Thank you Harley... because of you, I took my 23-year-old "Kid A" CD off the shelf, played it for only the second time since it was purchased and fell in love with the music in a way I just wasn't ready to do in the year 2000. Now I understand why Kid A is so revered and why I love it in a completely different way than I love The Bends or OK Computer.
LoL, I remember getting it and listening. I was deeply hooked into listening to everything of theirs, The Bends, Pablo Honey and OK Computer. Then this thing popped out. I must have listened to 25 seconds of each track... not all at once, but a snippet one day then another a little later. It took me likely I dunno, 6..8..12 months to finally listen to all of the songs through. A real tough departure and I just couldn't at first understand WTF they were doing. At all. My favorite now.
I was a teen when Kid A came out and ‘adult’ people in my life at the time told me it was noise. I find your openness to this album so inspiring!! I want to be you when I grow up.
You know, I was told The Beatles was a noise by my grandmother when I was a child. But my mother was an artist and she taught me to always keep an open mind to everything. This gift I received has furnished me well in life and business but mostly, it has given me endless pleasure in music appreciation. I don’t know how old you are but… I find this saying helpful ‘life is not a rehearsal’ go out and live it as best you can. Enjoy the music!
I didn't really see any comments on 'How To Disappear Completely' and how much it means for that 'sadness/stress' that he was going through during the OK Computer tour. It's a strong song about how Thom would disassociate himself when the pressure of the tour, or the moment, would become too much to deal with. So apparently at some point, Michael Stipe, lead singer of REM, told him to: “Pull the shutters down. Then say ‘I’m not here, this isn’t happening’". This is also the song that that he answered when asked at one point in an interview "what song do you want to be remembered by most?". It's definitely one of his best and most personal songs that resonates so strongly with a lot of people. Also, like you said... Me listening to Radiohead at age 16 was the main catalyst for the opening up of my mind to the beauty that can be found in any type of music.
A thing that is often overlooked is that the band started touring the album in a circus tent before it was actually released, so you were going in not knowing what you were going to hear. I saw them in glasgow about a week before the album dropped and was blown away. They didn't release any adverts bar some 6 second blips on their site with snippets.
Yorke mentioned the influence Warp Records had. Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre and especially Boards of Canada influences are clearly heard in Kid A. It was the era of the great IDM artists.
I hear the same influences. Even more so with Thom & co’s new band The Smile. The first track on side A makes my brain sizzle and expand, every time I listen. All those artists you mentioned can send us on another plane. Truly sublime 🎼
Radiohead are forever pushing boundaries. This was my first Radiohead album and I was mind blown. The original Radiohead fans wanted more OK computer and seemed to bridle at Radiohead breaking step and taking a 90 degree turn. This was episodic with nested sub episodes. It was poetic, grand, fragile and challenging at turns. I heard this album and became enchanted by Radiohead. It was great listening to you reviewing and hitting those points in different tracks that catch the ear and throw new colours into space. It’s a great listen and doesn’t seem to get old.
I'm 65 years old, and I find Radiohead to be one of the most important bands in music. Is it rock? Is it Alternative, Is it Electronic? I don't think it can be put in a category, It's Radiohead. This is a band thats so creative and for many very difficult to appreciate. I compare it to abstract Impressionism visual art
The greatest left turn in Music history. KID A was the album where Radiohead really shifted through the gears of what it's like to be a rock band in the 21s century. And to say to Brit Pop "right thats over" The greatest 00s album of all time it's turned out to be. Really enjoyed this review by you.
At the age of 49, RH has been my favorite band for years and I would really like to thank for this lovely overview of the greatest album of all time, in my opinion. This album feels like the end of music, as something so intense and sophisticated that cannot be surpassed. Just like other types of art, music here moves to become expressionist, almost abstract expressionist. No other song encapsulates that more than “Everything in its right place”, a song where the music works to contradict the song title, through quirky time signature, unusual chord progression and shrewd production. The 10/4 tempo almost feels like an engine trying to start but sputtering, like an Orwellian protagonist facing a repetitive morning with the same two colors in his head. It is said that the song was written in the same week as “Pyramid Song”, another RH’s musical pinnacle, where finally daily despair is replaced with eternal peace.
I was nearly broke between pay during my Uni days. I still bought this CD. The last track reduced me to tears on first listen, still gives me goosebumps now. Cathartically beautiful.
I want to reiterate what many others here have noticed - how nice it is to see someone like you step out of what is assumed to be your comfort zone and take something like this on. Bravo! And, this is truly a great album which reflects on your great taste.
I was born after this album came out and I struggle to describe how much it resonates with my life experience. Radiohead are such visionaries and managed to capture what growing up in the 21st century feels like, both sonically and lyrically, even before that reality had been experienced. Kid A is an album that grows more poignant with every year that passes, and I don't think that's a trend that will slow down any time soon. There's an alienation that comes with having your identity fractured across a million different communities and expectations, drowning in never ending stimuli. "I'm not here, This isn't happening" is such a common sentiment. Constant never ending information on constant never ending problems, it eventually just becomes noise. Its hard not to disassociate. you often just feel like Kid A, Kid B, Kid C... surrounded by everything all of the time. I really appreciated this video and your perspective on the album! Kid A is soooo much fun to discuss and every person who listens to it will pick out something different. Its infinite art in a 50 minute package. Hopefully my ramble here helped add something to that infinity (I could also see it being completely incomprehensible and all over the place hahah)
Thank you so much for your very interesting and insightful contribution to the topic. I really appreciate the time and effort you took to put down your thoughts in words. It’s never easy. Very clear and interesting
Thanks for this insightful comment. I’m older and haven’t lived the same experience, but I think you’re right that RH was tapping into the very early stages of what you describe. I think we could feel shadows of it coming 20 yrs ago, and now it’s all around us.
