Radiohead, Kid A and Kid B
and do we all have collective amnesia or is Kid B far better than is critically recognised?
and do we all have collective amnesia or is Kid B far better than is critically recognised?
Only seven months elapsed between the releasing of “Kid A” in October 2000 and “Amnesiac” in May 2001 and this led many fans at the time to re-christen the second album “Kid B” and hence my playfully mocking title above. As usual, this bucked an established trend within the band which saw a consistent two year gap between their first three albums before a three year hiatus before Kid A here. A two year period would follow before the release of “Hail to the Thief”, four years to “In Rainbows” and another four years to “King of Limbs” before an extra five years to their last album to date, “A Moon Shaped Pool”. Writing this just over five years since the release of this album, and considering the yearly progression(s) of four, then another four and now five years, can we expect the next mercurial Radiohead album to drop around the sixth year since their last? Sadly I doubt it but, with Radiohead, you learn to expect the unexpected, and this was one of the reasons when in 2001 I was completely flummoxed when walking into my local record shop to be presented at the front door with a new Radiohead album. This had to be some mistake, surely? Is that really a new Radiohead album? I was still getting used to the new sonic tones and change of musical direction on the previous album! But it was indeed a new album and, according to bassist (and my favourite member of the band) Colin Greenwood, even he wasn’t sure it was two separate albums as “it was all done in the same recording period”.
So all these years on, this raises two retrospective questions and a third pertinent current question:
(1) Considering the band’s move into, ahem, “prog rock” territory, shouldn’t they have released a single, elongated album encompassing both records. Maybe even call it “Kid A+B”?
(2) And if not, is “Amnesiac” still as terrible a stand alone album as is critically stated and as it passes the 20th anniversary of it’s singular release?
(3) With the re-release of both albums and selected rare tracks scheduled for 5th November 2021 and entitled “Kid A Mnesia”, have I wasted my time with the above two questions?! And why release the “collectors edition” of both albums in 2009?
And why not a brand new album you beautiful geniuses of Oxford?!
(1) “Kid A+B”? So, let’s be a little ruthless, but as it’s me with my unabashed and myopic fandom, it’ll only be a little. Track 5 “Treefingers” on “Kid A” is dreadful (sorry) and track 7 “In Limbo” is ok but leaves me cold so we’re down to 8 tracks on this album, plus there’s a duplicate and/or slightly differing take of “Morning Bell” on both albums. I prefer the “Kid A” version because of the higher mix of Phil’s brilliant drumming, so that’s in and the “Amnesiac” version is out, which reduces that album to 10. So currently we have 18 total tracks. Now, “Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors” (Track 3) and “Hunting Bears” (Track 9) are as equally dreadful as each other, so that reduces “Amnesiac” to 8 total tracks and equals that of “Kid A” and so we have a combined album of 16 tracks at a rough running time of 77 minutes. Spread over two albums/discs and voila, you have a prog rock Radiohead album! It may be twenty years too late, but where do I apply for a band management role?!
I’ll come on to the remaining tracks on “Amnesiac” in my question 2 below, but on the remainder of “Kid A” are eight, tight and stunning pieces of music worthy of any album and “Everything in it’s Right Place” starts the album magnificently with a piano ballad that has become a firm live favourite over the years and morphing brilliantly into a techno version in more recent times. Lyrics are cut up, sampled and reinserted behind a prominent vocal from Thom as he wails and complains he “woke up sucking a lemon” and as he himself has admitted this was a direct indication as to how he felt touring and promoting “OK Computer”. He’d simply had enough and couldn’t continue in the same vein any longer. Despite this, it’s a tremendous song and so aptly used in the 2001 film “Vanilla Sky” as Tom Cruise drives into an eerily deserted Times Square in New York in a dream/lucid dream state. “Kid A” follows and was a track I discarded as unloved for far too long and now adore. It’s the epitome of the direction the band were moving in with scattered lyrics “We’ve got heads on sticks. You’ve got ventriloquists” set against scattered electronic tones and Phil’s peerless drum beats. The repeated lyric of “standing in the shadows at the end of my bed” has always haunted me and I’ve never settled on a suitable interpretation. Track 3 is “The National Anthem” and an immediate and constant favourite of mine as it mixes a free jazz mix behind Colin’s thumping and continuous bassline and I’ve always interpreted this song as a reflection of humanity “holding on” to a form of sanity and reason as we experience an oppressive society and Governmental masters ensuring “Everyone has got the fear”. Who knows? It’s sublimely brilliant regardless. As is the following track “How to Disappear Completely” and the first outing on the album of guitars from a supposed guitar band! Thom has given as firm an indication as to the meaning of his own song(!) and in short the song covers the power outages at their 1997 Glastonbury festival appearance and was written in Dublin after a conversation with Michael Stipe of REM who advised him to distance and try and disassociate himself from problems and worries and be in the moment with “I’m not here. This isn’t happening”. 21 years on it remains a stunning song.
