The Official Radiohead Thread

[Mykonos]

It can get a little bit boring for me (Sulk and Bulletproof spring to mind) but there's some real tunes on it.

[debaserr]

I don't think there is one track off of Pablo that touches the best six or so from The Bends.

[Surell]

Remember what i was saying about no consistently liked Radiohead anything?

[debaserr]

Sure, if you count crazy people.

[Surell]

Originally Posted by eric generic

Sure, if you count crazy people.

That's hateful. Plus Radiohead is so expansive in sound it's not odd that you'll get a lot of different tastes clashing with each other on the whole discography.

[debaserr]

I'm sorry to sound like a dick, but anyone that prefers Pablo Honey over The Bends has no credibility with me.

[Surell]

Originally Posted by eric generic

I'm sorry to sound like a dick, but anyone that prefers Pablo Honey over The Bends has no credibility with me.

Hey, no disagreement here for sure. But it happens, especially in the Radiohead universe. There's actually a humorous video about it.

[toyboxmonster]

Originally Posted by eric generic

I'm sorry to sound like a dick, but anyone that prefers Pablo Honey over The Bends has no credibility with me.

... Oh, no. Now I don't see how I can possibly live with myself.

What makes "The Bends" such a great album in your view of things? You like some songs more than others. I like other songs. If I were to rate all of the songs on "The Bends" out of 5, it would go something like:

Planet Telex - 2
The Bends - 3
High and Dry - 2
Fake Plastic Trees - 4
Bones - 2
Nice Dream - 4
Just - 1
My Iron Lung - 1
Bullet Proof - 5
Black Star - 2
Sulk - 1
Street Spirit - 5

This gives it an average of 2.7 in my book. Now let's turn to Pablo Honey:

You -3
Creep - 4
How Do You - 2
Stop Whispering - 2
Thinking About You - 4
Anyone Can Play Guitar - 1
Ripcord - 2
Vegetable - 3
Prove Yourself - 2
I Can't - 4
Lurgee - 3
Blow Out - 4

These ratings give it an average of 2.8. That's not very far off at all. I never claimed that "Pablo Honey" was vastly better, or that "The Bends" was a huge step backwards or anything like that. I claimed that the highs were high and the lows were too low (as indicated by my ratings). My complaint was that it was inconsistent. "Pablo Honey", on the other hand, never reaches quite the same kind of highs that some of the tracks on "The Bends" do (note the compelte absence of 5s). However, most of its lows aren't quite as band as those on "The Bends", making it more consistent.

They're the two albums at the bottom of my list. I'm never really sure which to put first. I could place "The Bends" at #7 because of the great songs, or at #8 because of the bad ones (as I did here). A less meticulous, but probably more accurate rating indicating my taste in Radiohead albums would look like this:

1. Kid A / OK Computer / In Rainbows
2. Hail to the Thief / King of Limbs
3. Amnesiac
4. Pablo Honey / The Bends

The degrees of preference between albums in any given category are so insignificant that it's really not a big deal how I arrange them.

[debaserr]

Anyone that prefers KoL over Amnesiac...

[Surell]

Originally Posted by eric generic

Anyone that prefers KoL over Amnesiac...

Anyone that prefers OKC over Amnesiac...

Btw, Pablo Honey, the last time i (painfully) listened, it was generic 90's hard alternative. The Bends, however, was a more unique, mature sound (as opposed to angsty), especially with songs like Planet Telex, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, and... well, i really like the whole album.