optimistic' is vintage Radiohead-and is as good as anything on their previous c.d.'s.Track 7 'In Limbo' is just what the song says-it's a mixture of the old (guitars,full band,normal vocals)and the new(loads of effects and synths).As a song I think it works well and is another very good song.Track 8-'Idioteque' is just amazing!Once again it's full of synths,with loads of fast-tempo drum machines.The chorus is catchy,despite critics saying there are no hooks to this c.d.'Morning Bell' is the perfect mellow late night electronica tune.The last song is another beautiful song,full of sadness(it seems to me).It is followed by the briefest of interludes for the not very well-hidden extra song.This is very like Eno once again.Radiohead have taken a major departure on this c.d.I can think of no other modern group who have changed their sound in one c.d. so completely.I think it does have many catchy moments.But rather than isolate some songs for possible airplay,when this c.d. is taken as a whole unit it is the most compelling and interesting piece of music I've heard in years.Forget the old stuff and don't try to compare it to this,because it's just too totally different.I'd have given it 5 stars only I that time will tell whether I find this a very good c.d. or a great one.Definitely reccomended!


Great Debate = Great Music; Great Music = Great Debate   October 17, 2000
 29 out of 31 found this review helpful

In writing, film, art, whatever, there's an old viewpoint that says if you get a room of people continually debating opposing viewpoints about a single piece of work, you did your job. Nearly 800 reviews on Amazon that run the gambit from "It sucked." to "Godallmighty! I'm reborn!" Clearly, the band did something right.

As for me, I've been wishing for something like Kid A for so long it was hard for me to believe it was actually made. I've also been wishing for a band that pushes its limits and keeps me on my toes without alienating me or boring me. Basically, I've been wishing for a Beatles for today. Well, I've finally got them in Radiohead, and my own Sgt. Pepper or White Album in Kid A as well. The music on the album is so diverse, and so well put together, I continue to hear new things every time I hear it, and I continue to be surprised and delighted. The album is different from the last three, it's different from everything else out there in the pop music world right now, and it's positively delightful.

The band's influences are very apparent on the album. Aphex Twin and Charles Mingus being the primary influences I've read about in interviews. The thing is though, this album isn't only a Mingus redub, or an Aphex Twin exploration. It doesn't sit still with its horns, its electronic symphonics, or its modulated vocals. You listen to an Aphex Twin album, and that's what you get: an entire Aphex Twin album. Each song on Kid A has a life of its own, and it's been a long time since I've been able to sit down with an album and feel that I experience something different from track to track.

The album will take a few listens through in order for the mind to get its arms around the music, and get past what seems like a random hodge-podge of modulated beats, vocals, strings, and horns, but when you get past the preconceived expectations, you find something really amazing. When I first heard it, I was totally taken back by the vocals on the first track, but now I love them. Any music that gets better as you listen to it strikes me as the most interesting kind out there.

And any music that gets such a wide response is worth checking out.