I'll make this short as so many people have nailed the amazing aspects of this album.

Radioheads sound changed on a large scale in only a few years. They became a
Post-Rock Electronic band with a majority of the songs zeroing in on the sound and flow of things.

The songs are well produced and very technical. The album is worth double the price in my opinion and will remain a constant in my playlists for ages to come.

...well it happened in the end didn't it? Radiohead wanted to change their sound and I really don't blame them...they are a really talented bunch of musicians (yes not just Greenwood and Yorke) and I find this change in direction very refreshing...although there are some issues I have with the complainers of this album...

..."Ooh it's just electronic and static noise...how does anyone listen to this?" You really need to listen to some real static noise then...bands like Wolf Eyes and Merzbow make their living out of this kind of noise...now spot the diference...what is it? Yes this is melodic and listenable...so please stop complaining...

...the plus sides of this album I'd have to say is the new use of synths and new instruments...for the most part the electric guitar is left in the cupboard to gather dust as they try synthed voices in the song "Kid A" mixed with the Xylophone on the keyboard...combining a hypnotic bassline with a brass ensemble in "National Anthem"...and electronic drums with a synth in the (in)famous "Idioteque"...these ideas prosper within the album as long as you have an open mind (within reason)...

...and the downside...well...the problem is it's completely overshadowed...if they started with this as their debut instead of "Pablo Honey" they probably would have had more prestige success instead of being known as the band that played "Creep" and annoyed half of the population...but because "OK Computer" came first the die hard fans will always say it's not good enough and push it aside...

...my advice? Give this album a chance...it's not as abstract as everyone says it is...merely in contrast to their other albums...and if you don't enjoy it...fine...just don't call it abstract...because it isn't...oh yeah and the rumour that the whole record company lost their christmas bonus after the manager heard this...not true...

Almost everyone has heard the story of how Radiohead shocked the world with this album. After releasing the hugely successful rock album OK COMPUTER in 1997, the band went on a massive world tour and then a long creative hiatus. When KID A appeared in 2000, their sound had moved away from straight-up rock to a peculiar mix of their previous style and electronic music. The sounds of the traditional quartet are expanded with sequencers, vocoders, and a brass troupe, and even an ondes martenot.

Lyrically the album continues to some extent the theme of the alienation and existential crises that our modern technological society produce. "The National Anthem" treats the pressure of urban population, and "Idioteque" alludes to the cruelty of global capitalism. Indeed, both musically and in terms of the album art KID A could be said to be OK COMPUTER's dark side. However, the cohesiveness of this theme is weakened by several instrumentals, which are little more than electronic noodling, and the final "Motion Picture Soundtrack", an out of place ballad.

Of all their albums with OK COMPUTER and after, KID A may have dated badly. The electronic sounds of Aphex Twin, Autechre and Boards of Canada which inspired this change in style were being touted as the future of music a decade ago, but IDM has faded and rock music is still standing strong. I get much less out of the album today than I did back in the day. Nonetheless, there are worthy moments in KID A, and a maturity in the songwriting and performances that, if lesser than the most part of their late albums, is still preferable to PABLO HONEY or THE BENDS.

After the massive success of their big breakthrough album "Ok Computer" one might expect Radiohead to sit back and try to capitalize on it's success with a clone album. Instead the band gets even more experimental with "Kid A". They drop much of the guitar out of the mix and instead focus even more on electronic music. The result is another winner that is a treat to listen to on a good stereo system or especially with headphones. From it's opening line "today I woke up sucking on a lemon", to it's closing notes the album is another testament to modern intelligent progressive rock. The band even ad a horn section to the mix in songs like "A National Anthem" to mix it up even further. Although "OK Computer" remains the band's masterpiece I like this one almost as well. It is another step forward in the evolution of Radiohead.