At 60 myself, I am a big fan of Radiohead and for me, this is by far the best review of this album I have ever heard ! ... By a real music lover ... I love every bit of every video I see from you. Many thanks !
Absolutely. Sometimes the great works of art take an effort from the listener or observer, and once invested, their lives are inevitably enriched in some way.
This album was my first exposure to Radiohead and I'm very grateful to my friend who made the introduction. It has resulted in countless hours of listening pleasure and amazement. I was hesitant to comment after I reviewed many of the comments made by others as I didn't think I had anything to add. They were very insightful and wonderfully heartfelt. And that is how I describe your video. It reminded me of my youth when two or three friends would gather in someone's room (or basement) to listen to the latest Pink Floyd, Yes, Led Zeppelin, etc., album. These same friends were there to hear Brubeck and Coltrane and Parker (etc.), and even attend Bach, Mozart and Brahms concerts. I could go on; but suffice to say that these are gifts that continue to give. Thanks again for these videos and stay well.
Thank you so much for your wonderful back story. Your story was wonderful to read. You had a very open minded circle of friends, it seems? And thanks too for your kind appreciation. I hope to keep going for a while yet.
I remember seeing them perform this album in a tent in Warrington. I had spent the previous week downloading and listening to each bootleg track of live performances. If memory serves me possibly the preceding irish gig. By the time I was at the gig in Warrington, the tracks were completely embedded in my brain and I knew then the a genius change had occurred. I felt that I was one of a select few truly experiencing this. Wonderful memories and this album is so beloved by me and is rightly hailed as a masterpiece. Beautiful!!
Treefingers is a bliss having been arranged in this early mid segament of the album, very Eno… ish, good to catch some breaths after the previous tracks.
It is an absoute masterpiece, and recognised as such by many Radiohead fans. Being a late 90s EDM fan I didn't find the album particuarly difficult to get into, but adore it to this day. To me it's like the aural equivalent of abstract or impressionist paintings. I love your ethusiasm for music and the open minded way you approch listening. Thank you so much.
Kid A was the most anticipated musical event since "Midnite Vultures" by Beck. And I was surprised and astonished. But my degree in Music Appreciation prepared me well for the high art of Kid A and Amnesiac. And, I must say, for both new albums by "The Smile". Have you heard "The Smile"? They're the best band in the world currently creating new music.
Thank you very much for the video, I'm quite young myself, and even I think most youngsters my age who listen to Radiohead don't even fully understand what they're listening to. And when I see analysations of this album, most of the time it is painfully brief, and sometimes they even skip over mentioning tracks! Seeing someone who understands this album more than most the people listening to it, is super refreshing. You're doing great work!
Kid A is just another great example of dystopian and alienated feel. "Fitter Happier" from Ok Computer already prepared us for "New Generation" as I call it. Surreal sound of "EIIRP" and "Kid A", chaotic and loud wall of "The National Anthem", only leading to lonelyness and quiet aftermath that is "How To Disappear Completely" and "Treefingers", cold, but relaxing interludium. Then dramatic "Optimistic" kicks in. Magical and weird instrumental of "In Limbo" mixed with start of paranoid and creepy nature of "Idioteque". Hypnotic "Morning Bell" vocals and drum beats. Then we reach the end: "Motion Picture Soundtrack. Its haunting, yet beautiful and sad. Organs match really well and it has own atmosphere. It ends. Nothing has left. Only us and silence. And we hear it. "Untitled". The afterlife of this album. The real end... I really like to listen it after hours on my CD player, its incredible. Regards from the polish drumer. 06.30.2024.
As many times I have gone back to this album since it came out, all of these years later, I still discover things in the music I never noticed before..
I love that you are reviewing Radiohead, and a little surprised! I usually watch your analysis of classical, Bach (Brandenberg was great!), Beethoven, Schubert (also great), and the like. Radiohead are brilliant - my favorite band. Indeed, How To Disappear Completely is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. I love so much the chaos that ensues during National Anthem at the end with the brass. Radiohead craft each and every one of their songs to the hilt. I truly appreciate all of their music. If you have not yet, listen to In Rainbows and watch them play it live in the video In The Basement. In that, the musicianship they display is astonishing. Idioteque is amazing live (I saw them once)! I love the Morning Bell, but I particularly like a version they recorded that is more ambient sounding on Amnesiac (another brilliant Radiohead production). OK Computer was the first album that brought my attention to them, and I consider it the greatest rock album ever recorded. I could go on....
Thank you for you very kind appreciation. Thank you too for sharing your knowledge and experience. And thanks for the tip re the In Rainbows video. Much appreciated
Everything about this album is amazing. If you have an original copy of the CD (perhaps the vinyl too?), there was a secret comic-book (of sorts) hidden behind the plastic holding the CD.
Kid A is absolutely my favorite album of all time...and Ok Computer + Kid A is the biggest 1-2 punch I've ever experienced in my life!! To be honest it took 5+ listens to Kid A before it clicked. I saw them on this tour and it was amazing.
