Why is it cool to hate radiohead?

Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres.

[WIKIPEDIA]

EDIT: so wtf!

Exactly

  On 12/14/2009 at 9:10 PM, parteE said:

Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres.

 

[WIKIPEDIA]

 

EDIT: so wtf!

So in light of this, Radihead are avantgarde. Whether they have been widely considered to be ahead of their time since the days of Ok Computer is hard to say. But back in the late nineties, they were definetely avantgarde, and have been compared to Pink Floyd many times. Though personally I prefer Radiohead, Pink Floyd always seems so wishy washy to me. You want a band that's way up their own asses and emit smugness beyond smug? Pink Floyd it is.

I don't hate radiohead per se, just their following.

  On 12/15/2009 at 12:40 AM, goffer said:

I don't hate radiohead per se, just their following.

All this talk about hate. Wheres the <3 ?

Well I just put a remix of reckoner up on my page so does that mean people hate me now?

  On 12/11/2009 at 9:25 PM, blicero said:

  On 12/11/2009 at 9:09 PM, chunky said:

  On 12/11/2009 at 7:45 PM, blicero said:

  On 12/11/2009 at 6:07 PM, chunky said:

They're kind of like Super Furry Animals in that they chase gimmicks like surround sound or protools or softsynths or whatever. They should just play their rock music live in a big room in front of good microphones connected to a high quality stereo tape machine. They can't accept the fact that they're a rock band and they keep searching for that special "it" that doesn't exist. If I ever met them I'd tell them to keep it simple stupid. I heard their last album on a plane last year, it was average but I bet they're more enjoyable live in a small venue without any 'fans' in the room.

 

yeah. and fuck the beatles, pink floyd, devo and brian eno for bothering with experimental instruments and recording techniques!!! i want to listen to pure guitar driven rock forever!!

 

/sarcasm

 

I ain't opposed to experimental instruments. What do you mean by experimental recording techniques? Pro-tools? I ain't against any of those artists, but I don't see how Radiohead have followed them in terms of experimentation. What have Radiohead done that is some kind of great experiment? Chopping stuff up on pro tools is all I can think of. Radiohead walked down the same path as Mogwai in falling in love with all this Kid606 Flashbulb D'tachi glitch IDM junk. In their imagination they think they're following the Beatles in terms of experimentation but imo the sad but true reality is that they are following the lame modern path of 'glitch IDM', a style that has nothing to do with Aphex Twin's legacy.

 

As an aside, when Kid A came out I read a review in NME by Keith Cameron where he opined that the difference between Aphex Twin and Radiohead was that Aphex Twin made electronic music all the time, like all day every day, while Radiohead weren't so experienced. I always remembered this argument hehe, don't know exactly why.

 

i don't believe that Radiohead has ever used ProTools. But that is beside the point. If you want specific examples... I believe they were one of the first major rock groups to incorporate a Kaoss pad into their music. also, i can't think of any other rock group that regularly records and performs with an Analogue Systems modular synth rig. The synth part of almost every song they perform live is built in and powered by Reaktor. the rhythm guitarist (Ed O'Brien) spends almost as much time on the floor noodling with effects as he does playing a guitar when they perform live. many of jonny's effects are built in Max/MSP by running his guitar through his MacBook. i could probably go on and on...

 

so no, they do not use ProTools and yes, they do experiment with atypical tools/instruments in their "Rock" music.

i really hate this bullshit and i'm really sick of hearing radiohead fans talk about them like this. i think tangerine dream preceded radiohead in being a major "rock" group to use modular synth rigs (and don't tell me tg are anything but a rock band); they use Reaktor: OMFG THEY USE SOMETHING, A THING! THEY USE IT! ed o'brien plays with effects, NO FUCKING WAY BEAVIS, he actually has pedals, like on the fucking floor, with like 4-5 nobs on each and he fucking actually turns the nobs, like he himself sits down and turns the nobs, with his fucking fingers OMFUCK. jonny's "effects" are "built" in "max/msp" STFU dude, really. that is such a meaningless statement. did you know philip glass writes all of his effects with music notation? HOLY SHIT!

i'm not sure if you guys know this but afx twn uses synthesizers and like so many of his beats are done in computers and the effects are like in reaktor/msg (no msg) and would you believe he uses effects and beats? i don't believe it! autechre uses max/msp, i can totally hear it in one of their songs, like the beats in keynell are totally wicked!

LOL at u fucking radiohead n00bs. most un l337

  On 12/25/2009 at 9:26 PM, Alcofribas said:

i really hate this bullshit and i'm really sick of hearing radiohead fans talk about them like this. i think tangerine dream preceded radiohead in being a major "rock" group to use modular synth rigs (and don't tell me tg are anything but a rock band); they use Reaktor: OMFG THEY USE SOMETHING, A THING! THEY USE IT! ed o'brien plays with effects, NO FUCKING WAY BEAVIS, he actually has pedals, like on the fucking floor, with like 4-5 nobs on each and he fucking actually turns the nobs, like he himself sits down and turns the nobs, with his fucking fingers OMFUCK. jonny's "effects" are "built" in "max/msp" STFU dude, really. that is such a meaningless statement. did you know philip glass writes all of his effects with music notation? HOLY SHIT!

