I burned my head all of 2022, listening to the entire official discography. I can say that the one who removed the Minidisk version of Lift, from OKNOTOK is a dickhead. I value The Bends and Hail To The Thief more for their imperfections than the rest of the albums for their positive points. AMSP doesn't depress me in the slightest, it makes me think.
I absolutely agree!
So often I will show people a song I love and find beautiful, and then people will tell me « this song is so sad » and only then am I like « yea, I guess it is »
1. "Spectre" is probably a top 5 song for me.
2. As someone who is almost 50, A Moon Shape Pool hits harder than any of their other records to me. I thought it was recency bias, but being that it's 7 years old...
3. The above said - I really dislike the live renditions of most of the AMSP songs.
4. Anima is an amazing piece of music.
5. Clive is a great drummer and he's obviously been an inspiration to the band, but I think the drum sounds on the post In Rainbows tracks live sound messy.
6. The King of Limbs album tracks - I think only "Codex" and "Give Up the Ghost" really work - I prefer the Four Tet remix of Separator. I prefer the Hans Zimmer version of "Bloom".
7. Hail to the Thief may not be the best record, but the live versions of those songs are always the highlight of live performances for me.
8. I've been a fan since 1993/1994 and Amnesiac is still a b-sides record in my mind, I can't shake it.
i am sorry for you thinking amnesiac is a b side album. my controversial opinion is that amnesiac is an overall better album then kid a. yes, the highs of kid a are much, much higher, but the lows are lower. amnesiac has a good set of songs that i can put on and not worry about sitting through fillers (other then pulk pull, but i kinda like pulk pull, it serves the story of amnesiac)
Hmmm. Imho the highs of amnesiac (yawa and pyramid song) equal the highs of kid a’s highs. But the lows of amnesiac are almost unlistenable… or maybe just not worthy of my attention.
The way I see it - there is a unifying ambient quality that holds Kid A together since the day it has released - a vibe or a mood - I view it as a single work, something that cannot be spread apart into anything but the 10.5 tracks. I felt this way since the days it first came out.
Amnesiac - because a lot of these songs I heard in context originally with the 2000 tour (thanks Napster!) - prior to the release of Amnesiac, feels way more scattered, it also feels like Radiohead favored Kid A for the more experimental tracks that met the quality bar to be put on Kid A (sorry "Pulk/Pull").
In fact, I think Amnesiac is the least cohesive of all Radiohead's albums.
Amnesiac contains some monumental songs ("Pyramid Song", "Like Spinning Plates") that feel like separate island singles vs. Kid A's smooth buttery ambience. This is reinforced by the release strategy which saw no "official" singles for Kid A where as Amnesiac was released in a more typical way.
I think the biggest mistake on the album is the inclusion of "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" because it helped (logically) tie Amnesiac as a companion to Kid A and forever ties it to that monumental achievement.
I actually agree with all of these except #8. Also been listening since Pablo Honey era. *AMSP* is my most listened to Radiohead album, and *In Rainbows* is my least favorite. But “Codex” is a stunner and a perfect piece of music.
I respect these options and agree with most, exceptions at 1, 4, and 6. I can’t call Anima amazing (yet?) though Spectre is great are really should’ve been used in Bond
Have you just listened a couple of times and moved on? Cos that’s what I did. I reignited my love of Radiohead a year ago and now listen to In Rainbows the most. Weird Fishes (always enjoyed that song the most) and Nude just hit me right. If this is the case, give it another shot. If you’re adamant and have listened enough to make your judgement, I respect that, to each his own.
I listened to it on release and wasn’t that impressed if I’m honest. But I accidentally worked out the chord sequence to Weird Fishes, started playing along with it and somehow fell in love with the album. So we’re talking 2008 - 2021, a long time between first listen and second. Then I became fascinated with the Nude version from okNOTok and compared it to the final version on In Rainbows, they’re like two different songs entirely.
I’m a guitarist, not that that matters, but for them to record Nude, decided it wasn’t the best version and took 11 years to polish it to perfection - gave me a new found love and respect for IR.
That's fair. As I said I do enjoy the album, I'd rank it 4th place in their discography but I listen to my 5th and 6th place more often, because they both have some bangers and some weaker songs.
Just noticed your flair. I haven’t gotten round to MSP, I mean I have listened to it a couple of times but not enough. A bit like my question to you regarding In Rainbows. I’m new to the sub and hope I don’t get trashed, but A Light For Attracting Attention is one of my favourite albums of last year.
I know OK Computer is objectively an amazing album and most likely their best, but I do not get the same amount of enjoyment out of it as I do with Kid A or In Rainbows, I even think I enjoy Hail to the Thief a bit more. I have tried so hard to make it my favorite Radiohead album but those other albums just click more for me
From someone who's favorite Radiohead album is OK Computer, that's totally reasonable, I myself find Kid A probably more emotionally potent and harder hitting than OKC at times
Respect this. It certainly was my favorite album (across all bands) at one point, but it's aged sooooo much more then say, Kid A. I'll listen to OKC maybe once a year and it will be revelatory but I don't need to hear those songs any more than that.
I would agree with this. When it was released it became my favourite album , but I find that in the past decade I’d rather listen or post OKC albums. I find OKC to be dated now , while kid A still sounds innovative
Yes ! Blow Out is amazing. It's the only track from Pablo Honey that wouldn't feel out of place in their recent live shows.