My favorite album of all time And the risk they as a band took by making something totally different than ok computer is crazy Creative expression love it
This album was released only a few months after I was born, but I only came across it when I was a teenager trying to broaden my musical horizons. It really had a profound effect on me then, and it still does today. How to Disappear Completely is among my favorites by Radiohead, and is probably competing for my favorite song across all artists. Songs like Everything In Its Right Place and Kid A were challenging for me at the time, but they were a catalyst for my appreciation of somehwhat experimental music. I think Radiohead was the bridge between accessibility and oddity that many people used as an entryway into more unconventional works. I really have enjoyed this series. It's funny how albums like Kid A and Random Access Memories are almost like comfort food to me now, while the classical pieces you have discussed are the more challenging. It goes to show how important exposure is when it comes to the music we each find accessible. One story that I've always heard about this album was that many of the lyrics were created by writing phrases on scraps of paper and drawing them at random for each song. Obviously, that isn't the case for all of them, but it seems to be true for Everything in its Right Place and a few others. I don't think you mentioned this, but I apologize if I missed it.
That idea of random selection of bits and pieces of scraps of lyrics - the Cut-Up technique - was employed very successfully by David Bowie back in the early 1970's. It was an idea that he had copied from the American writer, William S. Burroughs - he wrote "Naked Lunch".
Radiohead was definitely the gateway drug to music like what Ben Frost and Tim Hecker create. Kid A was also the album that made me realise that this kinda odd stuff is really great.
Clicked out of curiosity and ended up watching the entire video. I love this album and I just have to say that it is truly awe inspiring how open and passionate you are sir! Thank you for this.
Thanks for the video, love the format. It feels indulgent these days to talk about a single album for 45 minutes, but the music is worthy of such indulgence.
I would put it up there with the caliber of early Kraftwerk, Jean Michele Jarre, Tangerine Dream albums, but possibly even more significant artistically - it is a classic iconic musical masterpiece of the 2000's era. Amnesiac as well, is a beautiful compliment to Kid A.
Its unconventional and very not boring. It was (and still is) a breath of fresh air in an industry of normal and lock-step cookie cutter albums and label made artists.
Love Radiohead, i have the same feeling as when i was a teenager sitting in someones room listening to new music, wonderful must listen to the whole album, thanks.
Kid A was easy to digest compared to Amnesiac. Love them both but the world had changed and they captured both moments perfectly. It’s still a more challenging listen. The best band that stills feel like a secret. One of my favorite moments is when the title track KID A gets quiet….then that fade-in of the synth. It reminds me of the similar musical move on 10CC’S ‘I’m Not In Love’. Makes my hair stand up. It’s an amazing progression in a short time from Pablo Honey and the only fitting follow up to OK. Motion Picture is just heartbreaking.
One of my favorite albums (maybe my favorite) by one of my favorite groups. Thanks for this review. Many people don't 'get' Radiohead and they are probably not for everyone. But I respect the people that do.
What a joy to watch and listen. I saw a lot music reviews on this chanel, but here you can see, the difference of a professional and a regular youtuber! Fantastic, best i ever saw, love it. By the way, unbelievable you done this without a single cut!
Thanks a lot for reviewing this if not the best certainly one of the best best of all albums out there. Like how you approached this album and also how you brought all the snippets of anecdotes about the band members into play as well. Great stuff! Cheers
Since I listened to Paranoid Android for the first time as a teenager (14 - 15) I became obsessed with getting that OK Computer album, which I listened to hundreds of times for the next couple of yers, so I got my Kid A copy the very first day it hit the stores.
Thank you for this wonderful video. It is my favorite album of all time; and, like many others have said in the comments, a masterpiece. It is also a great gateway to all sorts of incredible artists and styles: Kraftwerk, Charlie Mingus, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Lansky, Aphex Twin, and so on and so forth
Thank you for your wonderful, humble, moving review. I had a very similar experience with this album recently. Class A sound quality on this album as well.
My first introduction to Radiohead was The Bends. It was so different from everything else I would normally listen to but I became completely enamored with their music. I would play that CD for hours in my car as I commuted back and forth to work. Of course that led to discovering their other releases such as Kid A and OK Computer. I love how you keep an open mind when it comes to music, as we all should.
Dang, Harley, love to see you grooving to one of my all-time favorite albums. I can sit in the dark out in my garage and listen to this with my DMP-A6 running into my Sugden A21se through my Volti Audio RazzLEs and the sonic immersion is incredible. Me and a friend got to see Radiohead at a small club in St Louis, MO at the beginning of the OK Computer tour with Teenage Fanclub opening. Incredible. Great memories. Take care.
About a decade ago I was listening to Classic FM (Australian equivalent of Radio 3) and there was a mention of "difficult music" and I suggested that a way into unfamiliar sounds was to metaphorically close your eyes and imagine the music as a film soundtrack. In movies we hear all sorts of "sound design" as well as music or just sounds that we might not think had a place in music but that fit or create the scene, and by allowing the music to suggest a film, a context, it was a way of opening music up to our imagination (or is it the bother way round?). As a 71 year old, Kid A came out approximately 1/3 of my life ago. There's a thought.
I think it's their best album. And you're right about listening to it on cd. I had it on a double 10" lp and it was a pain turning it over three times. It flows through on cd.
Wow, I didn’t see this coming. Thank you so much for your wonderful review of my most beloved Radiohead album. And, btw, it sounds marvelous via the Sibelius, too!
There's so much we can learn with radiohead, specially from ok computer to amnesiac. They really pushed the boundaries and blended the 20th and 21st century perfectly
Really enjoyed your reaction. Two quick things, when this first came out I found it too difficult to absorb and it took me giving it a second chance years later for me to appreciate it. Second "How to Disappear Completely" breaks and remakes my heart every time I hear it - it capturing of Melancholia and Anxiety but resolving them into beauty is just spectacular
I love how 'possessed' Thom appears to get when performing Idoioteque live! "I have seem too much, you haven''t seen enough" I still remember when this album first came out and was a STARTLING departure from OK Computer and The Bends. For my first listen I got a nice BUZZ going, and layed down on my bedroom floor with a pair of headphones... It was SO different, but just SO RIGHT at the same time! Everything in its right place.