When Kid A was first released, it was with alot of fanfare.I,personally didnt like or get it.But,over time,its been 7 years now,it has grown on me.The disc stands up well.I was literally blasting the tune Optimistic the other day and couldnt believe how great it sounded.I hit the repeat button and left it.The thing that I wasnt crazy about when I first heard this disc, was that the songs lacked punch.I was lucky enough to see the band live at Victoria Park,Warrington,England on October 2,2000.It was a kickoff gig for the disc.They opened with The National Anthem.I thought..wow,that first song totally blew me away and then I heard the disc version and well,the song wasnt as strong.Not even close.Live the bass riff came flying out at us in attendance.But the studio version is kinda flat.Wats with the horns?It sounds like a bad trip.The same goes for In Limbo.The punch,compared to the live versions from Warrington,are absent.Everything In Its Right Place sounds very good here as does Idioteque.Solid songs.Period.In my opinion,when performing live,Thom doesnt whine as much.(BBC Radio 1 recorded this show,as well as a gig from Oxford,07/07/01). Listen to the difference when you hear Everything,Idioteque and Morning Bell live,or Motion Picture Soundtrack,for that matter,compared to the studio version.If you can get your paws on either of those shows,do so.I know the band released I Might Be Wrong,but 8 songs is a waste of your money.The classic moment of this disc , without question, is the tune How To Disappear Completely.This is quite possibly their best song.When they played this song, on that Monday night in Warrington,all of us in Victoria Park froze.Its a slow song.So the amazing thing is you could here traffic outside the park,not the thousands of fans at the gig.The song is utterly fantastic.How it builds.Thom saying how in a lil while he will be gone...how he isnt here..and this isnt happening.Its sends chills up my spine when I think about that live performance on that night in Victoria Park.They also played a song that ended up on Amnesiac.Thom introduced it as Egyption Song(the title was latter changed to Pyramid Song).That song would have fit in so well on Kid A.Its possible the tune was done.I know Knives Out was recorded during the Kid A sessions,I have a live version from Holland,recorded 09/16/00.So in my opinion, it should have been on this disc, instead of the two boring intrumentals,Kid A and Treefingers.They are brutal.Treefingers does nothing for me,and Kid A is wacked out.Its not music.Its complete utter nonsense.If those two songs could have been replaced by say,Knives Out & Pyramid Song,(if ready),Kid A would very well be a true masterpiece.

This album, along with Amnesiac (which was produced around the same time) is not easy to like. At first you probably won't get it. Listen to the album a few times. Let it sink in.

This is not the Radiohead of The Bends. What started as an experimental direction in OK Computer gets more convoluted and further away from rock in this album.

It took some time to grow on me--but now I think this album is amazing.

More than 7 years have gone since this record was released and I still don't get it. I don't get the average Radiohead fan hype about something so daring and original, which it is, but in all honesty Kid A doesn't give me the one bit of thrill, emotion and the desire to keep listening to an album over and over again like it did with OK Computer. I've spent years and years expecting this album to "grow on me" because that's what everybody's been telling, and still Kid A is remains collecting dust in my shelf, and I've given it more than enough chances to prove me wrong.

Kid A was way ahead of its time when it was released in 2000. While not as highly regarded as OK Computer, it is an infinitely more rewarding, and therefore challenging, masterpiece that requires multiple listens, if not years of familiarity, to truly appreciate. Even now, Kid A sounds like a classic album released decades too early.

Following the success of "OK Computer," Radiohead pretty much could have milked the sound they had mastered on that record for years, but instead, they did the complete opposite: they almost completely changed their sound on their next record; the rocking guitar leads were almost nowhere to be found, atmospheric keyboard flourishes dotted almost every song on the entire album, Thom Yorke's voice was used almost like another instrument, and, for the first time, their electronic influences were brought to the forefront. The result was "Kid A."

I know it is a cliche to say "this album has to be heard from start to finish to truly appreciate it," but in the case of this record, it really is the truth. "Kid A" takes each listener on a wonderful journey, musically, sensually, and emotionally.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the presence of one of the most powerful songs this music fan has ever heard: "How to Disappear Completely." One of the most depressing songs any rock band has ever penned, this song evokes feelings and emotions out of me that few other songs of any genre can do. The next (or first) time you listen to this song, turn all of the lights out, and turn the music up as loud as possible, to get the full effect. By the end of the song, if you are anything like me, your entire body will be covered in goosebumps.

this had the same effect on me as magical mystery tour and abbey road. it lets you get lost in it...this cd is like a world in my mind.

i really recommend kicking back when you're intoxicated and listening to this album the whole way through on good headphones.

Kid A is a very overrated album. The songwriting talents of the band have obviously taken a step back compared to OK Computer, which was the bands absolute high point (even to this day). "Everything In Its Right Place" is just a very lackluster effort in terms of vocal melody and it becomes annoying after a few listens. "The National Anthem" is boring as well, because the first couple minutes are dominated with one grunge-y riff repeating over and over until some over-emotional vocals eventually come in and change all that. It tries to be something special, but really it's just a pointless experiment. For some reason, the vocal melody reminds me of the Beatles song "It's All Too Much". In fact, a good majority of the songs on the album are just silly or pointless experiments, with not much emotional substance to be found.

Radiohead is clearly much better when writing emotional vocal melodies and interesting lyrical content, which this album greatly suffers. "How To Disappear Completely" is probably the biggest attempt at heartfelt emotions, but the devastating atmosphere of the lyrics aren't really as honest as the lead singer would want you to believe. It's just not enough to save a really average and surprisingly bland album overall.

