Allen Radiohead

Every Album, Every Song
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-78952-204-4
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

Reihe: On Track

Formed at their Oxfordshire secondary school in the mid-eighties, Radiohead have gone on arguably to be not only the most important rock group of the 1990s, but also the most significant post-rock group of the new century. Few would have predicted such greatness when their 1993 debut Pablo Honey appeared, revealing an infatuation with The Pixies and, in 'Creep' featuring a lead single deemed 'too depressing to be playlisted on BBC Radio 1'. They went on to deliver two of the era-defining albums of the '90s in The Bends and OK Computer, the latter in particular, redefining what could be achieved in the realm of guitar- based rock.
In the early 2000s, they radically rewrote the rulebook both for themselves and for popular music, largely eschewing guitar rock for the experimental, electronic Kid A and Amnesiac. In 2016 they issued their ninth album A Moon Shaped Pool - the latest in a series of works that has seen the group restlessly finding new approaches to both composition and recording. This book examines each album (and each peripheral song, from singles, B-sides and EPs) with stories and analysis of every officially released track.

William Allen is a musician and guitar teacher. Having completed a music degree at Brunel Music he went on to attain a Masters in Composition for Film and TV from Kingston University. This led to providing incidental music for the Big Finish series of Doctor Who audio CDs. He lives in Whaley Bridge, UK.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Allen, William

Leseproben

Introduction

Although I had been aware of ‘Creep’, it was hearing ‘My Iron Lung’ in 1994 that hooked me into the world of Radiohead. There was something unique and otherworldly about the sound of that record which – in combination with the curious aesthetic of the cover – produced an irresistible allure. I bought that record, caught up with the earlier releases and have continued to follow every subsequent release; some 27 years later I remain a huge fan of the band.

It is with a fair degree of self-confessed subjectivity that I say I believe Radiohead to be the most important band of the last quarter of a century. Even being as objective as I can be, I’m still struggling to think of any other outfit that have been as consistently inventive, expressive and progressive – all whilst maintaining the same five-man lineup as the day they were initially signed to a record deal.

Grounded in new wave, indie, and (at the time of their initial releases) in thrall to the proto-grunge stylings of The Pixies, Radiohead were lumped in with the britpop movement almost by an accident of birth. Where their contemporaries kept still however, Radiohead continued to evolve. As The Beatles had in the 1960s (absorbing Dylan, Indian music and the avant- garde) and David Bowie the following decade (European theatrical tradition, Philadelphia soul and early German synthesizer music), the group have taken in a wide range of influences, channelling them into the creation of a series of truly ground-breaking and iconic albums.

Having created britpop’s defining statement – The Bends – in 1995, Radiohead went on to make the final, crowning glory of 20th century rock music with 1997’s OK Computer. In retrospect, it seems only logical to follow that set with the definitive post-rock statement, but upon its 2000 release, Kid A initially confounded critics and fans.

Radiohead released their most recent album – and ninth studio creation – A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016. Like its predecessors, it was created under a new set of self-imposed protocols and conditions, by a band determined not to become staid or static. Any evaluation of their output has to be considered in the context of the disparate range of past and contemporary influences which has had an impact upon it: from The Beatles to Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd to The Pixies, and Kraftwerk to Massive Attack. With literary, artistic and political strands to their output too, it’s easy to see why the group defy classification.

In common, again, with The Beatles and Bowie, Radiohead are more than the sum of their parts; they are not just a rock band – they are beyond an electronic outfit: they are Radiohead.

The book which follows is not intended as a biography; it is a descriptive, analytical chronology of their music. I hope that if you’re already familiar with Radiohead’s oeuvre, the book provokes thought and provides background. If you’re relatively new to the group, I trust there’s enough within these pages to encourage you to dig further into their extraordinarily rich catalogue.

Five Meet in Abingdon

The five Radiohead members of all grew up in or around Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. Each attended Abingdon School, where, in 1985, the band was formed. Their initial name, On a Friday, was derived from the day their rehearsals in the school music room took place.

Phil Selway (Born 23 May 1967): Drums

The band’s oldest member was initially known to the others as ‘The Graph’, as he played in a band called Jungle Telegraph. He was also thought (along with his bandmates) to be a somewhat intimidating figure. Selway’s interest in music was triggered by punk bands like The Clash; and the late-1970s two- tone ska revival (which retained the energy of punk). From the age of fourteen he was determined to be a musician in a successful band, and that that would be his career path. Despite this, he went on to study English and History at Liverpool Polytechnic, later briefly holding a job as a copy editor for a medical publishing house.