Really loved this video Harley. Up to now I have mainly watched your hardware videos but this was a great review & critique of what was initially a hard to appreciate release from Radiohead after the sublime OK Computer. I so admire the courageous path they took to go down this path which probably did take many years for critics and causal fans to understand what they achieved with this album. Thanks for shining a light. ps. I’m in a long build queue for around 2 years for a Decware Zen Triode. Can’t wait to play some Radiohead vinyl through that ❤
I learn so much on this channel about music and all other related stuff.Can't thanks enough but thank you for bringing this up Harley, all the details you pointed out, makes me love the band much more, I love Radiohead and this is my second favourite album of theirs (after OK Computer). Again thank you sir for all other videos as well, I greatly appreciate it
Thank you for another wonderful video . Throughout the video, I was struggling with myself about an album that is supposed to come on Nov 17th after 16 years . I was thinking how long I was waiting for it . Reflecting on it for such a long time, I grew up with their last release, which was in 2006 . Anyway, I totally identified with you . Music is a time machine that is the best medium to express and experience emotions . In addition to that, I never knew you like other genres except classical . Good to discover that.
When it came out it took me a while to get into (when at the time I wanted another Bends or OK computer ) but after a while came to realise it for the masterpiece it is and probably my most played Radiohead although they have many classics . A great video and thanks for nudging me to play my old cd on my old cd player again ! Thank you
![(2021/09/24) Christie's - Kid A Mnesia Interview - Radiohead [Thom Yorke, Stanley Donwood] (Video)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7GEXXnWusOg/mqdefault.jpg)
I have a very simple philosophy… "Use your mind as if it were a parachute, it works much better when it's open".
Absolutely agree
Zappa
Nice! 100% troof
Well, mine is full of holes.
Kid A is a masterpiece and very well recorded. Not everyone will agree. Thank you Sir.
You’re very welcome
We do …I do
Thank you Harley... because of you, I took my 23-year-old "Kid A" CD off the shelf, played it for only the second time since it was purchased and fell in love with the music in a way I just wasn't ready to do in the year 2000. Now I understand why Kid A is so revered and why I love it in a completely different way than I love The Bends or OK Computer.
That’s really great to hear. So pleased
LoL, I remember getting it and listening. I was deeply hooked into listening to everything of theirs, The Bends, Pablo Honey and OK Computer. Then this thing popped out. I must have listened to 25 seconds of each track... not all at once, but a snippet one day then another a little later. It took me likely I dunno, 6..8..12 months to finally listen to all of the songs through. A real tough departure and I just couldn't at first understand WTF they were doing. At all. My favorite now.
‘How to disappear completely’ is just perfection 🥰
Same with fake plastic trees and high and dry and anyone can play guitar and so many others!
I was a teen when Kid A came out and ‘adult’ people in my life at the time told me it was noise.
I find your openness to this album so inspiring!! I want to be you when I grow up.
You know, I was told The Beatles was a noise by my grandmother when I was a child. But my mother was an artist and she taught me to always keep an open mind to everything. This gift I received has furnished me well in life and business but mostly, it has given me endless pleasure in music appreciation.
I don’t know how old you are but… I find this saying helpful ‘life is not a rehearsal’ go out and live it as best you can. Enjoy the music!
@@PearlAcoustics I'll be 40 this year so old enough to take your advice to heart and really feel it deeply I'd say. Best wishes to you.
I didn't really see any comments on 'How To Disappear Completely' and how much it means for that 'sadness/stress' that he was going through during the OK Computer tour. It's a strong song about how Thom would disassociate himself when the pressure of the tour, or the moment, would become too much to deal with. So apparently at some point, Michael Stipe, lead singer of REM, told him to: “Pull the shutters down. Then say ‘I’m not here, this isn’t happening’". This is also the song that that he answered when asked at one point in an interview "what song do you want to be remembered by most?". It's definitely one of his best and most personal songs that resonates so strongly with a lot of people.
Also, like you said... Me listening to Radiohead at age 16 was the main catalyst for the opening up of my mind to the beauty that can be found in any type of music.
I can only agree with you 100%. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience of the piece
A thing that is often overlooked is that the band started touring the album in a circus tent before it was actually released, so you were going in not knowing what you were going to hear. I saw them in glasgow about a week before the album dropped and was blown away. They didn't release any adverts bar some 6 second blips on their site with snippets.
Didn’t know that. How amazing!
Yorke mentioned the influence Warp Records had. Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre and especially Boards of Canada influences are clearly heard in Kid A. It was the era of the great IDM artists.
I hear the same influences. Even more so with Thom & co’s new band The Smile. The first track on side A makes my brain sizzle and expand, every time I listen. All those artists you mentioned can send us on another plane. Truly sublime 🎼
LOVE ALL 4 OF THOSE BAD BOYS
@@Analoguebubblebath89 Your nickname kind of gives it away, haha
Radiohead are forever pushing boundaries. This was my first Radiohead album and I was mind blown. The original Radiohead fans wanted more OK computer and seemed to bridle at Radiohead breaking step and taking a 90 degree turn. This was episodic with nested sub episodes. It was poetic, grand, fragile and challenging at turns. I heard this album and became enchanted by Radiohead. It was great listening to you reviewing and hitting those points in different tracks that catch the ear and throw new colours into space. It’s a great listen and doesn’t seem to get old.