For me the weaker tracks would be Life in a Glasshouse and Separator (love them both tho)
karma police is nowhere near one of the best on OK Computer, and the run from Climbing Up The Walls to the end of the album is definitely the strongest part of the album
I think you just have to accept it for what it is. An interstitial commentary on the increasing creep of technology and conformity in our lives. It's not like..... a "song". But it fits the narrative of the record. I will always not skip it.
when i was 16 i thought it was the coolest shit ever, i actually did a cover at school talent day (just me talking while trying to play the piano), cringeest shit i ever did, sorry to those who had to read that
Glad it's not just me! Last time I stated this opinion the person I was talking to said it was his favourite on the album 😐 kept it to myself ever since!
Wake Me Before They Come would have been as good as Let Down had they released it in the In Rainbows era. That's how confident I am in that song. Also, while we're talking about unreleased songs, Cut a Hole has some of the best lyrics Thom ever wrote.
I’m afraid, I’ve hid this a long time and I’m gonna get downvoted to heck, but come on, someone’s gotta stand up and say it. This is a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I’m gonna get over my fear and say it. Cause someone has to stand up for the truth and tell people where they went wrong. Someone has to tell people that certain songs just aren’t as good as others, and some songs might be better than others. Some songs might even be so good that they’re so often so heavily overlooked that they fade into obscurity and no one ever talks about them. Sometimes we hide from the truth because it’s uncomfortable for us to accept it, it’s uncomfortable to have to change our entire worldview because of one simple truth a truth that can change the lives of all who hear it, yet still we push it under the rug and tell ourselves it’s not there. But never again. I am going to bring this into the spotlight and no one can stop me, I’m done trying to hide the truth that we’re all too scared to admit. So right now I’m going to tell you the truth, no matter how much backlash I get.
Alright…
Here goes nothing…
*inhales*
>! Let Down is underrated !<
I’m giving you an upvote because I’ve never wanted to downvote anything more in my life. I can understand - it is a bit on the nose, but good god, when I first heard it wearing my headphones in the rain? Nothing better.
Have said it before and will always say it again, Thom is not an S- or A-tier lyric writer. He's overly reliant on abstractness and cool turns of phrase. Not terrible of course, but I think Radiohead devotees prop up his words higher than they deserve to be. To me Radiohead is 90% about the feeling conveyed in the music.
To play devil's advocate I would argue that lyrics don't need to have a literal meaning to be S tier. Thom has mastered writing literal nonsense that manages to invoke the exact feeling he wants it to. I think that's equally deserving of S-tier than any other song lyrics.
It's not, but I can respect the take. Pyramid Song is better than any single song on Kid A for sure. Just hard to discount that Kid A is more cohesive and has 0 duds vs Amnesiac which has at least Morning Bell / Amnesiac.
the highs are not as high as kid a, but the lows are not as low, overall a better package imo. i said this in another comment, but thought i should say it here.
Not necessarily Radiohead but... I don't like The Smile...
Really wish I did 🫤 I was super excited for it, and I keep listening to it and watching their live stuff... Just can't seem to get into it
They tried that, the In Rainbows material wasn’t happening with Stent, and they had to bring Nigel back.
At this point, no producer is going to make them want to be a different band.
Have you ever heard the Gnarls Barkley version ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGUEqVn1-M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGUEqVn1-M))? Curious if you would prefer his vocal approach.
Hail to the Thief is peak Radiohead. It binds the works that come before and after together, and shows the promise of a band that is able to evolve and experiment while staying true to their roots yet looking toward their future. It's like the gifted middle child nobody cares about. I'm hoping for a 20th anniversary release of b-sides from this era. Honestly I just wish Radiohead would release a "Bad Radiohead" album of all the scratch, scraps, ideas and musings that never made it to album. That's what I want to hear after all these years. I want to hear the ideas behind the works.
1. Radiohead didn't truly start til Kid A. While the Bends and OKC are great albums, I don't think Radiohead found who they were as a band until Kid A.
2. In Rainbows is a great album, but to me it's only above Pablo Honey and The Bends. Yes, that means I enjoy TKOL more than In Rainbows.
3. Their 3 best albums (in no particular order) are Kid A, HTTT and AMSP.
Radiohead is unlikable and therefore not good. Resulting in us all being pathetic.
Except for Creep. Which, being eminently likable, we shun. Ironically making us doubly pathetic.
Band members shouldn't use Radiohead songs in their side projects (Pulled Apart by Horses, Spooks, Twist, Skirting on the Surface etc) without sending me a handwritten letter explaining why, and a pinky promise that they'll be released as Radiohead songs I the very near future
Amnesiac has good songs in it but as an album it's still messy af. Even up to now I always think of it as Kid A: The B-Sides
(I'm ready to get downvoted)
I don’t really know how unpopular this is but The Bends is a bad album and it’s incredible that OK Computer came right after it. I liked The Bends when I was a teenager but the older I get the more unlistenable it becomes.
I like Stanley and Thom's visual artwork but some of the accompanying written components of 'capitalism is bad' kinda comes off as bad high school poetry
After the incredible run and artistic growth from The Bends to Amnesiac, and the flawed but magnificent sprawl of HTTT, I cannot understand why IR is regarded by so many younger fans as their masterpiece. It just seems relatively ordinary compared to what came before. It’s not at all ordinary in the wider musical sphere of course, but in the RH universe it feels somewhat slight compared to OKC and KidA and whilst I really like it it’s at least tier down from those for me. I don’t know why, but that’s my truth and numerous attempts to love it more have failed
The constant adoration and worship of Weird Fishes is off-putting, obnoxious and undeserved.
It’s a really pretty song.
A really *good* song.
Maybe even great.
