Rawk Or Not Vol. ???-Radiohead

[Karlifornia]

Radiohead, fronted by the highly neurotic Thom Yorke, backed by the Greenwood brothers and Phil Selway, have forged a large following through a sharp career curve that early on had radio friendly alt-rock songs, but evolved (or devolved, depending on who you ask) into more abstract, sprawling songs.

Where does this band stand in your ears?

[Groundhog]

OK Computer was an album that showed me a side of music that I didn't even know existed before then, and I think played a large part in developing a lot of the quirky tastes I have in areas even outside of music. It kicked off the creative gene in me.

Every album since then has been, looking back at them now, uneven. There is enough quality on each album to make them must-buys in the future for me, but when I want to listen to a full Radiohead these days, I spin OK Computer or, to a lesser extent, the Bends.

I finally caught them live 2 years ago as well, but felt that the concert was very "sterile", and I walked away underwhelmed. I think I'd built my expectations up too high, and was also fresh off a Flaming Lips concert, which is probably the most fun I'll ever have at a concert in this lifetime.

Still, for the impact they had on my music taste, as well as the fact that they created probably my favourite album of all time: A resounding RAWK.

[cartman]

The guitar solo alone from Karma Police is enough to put them into the RAWK category.

[cartman]

Dola,

By 'Karma Police', I of course mean 'Paranoid Android'. My morning coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

[Toddzilla]

I don't mean to disparage Radiohead, who seem to me to be a very good band, but they don't do it for me, thus no rawk.

[miked]

Absolutely amazing. If you've never seen them in concert, you are really missing something special. I saw them at Stone Mountain in ATL, and at some weird venue in New Hampshire, maybe the Tweeter Center. The concerts were truly great and they did rock!

[King of New York]

They've peaked and are now in decline, but from OK Computer to Hail to the Thief, they were an epoch-defining band, kind of like Nirvana in the early 90s. Their obsession with sterile technological fetishism, soulless rapacious capitalism, and the ever-present threat of primitive physical violence summed up an era perfectly. So, Hellz Yes, Rawk.

[NoMyths]

Absolutely amazing. If you've never seen them in concert, you are really missing something special. I saw them at Stone Mountain in ATL, and at some weird venue in New Hampshire, maybe the Tweeter Center. The concerts were truly great and they did rock!

Word -- I saw them in Ohio, and it's one of the best shows I've seen. They're an incredible live act, which their later albums don't really suggest (although I'm a fan of all of their major releases). Actually, one of the songs they played at our show made it to the live album they put out ("Like Spinning Plates").

Undeniably RAWK. King of New York sums it up well -- their discography defined millenial angst.

[Desnudo]

Some of their stuff is beyond me, but they had some great songs.

[sabotai]

Lean more towards "rawk" than "not", but I guess I have to abstain since I can't say 100% either way. What I have heard from them, I like, but I haven't really listened to them all that much.

[st.cronin]

I wish I had Yorke's singing voice.