Is Radiohead prog? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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MikeEnRegalia View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 03:33

^ you wrote that, didn't you? Well done! Clap

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Space Dimentia View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 07:12

Well Id say depending on the period it depends as to what genre or sub-genre they are in: Pablo Honey is purely alternative with abit of punk thrown in, The Bends is still alternative but in songs like 'Just' you can hear a progressive element coming through by the time we reach OK Computer the prog element is very much there to see just look at 'Paranoid Android' possibly one of the best prog-rock songs written in the last 17 years but by the time we reach Kid A and Insomniac we are going down a much more Art Rock path with lots of soundscape and musical noise, that is very similar to some of the Mars Volta's album filler noise (but better and less irritating), yet there is still a prog/progressive element to them whilst Hail to the Theif is returning to the Pablo Honey/The Bends era it is still none the less intresting with nice ideas but a slightly less prog element.

So I woul say yes Radiohead are prog becuase the never stand still for a second so people can label them, they are always doing somthing differnt and you can hear that in their albums; you can actually hear the progresstion from one style to another and they seem to do it with so much ease! But if we were to ask what albums are what I would say The Bends was Prog-related, Ok Computer is Prog-Rock, Kid A and Insomiac are more Art Rock even maybe touching on Prog-Electronic but Hail to the Theif and Pablo Honey are not prog and are very much in the alternative/punk camp.

Edited by Space Dimentia - March 01 2007 at 07:15

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Chris H

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 07:16

I'd hate to not write a huge long paragraph like everyone else, but of course Radiohead is prog!

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Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 08:01

Speaking as a huge progressive music fan since 1978, of course they are. Even the last songs on Pablo Honey and the Bends are to my ears. I just fell for this band last year big time. But if I had heard Blow Out or Street Spirit (Fade Out), when they were fresh, I'd have been a longer time fan.

From what I've sampled interview-wise, at least Thom and probably others have disavowed the label. Someone once said about pornography, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it." I feel the same about this group with regards to progressivity. Take it from a guy who has over 1200 CD titles, most of which are progressive. I'll admit I'm a big tenter when it comes to what I consider prog, and I have something in my collection from just about every prog sub-genre (still need to sample some Zeuhl when I'm up for it.)

I have no problem with the proposition that they are on the fringe of prog, and there's a lot of other artists who should be here that fit that bill. Tori Amos and Nine Inch Nails come to mind (BTW both have been visited by Adrian Belew, if you weren't aware.)

Perhaps a more interesting point of debate, would be are they "Art Rock"? Seeing them in that sub-category on this site was what prompted me to check them out in the first place.

Say no more, nudge nudge wink wink. And of course, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Edited by Slartibartfast - March 01 2007 at 08:42

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

Snow Dog

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 08:13

MusicForSpeedin wrote:

and sometime soon one guy will leave a post exclaiming that THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED!

Many times.

Edited by Snow Dog - March 01 2007 at 08:51

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 08:33

Snow Dog wrote:

MusicForSpeedin wrote:

and sometime soon one guy will leave a post exclaiming that THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED!

Many times.

Look, by posting this you are only encouraging us. If you've seen it discussed too many times for you, the best thing to do is just go away.

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

Snow Dog

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 08:42

Slartibartfast wrote:

Snow Dog wrote:

MusicForSpeedin wrote:

and sometime soon one guy will leave a post exclaiming that THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED!

Many times.

Look, by posting this you are only encouraging us. If you've seen it discussed too many times for you, the best thing to do is just go away.

You go away.

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 08:43

Snow Dog wrote:

Slartibartfast wrote:

Snow Dog wrote:

MusicForSpeedin wrote:

and sometime soon one guy will leave a post exclaiming that THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED!

Many times.

Look, by posting this you are only encouraging us. If you've seen it discussed too many times for you, the best thing to do is just go away.

You go away.

Well, I do need to get to work, so I think I will!

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

Snow Dog

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 08:50

Slartibartfast wrote:

Snow Dog wrote:

Slartibartfast wrote:

Snow Dog wrote:

MusicForSpeedin wrote:

and sometime soon one guy will leave a post exclaiming that THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED!

Many times.

Look, by posting this you are only encouraging us. If you've seen it discussed too many times for you, the best thing to do is just go away.

You go away.

Well, I do need to get to work, so I think I will!

My original quoting of Musicforspeedin was just to oblige him. I should have added a

, I will now.

What is your work..creating Fjords I presume.

ken4musiq

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 11:32

aspinosa wrote:

I´ve heard Ok Computer recently because the good reviews but I have to confess it was a disapointment , I expeted more, I will give them another chance but what do you think folks?