I got into Radiohead a year or two ago and they have since become one of my favorite bands. Every album they have put out has been at least good, and several of them are just awesome. It's a tough choice picking their best CD, but this one just barely beats out OK Computer. Both are pretty much flawless, but I prefer Kid A because it is more revolutionary. This is the album that no one expected Radiohead to make and that's part of its appeal. It is meant to be listened to in its entirety, much like Dark Side of the Moon, because this album as a whole is greater than just the sum of its parts. There's a strange energy and emotion that flows through all the blips and bleeps and even though this is the least human Radiohead CD it is still something beautiful, and I think that's the point. If you are looking for a hit single or traditional songs, skip this one. If you are willing to experience something truly unique and moving, give this one a spin. You won't regret it.

Huge Radiohead fun. But this album is hard to get into. It's so bad that the band released Amnesiac right after to cover up this failure.

I was skeptic about Kid A as initially it seemed very electronic and just different, but I came to truly appreciate it. National Anthem is one of my favorite Radiohead songs ever (and I own every album), and Everything in its Right Place, How to Disappear Completely, Optimistic, and Idioteque are other highlights.

This is really a unique Radiohead album in that it is more electronic sounding than others, especially earlier albums. It's really what you expect if you followed prior albums, particularly after OK Computer (one of the best albums of all time).

A lot of people I know hate on this album for the digital / electronic sounds, but I personally enjoy that aspect despite the fact I'm not big into electronic music. Admittedly, I do enjoy the slightly strange, eclectic sounds like that of Queens of the Stone Age, The Mars Volta, Pink Floyd... etc. DON'T be fooled though, hits like How To..., Optimistic, and Motion Picture Soundtrack aren't electronic really at all - much more akin to earlier Radiohead.

Most alternative rock fans have already heard this album, but if you haven't then I strongly recommend buying it and giving it A FEW listens. I emphasize this because Kid A (especially if you are used to 'The Bends' and "OK Computer') takes many listens to adjust to and truly absorb. Honestly, there are few albums that I own that I have listened to straight through more times than Kid A, and if that isn't a strong recommendation to buy then I don't know what else I can say.
What makes Radiohead arguably the greatest band in the world today (and probably one of the best of all time) is the genius in transition from OK Computer to Kid A. So experimental, risky, redefining and impressive. It never ceases to amaze me that a pretty standard rock band who had one radio hit somehow evolved into the deep, intellectual, truly revolutionary sounding act that is displayed here. This album hasn't aged a day since its release, and Idioteque is probably one of my favorite songs of all time!

When handed stardom, most bands will take it and abuse it; some others choose to turn it down flat. Radiohead went with the latter, releasing a moody techno album that put a lot of people off. Yes, the critics loved it, and it won a Grammy. That didn't stop it from being quite controversial, though. Me, I quite like it. I can't see why the shift to lush, deeply textured techno was such a big surprise - songs like "Subterranean Homesick Alien" certainly predicted the shift. This is, if anything, more bleak and unforgiving than OK Computer, since there's no traditional sarcastic rocker like "Electioneering" to lighten the mood. Other than the soothing "Treefingers" and "Morning Bell", this is not happy stuff - quiet, eerie, minor key, with Tom Yorke doing more weird things with his voice than usual. And the album results in several songs that will probably be fondly remembered ten or fifteen years down the road: the disorienting "Everything in its Right Place"; the slightly funky title track; "The National Anthem", with a cool horn part; "How to Disappear Completely", unnerving and eerie (in a good way, though - it's my favorite song of the batch); the ironically dark "Optimistic", the multipart "Morning Bell", with screechy sounds reminiscent of the Pink Floyd classic "Echoes", and the quiet drama of the closer "Motion Picture Soundtrack", which houses a hidden track. Hey, that's seven of the ten songs! And it's not like I don't like "Treefingers" or "In Limbo"- they're just not as good as the rest. Oh, and the bass playing on this album is stellar - bass wasn't a big part of OK Computer, but it's central to all of these songs. As much as I'd like to call this Radiohead's best album - and it's probably their most creative - I have to give the edge to OK Computer - "Idioteque" is subpar. Kid A isn't the album for everyone - even OK Computer fans might not like it - but it is one to get if you're in the mood for something quite different. Oh, and if you don't have any Radiohead, do not start here - OK Computer and The Bends are recommended as first albums. Be sure to get this eventually, though.

