«In the history of Radiohead, each record represents a feat. To build and move forward, we have demolished everything we had done up to that point each time. The creative process has always been painful, tormented, laborious. " (Thom Yorke)
There are many bands that are now part of the history of music and Radiohead I'm one of them. They were born in 1985 with Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, Ed 'O Brien and Colin Greenwood as an alternative rock band, best known for' 'Pablo Honey' 'and' 'The Bends''.
But, at some point in their career, they decided to take the path of electronic and experimental music. In fact, let's see how this started from one of their most famous records: '' Ok Computer ''.
But what is the cause of this change? It is thought that it was not a change for the music market (in fact there is also Paranoid Android which is a song lasting 6 and a half minutes), but probably as an artistic choice and a search for new sounds, with important lyrics (with issues such as losing oneself, the desire to escape ...). Shortly after, '' Kid A '' was released: characterized by the minimalist style and the unrecognizable use of guitars (relevant given that there are three in the band) and by the presence of Ondes Martenot.
Instead of containing singles, the album contains gods blips (i.e. non-commercial music videos), which created a lot of curiosity and emotion in the fans. Immediately after the album was released, Thom Yorke said in an interview: “There are many things about rock that are still valid, almost shamanic: delving into drugs for creative reasons, not for lifestyle reasons; music as a lifelong commitment. If that's what anyone means by rock, great. But I find it difficult to think of the path we have chosen as “rock music”. “Another important point in Radiohead's career is their method of selling records over the years. If before there was a simple sale of CD o vinyl, at some point things changed. After he concluded the contract with the EMI, went out "in Rainbows“, In 2007, in two formats: the first, in MP3, which could be purchased on their site with a free offer; the second, in discbox, that is, which included CDs, vinyl and artbooks. Radiohead are one of the few bands looking for a way in which all their music can inhabit, in fact, as far as some songs are concerned they are only available on a virtual shelf.
Shelf that is part of their online archive, the "Radiohead Public Library”Which allows fans from all over the world to have access to the complete discography (even the rarest tracks, live performances), through a card with which to register. Surely the singer and the guitarist are the main minds of the band and those who have contributed most to the transition towards electronic and experimental music. This is thanks to their link with the environment and with electronic music composers.
Thom Yorke was born in 1968 in Wellingborough. He is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter who, in addition to writing various albums for Radiohead, has also composed solo albums, we remember '' The eraser '', '' Anima '' and many others. Yorke is also a vegetarian and animal rights advocate, in fact he declares: «Society believes it is necessary to create this level of suffering in order to make [people] eat food they do not need ... you should at least be aware of what you do rather than think that what you do is your right as a human being ". Jonny Greenwood was born in Oxford in 1971. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and his influences include 20th century musicians such as Krzysztof Penderecki and Olivier Messiaen from whom he took his passion for the Ondes Martenot, introduced in the album “Kid A”. The evolution of the band from alternative rock music to more electronic music is due not only to the desire to experiment, but also to the desire to use less traditional instruments that require a large use of electricity, especially during live concerts.
For this, they began to think about what could be the methods to make their concerts more eco-sustainable: for example by using low-consumption LEDs and recyclable packaging. Radiohead have also written some songs that have environmentalism as their theme: "Fake Plastic Trees", "Polyethylene", "The Numbers". Unlike the followers of most bands, Radiohead fans are many, from simple followers of alternative rock, to those of electronic music, who can go from teenagers to an older age, this is thanks to the various genres from experienced them, but also for the issues they face. Fans are often defined as "pretentious", even "presumptuous" and who often give themselves titles that they don't really have. Others also think they are depressed and lonely, but they think this makes them special. We can see how Radiohead are revolutionary from many points of view, never banal and always with many new ideas, which always lead to surprises. So the question that would come to us is: what will they have in store for the future?
Article made by the students of High School of Music GM Galanti of Campobasso as part of the PCTO ROUTE.
Louis Castle
Miriam Baranello
Matthew Carosella
