Radiohead – “Kid A” (2000)
An Oct. 3, 2000 PopMatters review by Devon Powers of one of the defining albums of the 21st century, thus far…
To live through October 2000, when music’s critical landscape has eaten, slept, and breathed Radiohead. To watch the drama unfold: It Band, shaken by Internet leaks, spiced with non-promotions, broiled by resounding yays and everlasting nays, served up with small helpings of secretive concerts—it’s more a recipe for As the World Turns than a nurturing environment for a good band to plainly release a new record.
Thus, Kid A is impossible to hear it without negotiating this knotting tensions of expectation, anticipation, and judgment. An album with such hype can hardly not garner extreme reactions — love or hate, friend or foe, staunch defense or biting criticism, sides blaming each other for blind faith or myopic misunderstanding. But in what can now be effectively called “The Kid A event,” what seems to be missing is the act of listening Read the rest of this entry »
The Beat Patrol 