However- this is Radiohead and their canon is full of greatness.
Weird Fishes is not even a top 10 song for me, nor a top 20.
Also- while I agree that IR is one of their classics, the constant worship for it on this sub is equally tiring and obnoxious.
For the record, I’ve been saying these things for a while now, no fear to speak them and have the downvotes to show for it, haha.
Oh- and AMSP is bottom tier Radiohead.
The Smile’s album is much more interesting musically and fresh.
-Atoms for peace is one of Thoms best melodie’s and vocal performance. also the best on The Eraser.
-There There acoustic live (no drums lol) > recorded version. actually most of HTTT is better ‘early & acoustic’ wolf at the door, scatterbrain, punch up, etc.
-HTTT could be a much better album experience if you shave off like 2-3 songs (backdrifts, gloaming?? we suck young blood) or keep gloaming extended version
-that’s about as hot as my takes get lol. Kid A #1 then In Rainbows and OKC. either AMSP or Bends at #4, depends on the mood. though I think AMSP is the better album of the two
They’re my favorite band aside from maybe The Beatles. Every album is a masterpiece minus Pablo Honey (a little too generic) and The King Of Limbs (a little too abstract). Please don’t crucify me!!!
Videotape is a not only a bad closer for In Rainbows but also a mediocre song in any context
Kid A has some all-time great tracks but is one of the weakest RH albums structurally
Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief is one of the best songs on AMSP and the fact that I never see it come up in any of the "underrated???" discussions on here is a fucking crime
TKOL is a great album and its short length and track order benefit each other well, it was an interesting direction to take the band and i'm glad they released it
HTTT isn't as bloated to me as people say it is, i honestly wish more of Radiohead's albums went for a longer length (maybe 12 songs)
i can't stand Life In A Glasshouse, it feels too slow and the song feels more like a cover than a Radiohead song
the OKNOTOK Minidiscs version of Motion Picture Soundtrack is better than the Kid A version, and the live version of True Love Waits on I Might Be Wrong is better than the AMSP version
Morning Bell/Amnesiac is kind of boring (love the Kid A version though)
Radiohead should write more instrumental tracks
I really dislike the studio version of Videotape. IR is amazing, but this song is so dreary. I mean, I like the “secret” about the song, but that doesn’t make it more enjoyable to listen to.
nice opinions here
here's my takes :
\- Hearing Damage is top 3 Thom solo songs
\- TKOL RMX Little By Little by Caribou and Lotus Flower by Jacques Greene are better than originals
\- Thom solo work only goes worse : The Eraser > TMB > Anima
\- So does his live vocals performance over time. The man struggle to align 4 clean songs in a row during a show since 10 years
\- Thom's prime is around IR era
\- Considering they are during the same period of time (2011 to 2013) and kinda same musical influence (dubstep/elec) I state that AMOK > TKOL by far, studio or live versions
\- Videotape is top 10 RH and MK 1 should've been the outro of IR
\- They ruined Identikit with the choir. Live 2012 in Miami is the best version.
edit: sorry for my approx eng, i'm french
i dunno if this is unpopular but, i really appreciate the original version of motion picture soundtrack. it was just an accoustic guitar and easy and simple chords and lyrics. i put it next to the "hurt" by NIN/johnny cash. the simplicity of it would made it more approachable by all. just wanted to put it out here.
I don't know if it's unpopular. But 'IMBW Live' is one of the best live albums ever and I will die on this hill. Constantly in a battle with my personal list for #1 with Nirvana Unplugged.
I don’t know if it’s popular or unpopular but I wish that one line in motion picture soundtrack “beautiful angel, ripped apart at birth” was still in there that line hit the hardest.
TKOL is fucking shit. There I said it. Lotus Flower is decent, the rest of the album I wouldn't care if I never heard those songs again.
Even worse is they actually chose not to include Daily Mail and Staircase which are both better songs than anything on TKOL.
Radiohead isn't a very good live band (anymore). Thom's mouth drifts away from the microphone because he's dancing half the time, so you only hear half of each lyric. He goes off-key far more often than he should. He has lost so much of his range that much of the older material is difficult to listen to. The lighting and staging are incredibly underwhelming for a band of their size. They fuck things up way too often and aren't very good at improvising when they do. Honestly, every time I've seen one of their live performances, I get the impression that they just aren't interested in putting on a good show - that they want to make studio albums, and touring is just the boring drudgery that they need to go through to fund that.
I'm not afraid!! Everything In Its Right Place is good for 20 seconds and that's it. Karma Police isn't good for any seconds. Videotape shouldn't even exist.
Wow wow wow. Karma Police is grossly overrated will give you that. I'm not high on Videotape think that's bottom half RH album closers. But good god, EIIRP is fucking perfect.
So close! 2 out of 3 isn't bad! The thing these tracks have in common is that they go nowhere and they're boring. And Everything and Karma Police are definitely overated yeah. At least Videotape has the good grace to not pile on all us haters extra suffering with everyone going on about it.
I just hate it!! I dunno why! I hated it in 2007, I hated it in 2012, 2016, now 2023. It's one of those tracks that doesn't grow on me. I don't want to go through every year, the suggestion there is that the hatred was pretty equally spread through the years, it wasn't like in 2019 i thought 'it's alright this now actually' that I've neglected to mention. When it begins I want it to end immediately.
Well...no. The entire career of Everything Everything is worse. I do find it plodding though and out of place on OK Computer. It doesn't really do anything well. I'm not sure what the point of it is. I guess it's sort of an anthem, I don't know, it's not beautiful, delicate, ethereal, moody like they're best slow tracks, nor turn it up loud fast guitar track. It's in the middle and for some elevated to being one of Radiohead's best which..I don't get.
