On October 2nd, 2000, Radiohead’s fourth studio album, Kid A, was released. This year, Kid A will turn 25.
Radiohead is a British rock band formed in 1985. The members of Radiohead include Thom Yorke, on vocals and rhythm guitar; Jonny Greenwood, on lead guitar and synthesizers; Colin Greenwood, on bass; Ed O’Brien, on rhythm guitar; and Philip Selway, on drums.
Before Kid A, Radiohead released other albums, which were Radiohead in their prime. Compared to their albums, OK Computer and The Bends, Kid A sounds nothing like them. Kid A is a soundscape of synthesizers and ambience, unlike The Bends, which is more like an album that the band The Smiths would make.
Everything In Its Right Place is the first song on the album. This song features interesting elements, such as the time signature, which indicates the number of beats in a bar, in this case, 10/4, or ten beats in a bar. Thom Yorke’s vocals are heavily processed and feature numerous effects; many of the lyrics in this album were randomly selected from a hat, and this is one of the songs where that approach is evident.
What I like about this song is these certain elements, and this is a musician’s song. This is a great song, and arguably one of the best songs on the album. My rating is an 8/10.
The second song on this album is the title track, Kid A. Again, like Everything In Its Right Place, Yorke’s vocals are synthesized and put through effects. The lyrics were also chosen from a hat, with amazing lyrics like “The rats and children follow me out of town,” and “Standing in the shadows, at the end of my bed.” The song is okay and definitely one of the lower-ranking songs on the album. This song is a solid 6.5/10
Song number three is named The National Anthem, which is one of my favorite songs on the album. This song is one of three other songs that stray away from the electronic elements of the rest of the album. I find this song to be one of Radiohead’s jazzier songs and features a brass ensemble and a baritone saxophone. This song’s melody is easy to get stuck in your head and has a great bassline that, although simple, is very catchy and lasts the whole song. This song is great and a high-ranking song on Kid A. The National Anthem is 9/10.
The tone in the album dramatically shifts from jovial to sad very fast with the next song How To Disappear Completely. This is my favorite song by Radiohead by far, and it’s one of their sadder songs. How To Disappear Completely is another song that escapes the electronic soundscape of Kid A. How To Disappear Completely has a beautiful string ensemble to accompany Thom Yorke’s chilling vocals. How To Disappear Completely also has a great emotional impact on me and has helped me through some pretty tough times. Thom Yorke answered in an interview in 2006 on The Culture Show that How To Disappear Completely is Radiohead’s best song. This song is a confident 10/10 and easily Radiohead’s best work in a piece of music.
Motion Picture Soundtrack is a song that I would consider a near-perfect song. If How To Disappear Completely wasn’t on the album Motion Picture Soundtrack would be my favorite. In my mind, this song creates what the album cover looks like. A mountainous landscape with dark colors and beautiful scenery. This is the final song on the album that escapes the electronic soundscape that creates Kid A, and honestly, it wouldn’t be the same if it did have the same electronic effects as Everything In Its Right Place or the title track, Kid A. Motion Picture Soundtrack is up there with some of Radiohead’s best songs ever, like Paranoid Android or Nude. Motion Picture Soundtrack is a 9/10
Ethan Rawls, a BASH Sophomore, said he didn’t enjoy the album, “The album was just alright. There were no songs that stood out to me like other albums by Radiohead like OK Computer. Out of all the songs, the only song I liked was the final song, Untitled. Everything In Its Right Place was nothing special, it had the same problem as many Radiohead songs with being too slow and depressing.” His final rating is a 6/10.
Kid A is an album that is very front-half carried, although this is not saying that songs in the second half of the album are bad. Overall, this is my personal favorite album by Radiohead. I like that Radiohead escaped their usual sound that people are familiar with. They really took a risk creating this album. My final rating for Kid A is a very high 9/10.
You can listen to Kid A on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.
