Why is Radiohead so popular?

[Score2112]

How is post-Fish Marillion even prog? It's adult contemporary music with solos. Radiohead is quite beyond anything that Marillion does. And putting them in the same category with Muse or Coldplay is just ridiculous and evidences little understanding of what they are doing.

Disgree with your broad assessment of Marillion. But not interested in that debate.

..and there's plenty of understanding of Radiohead and the significant differences between those other bands, believe me (was quoting another post). Definitely tried to get into RH, delved into their entire back catalogue in fact. I personally think they're just ok and overrated overall.

Finally, not saying one is band better than the other, different stokes, all good. Simple post point was agreeing on desired musical characteristics and mostly, that Marillion is nothing like Radiohead.

[NogbadTheBad]

How is post-Fish Marillion even prog? It's adult contemporary music with solos. Radiohead is quite beyond anything that Marillion does. And putting them in the same category with Muse or Coldplay is just ridiculous and evidences little understanding of what they are doing.

I find myself pretty much agreeing with everything you've posted in this thread.

never really paid attention to Coldplay... which album should I start with?

A Rush Of Blood To The Head is the one I play the most but to be honest I doubt they'd stick with you.

Just like I only kept Absolution and BH from Muse. (The Queen influences coming after those two was slightly interesting, but sometimes bordered on shameless pop stuff.

Those are the two Muse albums I like the best, by quite some distance.

[moecurlythanu]

Point was agreeing on desired musical characteristics and mostly, that Marillion is nothing like Radiohead.

I generally agree, with the caveat that imo Radiation was a deliberate attempt to ape Radiohead. No coincidence that it's their worst album, as I see it.

[SteveSly]

A Rush Of Blood To The Head is the one I play the most but to be honest I doubt they'd stick with you.
e.

That would also be my pick for Coldplay. I actually think it is a pretty good album.

[gryphs also]

I have Ok computer and The Bends. I've tried. Every few years I'll try again. I still don't get it. Maybe some year, but not now.

[JKL2000]

How is post-Fish Marillion even prog? It's adult contemporary music with solos. Radiohead is quite beyond anything that Marillion does. And putting them in the same category with Muse or Coldplay is just ridiculous and evidences little understanding of what they are doing.

Yeah, I'm tired of hearing tracks from Fuck Everyone And Run on all the adult contemporary stations!

[yamishogun]

Radiohead seem like a band that's just on the verge of being something I'd like, if that makes any sense.

Makes a lot of sense to me since I'd say it the same way.

Coldplay has been somewhat interesting to me since I liked two songs form Parachutes, two from A Rush of Blood to the Head, and not quite half of the next two but always too much I didn't care for. I haven't listened to anything after Viva la Vida but should probably find the two or three songs I'll probably likely like -- if that makes any sense.

[miamiscot]

The old Radiohead debate.
I personally love the band. Every album has tons of great music.
Why so popular? Who knows?!
I'm not complaining though. Kinda nice that the "biggest band in the world" (sorry U2 and Coldplay) doesn't suck.

[Facelift]

Kinda nice that the "biggest band in the world" (sorry U2 and Coldplay) doesn't suck.

Radiohead is not nearly as big as U2. I mean, if album sales and concert venue sizes are to be considered reliable indicators of popularity.

[Garden Dreamer]

I don't think I've ever heard a Radiohead song.... or maybe I have, but it was on one of those smug, hip radio stations where they assume you're cool enough to know what music they're playing so they don't have to announce the artist or the song title...

[NogbadTheBad]

I don't think I've ever heard a Radiohead song.... or maybe I have, but it was on one of those smug, hip radio stations where they assume you're cool enough to know what music they're playing so they don't have to announce the artist or the song title...

Are you Jed?

[Facelift]

Are you Jed?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the connection between "smug hipsters" and Radiohead. I've been to shows with with hipsters making up a large portion of the audience and I've been to Radiohead shows. There is no comparison. And guess which was the show where I saw people wearing Yes, Rush and Magma T-shirts?

Frankly, if looks alone are to be considered a strong indicator of hipsterdom, then the Tortoise shows I've seen in NYC attracted way more hipsters (percentage-wise) than Radiohead. But maybe the people who think Radiohead are for hipsters have a similar view of Tortoise anyway...

[NogbadTheBad]

Highest hipster quotients I've seen recently were at Mogwai (the amount of plaid shirts and scraggly beards was scary) and Goblin with the whole Goth & Italian movie crowd. Radiohead was a mix of middle aged rock fans and younger people of generic population, I couldn't see much grouping other than people going to see a show, probably most like a U2 or Springstein crowd.

[Facelift]

O

Radiohead does this much more impressionistically than Porcupine Tree ever did, but no one has done it on a bigger stage. Of the philosophical anti-modernists who has a larger audience? Surely not the philosophers and academics. Maybe only the Pope.

Off topic somewhat - just wondering what the earlier examples of this kind of theme in music might be (ruinous or malignant technology) either as an album or a long song? Was it ELP's Tarkus (1971)? Just throwing that out there - didn't give it much thought.

[bigjohnwayne]

Off topic somewhat - just wondering what the earlier examples of this kind of theme in music might be (ruinous or malignant technology) either as an album or a long song? Was it ELP's Tarkus (1971)? Just throwing that out there - didn't give it much thought.

Probably the Kinks "Village Green Preservation Society"

[JKL2000]

Are you Jed?

I'm Jed, and so is my wife!

I've actually only heard like three Radiohead songs. But that was enough for me to pass judgement.

[Garden Dreamer]

I don't get the Jed reference, no idea who that is.

I didn't mean Radiohead was hipster music... as I said I don't think I've ever heard one of their songs. Maybe hipster wasn't the right word -- there are all kinds of music radio stations it seems that think they're too cool to announce the artist and song title. I've been stuck doing work in places where they have "urban contemporary" (I think that's what it's called) playing where I heard one song 4 times in an 8-hour period... but still didn't know the song title or artist.

[moecurlythanu]

I don't get the Jed reference, no idea who that is.

He was the patriarch on The Beverly Hillbillies.

[mozo-pg]

He was the patriarch on The Beverly Hillbillies.

[Facelift]

I don't get the Jed reference, no idea who that is.

I didn't mean Radiohead was hipster music... as I said I don't think I've ever heard one of their songs. Maybe hipster wasn't the right word -- there are all kinds of music radio stations it seems that think they're too cool to announce the artist and song title. I've been stuck doing work in places where they have "urban contemporary" (I think that's what it's called) playing where I heard one song 4 times in an 8-hour period... but still didn't know the song title or artist.

Oh, OK. Well, I guess maybe in the era where you can get the title of whatever song you want by holding your phone in the air for a few seconds while it's on - maybe radio stations are putting less of a premium on this. I'll admit to not having listened to the radio in years, so I don't know how they're doing things these days.

[JKL2000]

I don't get the Jed reference, no idea who that is.

He played triangle for Symphony X.

[100423]

I don't get the Jed reference, no idea who that is.

He played triangle for Symphony X.

I thought he played tambourine with Dream Theater?

Now Playing:

[spacefreak]

TBH, I only kept Kid A and OKC

These are the two I've kept myself.

[Garden Dreamer]

Oh great... in keeping with the David Bowie/Nick Lowe trend, Manowar will now have to release a song called "Radiohead"...

[ssully]

Marillion isn't that good, it's warmed-over 70s prog. Radiohead when it's good is very good, and (except for Greenwood's lifts from Messaien) original.