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Radiohead nerds - what album was a more dramatic stylistic change, OK Computer or Kid A?

signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,279
Not a huge Radiohead fan so sorry if the question is dumb.

I remember being kind of blown away by the first seconds of the first track on Kid A, as it was seemingly so different from my older sister's 'The Bends' CD which I used to listen to all the time. I don't think I bought OK Computer, but the radio / TV singles off that album didn't seem as different to me from the earlier albums. Actually a top comment on the just linked youtube video describes it pretty well, I just didn't own OK Computer so I don't know if it's that accurate:

Imagine being a Radiohead fan in 2000, you had been waiting for there next masterpiece since there previous album in 1997, you can't wait to see how they build on from Ok Computer. You buy the album and start playing it, expecting another rock-based album, and then you hear this. The confusion you must have felt when you hear this. Is this Radiohead? Certainly doesn't sound like them. But it is, and you may have just witnessed one of the most drastic changes a band has undergone in only 3 years. As a once deleted comment said. "Those first four notes always send me chills, I like to think of it as Radiohead welcoming you to the 21st century."
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So assuming there is some consensus, do most Radiohead fans think the bigger stylistic change is Bends --> OK Computer or OK Computer --> Kid A? I imagine it's one of those two and not Kid A to Amnesiac or something.

But damn, those first few notes...
 
5taquitos

5taquitos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,940
OR
Kid A was definitely a big change, way more than The Bends to OK Computer.

Amnesiac is pretty much Kid A Part 2.
 
Menome

Menome

"This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,446
It's hard to overstate just how much of a cultural moment Kid A was in British rock music at the time. Jumping completely left-field like that just wasn't a thing for mainstream acts to do at the time, especially in the late 90s when synthesizers were still the Devil's instrument because everyone was still pretending to hate the 80s.
 
Bigjig

Bigjig

Member
Jun 4, 2018
1,220
I don't think Ok Computer was that much of a change from The Bends. Kid A was radically different
 
Micerider

Micerider

Member
Nov 11, 2017
1,188
Kid A for sure.

OK Computer remains the better album (well, I love all of their albums except King of Limbs)
 
345

345

Member
Oct 30, 2017
7,454
kid a by three million miles. it was genuinely controversial at the time.
 
phonicjoy

phonicjoy

Banned
Jun 19, 2018
4,305
Kid A and I hated them for it. They were being smug about having done "everything" that you could do with a guitar in interviews. In hindsight it was a great album and they were being cheeky.
 
Creamium

Creamium

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,737
Belgium
Kid A no question. OK Computer was still a rock album at the end of the day, Kid A was something drastically different. I was only 15 when the album hit but I knew it really divided fans. It had to grow on me a lot
 
Deadceptor

Deadceptor

Member
Oct 26, 2017
538
Not a single great song after OK Computer, it's been a downfall ever since IMO. So yeah, Kid A was the dramatic change.
 
samred

samred

Amico fun conversationalist
Member
Nov 4, 2017
2,600
Seattle, WA
Kid A materialized in a really interesting way at the time, with a bunch of miniature music videos distributed as QuickTime embeds on web sites (they also flashed as ads on TV networks at the time). That's what I remember: That slow-drip campaign of, "Whoa, did they go down an Aphex Twin bender or something?" (They had.) Way bigger shift than Bends-->OKC.
 
Creamium

Creamium

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,737
Belgium
Deadceptor said:
Not a single great song after OK Computer
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I'm sorry but I read this as "I haven't given their music a shot after OK computer" Even post Kid A/Insomniac they made songs that anyone into OKC era RH would like
 
5taquitos

5taquitos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,940
OR
Man now I'm remembering hotboxing the car, blasting Kid A, and losing my mind. Such an amazing album.
 
hjort

hjort

Member
Nov 9, 2017
4,096
Definitely Kid A. OK Computer was a huge improvent in quality, IMO, but stylistically it doesn't come close to the change that came with Kid A.
 

Deleted member 69573

User requested account closure
Banned
May 17, 2020
1,320
Melbourne, Australia
Menome said:
It's hard to overstate just how much of a cultural moment Kid A was in British rock music at the time. Jumping completely left-field like that just wasn't a thing for mainstream acts to do at the time, especially in the late 90s when synthesizers were still the Devil's instrument because everyone was still pretending to hate the 80s.
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This. It's also an evergreen album, sounds as fresh today as it did back then.


Deadceptor said:
Not a single great song after OK Computer, it's been a downfall ever since IMO. So yeah, Kid A was the dramatic change.
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The fuck is this lol. A Moon Shaped Pool and In Rainbows are arguably better albums.
 
OP
OP
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,279
5taquitos said:
Man now I'm remembering hotboxing the car, blasting Kid A, and losing my mind. Such an amazing album.
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The youtube comment quote in the OP was basically my experience, just minus owning OK C. I think it was the combination of the music, my age, and the result being different from expectations, but that album intro was memorable.
 
Crispy75

Crispy75

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,059
Kid A was completely baffling to me when it came out.
It was like music from some other band entirely.
Took me a long time to reconcile with it, but now it's a classic.
Micerider said:
I love all of their albums except King of Limbs
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TKOL improves massively when played live
www.youtube.com

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs From The Basement (December 2011)

Recorded at Maida Vale Studios, London in December 2011.Setlist:00:00:40 Bloom00:07:07 The Daily Mail00:11:18 Feral00:14:41 Little by Little00:19:56 Codex00:...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Static Veins

Static Veins

Member
Oct 25, 2017
340
UK
Kid A, without any doubt. OK Computer was a refinement of their rock sound and remains a phenomenal album. That made Kid A coming along and throwing everything out the window even more of a shock.
 