Thanks Christopher!
This is why I love your vids so much. It's rare to find somebody who's as open minded, receptive and passionate about all sorts of music as you are.
Thanks, you’re very kind
I'm 65 years old, and I find Radiohead to be one of the most important bands in music.
Is it rock? Is it Alternative, Is it Electronic? I don't think it can be put in a category, It's Radiohead.
This is a band thats so creative and for many very difficult to appreciate. I compare it to abstract Impressionism visual art
Agreed
The greatest left turn in Music history. KID A was the album where Radiohead really shifted through the gears of what it's like to be a rock band in the 21s century. And to say to Brit Pop "right thats over"
The greatest 00s album of all time it's turned out to be. Really enjoyed this review by you.
Thanks very much for your comment and kind appreciation
Absolutely love how Harley doesn’t want to skip any track. It really speaks to how engaging the album is. Thanks for a lovely video!
😉
I find Kid A almost a hypnotic experience. It pulls me into a pleasant and relaxed place. Every track is so interesting
Absolutely
At the age of 49, RH has been my favorite band for years and I would really like to thank for this lovely overview of the greatest album of all time, in my opinion. This album feels like the end of music, as something so intense and sophisticated that cannot be surpassed. Just like other types of art, music here moves to become expressionist, almost abstract expressionist. No other song encapsulates that more than “Everything in its right place”, a song where the music works to contradict the song title, through quirky time signature, unusual chord progression and shrewd production. The 10/4 tempo almost feels like an engine trying to start but sputtering, like an Orwellian protagonist facing a repetitive morning with the same two colors in his head. It is said that the song was written in the same week as “Pyramid Song”, another RH’s musical pinnacle, where finally daily despair is replaced with eternal peace.
Thank you for this beautifully worded post. A truly marvellous insight. 🙏
Beautifully stated. Cheers.
I was nearly broke between pay during my Uni days. I still bought this CD. The last track reduced me to tears on first listen, still gives me goosebumps now. Cathartically beautiful.
Lovely back story. Thanks!
I want to reiterate what many others here have noticed - how nice it is to see someone like you step out of what is assumed to be your comfort zone and take something like this on. Bravo! And, this is truly a great album which reflects on your great taste.
Wow, thank you!
Colin Greee woood (shows Jonny playing bass) 😂❤
Indeed, an error that slipped through the editing process! Well spotted, apologies
I was born after this album came out and I struggle to describe how much it resonates with my life experience. Radiohead are such visionaries and managed to capture what growing up in the 21st century feels like, both sonically and lyrically, even before that reality had been experienced. Kid A is an album that grows more poignant with every year that passes, and I don't think that's a trend that will slow down any time soon. There's an alienation that comes with having your identity fractured across a million different communities and expectations, drowning in never ending stimuli. "I'm not here, This isn't happening" is such a common sentiment. Constant never ending information on constant never ending problems, it eventually just becomes noise. Its hard not to disassociate. you often just feel like Kid A, Kid B, Kid C... surrounded by everything all of the time.
I really appreciated this video and your perspective on the album! Kid A is soooo much fun to discuss and every person who listens to it will pick out something different. Its infinite art in a 50 minute package. Hopefully my ramble here helped add something to that infinity (I could also see it being completely incomprehensible and all over the place hahah)
Thank you so much for your very interesting and insightful contribution to the topic. I really appreciate the time and effort you took to put down your thoughts in words. It’s never easy. Very clear and interesting
Thanks for this insightful comment. I’m older and haven’t lived the same experience, but I think you’re right that RH was tapping into the very early stages of what you describe. I think we could feel shadows of it coming 20 yrs ago, and now it’s all around us.
At 60 myself, I am a big fan of Radiohead and for me, this is by far the best review of this album I have ever heard ! ... By a real music lover ... I love every bit of every video I see from you. Many thanks !
That’s very kind of you. With support line yours, I will do my best to keep them coming!
Many people do not understand Kid A. But those who do can really marvel in its beauty and brilliance
Absolutely. Sometimes the great works of art take an effort from the listener or observer, and once invested, their lives are inevitably enriched in some way.
This album was my first exposure to Radiohead and I'm very grateful to my friend who made the introduction. It has resulted in countless hours of listening pleasure and amazement.
I was hesitant to comment after I reviewed many of the comments made by others as I didn't think I had anything to add. They were very insightful and wonderfully heartfelt. And that is how I describe your video. It reminded me of my youth when two or three friends would gather in someone's room (or basement) to listen to the latest Pink Floyd, Yes, Led Zeppelin, etc., album. These same friends were there to hear Brubeck and Coltrane and Parker (etc.), and even attend Bach, Mozart and Brahms concerts. I could go on; but suffice to say that these are gifts that continue to give.
Thanks again for these videos and stay well.
Thank you so much for your wonderful back story. Your story was wonderful to read. You had a very open minded circle of friends, it seems? And thanks too for your kind appreciation. I hope to keep going for a while yet.
I remember seeing them perform this album in a tent in Warrington. I had spent the previous week downloading and listening to each bootleg track of live performances. If memory serves me possibly the preceding irish gig. By the time I was at the gig in Warrington, the tracks were completely embedded in my brain and I knew then the a genius change had occurred. I felt that I was one of a select few truly experiencing this. Wonderful memories and this album is so beloved by me and is rightly hailed as a masterpiece. Beautiful!!
Lovely story
Thank you sir, for explaining me why I love Radiohead.
You’re very welcome!
Treefingers is a bliss having been arranged in this early mid segament of the album, very Eno… ish, good to catch some breaths after the previous tracks.