1. Everything In Its Right Place - Very hypnotic and memorizing. Sounds like someone who's manic depressive or suffering from OCD. 10/10
2. Kid A - Freaky song. I love the "I slipped on a little white lie" line. 7/10
3. The National Anthem - Woooooaaaaaaahhhhh... this song is so thrilling. I adore the trumpets and Yorke screaming about holding on. Amazing bass! The loud horns near the end convey a sense of chaos. 10/10
4. How To Disappear Completely - Beautiful. Makes you feel nonchalant. 9/10
5. Treefingers - A lovely "breather" instrumental. 8/10
6. Optimistic - My favorite song on the album with a nice nod to "Animal Farm." 10/10
7. In Limbo - Love this song, but the lyrics are too vague. 9/10
8. Idioteque - About nuclear war? Possible. Great to dance to. 10/10
9. Morning Bell - A song about divorce as the line "Cut the kids in half" implies. 10/10
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack - An unutterably breathtaking song. 10/10

Conclusion: If you love it, great. If not, I pity you!

...because Kid A isn't just an album. Kid A is the benchmark album that separates the people who love music from the people who think that their love and "understanding" of music makes them superior to everyone else. I would love to know the number of people who absolutely hate this album but won't admit it. Music snobs agree..to admit that Kid A sucks is to admit that you don't "understand" the artful mind of Radiohead.

Well, I am admitting it here. Kid A isn't just a pretentious and boring album of electronic noise. It's a slap in the face to those of us who were fans of the guitar-driven rock of The Bends and Ok Computer.

I have Propellerhead's reason program. And by using only the Rhodes MK II electric piano sound and the programmable drum machine, you can accurately reproduce songs like Everything in it's right place in minutes. It's isn't brilliant. And just because it's Radiohead doesn't mean it's good.

Step up people. It's ok to hate this record. And it's ok to admit it.

Okay. When I was growing up, all that my parents gave me to listen to was their old '80s new wave CDs and LPs. Now I'm 17 years old, and I just started growing out of their generation's music about a year and a half ago. Now I find myself in search of music that stretches the limits of the human imagination to boundaries it has never before seen. In this new musical journey I'm going through, I've been listening to bands like Tangerine Dream, They Might Be Giants, Beck, The Apples In Stereo, and of course, Radiohead.

Kid A was a gigantic leap forward in Radiohead's growth as a progressive rock band. Laden with intense cascades of synthesizer riffs and pulsating drum beats, one would expect that Kid A would be difficult to listen to for the average person. Since I always assumed myself to be fairly average in my musical taste, I kind of assumed the same. Once I bought the album and popped it into my CD player, I was lost in the sea of synthesizers that is the opening track, "Everything In Its Right Place." I found that Thom Yorke's voice, which many have labeled as "whiny," effectively communicates the overall feeling that the album is trying to portray.

As the listening experience went on I found myself growing attached to "The National Anthem." It starts so simply with a repeating bass riff, and builds into an eruption of orchestral chaos that must be heard to believe. Only Thom could put it the right way: "Everyone around here, everyone is so near, it's holding on..."

"Treefingers," at first listen, sounds like a wacky synthesizer experiment, yet the entire piece was played on guitars and heavily modified and composed into an instrumental on a computer. It acts as a perfect segway into the following track, "Optimistic," another alternative ballad whose stark portrayal of our modern lives is drowned by the pounding drums and tectonic guitar riffs.

After "In Limbo" comes "Idioteque," one of Radiohead's boldest musical departures from their earlier style. It throws all the rules they went by out the window, coming in with a stomping synthesized drum track and one of the most impressive chord progressions I've ever heard. The samples of early electronic music used in the song, as well as the apocalyptic lyrics "Ice age coming, let me hear both sides...we're not scare mongering, this is really happening" portray the world of nuclear war and political struggle ever so clearly.

I bought a 12" Macintosh PowerBook G4 in July 2005. In so doing, my technological capacity leapt headfirst into the 21st century. It was rather startling actually. I went from owning and operating a 1997 Toshiba laptop what was running Windows 1998 (barely) to actually being proud of the computer that I owned. I went from crawling around on the World Wide Web to cruising along in First Class with all possible amenities on an intercontinental flight.

(And yes, all clichéd Information Superhighway metaphors will cease as of now.)

It was an amazing feat of purchasing power, though I simply bought it used from a friend who was entering seminary. She was upgrading to a much newer model and wanted to sell her 12-inch model, and, because she was willing to let me pay her a bit each month, I was able to help her out with her move. And if you're interested, she's attending Regent College in the Great (Seasonally) White (and Unbelievably Picturesque) North that is Vancouver, BC, Canada.