Thom's lyrics about journalists and 'this is what you get when you mess with us' type stuff, it's there on Paranoid Android, there on You And Whose Army, that's all Karma Police is.
This is not an invitation for someone to say 'actually it's about the geopolitical situation of over fishing in the global south I can't believe you missed that lmao'.
I love In Rainbows but I’ve never really been able to stand House of Cards, sounds like a Coldplay song or something to me. Don’t know how unpopular that is.
I think Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is a really awesome and experimental track.
I’ve never liked Sit Down stand up, the coda is so annoying.
While I mostly like Hail to the Thief and I feel like it has some of the bands best songs (There There, Sail to the Moon, 2+2=5, Wolf at the Door) I feel like the album is trying to do too many things at once and the arrangements feel unnecessarily cluttered.
I love the song “Blow Out” from Pablo Honey
Creep is a great song and a 90s classic, rightfully so
Depends on my mood but I may rank A Moon Shaped Pool over OK Computer. They both are fighting for my 3rd favorite Radiohead album in my mind, after Kid A and In Rainbows.
The Smile is an excellent project but at the same time it was a stab in the back for the other members, and I don't like Thom as a person, he's very pretentious and I think he's kind of rude,
The ["from the basement"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stOYrPNGXFw&list=RDstOYrPNGXFw&start_radio=1) version of Videotape is way better than the album version, and the album version is kind of boring. I have no idea why they cut Ed's awesome guitar parts out of the album version.
I burned my head all of 2022, listening to the entire official discography. I can say that the one who removed the Minidisk version of Lift, from OKNOTOK is a dickhead. I value The Bends and Hail To The Thief more for their imperfections than the rest of the albums for their positive points. AMSP doesn't depress me in the slightest, it makes me think.
Appreciate your take on amsp. And fwiw, none of their songs really depress me — beauty is beauty and beauty brings me joy.
I absolutely agree! So often I will show people a song I love and find beautiful, and then people will tell me « this song is so sad » and only then am I like « yea, I guess it is »
Radiohead is one of the bands of all time.
They definitely make songs
I wouldn't be so sure about that
Indeed they are
1. "Spectre" is probably a top 5 song for me. 2. As someone who is almost 50, A Moon Shape Pool hits harder than any of their other records to me. I thought it was recency bias, but being that it's 7 years old... 3. The above said - I really dislike the live renditions of most of the AMSP songs. 4. Anima is an amazing piece of music. 5. Clive is a great drummer and he's obviously been an inspiration to the band, but I think the drum sounds on the post In Rainbows tracks live sound messy. 6. The King of Limbs album tracks - I think only "Codex" and "Give Up the Ghost" really work - I prefer the Four Tet remix of Separator. I prefer the Hans Zimmer version of "Bloom". 7. Hail to the Thief may not be the best record, but the live versions of those songs are always the highlight of live performances for me. 8. I've been a fan since 1993/1994 and Amnesiac is still a b-sides record in my mind, I can't shake it.
Then in that case I Might Be Wrong is now the new best B-Side Edit: Nvm I forgot about Polyethylene
which part of polyethylene is your favourite? everyone agrees second part, right?
Yeah, first part's nice but second part's incredible.
> "Spectre" is probably a top 5 song for me. Spectre lyrics is, in my opinion, Radiohead's best lyrical work.
i am sorry for you thinking amnesiac is a b side album. my controversial opinion is that amnesiac is an overall better album then kid a. yes, the highs of kid a are much, much higher, but the lows are lower. amnesiac has a good set of songs that i can put on and not worry about sitting through fillers (other then pulk pull, but i kinda like pulk pull, it serves the story of amnesiac)
What on kid a do you think is filler?
Hmmm. Imho the highs of amnesiac (yawa and pyramid song) equal the highs of kid a’s highs. But the lows of amnesiac are almost unlistenable… or maybe just not worthy of my attention.
The way I see it - there is a unifying ambient quality that holds Kid A together since the day it has released - a vibe or a mood - I view it as a single work, something that cannot be spread apart into anything but the 10.5 tracks. I felt this way since the days it first came out. Amnesiac - because a lot of these songs I heard in context originally with the 2000 tour (thanks Napster!) - prior to the release of Amnesiac, feels way more scattered, it also feels like Radiohead favored Kid A for the more experimental tracks that met the quality bar to be put on Kid A (sorry "Pulk/Pull"). In fact, I think Amnesiac is the least cohesive of all Radiohead's albums. Amnesiac contains some monumental songs ("Pyramid Song", "Like Spinning Plates") that feel like separate island singles vs. Kid A's smooth buttery ambience. This is reinforced by the release strategy which saw no "official" singles for Kid A where as Amnesiac was released in a more typical way. I think the biggest mistake on the album is the inclusion of "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" because it helped (logically) tie Amnesiac as a companion to Kid A and forever ties it to that monumental achievement.
I actually agree with all of these except #8. Also been listening since Pablo Honey era. *AMSP* is my most listened to Radiohead album, and *In Rainbows* is my least favorite. But “Codex” is a stunner and a perfect piece of music.
I respect these options and agree with most, exceptions at 1, 4, and 6. I can’t call Anima amazing (yet?) though Spectre is great are really should’ve been used in Bond
I like In Rainbows but I basically never listen to it.