Absolutely!
Always one of my favorites
It is an absoute masterpiece, and recognised as such by many Radiohead fans. Being a late 90s EDM fan I didn't find the album particuarly difficult to get into, but adore it to this day. To me it's like the aural equivalent of abstract or impressionist paintings. I love your ethusiasm for music and the open minded way you approch listening. Thank you so much.
Hi Marcus, you’re very welcome. Glad you enjoyed it
Kid A was the most anticipated musical event since "Midnite Vultures" by Beck. And I was surprised and astonished. But my degree in Music Appreciation prepared me well for the high art of Kid A and Amnesiac. And, I must say, for both new albums by "The Smile". Have you heard "The Smile"? They're the best band in the world currently creating new music.
Thanks for your comment and tip. No I don’t know ‘the Smile’ I will check them out. Thank you
I'm 70 and really like Thom Yorke and Radiohead. Thanks for your video!
👍
Thank you very much for the video, I'm quite young myself, and even I think most youngsters my age who listen to Radiohead don't even fully understand what they're listening to. And when I see analysations of this album, most of the time it is painfully brief, and sometimes they even skip over mentioning tracks! Seeing someone who understands this album more than most the people listening to it, is super refreshing. You're doing great work!
Well, thank you very much for taking the time to share your appreciation. It is very much appreciated. Enjoy the music! Best wishes, Harley
Who wouldn’t love this album??? It’s a classic, a masterpiece ❤️
Indeed.
Correction: The picture of Colin Greenwood on bass is actually Jonny Greenwood
Indeed, a mixup in my part. Thanks for pointing it out.
Kid A is just another great example of dystopian and alienated feel. "Fitter Happier" from Ok Computer already prepared us for "New Generation" as I call it. Surreal sound of "EIIRP" and "Kid A", chaotic and loud wall of "The National Anthem", only leading to lonelyness and quiet aftermath that is "How To Disappear Completely" and "Treefingers", cold, but relaxing interludium. Then dramatic "Optimistic" kicks in. Magical and weird instrumental of "In Limbo" mixed with start of paranoid and creepy nature of "Idioteque". Hypnotic "Morning Bell" vocals and drum beats. Then we reach the end: "Motion Picture Soundtrack. Its haunting, yet beautiful and sad. Organs match really well and it has own atmosphere. It ends. Nothing has left. Only us and silence. And we hear it. "Untitled". The afterlife of this album. The real end...
I really like to listen it after hours on my CD player, its incredible.
Regards from the polish drumer.
06.30.2024.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
It is very exciting to see someone vibing so much with this album :)
🙏
As many times I have gone back to this album since it came out, all of these years later, I still discover things in the music I never noticed before..
That’s for sure, one of my definitions of great music…. There’s always something new to discover. Best wishes from Belgium.
Thank you Harley for the best video review of Kid A I’ve ever seen. Your research and wonderful on-camera demeanour kept me engrossed and enchanted.
Thank you. You’re very kind. I am glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes, H
Best band ever
👍
I love that you are reviewing Radiohead, and a little surprised! I usually watch your analysis of classical, Bach (Brandenberg was great!), Beethoven, Schubert (also great), and the like. Radiohead are brilliant - my favorite band. Indeed, How To Disappear Completely is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. I love so much the chaos that ensues during National Anthem at the end with the brass. Radiohead craft each and every one of their songs to the hilt. I truly appreciate all of their music. If you have not yet, listen to In Rainbows and watch them play it live in the video In The Basement. In that, the musicianship they display is astonishing. Idioteque is amazing live (I saw them once)! I love the Morning Bell, but I particularly like a version they recorded that is more ambient sounding on Amnesiac (another brilliant Radiohead production). OK Computer was the first album that brought my attention to them, and I consider it the greatest rock album ever recorded. I could go on....
Thank you for you very kind appreciation. Thank you too for sharing your knowledge and experience. And thanks for the tip re the In Rainbows video. Much appreciated
This is my personal favorite Radiohead album. It's transformative for me and transportive, as far as where it lets your mind wander if you allow it.
👍
Imo one of the best works of music to ever be released. It is actual perfection❤️
Indeed.
this is going to be me at 70 years old showing my great grandkids radiohead. Also your stereo set up is gorgeous need me one of those!
😀👍
Everything about this album is amazing. If you have an original copy of the CD (perhaps the vinyl too?), there was a secret comic-book (of sorts) hidden behind the plastic holding the CD.
This is something I will have to check out! 😀
Holy SHIT! I assumed this was a TROLL post... I've had that CD since it was released and had NO IDEA there was another booklet under the CD tray! lol
@@StreetPreacherr surprise!
If I remember correctly, the comic has some Easter eggs for future albums
Kid A is absolutely my favorite album of all time...and Ok Computer + Kid A is the biggest 1-2 punch I've ever experienced in my life!! To be honest it took 5+ listens to Kid A before it clicked. I saw them on this tour and it was amazing.
Excellent
My favorite album of all time
And the risk they as a band took by making something totally different than ok computer is crazy
Creative expression love it
Absolutely!
This album was released only a few months after I was born, but I only came across it when I was a teenager trying to broaden my musical horizons.
It really had a profound effect on me then, and it still does today. How to Disappear Completely is among my favorites by Radiohead, and is probably competing for my favorite song across all artists.
Songs like Everything In Its Right Place and Kid A were challenging for me at the time, but they were a catalyst for my appreciation of somehwhat experimental music. I think Radiohead was the bridge between accessibility and oddity that many people used as an entryway into more unconventional works.
