This was interesting - ‘I grew up worshipping at the altar of Iron Maiden’ - and when I thought about it more I think, Croatia. But then that is my projection.
Your deep dive into Radiohead and The Bends, the whole story you tell, is fascinating. I love hearing such reflections and close listenings to an artist and their music, especially a particular album (or even a song), when it comes to you years down the road, with new (you now, you then) eyes and ears.
For me, a similar artist/album experience would be John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, which I first truly listened to (vs ‘kind of knowing about’), with my mind then blown, only in my mid-30s, some 20 years after it was released and only bc I read something that said ‘listen!’, made me stop everything right then. I was just getting into bebop (Charley Parker!), after growing up on rock and at that time in life playing in a band where ‘new wave’ (Talking Heads! Blondie, Elvis) was our passion, but that album was a ‘free jazz’ adventure, and seemed quite intimidating lol.
Anyway, will now listen to The Bends. Maybe I will be inspired, having never been a big Radiohead fan (but just had to buy the OK Computer CD when it was released bc of all the excitement around me). Thx for all this, Karmela.
One of the things that was bracing about "The Bends" in 1995 (I was a junior in high school) is that Radiohead seemed like a novelty band or a one-hit wonder, or at least like one of the many bands that got a post-Nirvana record contract and would make one album before everybody stopped giving a shit about them. And it was just *so much better* than anyone had any right to expect. I remember my gothiest friend, at the time, told me that she was going to put a bunch of the songs on it on a mixtape she was making me, and I thought "the 'Creep' guys?" Like, I wouldn't have thought to buy their second album any more than I would have bought a second Spacehog album. And then I heard the songs!!!! Holy shit. They seem simplistic only in light of what Radiohead went on to do; at the time they were more emotionally and musically interesting than anything I was hearing on the radio.
I never listened to Radiohead, "Creep" came out when I was deep in independent music and radio, I didn't need a major label song about being an outsider. I've wondered recently if I should listen to Radiohead, like I'm missing something, like I let my somewhat unfounded and very sturdy beliefs rule me too much. Then I felt a little vindication from Yorke's whiny statement. I'm not necessarily right, but I'm definitely not wrong. Great essay. Thank you.
This was interesting - ‘I grew up worshipping at the altar of Iron Maiden’ - and when I thought about it more I think, Croatia. But then that is my projection.
Your deep dive into Radiohead and The Bends, the whole story you tell, is fascinating. I love hearing such reflections and close listenings to an artist and their music, especially a particular album (or even a song), when it comes to you years down the road, with new (you now, you then) eyes and ears.
For me, a similar artist/album experience would be John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, which I first truly listened to (vs ‘kind of knowing about’), with my mind then blown, only in my mid-30s, some 20 years after it was released and only bc I read something that said ‘listen!’, made me stop everything right then. I was just getting into bebop (Charley Parker!), after growing up on rock and at that time in life playing in a band where ‘new wave’ (Talking Heads! Blondie, Elvis) was our passion, but that album was a ‘free jazz’ adventure, and seemed quite intimidating lol.
Anyway, will now listen to The Bends. Maybe I will be inspired, having never been a big Radiohead fan (but just had to buy the OK Computer CD when it was released bc of all the excitement around me). Thx for all this, Karmela.
Ah, thank you, maybe I’ll try some Coltrane so that we have a symmetry here.
One of the things that was bracing about "The Bends" in 1995 (I was a junior in high school) is that Radiohead seemed like a novelty band or a one-hit wonder, or at least like one of the many bands that got a post-Nirvana record contract and would make one album before everybody stopped giving a shit about them. And it was just *so much better* than anyone had any right to expect. I remember my gothiest friend, at the time, told me that she was going to put a bunch of the songs on it on a mixtape she was making me, and I thought "the 'Creep' guys?" Like, I wouldn't have thought to buy their second album any more than I would have bought a second Spacehog album. And then I heard the songs!!!! Holy shit. They seem simplistic only in light of what Radiohead went on to do; at the time they were more emotionally and musically interesting than anything I was hearing on the radio.
I never listened to Radiohead, "Creep" came out when I was deep in independent music and radio, I didn't need a major label song about being an outsider. I've wondered recently if I should listen to Radiohead, like I'm missing something, like I let my somewhat unfounded and very sturdy beliefs rule me too much. Then I felt a little vindication from Yorke's whiny statement. I'm not necessarily right, but I'm definitely not wrong. Great essay. Thank you.