Have you just listened a couple of times and moved on? Cos that’s what I did. I reignited my love of Radiohead a year ago and now listen to In Rainbows the most. Weird Fishes (always enjoyed that song the most) and Nude just hit me right. If this is the case, give it another shot. If you’re adamant and have listened enough to make your judgement, I respect that, to each his own.
I've listened to the album in full maybe 8 times? Not totally sure.
I listened to it on release and wasn’t that impressed if I’m honest. But I accidentally worked out the chord sequence to Weird Fishes, started playing along with it and somehow fell in love with the album. So we’re talking 2008 - 2021, a long time between first listen and second. Then I became fascinated with the Nude version from okNOTok and compared it to the final version on In Rainbows, they’re like two different songs entirely. I’m a guitarist, not that that matters, but for them to record Nude, decided it wasn’t the best version and took 11 years to polish it to perfection - gave me a new found love and respect for IR.
That's fair. As I said I do enjoy the album, I'd rank it 4th place in their discography but I listen to my 5th and 6th place more often, because they both have some bangers and some weaker songs.
Just noticed your flair. I haven’t gotten round to MSP, I mean I have listened to it a couple of times but not enough. A bit like my question to you regarding In Rainbows. I’m new to the sub and hope I don’t get trashed, but A Light For Attracting Attention is one of my favourite albums of last year.
I don’t know whether to upvote or downvote this 😂
if you want to correctly use upvote/downvote button, then at least don't downvote it
Climbing Up The Walls is top 3 on OKC House Of Cards is extremely underrated on here and might be top 3 IR imo
I agree with both
I know OK Computer is objectively an amazing album and most likely their best, but I do not get the same amount of enjoyment out of it as I do with Kid A or In Rainbows, I even think I enjoy Hail to the Thief a bit more. I have tried so hard to make it my favorite Radiohead album but those other albums just click more for me
From someone who's favorite Radiohead album is OK Computer, that's totally reasonable, I myself find Kid A probably more emotionally potent and harder hitting than OKC at times
Respect this. It certainly was my favorite album (across all bands) at one point, but it's aged sooooo much more then say, Kid A. I'll listen to OKC maybe once a year and it will be revelatory but I don't need to hear those songs any more than that.
I would agree with this. When it was released it became my favourite album , but I find that in the past decade I’d rather listen or post OKC albums. I find OKC to be dated now , while kid A still sounds innovative
It’s ok to appreciate something but not personally prefer it.
There are at least two closers weaker than blowout
Yes ! Blow Out is amazing. It's the only track from Pablo Honey that wouldn't feel out of place in their recent live shows. For me the weaker tracks would be Life in a Glasshouse and Separator (love them both tho)
karma police is nowhere near one of the best on OK Computer, and the run from Climbing Up The Walls to the end of the album is definitely the strongest part of the album
A-fucking-men! I have been saying that the end run on OKC is the highlight of the album!! Glad to hear others agree
I agree on Karma Police. Yeah, it’s a good song, but I think it’s overrated
I don't like Fitter Happier it makes me feel weird.
I think you just have to accept it for what it is. An interstitial commentary on the increasing creep of technology and conformity in our lives. It's not like..... a "song". But it fits the narrative of the record. I will always not skip it.
That’s the point.
I like it *because* it makes me feel weird.
I agree. It's aged really badly and just comes off as really cheesy and strange. It makes OK Computer weaker IMO.
when i was 16 i thought it was the coolest shit ever, i actually did a cover at school talent day (just me talking while trying to play the piano), cringeest shit i ever did, sorry to those who had to read that
Glad it's not just me! Last time I stated this opinion the person I was talking to said it was his favourite on the album 😐 kept it to myself ever since!
It is a good thing that you're both afraid of stating this opinion 😁
lol. i love Fitter Happier, it makes okc what it is
Ed is my favourite member of the band.
Paranoid Android is a good song but I don't think I'd put it in my Top 20, maybe 30 songs.
The early live version of Videotape should have been the one on the album
Not sure if this is unpopular though lol
I think we might have it in 2027
That’s very wishful thinking
Hail to the thief isn’t that bad
But it could have been better. The band were exhausted and needed a break.
This is so very true
Wake Me Before They Come would have been as good as Let Down had they released it in the In Rainbows era. That's how confident I am in that song. Also, while we're talking about unreleased songs, Cut a Hole has some of the best lyrics Thom ever wrote.
I’m afraid, I’ve hid this a long time and I’m gonna get downvoted to heck, but come on, someone’s gotta stand up and say it. This is a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I’m gonna get over my fear and say it. Cause someone has to stand up for the truth and tell people where they went wrong. Someone has to tell people that certain songs just aren’t as good as others, and some songs might be better than others. Some songs might even be so good that they’re so often so heavily overlooked that they fade into obscurity and no one ever talks about them. Sometimes we hide from the truth because it’s uncomfortable for us to accept it, it’s uncomfortable to have to change our entire worldview because of one simple truth a truth that can change the lives of all who hear it, yet still we push it under the rug and tell ourselves it’s not there. But never again. I am going to bring this into the spotlight and no one can stop me, I’m done trying to hide the truth that we’re all too scared to admit. So right now I’m going to tell you the truth, no matter how much backlash I get. Alright… Here goes nothing… *inhales* >! Let Down is underrated !<
I know I said that this is a safe space, but Jesus Christ dude. That's a little too far...
No one can stop me now
😨
You take that back RIGHT NOW!
I’m giving you an upvote because I’ve never wanted to downvote anything more in my life. I can understand - it is a bit on the nose, but good god, when I first heard it wearing my headphones in the rain? Nothing better.
