| Mar. 23rd, 2006 @ 10:56 pm I have one shoe on |
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Current Mood:  accomplished
Current Music: Everything In It's Right Place - Radiohead
It's the left, in case you were wondering.
I was told to post this on my livejournal, so I am.
It is dedicated to Mr. Sammy, my lover boy in training.
(PS: Ignore the website stuff... I haven't done my works cited page yet!)
Radiohead
Though they are not popular worldwide, Radiohead is considered to be one of the most bold and most creative musical groups from their time. Their music is complex and unique, but can still be considered alternative rock. Despite their classification into a genre, they can hardly be considered mainstream; their lyrics, sound, and melody are unlike most mainstream bands that one may hear (website 1).
Members of the band met for the first time at Abingdon School, which was a boys only school near Oxford, England. It was there that they began to play together. Phil Selway, who later became the bands drummer, was the oldest of all of them. He was a year above the guitarist Ed O’ Brain and singer Thom Yorke. Colin Greenwood, bass player, was a year below these two, and his brother was two years below him.
Even though there was such an age difference, the group got a long well. They were inspired by many bands such as Joy Division, R.E.M., Elvis Costello and the Smiths (website 2). They practiced ever friday because it was the only time they could all get together. The finally decided to name their band On A Friday because it was the day they usually met. They played their first gig in August of 1986 (website 2) and continued to play gigs through their schooling there.
When it came time for college, they wanted to continue the band, but their parents wanted them to pursue college. All of the members did, and had graduated by 1991, except for Jonny. He stopped his course in psychology because by that time On A Friday had been signed for a record deal with EMI. They decided to changed their name due to criticism from critics, so it was named after the reggae song “Radio Head” from the Talking Heads’ True Story album.
Radiohead finally became popular in 1992 with “Creep”. They then released their first album, Pablo Honey in 1993, and followed it with The Bends in 1995. They continued to gain popularity in Britain during this time, with their third single “Fade Out” making it into the top five there. (website 3). “We had to put ourselves into an environment where we felt free to work...” commented Thom Yorke when he was asked about the success of this album (website 3).
They continued to to put themselves into free environments and soon produced a new album, OK Computer in 1997. Due to an increase in attention as their albums began to get better and even more unique, Radiohead went on a lot of tours world wide and were highly acclaimed. The fame was tiring the band out though, and they were on the verge of breaking up. Finally, a decision was made to take a year off, and luckily it brought the group back together. They began to play again and experiment with different styles.
This time around, the band tried to use less guitar work and go for a “minimalist” style (website 4). It took longer than any of their previous albums, but three and half years produced a Grammy Award winner for Best Alternative Album. Kid A is said to be the best of all of their albums. They followed it with Amnesiac, which used songs that they had recorded in the same session as Kid A.
Radiohead was able to take a faster approach to their next album. They toured in Portugal and Spain, and the songs for their new album came out during that time. By 2003 their 6th album was ready, Hail To the Thief. Though it did not receive the same praise, it was still greatly loved internationally (website 7). Radiohead set out on a tour which spanned the globe and brought them to new places like Japan and Australia.
After 20 years of making albums, touring, and creating a unique form of music, Radiohead is still together. They are continuing to record in a slightly less organized manner, and a new album is expected to be released after they try some of the new songs out on tour. |
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