KID A - Radiohead

YEAR: 2000

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTING: Everything In It's Right Place, Kid A, The National Anthem, How To Disappear Completely, Treefingers, Optimistic, In Limbo, Idioteque, Morning Bell, Motion Picture Soundtrack

IMPRESSIONS: You guessed it . . . this is my favourite Radiohead album. In fact, it won the 2000 Penguin Award for Album of the Year, folks. This is also one I can't really say that much about other than you've got to hear it to experience it. I'm at a loss to explain it but I know I love it.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Everything In It's Right Place, How To Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Idioteque, Motion Picture Soundtrack

FACT SHEET: KID A is Radiohead's fourth album. It was the first Radiohead album to debut at number one and went platinum in its first week of release despite the fact there was no single or music video released for the album. After the monster success of their previous album OK COMPUTER, many Radiohead fans were bewildered and angered by the radical new sound of KID A which virtually eliminated guitars and drums from the album. After the praise of OK COMPUTER, lead singer/songwriter Thom Yorke grew depressed and openly hostile to the media feeling that his music had been turned into nothing but "fridge buzz". His response was to create KID A. Many influences are apparent: Aphex Twin, Can, Charles Mingus, Talking Heads, Blackalicious, Scott Walker, Krzyysztof Penderecki, and Olivier Messiaen to name a few. The song "How To Disappear Completely" was inspired by Scott Walker and "Motion Picture Soundtrack" was an attempt to emulate 1950's Disney movie soundtracks. In interviews, Thom Yorke has eluded to the fact that Kid A could be the first human clone but has since denied that there is a specific concept or story behind the album; Yorke also stated in a different interview that Kid A was a nickname for a sequencer. According to Yorke: "If you call it something specific, it drives the record in a certain way. I like the non-meaning." KID A has been called the most challenging pop record to also have commercial success. It won the Grammy Award for "Best Alternative Album" and enjoyed almost universal acclaim.