I say all of that to say this: in the process of uploading all of my CD's into my new (to me) computer's iTunes, I got the chance to give a fresh listen to an album that I have long loved, but often never fully appreciated. In my estimation, Kid A from Radiohead has to rank as one of the best, most misunderstood, and taken-for-granted albums of the past decade or so. Most of my friends who are hardcore Radiohead fans typically cite OK Computer as their preferred album, while a decent minority are big fans of Hail to the Thief, mostly because it's the band's most guitar rock album since OK Computer.

Don't get them wrong - they all rather do like, love, and regularly listen to Kid A, but they feel it's too electronic, that it's not rock enough, that it's too low-key and ambient in too many places. Those are rather appropriate responses, but, when I listen to the album in its entirety, in its proper place in chronological order of Radiohead releases, I can't help but proclaim the genius that is Kid A.

Let me explain more fully, or at least permit me move through the course of the album, song by song, or rather, movement by movement. To begin, I don't think that there's another trilogy of songs as complete or as moving as the 3 opening tracks on this album. "Everything In Its Right Place," "Kid A," and "National Anthem" are as well-crafted, flowing, and 3 parts of 1 whole as anything you might have ever heard on a progressive rock band's concept album (like Six Degrees of Separation by Dream Theater). Thus, with these 3 songs, Thom Yorke & the boys begin their meanderings through the most guitar-less rock album probably ever recorded (and that's a compliment in my book).

From there, the listener hearkens upon the start of the second movement in Kid A. Comprised of "How to Disappear Completely," "Treefingers," "Optimistic," and "In Limbo," it seems that Radiohead is attempting to redefine the components of a rock song, whether in a recorded fashion or when taking these songs on the road. Moog-style synth sounds abound, along with well-crafted and well-played electric guitar and string arrangements that call to mind a symphony, as opposed to a rock record.

Admittedly, one can easily get lost sonically and thematically within these tracks, as it sounds that there is no continuity, no rhyme or reason behind the noises or the direction of those noises. If there is a downside to the album, it can be found amongst these 4 songs, and not because they don't fit the flow of the album, but because they do. The average (and even above-average) rock music listener simply doesn't get this section of the album - there's no hook, no big single, and nothing to really keep you going onto the next song (unless you count the fact that the CD keeps going on the next song automatically). I remember reading reviews and talking about this album with friends when Kid A first came out in 2000 - few people got it and those who did were Radiohead fans who were disappointed that they didn't get to listen to OK Computer 2. And I was amongst them, but not anymore.

Into the last movement, probably the most recognizable: "Idioteque," "Morning Bell" (reprised and reformatted on Amnesiac), and "Motion Picture Soundtrack." On an album filled with string swells, organ hums, and pulsating synthesizers and Moog keyboards, these 3 songs ring true, ring deeply, and ring out loud with a dark cynicism that only songwriters like Thom Yorke can muster. While "Idioteque" resonates with calls of a coming Ice Age, "Morning Bell" has the clarion call of a band trying to wake us up from expecting what's normal in life and normal in music.

Simply put, few bands have the ability to create an album as esoteric and still as timeless as Radiohead has done with Kid A. Why are we compelled to return again and again to this album? Because if we didn't, Thom Yorke would scowl us to death as Johnny Greenwood turned his guitar or a seemingly random box of electronic ingredients into an instrument worthy of inclusion in the finest of European orchestras.

Rarely, if ever, has a band undergone such a transformation as Radiohead underwent from 1997's OK COMPUTER to 2000's highly-anticipated KID A, and rarely, if ever, have the opinions of the results been so mixed. KID A was Radiohead's introduction to the new millennium, a rebirth of sorts, a slick, electronic landscape that has very little in common with any of the band's previous recordings. It's no surprise that after KID A, Radiohead lost a lot of fans. They were simply a new band. Thom Yorke sounded more at home and less distant; he seemed content to let the millennium truck on by and watch in awe. That's what KID A sounds like.

The big question is whether KID A was a big flop or a major success. Given enough listens, it becomes clear that it's a techno-rock masterpiece, but it takes many listens for one to appreciate that. It lacked the strength of the band's previous albums, though, and it seemed at first like Yorke & Co. had changed their stand. In truth they were just moving with the times - OK COMPUTER was the late-90s fear of technology, and KID A was the Y2K embracing of technology while trying to figure out what to do next. And though the album sounds much better as a whole, it does have a few standout songs, like the glittering title track, the bouncing "National Anthem", the icy "Optimistic" and one of Radiohead's least-appreciated masterpieces, the dazzling "Motion Picture Soundtrack".

