Is "The Bends" Radiohead's best album?
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Is "The Bends" Radiohead's best album?
OK, so I'm a little late. I've been listening to Radiohead for a few years and just now got The Bends as a gift.
And you know, despite my undying love for Kid A (and to a slightly lesser extent, the others) this album really impresses the hell out of me.
Just because it was from an earlier phase in their musical development, is no excuse to put it down.
Do you still think this is the best thing they ever did?
And you know, despite my undying love for Kid A (and to a slightly lesser extent, the others) this album really impresses the hell out of me.
Just because it was from an earlier phase in their musical development, is no excuse to put it down.
Do you still think this is the best thing they ever did?
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That all depends on in which way you mean best. Of course, I am a bit biased as my user name comes from that album(FANBOY!), but I think it is the most listenable album, purely in terms of listenability-in a noncritical sense. Is it their most sophisticated album? No. Is it the most enjoyable to listen to? IMO very much so, with OK Computer a close second (I like every song on The Bends, whereas a few on OK Computer I could live without). The amazing thing about Radiohead for me is that you can see their progression as a band- album by album.
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Originally posted by raithen
Definitely their best.
Definitely their best.
#5
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I enjoy the Bends the most. It's more commercial than OK Computer and more adventurous than Pablo Honey. I think it's the most satisfying of their releases. I do love OK Computer, but resent it a bit too. After all, OK Computer made them think it was okay to release Kid A and Amnesiac, which (to me) represent the greatest and quickest decline of any excellent band ever. I really dislike the new direction and feel free to flame me as much as you want for saying that.
#8
Originally posted by Gdrlv
I enjoy the Bends the most. It's more commercial than OK Computer and more adventurous than Pablo Honey. I think it's the most satisfying of their releases. I do love OK Computer, but resent it a bit too. After all, OK Computer made them think it was okay to release Kid A and Amnesiac, which (to me) represent the greatest and quickest decline of any excellent band ever. I really dislike the new direction and feel free to flame me as much as you want for saying that.
I enjoy the Bends the most. It's more commercial than OK Computer and more adventurous than Pablo Honey. I think it's the most satisfying of their releases. I do love OK Computer, but resent it a bit too. After all, OK Computer made them think it was okay to release Kid A and Amnesiac, which (to me) represent the greatest and quickest decline of any excellent band ever. I really dislike the new direction and feel free to flame me as much as you want for saying that.
I would rate The Bends as their best, followed by OK computer with the other 3 being far back in the pack.
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I definitely prefer OK Computer the most (perhaps because it was the album that made me a Radiohead fan), followed by The Bends. I simply cannot like Kid A and Amnesiac for some reason.
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Originally posted by AtlDVD
Kid A and Amnesiac are sick jokes done by the band on an unsuspecting audience.
Kid A and Amnesiac are sick jokes done by the band on an unsuspecting audience.
I love The Bends and repeated listenings are bearing this out.
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Originally posted by AtlDVD
Kid A and Amnesiac are sick jokes done by the band on an unsuspecting audience.
Bends and OK Computer are their pinnacles...
Kid A and Amnesiac are sick jokes done by the band on an unsuspecting audience.
Bends and OK Computer are their pinnacles...
OK Computer is, in my opinion, their best. I say this after listening to every album countless times and seeing them peform songs from each album live. The Bends is certainly good, Kid A is certainly great. But you know what? My opinion changes with each subsequent listen to the albums, which is why I love this band.
#16
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Originally posted by AtlDVD
Kid A and Amnesiac are sick jokes done by the band on an unsuspecting audience.
Bends and OK Computer are their pinnacles...
Kid A and Amnesiac are sick jokes done by the band on an unsuspecting audience.
Bends and OK Computer are their pinnacles...
"The Bends" and "O.K. Computer" are both equally brilliant.
And felt "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" were misfires. They get
an A for effort. But why completely change your style?
