In about a month I am going to a festival where I don't know most of the bands.
That's why I decided to listen to all Radiohead albums in chronological order.
That's called Toms Logic.
🎵 You by Radiohead
💿 Pablo Honey, 1993
▶️ https://song.link/y/OzL7u5teZhg
Edit: screw it, let's make this a 🧵
There's a reason why Pablo Honey is the #Radiohead album I listened to the least (see attached image for context)
Honestly it isn't that good except for some songs. But other than that, it's quite generic early 90s britpop (the good stuff).
On "The Bends", Radiohead didn't change much, but everything improved significantly. This might be their most mainstream and most accessible album.
It's great from start to finish with incredible songs, like this one 👇
🎵 Fake Plastic Trees by Radioead
💿 The Bends, 1995
▶️ https://song.link/y/6gDhsUWCHrg
The video of "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" is as perfect as the song.
🎵 Street Spirit (Fade Out) by #Radiohead
💿 The Bends, 1995
▶️ https://youtu.be/LCJblaUkkfc
I still want to listen to the first version of this song - which is arguably the best rock song ever written - which featured hammond organs and a glockenspiel.
🎵 Paranoid Android by #Radiohead
💿 OK Computer, 1997
▶️ https://youtu.be/fHiGbolFFGw
The making of the video to "No Surprises" alone is making me anxious.
“I loved that idea that Grant had,” Yorke told MTV’s 120 Minutes, “just a face in the screen, one shot and the water. In Europe, there’s a lot of pubs where you always have MTV playing and I like the idea of my face leering out in the corner in a bar, some guy drowning himself in the corner of one of these terrible disco bars where they have MTV playing.” Then Yorke realised he was relaying all this to MTV. “Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.”*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzP1nY8JnQo
*https://www.loudersound.com/features/radiohead-the-making-of-no-surprises
"OK Computer" is a flawless masterpiece on the same level as Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon".
Then everything changed with Kid A.
I remember when I was listening to Kid A 25 years ago... wait? 25???
...anyhow, back then this album was incredibly inaccessible to me. I tried to hold on to bits and pieces but most of it just slipped through my fingers.
One song that I could grasp though was Optimistic.
🎵 Optimistic by #Radiohead
💿 Kid A, 2000
▶️ https://song.link/y/1On-ZHfTWOo
Amnesiac was my first. It confused me and it still confuses me.
"You And Whose Army?" is my favourite song on it.
🎵 You And Whose Army? by #Radiohead
💿 Amnesiac, 2001
▶️ https://song.link/y/QQnc-hM80UQ
However, there's a live version of "Like Spinning Plates" on the "I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings" album which is my favourite live performance of any Amnesiac songs:
When "Hail to the Thief" was released, I wasn't too fond of it. It was - as the 2 before - very inaccessible to me at first.
But in contrary to Kid A and Amnesiac, I never really fully got into it.
Anyhow, they played a couple of songs 2009 when I saw them. I cried throughout the whole concert because it was so incredible.²
🎵 The Gloaming by #Radiohead
💿 Hail to the Thief, 2003
▶️ https://song.link/y/Qh_iXvllR6E
²here's the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/radiohead/2009/green-park-st-polten-austria-53de671d.html
While In Rainbows is a 10/10 perfect album (for me), I never listened to ever.
Thom Yorke said that it contains some of their best work. And I can see that, "Down Is The New Up" is really good.
🎵 Down Is The New Up by #Radiohead
💿 In Rainbows (Disk 2), 2007
▶️ https://song.link/y/KTYIDMXTRL4
In Rainbows Disk 2 is indeed amazing. It took me only 18 years to finally listen to it.
Also: here are my favourite 10 #Radiohead songs. One of them is a live version:
1. Paranoid Android
2. Reckoner
3. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
4. Everything In Its Right Place
5. Fake Plastic Trees
6. No Surprises
7. Like Spinning Plates (Live)
8. You And Whose Army?
9. Idioteque
10. Videotape
Runner ups:
My Iron Lungs,
You
There, There
The King of Limbs is keep being very inacessible to me. It sounds like a even more reduced version of Amnesiac.
Some songs are really good, but overall I don't have the emotional connection yet.
🎵 Codex by #Radiohead
💿 The King of Limbs, 2011
▶️ https://song.link/y/T7t38uDUg5E
"A Moon Shape Pool" is Radiohead's latest album. It is not very different compared to TKOL but they just added these tiny bits and pieces that make it much more enjoyable for me.
While I really enjoyed The Smile, I cannot wait for the next Radiohead album.
🎵 The Numbers by #Radiohead
💿 A Moon Shaped Pool, 2016
▶️ https://song.link/y/zmo-11Bc0XM
A week ago I tooted my ranking of all Radiohead albums: https://metalhead.club/@derthomas/115099517849918878
This deep dive changed it a bit, but not too much.
If you count In Rainbows Disk 2, it would probably be ranked somewhere around Kid A.
Thomas
Kimota94
DzoniMango