Prog' is not the exact term, I believe it's an overrated band.

Iván

'Paranoid Android' is about as prog as you get but Radiohead don't really fit the 'prog' label musically most of the time although they are experimental in approach.I think of them as being a modern day Pink Floyd so given that PF are often regarded as Prog then the answer to the question must be YES!

Radiohead have certainly written music that IS prog - all of OK Computer (not just Paranoid Android), and some of The Bends and the Iron Lung EP), but find it difficult to consider them a prog band.

Before OK Computer they were essentially a "progressive Indie rock band" that wrote some stunning hit singles (Creep, Street Spirit, Iron Lung, High and Dry, Just), but they then went through a deeply experimental period. I think they realised that this was such a strong album that they had to completely smash apart everything they wrote or fall into the trap of writing "more of the same". Kid A and Amnesiac are albums I am still struggling to "get", as there would seem, on the surface, to be little musical craftsmanship in the same way as OK Computer. Hail to the Thief is a welcome return to the form of Pablo Honey - ie prog indie.

OK Computer is only overrated in the same way that Dark Side of the Moon or Abbey Road are overrated, IMO 

They are I think In the same corner as Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree.

Strange, PT should be at least as big as Radiohead. PT is much better and more accesible as well, yet Radiohead has commercial succes.

Four Chords That Made a Million

Shure has a lot of elements of what is consider "prog", other bands have had  similar beginigs... from "hard rock" (Rush)"jazz", (Soft Works) or "alternative" ...Radiohead... any way the are a great band...........

The articles that I've read, make it seem that the band is shy about fielding the whole "prog" rock question. I have a magazine where the interviewer asked Jonny Greenwood if he was familiar with the Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, and he mentioned he was to some extent, but that the band doesn't reference classic prog music directly. However, there seems no doubt that some of the band's music is heavily influenced by Brian Eno. Also, Thom Yorke has said that Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" influenced the choatic horn part at the end of "The National Anthem".

"OK Computer" is very prog in nature - "Exit Music (For A Film)", "Paranoid Andriod", "Subterranean Homesick Alien", "Climbing Up the Walls", etc. IMO, Radiohead are VERY experimental, but they don't play "shredder" guitar or 10+ minute songs. So I don't know if that qualifies as prog in the classis sense. Though they do use Moogs and Mellotrons with creepy sound effects, which to me is prog enough. Like someone already said, "OK Computer" is the 90's "Dark Side of the Moon" in a sense.

"Cuttooth" (Kid A/Amnesiac B Side) is very Krautrock and reminds me of the 70's German band Neu! (David Bowie fans will be familair with this influence on the Berlin Trilogy (Low/Heroes/Lodger). And if you listen to "2+2+5" or "Everything In It's Right Place", it sounds prog to me. If "prog-rock" means "progressive rock music", than I think by today's standards, Radiohead should at least be considered on the boderline of "prog" and  "alternative".

 The boundaries of "prog" are amorphous, semi-permeable, and subjective.

This type of question has no real answer, but could be voted upon....

A prog fan couldn't resist the "progressive rock death" idea. So, any prog fan tries to keep alive the beloved genre, trying to hear "progressive" any kind of music a little bit  different from the FM radio hits. Radiohead is a good alternative band, or we must consider Coldplay, Anathema, Oasis, etc etc as prog bands too? 

Peter Rideout wrote:  The boundaries of "prog" are amorphous, semi-permeable, and subjective. This type of question has no real answer, but could be voted upon....

Yes, maybe we should make a poll?

EDIT: oops, there is one!

Marcelo wrote: A prog fan couldn't resist the "progressive rock death" idea. So, any prog fan tries to keep alive the beloved genre, trying to hear "progressive" any kind of music a little bit  different from the FM radio hits. Radiohead is a good alternative band, or we must consider Coldplay, Anathema, Oasis, etc etc as prog bands too?

There is not much that I can hear that is progressive about Oasis or Coldplay - Coldplay, particularly, adhere to a fairly rigid formula, although the formula itself has developed since Parachutes. Oasis are little better, progressively speaking (although I like their music). I haven't heard Anathema so can't comment.

I believe Radiohead are different because they deliberately try to push the boundaries and know that they abhor formula. This is apparent in most of their material, even the singles. There's not many "cookie-cutter" chord sequences here, although the earlier material did stick to the ABABCAB form on the whole.

OK Computer is a different ball game - it's in a class of its own, IMO.