Ed O’Brien (Born 15 April 1968): Guitar and backing vocals

O’Brien was in the year above Thom Yorke and Colin Greenwood, and was known to them through involvement in school dramatic and musical presentations. He had held an interest in theatre throughout his childhood and appeared in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for which Yorke was providing incidental music.

Like the other band members, the post-punk scene inspired O’Brien to get involved with music (although he’s continued to espouse the inclusivity and spontaneity of punk, he rejects the notion of not practicing). He has spoken particularly of the importance of Andy Summers – guitarist for The Police – as a crucial early influence. Summers was an advocate of effects pedals – particularly delay, modulation (chorus, flange) and compression – and was also an early exponent of guitar synthesizer. Such influence would prove crucial to O’Brien’s role in creating sonic textures within Radiohead’s music. If Thom Yorke is to believed, O’Brien was initially approached to join because of his resemblance to Morrissey (or at least that he dressed and acted as though he was in The Smiths)!

Thom Yorke (Born 7 October 1968): Vocal and guitar

Yorke is unquestionably the focal point of Radiohead, as lead singer and most prominent contributor to the songwriting process (although the group’s songs are credited to all five members). He was born in Northamptonshire, but It was not until after a spell in Scotland in 1978 that the Yorke family moved to Oxfordshire. Since childhood he’s had a paralysed left eye and drooping eyelid (the latter a result of failed surgery), which led to a distinctive appearance (certainly in youth) that shaped in him – as a victim of schoolyard names – a resilient character and an awareness of the potential cruelty of others.

His interest in music was initially inspired by Queen: he had a cassette of their Greatest Hits that he played so much, it wore out! With Brian May as something of a hero, Yorke was playing guitar by the age of seven, and writing songs as he reached double figures (the title of his first effort – remarkable for such tender years – was ‘Mushroom Cloud’). Like the others, he later became besotted with new wave music, citing Elvis Costello and Japan as particular favourites. But it was seeing Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1985 which inspired him to want to be a frontman, rather than just a guitarist on the stage flanks.

In relation to the group’s songwriting process, Phil Selway has said, ‘The lyrics all come from Thom’s mind’. A handful of the songs are direct and literal, but the vast majority rely on metaphor, imagery and (from the year 2000 and the Kid A album) the use of conversational snippets and everyday aphorisms. Many relate to political, ecological and social matters: Yorke is involved with and vocal about a number of world issues. Others are intensely personal; early in the band’s career, Yorke stated, ‘Certain things I put in songs because that’s the only place I can put them’.

Yorke is also known for his strong, emotive voice: particularly the falsetto. This is a powerful force in combination with the fascinating lyrics and his strong gift for melodic invention.

Colin Greenwood (Born 26 June 1969): Bass

The band’s bassist was in the same school year as Thom Yorke. They would hang around together, having similar interests: particularly computers and, crucially, post-punk music like Joy Division and Magazine. Greenwood played the guitar from the age of fifteen, studying classical technique. But he settled on bass guitar: not out of a particular love for the instrument, but because everyone in the band needed a specific role. After that decision however, he began to study bassists: from Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn (Booker T. & the M.G.s) to Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order). Greenwood largely favours playing with the right hand fingers, over using a plectrum. He and Yorke were the first of the group to combine forces, forming the punky TNT, before uniting with O’Brien and Selway. Greenwood studied English at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.

Jonny Greenwood (Born 5 November 1971): Lead guitar

The younger Greenwood brother has related how little music he was aware of as a child and growing up. His parents had only a handful of cassettes, that would be played during car journeys. These included cheap not-the-original- artist versions of Grease, My Fair Lady and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

Perhaps it’s the recording of a Mozart Horn Concerto we can thank for the guitarist’s extraordinary talent for orchestral arrangement. Exposure to his older siblings’ records would prove crucial in establishing his tastes: the likes of The Beat, Magazine and The Fall. A concert by the latter was his first experience of live music: he found it so intense he had to leave.

His first musical instrument – at the age of six – was the recorder. Everything he played on this felt original to him, as his listening experience was so limited. He taught himself the guitar in his teens, purchasing a Rickenbacker, influenced by the likes of Paul Weller, Johnny Marr and Peter Buck. Following a stint in Illiterate Hands (a group...