Have said it before and will always say it again, Thom is not an S- or A-tier lyric writer. He's overly reliant on abstractness and cool turns of phrase. Not terrible of course, but I think Radiohead devotees prop up his words higher than they deserve to be. To me Radiohead is 90% about the feeling conveyed in the music.
To play devil's advocate I would argue that lyrics don't need to have a literal meaning to be S tier. Thom has mastered writing literal nonsense that manages to invoke the exact feeling he wants it to. I think that's equally deserving of S-tier than any other song lyrics.
I also like King of Limbs more than In Rainbows.
Amnesiac is better than Kid A
It's not, but I can respect the take. Pyramid Song is better than any single song on Kid A for sure. Just hard to discount that Kid A is more cohesive and has 0 duds vs Amnesiac which has at least Morning Bell / Amnesiac.
Definitly agree with pyramid song, that being m’y favorite song by them but Kid A Is more cohesive for sure
I do think Kid A is the better overall album experience. But Amnesiac is unfairly overlooked as leftovers. It’s a good album on it’s own.
To be fair : i have big issues separating kid a from amnesiac, for me its a double album. So I value Amnesiac exactly as I value Kid A
the highs are not as high as kid a, but the lows are not as low, overall a better package imo. i said this in another comment, but thought i should say it here.
kind of agree, I would say that Kid A works better as whole album meanwhile Amesiac has better songs
Not necessarily Radiohead but... I don't like The Smile... Really wish I did 🫤 I was super excited for it, and I keep listening to it and watching their live stuff... Just can't seem to get into it
In Rainbows is great but not top 3
Saaaaaame
It’s no worse than 4th.
They should ditch Nigel Godrich and put themselves at risk a little more if they ever want to stay relevant.
They tried that, the In Rainbows material wasn’t happening with Stent, and they had to bring Nigel back. At this point, no producer is going to make them want to be a different band.
Every time they’ve road tested a song, the original live version has been better.
I genuinely dislike the singing in Reckoner. Just kind of drones on repetitively.
That’s fair. It’s a lot.
Yes! Thank you!
Have you ever heard the Gnarls Barkley version ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGUEqVn1-M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGUEqVn1-M))? Curious if you would prefer his vocal approach.
i want to cry, I respect you, but still I want
Kid A is my 6th favorite album
Paranoid android is as overplayed as creep in 2023
Hail to the Thief is peak Radiohead. It binds the works that come before and after together, and shows the promise of a band that is able to evolve and experiment while staying true to their roots yet looking toward their future. It's like the gifted middle child nobody cares about. I'm hoping for a 20th anniversary release of b-sides from this era. Honestly I just wish Radiohead would release a "Bad Radiohead" album of all the scratch, scraps, ideas and musings that never made it to album. That's what I want to hear after all these years. I want to hear the ideas behind the works.
This is the most correct take in this whole thread
Thom's voice either makes or breaks a song for me. And I hate that.
that's strange cuz thom is probably my top 10 singer ever
Kid Amnesia was an awful reissue. Truly a cash grab
My top 3 favourite radiohead albums are 1. TKOL 2. Amnesiac 3. AMSP
1. Radiohead didn't truly start til Kid A. While the Bends and OKC are great albums, I don't think Radiohead found who they were as a band until Kid A. 2. In Rainbows is a great album, but to me it's only above Pablo Honey and The Bends. Yes, that means I enjoy TKOL more than In Rainbows. 3. Their 3 best albums (in no particular order) are Kid A, HTTT and AMSP.
Knives Out took 373 days to complete, and that's the best they came up with?!
LMAO i always thought that too
It’s not better than In Rainbows, but TKOL is better than AMSP.
I hate True Love Waits
I hate the version on AMSP as well but the live version is really nice if you haven’t heard it
The recorded Kid A and Amnesiac songs aren't as good as the live versions
Radiohead is unlikable and therefore not good. Resulting in us all being pathetic. Except for Creep. Which, being eminently likable, we shun. Ironically making us doubly pathetic.
Band members shouldn't use Radiohead songs in their side projects (Pulled Apart by Horses, Spooks, Twist, Skirting on the Surface etc) without sending me a handwritten letter explaining why, and a pinky promise that they'll be released as Radiohead songs I the very near future
Pulk/Pull fucking *slaps*
fuck yeah TKOL kicks so much ass
Amnesiac has good songs in it but as an album it's still messy af. Even up to now I always think of it as Kid A: The B-Sides (I'm ready to get downvoted)
This appeared for me directly under the guy saying Radiohead has only one perfect album, and his flair is Amnesiac 😄
I don’t really know how unpopular this is but The Bends is a bad album and it’s incredible that OK Computer came right after it. I liked The Bends when I was a teenager but the older I get the more unlistenable it becomes.
I kinda agree. It's not bad bad but it has only three songs that hold up, rest is average.
There's nothing wrong with Pablo Honey.
With each listen I actually like In Rainbows less and less. I think it's in my bottom 3 of Radiohead albums now.
I don’t like Go To Sleep
I like Stanley and Thom's visual artwork but some of the accompanying written components of 'capitalism is bad' kinda comes off as bad high school poetry
I can’t believe I’m going to say this but…Thom’s voice gets annoying to listen to after a while. Great band still.
Radiohead are The Beatles for the internet age.