Ah - that explains it - if you've only seen the videos on MTV, then you've only seen the "commercial" side of Radiohead - although "Paranoid Android" does get some airing, and I've even seen the video for "No Surprises" and "Karma Police" a few times.

Both the latter are deceptive in their simplicity and commercial appeal - especially "Karma Police", which has that wonderful "For a minute there I lost myself" section at the end. The lyrics to "Karma Police" are very different to the norm as well, as they paint very vivid pictures. The videos make absolutely no attempt to bring the words to life in Radiohead's typically obtuse fashion. The rest of the OK Computer album is worth exploring no matter what your tastes.

On a final note; Other prog bands have made singles - and videos (Marillion, Genesis, Pink Floyd, etc.), but that does not stop them being prog. I think that Marillion lay claim to being the only prog band ever to get a true prog song (Garden Party) into the charts. But that's another debate

There are so many cross-overs/combined styles/ or whatever, since back when The Beatles arrived. I'm aware that there's a difference in 'Prog' as a genre and 'Progressive Music'. Radiohead might as well be a combination of Prog, Progressive music, Indie and maybe Spacerock. Other 'Alternative' bands like Smashing Pumpkins and even Soundgarden have made a few hints at Prog. And BTW, most good bands do combinations, have their own style and progress within themselves until some point.

The "prog" element is the elusive part that is missing from the Beatles as not one of their albums truly deserves the tag "prog", even Sergeant Pepper.

Try this experiment: Listen to DSOTM, then a prog album of your choice (using one of the 5000+ listed here as a guide) then OK Computer, then an album by any of the bands you have mentioned. I'm confident you will then understand why many believe Radiohead are a special case. They certainly don't deserve the straight "Indie" tag, IMO.

If not, you will have had a superb chill-out session - particularly when armed with the tipple of your choice

BTW, if you can track down a copy of the video of the set they performed at Glastonbury in 1997, I almost guarantee you will be "converted". There is something magical about it - Q Magazine recently voted it the #1 live set of all time. Not sure I'd agree, but it's up there with the very best!

Peter Rideout wrote:  The boundaries of "prog" are amorphous, semi-permeable, and subjective. This type of question has no real answer, but could be voted upon....

My thoughts exactly. While Radiohead are one of my favourite bands, their musci cannot be described as prog because there really is no such thing anymore. Older music, maybe from 60s - early 80s is considered to be labeled as "prog" but nothing recent should be in that category. I created a thread about this a few weeks ago but not too many people responded. Radiohead is more political now than anything, and that's what separates them from Porcupine Tree et al. Thom has too much to share about current world events and such. I could see them being an art rock band, or even post modernist political rock, but not prog, since the term is oversimplified anyways. If anything, Paranoid Android, yes, kind of proggish, but Kid A would be considered the prog album, if there was one. They often rely on thematic visuals within their albums, such as Pink Floyd, but since the songs are shorter, there isn't enough room for exploration. This may change soon though, so I hear. The next album is sheduled for next year. I hope it is more along the lines of Floyd, but I fear that if this happens, the mundane Radiohead listeners (you know, the one's who bought OK computer for Karma Police lol) won't really like them anymore, and they therefore would not be reaching as many people. Oh, and these same people disliked Kid A too. That's a pretty good explanation, I guess.

Gaston

Gaston:

Aren't Porcupine Tree a 1990s-2000s band? And what about Spock's Beard and all the other modern prog bands you seem to be overlooking?

Marillion are definitely prog - and still going strong - and much of the Fish-era material is highly political, touching on the troubles in Northern Ireland, the record industry, and social politics.

Forgotten Sons:

You're just another coffin on its way down the emerald aisle
When your children's stony glances mourn
Your death in a terrorist's smile
The bomber's arm placing fiery gifts on the supermarket shelves
Alley sings with shrapnel detonate a temporary hell

Radiohead are much less political than Marillion - and "Karma Police" has incredible lyrics, not to mention the wonderful coda;

Karma police
arrest this man,
he talks in maths,
he buzzes like a fridge,
he's like a detuned radio.

Karma police
arrest this girl,
her Hitler hairdo
is making me feel ill
and we have crashed her party.

Finally, "Paranoid Android" is over 7 minutes long - longer than, for example "Garden Party". "Supper's Ready" is in fact 5 pieces, each around the 3-4 minute-mark. 2 of those 5 pieces are repeated, and thematic material is used from the 1st to give continuity.

Well, I think Radiohead qualifies as prog.

Let's face it, if Marillion does a live cover of "Fake Plastic Trees", I think it's safe to say they have some important fans in the prog world.