O.K., they did the experimental "electronic" thing. Let's
get back to what made everyone love them in the first
place. Hope they will. If not, I'll just stick with the two.
#17
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The Bends is their best "collection of songs" that are interchangeable.
OK Computer is definitely their "best album" wherein the songs gel very well together and don't sound as good apart from each other.
Kid A is good album but all of its b-sides make up Amnesiac which really should never have been released.
I don't even listen to Radiohead right now very much cuz they've turned into a bunch of money-hungry whores.
I mean anybody that would pay full price for an 8-song live album is out of his/her mind. (granted the songs are good but still crazy)
Shame on you Radiohead.
OK Computer is definitely their "best album" wherein the songs gel very well together and don't sound as good apart from each other.
Kid A is good album but all of its b-sides make up Amnesiac which really should never have been released.
I don't even listen to Radiohead right now very much cuz they've turned into a bunch of money-hungry whores.
I mean anybody that would pay full price for an 8-song live album is out of his/her mind. (granted the songs are good but still crazy)
Shame on you Radiohead.
#18
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Whoops - looks like Radiohead just reached the next level.
Much of the current hip backlash against Radiohead sounds disturbingly enough like the criticisms levelled against U2 during their "Rattle and Hum" period. Coincidence?
Personally I thought "Kid A" was the perfect antidote to the overblown prog-rock of "Ok Computer". And live - pretty much all of the songs blend into a very recognizable "Bends" sound. It's simply that after "The Bends" the band became a little obsessed with twiddling the knobs on the studio board.
And hey TJ - I paid full price (a whopping $8.99) for that 8 song EP - not for the live cuts, but for the inclusion of "True Love Waits," a B-side that I'd only had on poorly recorded bootlegs up to that point.
Much of the current hip backlash against Radiohead sounds disturbingly enough like the criticisms levelled against U2 during their "Rattle and Hum" period. Coincidence?
Personally I thought "Kid A" was the perfect antidote to the overblown prog-rock of "Ok Computer". And live - pretty much all of the songs blend into a very recognizable "Bends" sound. It's simply that after "The Bends" the band became a little obsessed with twiddling the knobs on the studio board.
And hey TJ - I paid full price (a whopping $8.99) for that 8 song EP - not for the live cuts, but for the inclusion of "True Love Waits," a B-side that I'd only had on poorly recorded bootlegs up to that point.
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These posts are funny to me. I remember listening to both "Pablo Honey" and "The Bends" the years they were released and didn't care for them. Just didn't do anything for me.
So, I never listened to "OK Computer" or "Kid A". Wasn't interested. Then I heard "Kid A" a year after its release and THIS is what turned me onto this band. And I like "Amnesiac" very much, too. And "OK Computer" is good. But I don't like the Bends nearly as much.
So, I never listened to "OK Computer" or "Kid A". Wasn't interested. Then I heard "Kid A" a year after its release and THIS is what turned me onto this band. And I like "Amnesiac" very much, too. And "OK Computer" is good. But I don't like the Bends nearly as much.
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I've been a fan since 95, and I think Kid A is excellent (although I don't care for Amnesiac either). People who say that "longtime fans must hate Kid A/Amnesiac" are pushing an agenda. And Pablo Honey is just a terrible album.
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Originally posted by Daytripper
...And felt "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" were misfires. They get
an A for effort. But why completely change your style?
...And felt "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" were misfires. They get
an A for effort. But why completely change your style?
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Originally posted by grunter
Personally I thought "Kid A" was the perfect antidote to the overblown prog-rock of "Ok Computer".
Personally I thought "Kid A" was the perfect antidote to the overblown prog-rock of "Ok Computer".
That's funny, because it's precisely that dreaded label that got pegged on Kid A when it had its debut, and the clueless rock scribes shouted "Emperor Yorke is naked!"
#24
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Kid A is my favorite, their most original and I think the purest distillation of what they're trying to do -- but it's not a CD for everyone's tastes.