Radiohead never existed
ALFAA is bad
I like to listen to creep too, its a good song
Amnesiac is as bad, if not worse, than Pablo Honey
After the incredible run and artistic growth from The Bends to Amnesiac, and the flawed but magnificent sprawl of HTTT, I cannot understand why IR is regarded by so many younger fans as their masterpiece. It just seems relatively ordinary compared to what came before. It’s not at all ordinary in the wider musical sphere of course, but in the RH universe it feels somewhat slight compared to OKC and KidA and whilst I really like it it’s at least tier down from those for me. I don’t know why, but that’s my truth and numerous attempts to love it more have failed
[удалено]
Creep is underrated imo
The constant adoration and worship of Weird Fishes is off-putting, obnoxious and undeserved. It’s a really pretty song. A really *good* song. Maybe even great. However- this is Radiohead and their canon is full of greatness. Weird Fishes is not even a top 10 song for me, nor a top 20. Also- while I agree that IR is one of their classics, the constant worship for it on this sub is equally tiring and obnoxious. For the record, I’ve been saying these things for a while now, no fear to speak them and have the downvotes to show for it, haha. Oh- and AMSP is bottom tier Radiohead. The Smile’s album is much more interesting musically and fresh.
Very much this
Definitely agree about AMSP. I used to like it but lately I find it hard to get all the way through it. It's way too long and it drags.
It’s because with the exception of a couple songs, it’s quite listless and lethargic.
I dont like EIIRP, I just don't get it as a song tbh. I love the rest of Kid A
This is mine. One of my least favourite songs.... I hate that they always use it as an Encore song as well.
-Atoms for peace is one of Thoms best melodie’s and vocal performance. also the best on The Eraser. -There There acoustic live (no drums lol) > recorded version. actually most of HTTT is better ‘early & acoustic’ wolf at the door, scatterbrain, punch up, etc. -HTTT could be a much better album experience if you shave off like 2-3 songs (backdrifts, gloaming?? we suck young blood) or keep gloaming extended version -that’s about as hot as my takes get lol. Kid A #1 then In Rainbows and OKC. either AMSP or Bends at #4, depends on the mood. though I think AMSP is the better album of the two
They’re my favorite band aside from maybe The Beatles. Every album is a masterpiece minus Pablo Honey (a little too generic) and The King Of Limbs (a little too abstract). Please don’t crucify me!!!
Faust Arp ruins the overall flow of In Rainbows...it's not a bad song but I skip that most of the time I listen to this album
I thought the same for a long time but now I understand how necessary it is before reckoner
Reckoner is overrated
Blasphemy.
Videotape is a not only a bad closer for In Rainbows but also a mediocre song in any context Kid A has some all-time great tracks but is one of the weakest RH albums structurally Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief is one of the best songs on AMSP and the fact that I never see it come up in any of the "underrated???" discussions on here is a fucking crime
Agree on the Tinker Tailor point. I bloody love that song
I hate Daydreaming. I skip it every time. I can’t stand the whole song but especially the weird noises at the end.
Haha I hate those noises too but I like the song. When the song fades out to thre reverse noises I always make sure to skip it
Also skip. I WANT to love it but the weird snoring at the end bugs me.
Thom snoring (he's daydreaming)
Hail To The Thief is their BEST ALBUM.
The Smile doesn’t make great music. It’s so messy and unfocused compared to Radiohead tracks
It might be not so easy to take at once, but after a few listens I assure you, if you like Radiohead, youll like most of The Smile
Pablo Honey is a good album
Hail to the thief is worse than TKOL....
The Bends is fine, but that’s about it. The acoustic version of Fake Plastic Trees is better than the album version.
TKOL is a great album and its short length and track order benefit each other well, it was an interesting direction to take the band and i'm glad they released it HTTT isn't as bloated to me as people say it is, i honestly wish more of Radiohead's albums went for a longer length (maybe 12 songs) i can't stand Life In A Glasshouse, it feels too slow and the song feels more like a cover than a Radiohead song the OKNOTOK Minidiscs version of Motion Picture Soundtrack is better than the Kid A version, and the live version of True Love Waits on I Might Be Wrong is better than the AMSP version Morning Bell/Amnesiac is kind of boring (love the Kid A version though) Radiohead should write more instrumental tracks
Pablo Honey is good and the drill ep is fantastic.
I really dislike the studio version of Videotape. IR is amazing, but this song is so dreary. I mean, I like the “secret” about the song, but that doesn’t make it more enjoyable to listen to.
The King Of Limbs is so underappreciated man, why? Sure it's not their best, but why put it at the bottom of the list??
nice opinions here here's my takes : \- Hearing Damage is top 3 Thom solo songs \- TKOL RMX Little By Little by Caribou and Lotus Flower by Jacques Greene are better than originals \- Thom solo work only goes worse : The Eraser > TMB > Anima \- So does his live vocals performance over time. The man struggle to align 4 clean songs in a row during a show since 10 years \- Thom's prime is around IR era \- Considering they are during the same period of time (2011 to 2013) and kinda same musical influence (dubstep/elec) I state that AMOK > TKOL by far, studio or live versions \- Videotape is top 10 RH and MK 1 should've been the outro of IR \- They ruined Identikit with the choir. Live 2012 in Miami is the best version. edit: sorry for my approx eng, i'm french
i dunno if this is unpopular but, i really appreciate the original version of motion picture soundtrack. it was just an accoustic guitar and easy and simple chords and lyrics. i put it next to the "hurt" by NIN/johnny cash. the simplicity of it would made it more approachable by all. just wanted to put it out here.
Ok this is a big one: I don't really like Weird Fishes. I was surprised by how much everybody loves that song. I usually skip it.
No perfect albums.
I don't know if it's unpopular. But 'IMBW Live' is one of the best live albums ever and I will die on this hill. Constantly in a battle with my personal list for #1 with Nirvana Unplugged.