I really have enjoyed this series. It's funny how albums like Kid A and Random Access Memories are almost like comfort food to me now, while the classical pieces you have discussed are the more challenging. It goes to show how important exposure is when it comes to the music we each find accessible.
One story that I've always heard about this album was that many of the lyrics were created by writing phrases on scraps of paper and drawing them at random for each song. Obviously, that isn't the case for all of them, but it seems to be true for Everything in its Right Place and a few others. I don't think you mentioned this, but I apologize if I missed it.
It’s good to hear the youth appreciating older music. Bowie’s lyrics were often put together in a similar way
Thanks very much for your kind appreciation and very interesting back story.
That idea of random selection of bits and pieces of scraps of lyrics - the Cut-Up technique - was employed very successfully by David Bowie back in the early 1970's. It was an idea that he had copied from the American writer, William S. Burroughs - he wrote "Naked Lunch".
@@apollomemories7399 so true. Thanks for your comment and contribution to the topic
Radiohead was definitely the gateway drug to music like what Ben Frost and Tim Hecker create. Kid A was also the album that made me realise that this kinda odd stuff is really great.
I'm convinced! Thank You!
👍
Clicked out of curiosity and ended up watching the entire video. I love this album and I just have to say that it is truly awe inspiring how open and passionate you are sir! Thank you for this.
Wow, thank you!
For years I have ignored Radiohead. Watching this video has totally opened my mind. Many thanks for a push in a great direction. More please
Glad you enjoyed it!
Rule no 1, never ignore radiohead or anything Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have to do with. Ever!
Thanks for the video, love the format. It feels indulgent these days to talk about a single album for 45 minutes, but the music is worthy of such indulgence.
So pleased to receive this feedback 🙏
I would put it up there with the caliber of early Kraftwerk, Jean Michele Jarre, Tangerine Dream albums, but possibly even more significant artistically - it is a classic iconic musical masterpiece of the 2000's era. Amnesiac as well, is a beautiful compliment to Kid A.
Thanks for your comment and contribution to the discussion
This album and its companion of Amnesiac are the reason I pursued music. Such a wonderful and complex album.
Indeed! Thanks for sharing your comment
Its unconventional and very not boring. It was (and still is) a breath of fresh air in an industry of normal and lock-step cookie cutter albums and label made artists.
Indeed. Thanks for sharing
I enjoyed this video tremendously, now I want to listen to the cd.
Thanks! Enjoy
Love Radiohead, i have the same feeling as when i was a teenager sitting in someones room listening to new music, wonderful must listen to the whole album, thanks.
Thanks so much for your comment. That’s exactly the effect I wanted to achieve, so that’s great to hear. Enjoy.
I love this album! It sounds apocalyptic and dystopian..
Indeed
Loved this video. Any chance you will do one for In Rainbows?
🙏 I love in Rainbows too, maybe one day.
Kid A was easy to digest compared to Amnesiac. Love them both but the world had changed and they captured both moments perfectly. It’s still a more challenging listen. The best band that stills feel like a secret.
One of my favorite moments is when the title track KID A gets quiet….then that fade-in of the synth. It reminds me of the similar musical move on 10CC’S ‘I’m Not In Love’. Makes my hair stand up.
It’s an amazing progression in a short time from Pablo Honey and the only fitting follow up to OK.
Motion Picture is just heartbreaking.
Very true, thanks for your comment
I really love to hear you analyse (which is a really great song😊) Appreciation of Radiohead goes straight to my heart.
Thanks… enjoy
"It's one of those tracks that will take you wherever you want to go." Love it.
Thank you for this! Kid A is a masterpiece ❤
You’re very welcome!
My dad sang in bands so I was always involved in music, the band practicing , I always loved music,
Love spending time with you Harley....your "speaker-side" chats. Very relaxing and enjoyable.
I appreciate that! So nice to read your comment
One of my favorite albums (maybe my favorite) by one of my favorite groups. Thanks for this review. Many people don't 'get' Radiohead and they are probably not for everyone. But I respect the people that do.
Thanks for your appreciation.
Please keep making these videos! Love them
Will do! 😀
What a joy to watch and listen. I saw a lot music reviews on this chanel, but here you can see, the difference of a professional and a regular youtuber! Fantastic, best i ever saw, love it. By the way, unbelievable you done this without a single cut!
Wow, thanks! So glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks a lot for reviewing this if not the best certainly one of the best best of all albums out there. Like how you approached this album and also how you brought all the snippets of anecdotes about the band members into play as well. Great stuff! Cheers
Thank you very much. That’s very kind.
Since I listened to Paranoid Android for the first time as a teenager (14 - 15) I became obsessed with getting that OK Computer album, which I listened to hundreds of times for the next couple of yers, so I got my Kid A copy the very first day it hit the stores.
Nice
Thank you for this wonderful video. It is my favorite album of all time; and, like many others have said in the comments, a masterpiece. It is also a great gateway to all sorts of incredible artists and styles: Kraftwerk, Charlie Mingus, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Lansky, Aphex Twin, and so on and so forth
You're very welcome! I totally agree about the album being a springboard to so much more. A true sign of genius.
Thank you for your wonderful, humble, moving review. I had a very similar experience with this album recently. Class A sound quality on this album as well.
My pleasure!
I listened to Kid A driving from Saltburn to Sunderland on the A19 with glimpses for the sea - very fitting and enjoyable experience.
Nice!
I remember 2003 as a wonderful blend of Kida A, Michael Nyman and Arvo Part. Thank you for sharing this.
Our pleasure!
