October 2000

Kid A Radiohead Capitol Records 2000

Kid A is excellent, as expected. I really don’t need to get into to many details since Kid A was reviewed by every know publication in this solar system last month.

I will say this, however- Kid A is a concept albums among concept albums. It is not designed with radio singles in mind. Some tracks are actually quite beautiful, while others are kind of out there in a Thom Yorke got a hold of whatever it was that Pink Floyd was ingesting during the 70’s sort of way. It’s an interesting mix. It lacks the sustaining drive that makes one want to rock back and forth in dark room that was obvious throughout OK Computer, and to a lesser extent The Bends. Kid A has a sound that is at times more elegant, but at others slightly discordant and discombobulated with a high degree of scientific accuracy.

I like it. Kid A is the kind of album that you listen to in its entirety instead of one track at a time. It’s a slight departure that just adds to Radiohead’s quite satisfying pretentiousness. It works out well for the listener who is patient, as the quality of the sound becomes more evident over time. But most importantly, enough Evil Robots staff members obtained a copy of Kid A that I was able to retain my own. Radiohead deficiency is a horrible affliction.

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In other music notes, MTV, for some reason, felt it necessary to remind me of the onetime existence of Skid Row. The network then went on to note that Sebastian Bach, the onetime lead singer of Skid Row, is now on Broadway. It’s moments like this that engender a deep distrust (almost hatred) for the American people within me. Knock it off you dumb bastards!