“Optimistic” sees the return of guitars again as well as Phil’s irregular drum beats as well as the return of a kaleidoscope of depressive lyrics and images, of “prison ships”, the natural order of life and “fodder for the animals living on animal farm” set against the positive song title and continual refrain of “the best you can is good enough”. All very typical Radiohead, juxtaposing light against dark, hope against despair. “Idioteque” has always seemed to me to be the flag bearer of the “new” Radiohead with it’s non guitar sound and reliance on cut and sampled repetitive drum machine type beats and electronic/techno vibe, whilst also continuing with the juxtaposition and contradiction of imagery. There are many refrains, Thom almost sarcastically saying that “women and children first” into the lifeboats of the coming nuclear storm, or is it an ecological disaster? Are we destroying the planet at the literal expense of pure greed? There’s the assurance/determination of hearing both sides of the coming change to the climate and “we’re not scaremongering” and the contradicting imagery continues with a throwback to OK Computer’s angst at the intrusion of technology into our lives whilst we simply run with the God Mammon and despite the almost claustrophobic spitting and repetitious, all encompassing lyrics, the contradictions continue as “Here I’m allowed, everything all of the time”. “Morning Bell” slows the pace to a more sedate fashion, with guitars in the background but Thom’s impeccable singing to the forefront and alongside Phil’s repetitive and irregular drumbeats. It’s yet another high tempo with “positive” musical note arrangement yet on the surface the song would appear to be about division, divorce and the angst and bewilderment that follows. “Everyone wants to be a friend. Nobody wants to be a slave” is lyrically repeated before the protagonists walk away. Track 8 of my unofficial combination Kid A+B album and the last on “Kid A” is “Motion Picture Soundtrack” and what a depressing joy this is! Contradictions abound again with the refrain of “I think you’re crazy. Maybe” as the song, and the album and perhaps the titular “film” winds down to a close. It could also be interpreted as a closure in so many other ways, to life, a suicide, a death bed life appraisal “I will see you, in the next life” or a more palatable yearning for a loved one the protagonist is missing from their life and just desperate to be with again.
(2) So, if we’ve already deleted three of the songs from “Amnesiac” in our collectively ruthless ways, surely this denotes that the album, and the remaining 8 tracks is as the critics unfairly judged it in the main, a bit of a failure and simply an add on to “Kid A”? I may be a myopic fan, but I wouldn’t be so hasty as the remaining tracks are in many ways some of their best. At least to this fan’s way of thinking anyway.
“Packt like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box” gets us underway with a scattergun of samples, notes and drum machine type beats with Thom’s lyrics high in the mix of another claustrophobic listening experience. Surface interpretation? Stop waiting around and looking for approval from someone or something and wasting time is a possible linear explanation, as is the constant refrain of “I’m a reasonable man get off my case” and to be simply left alone and in Thom’s openly publicised and Radiohead inspired wails, stop the noise, stop the chatter and leave us as a species alone. Like so much of Radiohead, this is all open to personal interpretation but the song is magnificent. As is “Pyramid Song”, which I struggled to love initially with it’s off tempo and irregular piano timing but quickly saw sense after a number of listens. This could be interpreted as a circle of life and indeed death, another life review before passing away or of missing those closest to us. I’ve read interpretations of the Egyptian imagery and their ancient burial rituals and this would seem an accurate surface interpretation, but regardless “There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt” as the song climaxes on a somewhat more positive note. An amazing song that has subsequently become a mournful anthem when played live at gigs, and Thom’s searing vocals are beautiful. “You and Whose Army?” is Thom at his quietest yet angriest as the first part of the song is purely himself and a guitar before halfway through the band as a whole crash in to bring this spitting venom of a song aimed at Tony Blair and the dark cabal of warmongering globalists he represents to a close with barbed lyrics aimed at a “Holy Roman Empire” and “You and your cronies”. As ever, the fight isn’t over and the song plays out with the assertion that Blair and the cabal have mistaken our silence for acquiescence but on horses “We ride tonight” and the song was brilliantly used in the TV series “Peaky Blinders”. Track 4 of the revised album is “I Might Be Wrong” and a return to the guitar playing band we all adore and somewhat of a love song as the protagonist proffers he might’ve been wrong after all, relax and have a good time with a loved one as “What would I do? If I did not have you?” Another song that is brilliantly arranged as a live song at gigs and another personal favourite of mine.