One of my favorite parts of KID A is that the band's less-popular members finally get a chance to show themselves off without being drowned out by Thom Yorke's ever-prominent shadow. Jonny Greenwood's guitar has rarely been better than in "Optimistic", though Yorke's bass dominates "The National Anthem". Finally, Phil Selway's drumming is thick and taut. Of course, Thom still has plenty of chances to showcase his own talents, though his trademark wail appears only on "Optimistic" and "Morning Bell" (an alternate version of which appeared on the subsequent album, AMNESIAC). All in all, the statement "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder" means a lot here. To me, KID A is another Radiohead masterpiece, albeit one vastly different from their previous masterworks. Regardless of what you've heard or haven't heard, I highly recommend that you give KID A a fair shot.

i have to say that i like this album, but then again i despise prog rock and i am a big fan of minimalist techno, and i'm also a bit paranoid so i have to say that alot of the music on this album suited me pretty well. "idioteque" is a great piece of electronic pop music, but is pretty different from the rest of the album. i read some of the negative reviews and i cant say i disagree with alot of it, it is just bleeps and bloops and its very paranoid and depressing but i happen to enjoy this album. this is probably one of the most debated albums since my bloody valentine's Loveless( not to say that this sounds a thing like loveless. i recommend it to fans of minimal synth music and indie rock.

Okay, I have only listened to 4 or 5 Radiohead albums, but I own 3 and this one blows the others away. Not a hard rocking album, it often drifts into ambient techno bliss, but that is why I bought it. As an ambient sounding pop album it really hits the mark with a transcendently weird style reminiscent of Pink Floyd in their trippier moments.

A great album for relaxing or creating your own vision quests.

When Radiohead released OK Computer most everyone who heard it was simply blown away. Music magazines everywhere labeled it one of the greatest alt. rock albums ever. And to be honest, the album was perfect. At least in my opinion. So obviously everyone was anxious for the next "OK Computer" by Radiohead. Thom Yorke and company with there genius knew they couldn't make another "OK Computer" so they took a chance and went in a new direction. And the result is "Kid A". Probably my all time favorite album. When i first heard it i was pretty dissapointed because it was nothing like the last album. I went a pretty good while without listening to it again until one day i decided to try it one more time. I couldn't believe it. Radiohead had actually made an album superior to OK Computer. It's different but its so much more powerful. It begins with the keyboard in "Everything In Its Right Place" the perfect song to start the album with. Thom Yorke actually played the keyboard on this song. Its very beautiful and leaves you wanting more. From there it goes straight into "Kid A" the title track. This song reminds me a lot of "Fitter Happier" only its much more musical. Its probably one of the weaker songs on the album although i still think its great........Every great album has at least one knockout track on it and for me 'Kid A' has 4, "The National Anthem" being one of them. This is not only my favorite Radiohead song but one of my top 5 favorite songs ever. I think its very underrated. It begins with a rollicking bassline (also played by Thom Yorke) and takes you on a ride as it builds and builds and builds. If you ever get a chance go to youtube and watch them perform it live on SNL. Its worth it trust me....After the chaotic insanity of TNA the album slows down tremendously as we enter what Thom Yorke has said himself to be "the most beautiful thing we ever did", 'How To Disappear Completely'. And he couldn't be more right, as it is knockout track number 2. A sad and more downtempo song it still leaves me speechless. Probably because many times in my life i've wanted to just dissappear and you will lose yourself in its beauty. After this we enter the ambient "Treefingers" which is a good transition from how to disappear. The album quickly picks up the pace with "Optimistic" another knockout for me. It has a very unique sound to it and brilliant is the only other way i can describe it. It is followed by "In Limbo" which throws many sounds at you at once, mainly Jonny Greenwoods continuous guitar riff that repeats itself throughout the whole song. And of course we get to the fan favorite "Idioteque". This song has more of a beat than anything else on the album and Thom gets a chance to show off his vocal skills. It is very very catchy and it's probably the song you'll be singing to yourself when the album is over making it the 4th song to blow me away from this album. Next is "Morning Bell" a very nicely put together piece which takes us to the final song of the album "Motion Picture Soundtrack". Another underrated Radiohead song MPS is like the story of someone who is on there way to heaven and do not even think about skipping this last song. Not to mention, its an awesome song name ;)

In short, everything by Radiohead is incredible (with the exception of 'Pablo Honey' which still is a decent album and one worth listening too) because they have a knack for making music way ahead of its time. However, Kid A is the one that sticks out the most to me and the one I will always view as Radioheads finest achievement.

Invention, intelligence, the guts and the genius necessary to push the envelope: these can all be ascribed to Radiohead. Although their albums may vary widely in tone and intent, one thing is always for certain -- what you hear will be new, will be unusual, and may, in fact, be brilliant.

