Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Underrated Classic - Radiohead "Amnesiac"

Eight months after Radiohead blew the minds off everyone in the music world with Kid A, they still had another card up their sleeve. In June of 2001 they released Amnesiac, an album which seems more like Kid A B-Sides than a full collective, yet whatever the songs maybe, it still is an impressive body of work. With Kid A having hardly any singles, Amnesiac was not that far behind, releasing only two songs "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out," the tracks were anything other than radio friendly. The album at first seemed to just be for the die-hard fans and severe music lovers rather than the masses. I for one, hated the album when it was released, it took me nearly six years to fully understand its brilliance and what it has to offer. If these were children, Kid A would be the very popular and acclaimed older brother to Amnesiac's hidden, timid and subtle brilliance. The Oxford lads may have entered new territory with Kid A, but they were living in this new space with Amnesiac. Bending sounds, using loops and various production tricks to achieve a sound so fresh and original, Radiohead would be the only band that could craft anything like it. Still as it turns a decade old, Amnesiac is the forgotten record of the craft band's career.