Oh man I don't even know where to start. You? You person reading this blog? Who may have even been reading this thing when I first started writing? Welcome the fuck back! And..wow. I mean you know..there have been like a lot of other things worth waiting for? That new Avengers movie was pretty solid right? The new-new I phone? Superbowls? 2 of them? Oooh remember how much fun it was to get all excited about that show you started watching that went into hiatus? And then came RIGHT THE FUCK BACK and blew your mind? (Rick and Morty fans, you know what I'm talking about) Don't even get me started on the music side of things. Deep house is top 40 chart topping now! CHART TOPPING! In the time since I've last written here no less then 1,546 bands have been brought into existence, broken up, reunited, teased a new album, ultimately never followed through, and broke up again! You know, probably. I actually have no way of verifying that. But it seems like the sorta of thing that could be true, doesn't it?
Anyway, ol' Nirvana Of Sound is going to be back on the wagon of doing what I do best; drinking and shouting nonsense in the form of typing concerning my opinions on music. All jokes aside, it's been a rough patch of time. A patch of time that has stretched through some dazzling highs (graduation, moving away to Atlanta, moving in with friends, getting a sweet ass car) and some soul crushing lows (failing to be hired from my internship upon graduation, having a falling out that ultimately end in me never talking to said friends again, being charged out the ass for insurance because I got a speeding ticket that ONE TIME.). But through all the patches, warm fuzzy ones, and soggy miserable ones alike, music has been that one constant in my life.
Happy or sad, money in my pocket or broke as fuck, music's been their sound tracking my whole existence. I'm happiest when I get to share that love I have with others; either in the form of one of my classic "talking-out-my-ass" opinions, or raving about one sweet local talent I caught at a dive bar in Atlanta for $5 cover. I don't see this love going away anytime soon. And for anyone out there that's reading this or has enjoyed this in the past, give yourself a big ol' fucking hug for me will you? Because while I'm not going to lie and say you're the reason I do this (pretty sure it's a combination of passion and boredom that gets me to do this), you are part of the reason I care. Think of it this way; if you're surfing the internet for any and all things music, trying to find something and somehow you've worked your way all the way down the rabbit hole to find THIS blog? Well hot damn. You ARE someone who loves music. And you're always welcome here.
Now, enough of the angst! Let us begin that ol' Radiohead revistation (a word?) I cleverly teased in the title, shall we? Why yes, there is a point to all of this rambling. Long story short; upon my latest move to a cheap neighborhood in Atlanta (into a house that I've been told is no way haunted despite the fact that the list of past occupants is in the tens, and none of them have lasted beyond 6 months),
I made the discovery in the not-at-all-creepy as fuck basement, of an entire treasure trove of forgotten goodies of tenners past. Part of the trove of said goodies was a complete box set of Radiohead; all of their albums from Pablo Honey to 2003's Hail To The Thief, nestled right between a tower of used textbooks, and a VHS copy of Friday. Who says no good can ever come of rummaging through other people's stuff? After a touch celebration and hastily tearing the plastic off, the thought occurred to me that save for one or two songs, I had never really actively listened to Radiohead before.
As far as Radiohead's concerned, I was aware enough about them and the undeniable impact they had in music. And I was also aware of the influence that they continued to have on any and all moody groups of guys or gals who wanted to pick up guitars and start a band. I did know and like that "Creep" song that was all the rage (aka, everyone's first Radiohead song). Knew that Ok Computer was a frequent guest on damn near everyone's top 10 greatest "whatever's" list, and a safe choice to bring up on a first date if the discussion of music every came up (and I felt it was still waaay too early to confess to liking Coldplay's "Yellow").
But I had never really given them much more of a critical thought before. And honestly I was a little afraid to for awhile. Radiohead was more or less THE band. The one unifying thing that most people could safely agree to liking. Radiohead shared that place in music discussion that was usually reserved for The Beatles and Michael Jackson; if you said they sucked, you were just trolling for attention. But as someone who's only other to expose to Radiohead was listening to my old roommate playing a track off Kid A in the car, I was worried that for all the hype, I might find them to be frightfully boring to me at the end of the day. It would be Blazing Saddles all over again. (Funny story about taking film recommendations from friend's after you give them the criteria of "the funniest goddamned thing ever", that I'll get into someday).
| Single handily ruining most of my college friendships since 2009 |
I had never actually listened to anything by the band besides that odd track, which later on I found out to be "Everything In It's Right Place." I just had to take the band's greatness on faith and on second hand accounts. All while passive-aggressively running my mouth off at every given opportunity that Thom Yorke must be an asshole. (Why yes, I did take it rather personal when he said they'd stop playing "Creep" live). Partly because of my attachment to that early Radiohead sound and my unwillingness to accept that the band had obviously moved away from it,but definitely more then a little of it was me just being salty at the possibility that maybe I'd never be able to genuinely like Radiohead.
I really wanted to give the band another chance; because for all my shit talking about Thom Yorke and his side projects being about as exciting as shopping for office supplies, I really did believe that his band couldn't' have had an impact on so many musicians that I loved and respected if there wasn't something special there. And hey, failing that there was always just tuning in to catch Jonny Greenwood's wailing wall of solid guitar work. For a child raised on a weird combination of grunge and Oasis, I could always count on it to be the catnip to my ears if this whole project was a bust.
So, because I had never actually listened through any Raiohead albums before, I thought it'd be an interesting experiment to give Radiohead's iconic discography a straight listen through and chart down my thoughts and feelings about each album. Really lay out all their work and see just how much Radiohead evolved their sound over the years to morph into that living legend that are now. It's easy to forget with how often they gets cited by an upcoming band as an influence, that there ever was a time when Radiohead was a stumbling band, unsure of themselves. But damn if they didn't somehow pull it off.
Looking back, their success almost seems like a predestined thing. Most bands that find their way to some iota of success and acclaim have to either settle for being that great cult classic s who wind up never getting their proper due till years after the dust has already settled (ala The Velvet Underground); or becoming that popular phenomena that's winds up loved by all but eventually admitted by no one to being actively listed to (looking right at you, U2, Will be getting to you one day). Radiohead found a way to wear both hats, Embraced by critics and popular consensus alike; pantheon of rock n' roll and yet still loved by the same hipsters who would't be caught dead listening to something their parents liked, .
Radiohead's rise and their gradually evolution from just a noisy, moody alternative Brit band of the week, to the incredibly influential artists and rock critic darlings they are today, is a story worth telling. And nothing gives fresher perspective on a rise to fame quite like time. That and a touch of completely willful ignorance, courtesy of yours truly.
From the angst ridden, pretty-boy days of Pablo Honey, to the "whatever-the hell-you-wanna-call days" of King Of Limbs" ; We're hitting it all baby! No punches shall be spared, and no awful ideas in my brain shall go unwritten. And who knows? Maybe this passion project might end with all of us learning something, and me finally getting into the hang of keeping a damn blog updated on a regular basis. It could also end with Thom York key scratching the lyrics "Creep" onto my car. My life, I've learned, can be funny that way.
 |
| "Yeah? Well YOU'RE a creep! And YOU'RE a weirdo! And..what the he- *key breaks*" |