Atom Heart Mother

Atom Heart Mother

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,314
new jersey
Dalek said:
This is a good analogy. Ok Computer seemed like an experimental album. Kid A was a tidal change.

Listening to Kid A and trying to analyze it and discern each song from that other was a legendary experience. I miss those days of music.
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Radiohead's always said the First song of an album is representative of the previous album, and the last one is representative of the next album.
 

Deleted member 20155

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
184
Deadceptor said:
Not a single great song after OK Computer, it's been a downfall ever since IMO. So yeah, Kid A was the dramatic change.
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lol

Kid A was such a monumental shift, OKC is a great album but is just a rock band doing rock songs. Kid A felt like this whole new world. Obviously, a lot of what it is comes from other stuff (warp records, can etc.) but stuff like that wasn't as accessible back then, and no one as big as radiohead was cribbing from that stuff as much.

i was 16 when kid a released and the world that opened up downloading shit on napster that radiohead mentioned was the best time.
 
Deadceptor

Deadceptor

Member
Oct 26, 2017
538
lommichael said:
The fuck is this lol. A Moon Shaped Pool and In Rainbows are arguably better albums.
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Ursine Ultra said:
lol
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Creamium said:
tenor.gif


I'm sorry but I read this as "I haven't given their music a shot after OK computer" Even post Kid A/Insomniac they made songs that anyone into OKC era RH would like
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The Bends is one of the few albums I consider as perfect, it's the album that defines Radiohead for me. So imagine them going to Kid A from my perspective. OK Computer is also a very questionable album for me, but at least I really dig a few songs from it.

So yes, I have listened to their later albums a lot and tried to like them but they just don't click. Same thing with Muse, I'm always thinking they "went radiohead" after Absolution...Black Holes and Revelations is like OK Computer.
 
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Midee

Midee

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,486
CA, USA
Kid A absolutely. Going by the opening tracks: Airbag, which I love, sounds similar to Planet Telex, whereas EIIRP sounds like it's from an alternate universe Radiohead.
 
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Xun

Xun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,328
London
Kid A, definitely.

OK Computer has a lot in common with The Bends, whereas Kid A was arguably something completely different.
 
Deadceptor

Deadceptor

Member
Oct 26, 2017
538
Creamium said:
Not even In Rainbows? That's always seemed like an album where they're at their most accessible post Kid A and would appeal to fans of the older work. One of their best still imo
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Just gave the whole album a listen and nope, still nothing. A very forgettable album with the only high point being the seventh song Reckoner. I really do like the guitar and bass in Bodysnatchers though.
 
DIE BART DIE

DIE BART DIE

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,855
The experience and emotions tied to listening to Kid A were like witnessing the stillborn birth of a child while simultaneously having the opportunity to see her play in the afterlife on Imax.
 
Wackamole

Wackamole

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,970
OK Computer is probably the most instant classic album of them.
It was a big change from their somewhat traditional guitar rock music but Kid A was a far more dramatic stylistic change.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Kid A even though OKC is the better album
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
lommichael said:
This. It's also an evergreen album, sounds as fresh today as it did back then.




The fuck is this lol. A Moon Shaped Pool and In Rainbows are arguably better albums.
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A Moon Shaped Pool is easily my least favorite album from them. Yes even including Pablo Honey.

What a disappointment.
 
Gio

Gio

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
837
Manila
Yeah it's easily OK Computer to Kid A. You can draw a connective line, albeit faint, through Pablo Honey, The Bends, and OKC. I can see an argument to be made that OKC birthed Kid A but it's really a brand new sound imo.
 
King of Cups

King of Cups

Member
Oct 27, 2017
525
As everyone has said, it's Kid A. It's their Bitches Brew from Kind of Blue moment. So I have a slightly different perspective - I got into Radiohead (and a lot different stuff) BECAUSE of Kid A. From there, I explored the rest of their catalog, which for anyone that knows me is about par for the course. I like "challenging" music, as I like to think it lets me feel the intent behind a musician/band. Sometimes there's something there, sometimes not. There definitely was something there with Radiohead.
 
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Deleted member 41520

Banned
Mar 29, 2018
7,078
Kid A without question.

When I checked the date on that album I literally said to my friend almost exactly the quote you have embedded in your post.
phonicjoy said:
Kid A and I hated them for it. They were being smug about having done "everything" that you could do with a guitar in interviews. In hindsight it was a great album and they were being cheeky.
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They had been chewed up and spat out by fame with TB and OKC. Not surprising they weren't the rebellious teens route
 
Kromeo

Kromeo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,957
Kid A, and Idioteque still remains my favorite from any album

I've never personally been a huge fan of OK Computer or anything before it
 
hidys

hidys

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
1,795
I like OK Computer more. But Kid A is definitely the answer to your question. An absolute game changer and one of the biggest stylistic changes a band has ever gone through. The only one that comes close in my mind is Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk.
 
Lastbroadcast

Lastbroadcast

Member
Jul 6, 2018
1,938
Sydney, Australia
It cannot be overstated how much of a revelation Kid A was at the time. Everyone, especially the music press was expecting Radiohead to be the "saviours of rock", and were going to make OK Computer part 2. Then they threw their guitars away and made Kid A.

I didn't get it at first, but came around later and now I consider it to be a masterpiece, although these days I actually prefer Amnesiac. Although oddly, The Bends is still my favourite.
 
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