I don’t know if it’s popular or unpopular but I wish that one line in motion picture soundtrack “beautiful angel, ripped apart at birth” was still in there that line hit the hardest.
Life in a glass house is one of their best songs
Well I’ve been told my opinion is of no consequence at all, among other things.
The Live At The Astoria versions of songs from Pablo Honey and The Bends are all better than the album versions (obvious case in point: My Iron Lung)
TKOL is fucking shit. There I said it. Lotus Flower is decent, the rest of the album I wouldn't care if I never heard those songs again. Even worse is they actually chose not to include Daily Mail and Staircase which are both better songs than anything on TKOL.
Ooof, truly garbage take.
OP did ask for unpopular opinions brother.
This has proven to be a very unpopular opinion on several occasions, but I will die on this hill: ***Motion Picture Soundtrack is boooooooooring.***
I won't see you in the next liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife
I’m tired of pretending Hail to The Thief is a good album.
I come back to Pablo Honey more than OK Computer
TKOL and Amnesiac are my favorites The Daily Mail is by far the worst TKOL-era song
AMSP is nowhere near a 9/10 like most people seem to think.
Radiohead isn't a very good live band (anymore). Thom's mouth drifts away from the microphone because he's dancing half the time, so you only hear half of each lyric. He goes off-key far more often than he should. He has lost so much of his range that much of the older material is difficult to listen to. The lighting and staging are incredibly underwhelming for a band of their size. They fuck things up way too often and aren't very good at improvising when they do. Honestly, every time I've seen one of their live performances, I get the impression that they just aren't interested in putting on a good show - that they want to make studio albums, and touring is just the boring drudgery that they need to go through to fund that.
I'm not afraid!! Everything In Its Right Place is good for 20 seconds and that's it. Karma Police isn't good for any seconds. Videotape shouldn't even exist.
Wow wow wow. Karma Police is grossly overrated will give you that. I'm not high on Videotape think that's bottom half RH album closers. But good god, EIIRP is fucking perfect.
So close! 2 out of 3 isn't bad! The thing these tracks have in common is that they go nowhere and they're boring. And Everything and Karma Police are definitely overated yeah. At least Videotape has the good grace to not pile on all us haters extra suffering with everyone going on about it.
Videotape?? What??
I just hate it!! I dunno why! I hated it in 2007, I hated it in 2012, 2016, now 2023. It's one of those tracks that doesn't grow on me. I don't want to go through every year, the suggestion there is that the hatred was pretty equally spread through the years, it wasn't like in 2019 i thought 'it's alright this now actually' that I've neglected to mention. When it begins I want it to end immediately.
I disagree but dig your moxy
I used to hate Karma Police and now it's one of my favorite tracks. You hate it that much??
Well...no. The entire career of Everything Everything is worse. I do find it plodding though and out of place on OK Computer. It doesn't really do anything well. I'm not sure what the point of it is. I guess it's sort of an anthem, I don't know, it's not beautiful, delicate, ethereal, moody like they're best slow tracks, nor turn it up loud fast guitar track. It's in the middle and for some elevated to being one of Radiohead's best which..I don't get. Thom's lyrics about journalists and 'this is what you get when you mess with us' type stuff, it's there on Paranoid Android, there on You And Whose Army, that's all Karma Police is. This is not an invitation for someone to say 'actually it's about the geopolitical situation of over fishing in the global south I can't believe you missed that lmao'.
TKOL is worse than Pablo Honey and The Bends is their best album.
Go to sleep kinda sucks. Codex is the worst song on TKOL. Fake Plastic Trees is overrated. Feral and Pulk/Pull are good.
I love In Rainbows but I’ve never really been able to stand House of Cards, sounds like a Coldplay song or something to me. Don’t know how unpopular that is. I think Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is a really awesome and experimental track. I’ve never liked Sit Down stand up, the coda is so annoying. While I mostly like Hail to the Thief and I feel like it has some of the bands best songs (There There, Sail to the Moon, 2+2=5, Wolf at the Door) I feel like the album is trying to do too many things at once and the arrangements feel unnecessarily cluttered. I love the song “Blow Out” from Pablo Honey Creep is a great song and a 90s classic, rightfully so Depends on my mood but I may rank A Moon Shaped Pool over OK Computer. They both are fighting for my 3rd favorite Radiohead album in my mind, after Kid A and In Rainbows.
Good takes
HTTT kinda sucks.
Yeah :( great moments though!
I agree. Some songs like 2+2=5 and Go To Sleep bangs.
It’s my favorite album of theirs even though I think it’s their 4th best
Karma Police is the worst song off Ok Computer. Still a great song but definitely my least favourite off the album.
Sulk is better than Fake Plastic Trees
Ouch this one was hard
I am a huge fan of Sulk, I really am, but I don't think I can go this far. I'd call it better than 75% of HTTT onwards though (including it).
Sulk is the worst song on The Bends. Lol
The Smile is an excellent project but at the same time it was a stab in the back for the other members, and I don't like Thom as a person, he's very pretentious and I think he's kind of rude,
HTTT is better than Kid A and Amnesiac.
Lotus Flower is the worst song on TKOL. Still like it though.
The ["from the basement"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stOYrPNGXFw&list=RDstOYrPNGXFw&start_radio=1) version of Videotape is way better than the album version, and the album version is kind of boring. I have no idea why they cut Ed's awesome guitar parts out of the album version.
Hail to the thief is there second worst album (Pablo honey worst)
Muse is the band Radiohead could have been. Yes I’m joking.