🙋♂️HARLEY,IT IS DEFINITELY A BLESSING 🤗 FOR YOU AND US AS WELL 😎💚💚💚
It sure is! Thanks!
My first introduction to Radiohead was The Bends. It was so different from everything else I would normally listen to but I became completely enamored with their music. I would play that CD for hours in my car as I commuted back and forth to work. Of course that led to discovering their other releases such as Kid A and OK Computer. I love how you keep an open mind when it comes to music, as we all should.
Thanks for your comment and appreciation
Loved your musical intelligence. It was a pleasure to listen to you.
Thanks! You’re very kind. Glad you enjoyed it
Dang, Harley, love to see you grooving to one of my all-time favorite albums. I can sit in the dark out in my garage and listen to this with my DMP-A6 running into my Sugden A21se through my Volti Audio RazzLEs and the sonic immersion is incredible. Me and a friend got to see Radiohead at a small club in St Louis, MO at the beginning of the OK Computer tour with Teenage Fanclub opening. Incredible. Great memories. Take care.
Thanks! I can just imagine you listening in your garage!
Wow what a gig
Mind expanding music
Absolutely!
What a beautiful review of a truly special album. Great job
Thanks! Very kind.
I already love you and I'm not even 5 minutes into the video
😀👍
I love your passion for all types of music Harley. This is another great video you have put together👍🏼
Thanks, you’re very kind
Thank you.
You're welcome!
This videos is amazing, thank you.
You're very welcome!
About a decade ago I was listening to Classic FM (Australian equivalent of Radio 3) and there was a mention of "difficult music" and I suggested that a way into unfamiliar sounds was to metaphorically close your eyes and imagine the music as a film soundtrack.
In movies we hear all sorts of "sound design" as well as music or just sounds that we might not think had a place in music but that fit or create the scene, and by allowing the music to suggest a film, a context, it was a way of opening music up to our imagination (or is it the bother way round?).
As a 71 year old, Kid A came out approximately 1/3 of my life ago.
There's a thought.
Thanks for your comment - 23 years is indeed a long time ago.
@@PearlAcousticsI really enjoy the channel . Thank you.
I think it's their best album. And you're right about listening to it on cd. I had it on a double 10" lp and it was a pain turning it over three times. It flows through on cd.
👍
Wow, I didn’t see this coming. Thank you so much for your wonderful review of my most beloved Radiohead album. And, btw, it sounds marvelous via the Sibelius, too!
Thanks!
I just bought "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" together in 2 cd box set and they're both amazing albums...
👍
There's so much we can learn with radiohead, specially from ok computer to amnesiac. They really pushed the boundaries and blended the 20th and 21st century perfectly
So true!
A beautiful album, thank you
Even Radiohead sounds tempting through those Sugdens and Sibelius…
😂
Really enjoyed your reaction. Two quick things, when this first came out I found it too difficult to absorb and it took me giving it a second chance years later for me to appreciate it.
Second "How to Disappear Completely" breaks and remakes my heart every time I hear it - it capturing of Melancholia and Anxiety but resolving them into beauty is just spectacular
Thanks for your kind comment. And thanks too for your interesting back story
Fantastic review!
Thank you. Very kind!
I love how 'possessed' Thom appears to get when performing Idoioteque live! "I have seem too much, you haven''t seen enough"
I still remember when this album first came out and was a STARTLING departure from OK Computer and The Bends. For my first listen I got a nice BUZZ going, and layed down on my bedroom floor with a pair of headphones... It was SO different, but just SO RIGHT at the same time! Everything in its right place.
Lovely comment Thanks
Love your channel! I think it would be awesome for you to do more album reviews---classic and new!
Thanks. That is the plan… enjoy
Wonderful & thoughtful. I really enjoyed this 🙂
Thank you!
Maybe my favorite album of all time, this video is great!
Thanks! 🙏
Really loved this video Harley. Up to now I have mainly watched your hardware videos but this was a great review & critique of what was initially a hard to appreciate release from Radiohead after the sublime OK Computer. I so admire the courageous path they took to go down this path which probably did take many years for critics and causal fans to understand what they achieved with this album. Thanks for shining a light.
ps. I’m in a long build queue for around 2 years for a Decware Zen Triode. Can’t wait to play some Radiohead vinyl through that ❤
Thank you. You’re very kind. And thanks for your contribution to the discussion
Thank you so much for this video. Lovely, informative stuff.
You’re very welcome!
I learn so much on this channel about music and all other related stuff.Can't thanks enough but thank you for bringing this up Harley, all the details you pointed out, makes me love the band much more, I love Radiohead and this is my second favourite album of theirs (after OK Computer). Again thank you sir for all other videos as well, I greatly appreciate it
My pleasure! You’re very welcome
Well Kid A is amazing. I believe in Rainbows is amazing too
Thank you for another wonderful video . Throughout the video, I was struggling with myself about an album that is supposed to come on Nov 17th after 16 years . I was thinking how long I was waiting for it . Reflecting on it for such a long time, I grew up with their last release, which was in 2006 . Anyway, I totally identified with you . Music is a time machine that is the best medium to express and experience emotions . In addition to that, I never knew you like other genres except classical . Good to discover that.
Thanks for you appreciation and for sharing your comment
When it came out it took me a while to get into (when at the time I wanted another Bends or OK computer ) but after a while came to realise it for the masterpiece it is and probably my most played Radiohead although they have many classics . A great video and thanks for nudging me to play my old cd on my old cd player again ! Thank you
You’re very welcome
Thom has said he wants to be remembered for “how to disappear completely” (ironic, I know)
Interesting and also rather fitting.