If you keep listening to it, the album will begin to haunt you. I never really considered Pink Floyd as prog rock either. Amnesiac has that one tune on it. Pyramid Song. I think its in 13/8. That song blew everybody away when it first came out. I wnet to see them several years back and it rained and rained. Then when the band was ready to come, out it suddenly stopped. Then they played that song Sit Down, Stand Up, when the section with the line "The raindrops" came up, it suddenly began to drizzle, and then after the song was over, it stopped and never returned . . .

chessman

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 14:35

Whether they are prog or not depends on the individual listener.

I say they are experimental. Which doesn't necessarily mean prog.

I have only heard two of their albums, Ok Computer and Kid A.

I thought they were pretty dire actually. Little in the way of strong melody, and the singer's voice put my teeth on edge!

Definitely not for me. In fact, despite the fact I am no Dream Theater fan, I would rather listen to DT anytime than Radiohead.

But they are media darlings, much like U2 and REM, so they will always be popular to those who wish to be seen listening to something good, but who don't have the time or effort to invest in discovering things for themselves.

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 14:38

Snow Dog wrote:

Slartibartfast wrote:

Snow Dog wrote:

Slartibartfast wrote:

Snow Dog wrote:

MusicForSpeedin wrote:

and sometime soon one guy will leave a post exclaiming that THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED!

Many times.

Look, by posting this you are only encouraging us. If you've seen it discussed too many times for you, the best thing to do is just go away.

You go away.

Well, I do need to get to work, so I think I will!

My original quoting of Musicforspeedin was just to oblige him. I should have added a

, I will now.

What is your work..creating Fjords I presume.

Yes, only now I'm pining for the fijords. And if you hadn't nailed my feet to the perch, I'd be pushing up the daisys, gone down to join the choir invisible, etc. etc.

And don't forget, the palindrome of Bolton would be Notlob.

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

sircosick

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 15:21

Well, I'm a proghead, but I'm also a brit-pop lover, so I like Oasis, Blur, Smashing Pumpkins, The Verve... And Radiohead is, by far, the best brit-pop band; but as an art-rock band, it doesn't prevent a special attention by prog reviewers. It is not prog, definitively.

Note: Progheads put more attention on "Kid A"; as a brit-pop lover, I could say "Kid A" is the worst Radiohead album.

Fight Club View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 18:31

Well first everyone has to see something to make this kind of judgement. There are two kinds of progressive

1. Progressive more as a sound, bands creating music in the style of Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, and the other artists that established the Progressive genre. There are certain sounds that are associated with being progressive, such as Spock's Beard. They use a great deal of the aspects that contribute to the Progressive sound, but are they truly progressive? Not really.

2. Progressive more of an adjective, regardless of sound. This can be harder for some people to understand, because of the constant comparison to the usual symphonic progressive sound. Artists can be progressive without sounding a lot like any other artists in the Progressive genre. An example is Porcupine Tree, they don't follow the usual sound people expect to come from prog, but nonetheless their music is very progressive.

Radiohead falls into the second category. They don't sound anything like any other band typically associated with prog but still their music is highly progressive. If there are any doubts just think, how many artists sounded like Radiohead before Radiohead?

valravennz View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 18:59

Fight Club wrote:

.. They don't sound anything like any other band typically associated with prog but still their music is highly progressive. If there are any doubts just think, how many artists sounded like Radiohead before Radiohead?

You have a good point there Fight Club? Radiohead are quite unique amongst todays music offering. I also think they are progressive and could be considered "experimental" in line with the changes in direction their music has taken over the years. I do not think that "Hail to the Thief" harks back to "Pablo Honey" or "The Bends" in style. HTTT is perhaps Radiohead's most accessible album to date other than "OK Computer". That is a great move as the album has opened the way for listeners to consider and appreciate all of Radiohead's music to date.

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con safo

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 19:37

deja vu

Avantgardehead View Drop Down

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Posted: March 01 2007 at 20:04

I've always thought of them as an experimental pop band with progressive, Avant-garde, and electronic overtones. I was surprised when I found them under art rock, but it doesn't matter.

http://www.last.fm/user/Avantgardian

Bt-Tor

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Posted: March 02 2007 at 00:05

This has been discussed many times before... therefore I only say YES!

Ivan_Melgar_M View Drop Down

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Posted: March 02 2007 at 00:18

Bt-Tor wrote:

This has been discussed many times before... therefore I only say YES!

This has been discussed many times before... therefore I only say NO!

I explained my arguments before so I won't insist, but who cares? They are here to stay.

BTW: Agree with HT's arguments.

Iván

MadcapLaughs84 View Drop Down

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Posted: March 02 2007 at 01:31

moreitsythanyou wrote:

Ok I will do this one more time:

The Bends and earlier - Excellent alternative (but not prog)

OK Computer - Prog related with some moments of genius

Kid A & later - One of the best Art Rock bands going

I agree with you in all of them but OK Computer, I think that was the turning from being an alternative band to an Art Rock one. And yes, Radiohead is prog.