Radiohead and Kid A - Research Paper Example

?Radiohead and Kid A Introduction Kid A is the fourth album created by Radiohead. It was received with great enthusiasm and quickly became a worldwide success, particularly in the United States where it debuted at number one (Evangelista). But what were the concepts and influences which led to and formed the creation of Kid A? How did the band develop such a novel style so different from their usual approach? Why does the album portray such a sharp departure from their previous musical style? Influences The influences which led to the creation of Kid A’s musical style were primarily jazz and contemporary classical music (Zoric, Smith). Band leader Thom Yorke commented that the album simply reflected the music the band was mainly listening to at the time they were creating the album, though there is evident an obvious attempt to depart from the band’s previous ‘rock’ style. There are evident influences from synthesised bands such as Aphex Twin, Talking Heads and jazz artists such as Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. Some songs, particularly ‘How to Disappear’, contain heavy classical influences. ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ is a particular example of the band’s new direction, and experimenting with minimal sound yet varied instruments, as well as new and old styles. The album’s style is certainly a new direction from the band’s older albums, and it perhaps symbolises the band’s injection of personal influences into their musical style. Concepts Behind the Album Radiohead experimented with the music of Kid A, and its comparison to earlier albums shows a distinct move from their usual ‘alternative rock’ style to a more electronic music style (Gilbert). For this album, Radiohead experimented with a broader range of musical instruments; a rather different approach compared to their previous focus on the use of guitars. Radiohead incorporated the use of keyboards, brass and strings – a depiction of their classical music and jazz influences. The music contains less use of lyrics than previous albums, and the lyrics that the band does use are more conceptual and theoretical than the lyrics they had created before. Many described Kid A as an evolution of the band: “their core sound had changed” (Koehler 193). Perhaps the success of Kid A is owed to its new sound; the inability to slot it into any one musical genre, as Kaye claims: “the album is a motley painting of many types of music, mixed and bended in playful and satirical ways, that cannot be boxed into any neat compartment (sic)” (241). Perhaps the most prominent feature of Kid A’s music style is Yorke’s adamant departure from rock; he claimed “I never wanted to be in a...rock group” (Lin 32). One can hear the band’s avoidance of producing yet another ‘alternative rock’ album, and the experimentation they undertook, although it is mainly synthesised and electronic, cannot be particularly classed as any single genre. It seems that the band achieved this goal very successfully. Tension Among the Band Led to this Album The problems faced by the band, particularly Thom Yorke leading up to and during the creation of the album are certainly not few and far between. There was not only tension in the band, but Yorke had begun to feel alienated from the fast paced life of the rest of the world, as well as feeling that his music had become mainstream and unimportant (‘Meeting People is Easy’). Yorke shunned media attention which had been created as a result of Radiohead’s success, and the exhausted band almost split up before the making of Kid A. The main problems facing the band as a whole, however, were due to the constant disagreements which arose between the members as to the musical style the album should be based on. The main tension was between Yorke’s desire to inject electronic music into the band’s style and the rest of the band’s desire to remain with the guitar ‘rock-pop-alternative’ style. As a result of the conglomerated problems, Yorke faced many difficulties while trying to write songs for the album. He found it difficult to reconcile the styles wanted by the rest of the band with his desire to add his electronic music influences. For a great period of time, the band attempted to write, record and develop random song ideas, but nothing seemed to stick and most of the material was discarded. The band ultimately found it difficult to adjust to Yorke’s dominating electronic style, as they were given songs to record which did not incorporate the instruments they had previously played. It is ultimately clear that the band struggled to reinvent themselves, while at the same time departing from their usual rock musical style. An interesting point is the lack of publicity and promotion undertaken by the band prior to the album’s release. It was as though the band was attempting to make a point; that they were “taking a more relaxed approach” (Clarke 149). This could also be interpreted as Yorke’s feeling of alienation from the fast-paced world he found himself plunged into. Ironically, the lack of publicity and the leaking of the album onto Napster before its release had a positive effect on sales. How it Came to Be Its Final Form The tension felt in the band which led to the final creation of the album can possibly be described as the success of the album and the uniqueness of its final composition and musical style. Once the band managed to overcome their problems and inhibitions felt towards experimenting with new styles, they began to experiment and take their music to another level. This included the use of new instruments and the creation of less structured songs. As the band became accustomed to the new electronic synthesised style that Yorke had urged (Ross), the band opened up to the use of digital creation and manipulation of their songs. Although the album was borne of a great deal of turmoil and confusion as well as conflict, its final impact and success was a great evolution of the band. Radiohead not only managed to break free from their rock style which Yorke had come to despise, they also reinvented themselves as a more experimental and abstract band. Bibliography Clarke, Martin. “Radiohead”: Hysterical and useless. London: Plexus, 1999. Evangelista, Benny. “CD Soars After Net release: radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ Premieres in No. 1 Slot”. San Francisco Chronicle. 17 Mar 2007. Gilbert, Ben. “Radiohead – “Kid A””. Dotmusic. 29 Sep 2000. Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20070620084218/http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/l_reviews_a/15624.html. Jones, Carys Wyn. "The Aura of Authenticity: Perceptions of Honesty, Sincerity and Truth in ‘Creep’ and ‘Kid A'" in Tate, Joseph (ed.). The Music and Art of Radiohead, Hants: Ashgate, 2005. Kaye, Bradley. ““Kid A” as a Musing on the Postmodern Condition”. In Forbes, Brandon W and Reisch, George A. Radiohead and Philosophy. Illinois: Carus, 2009. Koehler, Adam. “The Mutilation of Voice in “Kid A” (Or, My John Mayer Problem”. In Forbes, Brandon W and Reisch, George A. Radiohead and Philosophy. Illinois: Carus, 2009. Lin, Marvin. Radiohead’s Kid A (33 1/3). New York: Continuum, 2011. “Meeting People is Easy”. (Radiohead Interview). 30 Nov 1998. Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195909/. Ross, Alex. “The Searchers: Radiohead’s Unquiet Revolution”. The New Yorker. 21 Aug 2001. Smith, Andrew. “Sound and Fury”. The Observer. 1 Oct 2000. Zoric, Lauren. “Fitter, Happier, More Productive”. Juice Magazine. 1 Oct 2000. Read More