For critics and listeners who have a love for Radiohead (and, indeed, for the passion and creative energy it takes to break down musical boundaries), will find "Kid A" yet another refreshing change of pace for this oft-lauded, sometimes-decried experimental band. Thom Yorke's haunting voice flows through the songs like a dark fog, as always, espousing a cryptic but notably disconcerting message of ambivalence, purpose lost.

This time around, though, his words dance over abrasive electronic waves and a jazzy agitation of saxophones and trumpets. It was reported that, prior to the release of this record, Yorke was battling depression. If that's true, it's certainly evident in this album in which the sound has the consistency of a heart rate monitor viewed in slo-mo. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; the lush rise and fall of sound is invigorating in the same measure that it is dream-inducing. Songs like "Everything In Its Right Place," "How to Disappear Completely," and "In Limbo" skate gracefully over lakes of icy-cool electronica, describing peaceful and elegant choral curves. Others, like "Optimistic," "The National Anthem," and "Morning Bell," utilize a powerful transcendent urgency to create a sort of fireworks display of sound, something burning, chaotic and gorgeous.

Wonderfully hot and liquidly cool though most of it is, there are still parts that are just plain weird and trying. The title track is a schizophrenic, atonal mess that is hurt even more by its overly-digitized vocals. "Treefingers" is a plain-Jane New Age track that is both indistinct and unoriginal. And no matter how many times I give it a chance to grow on me, "Idioteque" remains, to me, a supremely annoying song, an aggravating mixture of scabby, over-active beats and mostly toneless vocals.

I respect the effort involved though, even if sometimes it churns out something unpleasant. After all, if it takes a few failed experiments in sound to produce this many powerful successes, I'll accept them as part of the process. It's quite telling that even if there are a few songs that I hate, there are that many more that I love.

I have mixed feelings about Kid A. Some of the songs, such as Optomistic, How to Disappear completely, and Idioteque deserve five-star ratings without question. Radiohead went in a radically different direction from OK Computer and I felt that some experiments succeeded where others didn't. This being said, Kid A's good songs make it one of my favorite albums. There aren't any bad tracks... but I just felt that not all of them deserved five or even four-star ratings.

Even though OK Computer is their most successful album to date, they didn't stick with that sound and went in a new direction (which they always do) and this is part of the reason why they are my favorite band. They don't make music that their fans necessarily want them to make, they make music that THEY want to make, and they'll keep doing it. Superb album; I recommend picking them all up though (yes, even Pablo Honey).
Everything In Its Right Place - 9/10
Kid A - 9/10
The National Anthem - 9/10
How to Disappear Completely - 10/10
Treefingers - 8/10
Optimistic - 9/10
In Limbo - 9/10
Idioteque - 9/10
Morning Bell - 9/10
Motion Picture Soundtrack - 10/10

Where to begin? I was glad to read the Amazon reviews beforehand to make sure I knew exactly what I was getting into once I heard this experimental album from Radiohead . . . weird, adventurous, electronic music that touches your soul but takes time to appreciate. Got it. Everything In Its Right Place is a distortion of sounds (Thom's stuttering what I make out as `Kid A') that had me first scratching my head in confusion and finally enjoying it as a fantastic opener to the album. The National Anthem is a nice jazzy song with unbalanced trumpets that became my instant favorite. It makes you wanna dance. Optimistic is a beautiful, soaring, unconventionally uplifting piece of work and my favorite song on the album. "You can try the best you can, the best you can is good enough" has become my personal motto. Idioteque is an eerie track containing a sort of dance beat about what seems to me the end of the world or some nuclear war which is unavoidable. Typical Radiohead - their lyrics really shine. This album is a masterpiece but I can understand why people won't like it. It's a hard album to love. Simply put, I love it because it's bold. Other key tracks: Morning Bell & How To Disappear Completely.