Four songs remain, kicking off with another guitar tinged beauty called “Knives Out” which has the Radiohead stamp of contradiction all over it as although the guitar melodies and solos are up tempo and in positive notes and beautifully sonically arranged, the lyrical content is decidedly dark indeed with imagery throughout of death, mutilation and cannibalism. I have a personal and very worn out phrase of “Pyramid schemes for Pyramid dreams” and the image I’m trying to convey is of the way society is geared to step upon those below as they scramble toward a summit they’ll never reach. Bleak I know! You’re welcome! So that’s my interpretation of this song, shot through the prism of my own silly throwaway phrase. “Dollars and Cents” is a somewhat cousin of “You and Whose Army?” above as it continues a tirade and rallying cry against crony capitalism and the monsters behind this humanity destroying concept, with it’s pointed lyrics at the titular Dollars and Cents and “Pounds and Pence” and the “Mark and the Yen” and how *they* are “gonna crack your little souls”. Thom opines at the beginning of the song (where Colin’s bass finally gets a chance to shine) that we’re better than this, a liberal, free thinking society can overcome this without the enforced constraints placed upon it. There is much to unpack in this beautiful if dark and stark song, but this is my interpretation. I almost left “Like Spinning Plates” off the album but relented as I kind of have a soft spot for it with it’s backwards sounding samples and scattered musical notes but Thom’s distorted vocal can be grating, but deliberately so in keeping with the track. I just adore the concept of the long used metaphor we all have of trying to juggle too many things at once and the titular image of the spinning plates of a television juggler/illusionist. But I particularly enjoy the, albeit sparse, lyrics and have used them on far too many occasions for my own sanity when seeing a smug and self appointed “Authority figure” making “pretty speeches” whilst the world metaphorically burns around them and the objects of their speeches are “being cut to shreds”. See Tony Blair above and umpteen vacuous political figures since. Not their greatest, but a quirky addition to the album. Finally we come to my favourite Radiohead album track of all time, but not my favourite overall song. “Life in a Glasshouse” is stupendously brilliant and another notable genre departure for Radiohead as here they employ a triumphant and traditional jazz accompaniment and not a background sampled and enhanced jazz. Supplied by the legendary Humphrey Lyttelton and his band they brilliantly compliment a searing vocal from Thom which raises to an incredible crescendo. Ostensibly just Thom on his piano, the band crash in towards the end of a song that has kept me wonderful company for 20 years and I hope it will do so for another 20. The song itself is a frenetic take on the intrusion of outside forces on modern life (see OK Computer) but here it’s taken even further with a barbed attack on the secretive dark forces that intrude on our lives more and more and “Well, of course I’d like to sit around and chat. But someone’s listening in” as well as using the metaphor of not throwing stones in a glasshouse and, perhaps more telling, the hypocrisy that constantly surrounds us, of industrialised farming, millions of people in food poverty and the need to stop taking lectures from politicians and royalty as Thom pointedly announces “Don’t talk politics and don’t throw stones. Your royal highnesses”. There is a fantastic live version available recorded on Jools Holland’s BBC show from the same year as release and the song is also poignantly and brilliantly used in the 2006 Alfonso Cuaron directed dystopian film “Children of Men”.
So the answer’s so far are (1) Yes, the combined 16 tracks would’ve made an incredible prog rock style double album and (2) Yes, albeit myopically, “Amnesiac” still stands a good, borderline great, Radiohead album.
(3) In 2009 Radiohead released a “Collectors Edition” version of both albums and there were some gems on both with “Kid A” specialising in live tracks from the album whereas “Amnesiac” focused on both live and rare unreleased tracks. On “Amnesiac” they excelled themselves and excited fans with official releases of “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy”, “Worrywort”, “Cuttooth” (a personal favourite) and an extended version of “Life in a Glasshouse”.
So have I wasted my time with the original premise of the combined “Kid A+B” album? Only you, dear reader, can be the judge of such things, but any excuse to listen to Radiohead again and write about these geniuses in a long form prose is good enough for me, and indeed, good for me.
As I write this 3 weeks ahead of the release of “Kid A Mnesia” it’ll be interesting to see and hear the reaction the re-re-release the albums garner. Depending on the version purchased (Vinyl/CD or Cassette) there are 38 total tracks included, so 17 in addition to the 21 previously released on the original albums. However, of the 17 additions it would appear from the promotional material I’ve seen that 4 at least were included on the previous “Collectors Edition” albums and 3 remain secretly untitled. So there would appear to be 10 “new” tracks but 2 are B-sides and a number of the others are remixed versions of songs on the albums not previously released. There are two definite “new” additions but even then “Follow Me Around” albeit a brilliant guitar inspired song is a late 80’s B-side. “If You Say The Word” is again brilliant and Colin’s sublime bass appears higher in the mix and, as Radiohead often do, they’ve released a politically barbed and pointed video to go along with this song.
And a new Radiohead album? Alas it would not appear to be on the horizon any time soon, but, expect the unexpected from these geniuses (and they are without doubt that) and hopefully their 10th, and not final, album will be with us sooner than we think. We can but hope.
Should you read this far, firstly, the above is just an opinionated ramble on a band that has kept me sincerely sane and great company for nearly 30 years and lastly, here’s a link to my previous blogs on their albums Pablo Honey and a mash up of The Bends and OK Computer. Further blogs on albums Hail to the Thief through to A Moon Shaped Pool are in the works.
So follow me around!
Radiohead, Pablo Honey
and how I came to love this early unruly childmedium.com
Radiohead, OK Computer
And how saying no to The Bends saved my life.medium.com