 

i'm not sure if you guys know this but afx twn uses synthesizers and like so many of his beats are done in computers and the effects are like in reaktor/msg (no msg) and would you believe he uses effects and beats? i don't believe it! autechre uses max/msp, i can totally hear it in one of their songs, like the beats in keynell are totally wicked!

 

LOL at u fucking radiohead n00bs. most un l337

.......and good will to all mankind.

lol

  On 12/15/2009 at 1:35 AM, AJW said:

  On 12/15/2009 at 12:40 AM, goffer said:

I don't hate radiohead per se, just their following.

 

ghahaha wow thats an embarrassing pic

I dont know how any could put any energy into hating radiohead when they should hate their retarded spawn... coldgay

uh, lol drunk post

sorry bout that

<3

Radiohead is a watered down amalgamation of their influences, Thom yorkes voice and lyrics are pretty, pretty bad...I don't really find them to be experimental anyway

  On 12/26/2009 at 6:50 PM, Alcofribas said:

uh, lol drunk post

 

sorry bout that

 

<3

haha I like how you ended the rant with 'most un l337'

Pros: They've made many excellent musics. They should not be worshiped though. I mean, they are a more unique band than the vast majority of rock bands and they do their thang with class and finesse. I like them a great deal and they've got some powerful tunes.

Cons: Sometimes they want to impress the elitists too much and go about it the wrong way. Example: Their 2006 live version of Videotape was really, really fucking great, and I was definitely convinced it was one of their best songs. Fast forward 18 months to the fucking album version. Just Thom on a piano and a half assed glitchy beat. They ruined one of their best songs to seem experimental. Anticlimactic end to an otherwise good album though.

A lot of Radiohead from 2000 onward is basically Thom Yorke solo material, and I think they are much better with all band members contributing/playing. There's a big difference between sounding minimal and sounding half-finished.

pyramid song

  On 12/26/2009 at 7:04 PM, KY said:

Radiohead is a watered down amalgamation of their influences, Thom yorkes voice and lyrics are pretty, pretty bad...I don't really find them to be experimental anyway

yeah , i'm not sure either why they are singled out as being like one of the most forward thinking or 'experimental' alternative rock bands from that era. I'm not a fan of the smashing pumpkins, but back when they released Melancholy and the infinite sadness i remember being far more impressed by them implementing electronic stuff in their music than i was when i heard the first radiohead electronicish song. Radiohead's experimental era seemed to come too late in the game at least for me to be noteworthy in any way. Could it be some kind of UK music tastemakers bias to UK based musicians? There were plenty of american rock bands doing more interesting experimentation and dabbling in electronics before they decided to jump on the band wagon.

  On 12/26/2009 at 11:26 PM, kaen said:

pyramid song

that song is magic to me, is the whole song in 5/4 or 7/4 or something? Ive never counted it out I dont think but I know its pretty interesting.

I never really liked Radiohead untill I heard Everything in its Right Place

Now I like everything and I got to see them in concert once during Hail to the Thirf

Radiohead is truly an awesome experience live. I first saw them around 2000 in Copenhagen when Sigur Ros warmed up in that big tent they were touring in, awesome experience.

Maybe they are overly hyped, and no they're not THE most innovative band ever, but they're still one of the most innovative bands in mainstream music. But just take it for what it is, decent well made music.

  On 12/26/2009 at 7:04 PM, KY said:

Radiohead is a watered down amalgamation of their influences, Thom yorkes voice and lyrics are pretty, pretty bad...I don't really find them to be experimental anyway

ok computer has some of the best lyrics of any album ever. ok, his cut n paste stuff on kid a and amnesiac isn't very good and the lyrics on the more recent albums tend to just be cliches, but his voice and song writing was fucking amazing for a few years.

  On 12/27/2009 at 3:36 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

  On 12/26/2009 at 11:26 PM, kaen said:

pyramid song

 

that song is magic to me, is the whole song in 5/4 or 7/4 or something? Ive never counted it out I dont think but I know its pretty interesting.

I really dont think there is a set time sig. At least Ive never got one off it, and Ive listen to it many times. Im a big fan, but thats what makes it so interesting,

lol if there wasn't a time signature it would sound like madness, even if its polyrhythms, theres still time signatures its pretty groovy. Even if it sounds complex doesn't mean it really is, reading inteviews with meshuggah and the drummer from tool taught me how you can make shit groovy but interesting and hard to count by mixing simple time signatures for odd repetitions.

  On 12/27/2009 at 6:56 AM, chassis said:

  On 12/27/2009 at 3:36 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

  On 12/26/2009 at 11:26 PM, kaen said:

pyramid song

 

that song is magic to me, is the whole song in 5/4 or 7/4 or something? Ive never counted it out I dont think but I know its pretty interesting.

 

I really dont think there is a set time sig. At least Ive never got one off it, and Ive listen to it many times. Im a big fan, but thats what makes it so interesting,

pyramid song is in 4/4 all the way through. it takes a while to figure out but once you get it, you can't 'un-get' it.