After picking up 'OK Computer' and really enjoying it, I came on here to see which album I should buy next, and 'Kid A' was the only album in the 'Key Albums' list. That should not be the case. This album made me want to shoot myself or something, the whole thing is paranoid, depressing, and downright scary. Listening to this will make you feel like a mental patient. I got the special edition 2x10" vinyl edition for my turntable... I doubt I'll be playing it very much anymore. I really tried to like this album, I really did, but I just can't listen to this anymore or I'll go insane. It's nothing at all like OK Computer, and it's very electronic and experimental, which I don't mind since I'm a fan of a few experimental techno bands, but this whole album had an aura of fear and paranoia surrounding it that I don't want to touch it again. It starts out with 'Everything In It's Right Place' which sounds so scary and closed in or something, and right then you know this is nothing like the previous album. The title track 'Kid A' contains some seriously distorted vocals, and is not a track I'd like to listen to by myself, it's just scary. 'The National Anthem' is more upbeat, but it's just plain annoying and has some very loud and out of tune horn sections on it that really bother me. The only songs that I sort of like on here are 'How To Disappear Completely' and 'Optimistic', both of which are very depressing songs despite the name of the second one, the former of which has a chilling section at the end with Thom humming along with the music. The latter is just a decent pop song. The last side of the album, which contains 'Idioteque' and 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' just finish off the whole paranoid suicidal feeling of the whole album. Finishing this album was like finishing a suicide note. "I will see you in the next world" are the last lyrics to the album. I pretended to like this. I really tried to like it. But I just can't stomach it anymore. I don't know what kind of masochist would want to listen to such an album, and I can't believe it's listed as the key album here. That one should be 'OK Computer', not this awful thing. 'OK Computer' was a 'down' album, but this one, I don't even know what the hell to call it. Not recommended at all. :(

Yes, this album happens to be my 2nd favorite radiohead album, and yes it is in my opinion better than OK Computer, although by no means is it perfect. I would highly reccomend that people listen to OK Computer before this album because it is their overall best, and much more accesible than this album. Give this cd 5 or more listens, and u will see the light (or dark??). Good luck!

I bought this album when it was released in 1999, and it remains my favorite album of all time. This album is a vast, lush landscape of sounds that was, and is, years ahead of its time. This album is far more than an "experiment" in electronic rock-- every song is different and becomes more meaningful after each listen. This album is also an emotional masterpiece- it appeals stronly to the alienation and dissociation we percieve as humans. Kid A changed my life and my perspective on music.

no matter who we are, or what we are doing in life, if we have a family, we all like to spend some quality time with them during the holidays.

it is something that i think we all have in common.

and for those of us who are less fortunate, i guarantee to you that they reminisce about quality family time at the very least. (i know i have been lately. this year has not been so good to me in the personal life department.)


i won't go into detail about what happened to me. that's not the point i'm trying to make here at all. i'm actually trying to understand how the entire planet has chosen a specific time of year to get all close and personal. cozy up with each other. etc.

and then it dawned on me. during the first rain of the season. it's cold outside! we have to be inside if we want to stay warm. and if we want to get even warmer, we huddle together with those that we are close to.

could it be that we all get together during the winter time because we have to? to survive?


now i'm not saying that we don't want to be together with the ones we love. we all know that we want to be with them. so maybe we have to huddle together during the winter to survive, but it is our decision as to who to pick to surround ourselves with. and then we all survive together.

and then we all survive together.

and then we all survive together.

and then we all survive.

together.

together.

and then we all survive together.



~CL

www.wakeupbang.com

I bought this version thinking it was the real enhanced version, but it wasn't, and I also thought that it would came with the hidden booklet, but same thing, it didn't. Good CD but it's the nornmal version of the real thing.

stop comparing this to u2 and pink floyd. the comparisons aren't apt, and this album is far superior to anything that (decent) pink floyd and (horrible) u2 have ever done.

you all know what this album sounds like (amazing), i don't need to analyze it like the other 2k people have already tried to do. i just wanted to give my 5 stars and tell you nut jobs to stop comparing this to inferior works.

while we're at it... quit saying "prog rock." jesus, the way you people throw that term around, it doesn't even mean anything anymore.

buy thom yorke's "the eraser."

...when you're gearing up for suicide. This whole album sounds like the last thoughts and comments of a person who's going to just end it all. I found myself suffering nightmares, fatigue, misery and paranoia. My ears unclogged but I started getting headaches and a fuzzy feel in my head. This is not a good album for the stressed, because it will just make you feel worse. I find this album unlikable and mostly unenjoyable. When I first listened to it it sounded inaccessable, after listening to it more and more I started to get more "into" it, but I can't say I found it a good place to be in. It's a somewhat interesting album, but it mostly just dragged me down, made me nervous, numb and hurt my head.

People say this is great music. Let them say what they want. Give me some old fashioned enjoyable music that doesn't make a pest of itself. Kid A is just ok to me, and hasn't been worth all the effort to "get into". This almost seems like a sadomasochistic album to spank the listeners. I don't know, maybe I'm missing something, but to hear some "weird" music like this that has miles more heart and is alot kinder to the ears, try "Passengers" by U2.

And Thom York sings like a Muppet on this album. By the way I've enjoyed Radiohead's first three albums quite a bit (including Pablo Honey -- why are people always busting its chops).