KID A, The Greatest Left Turn In Music History 

It's pretty incredible how Thom woke up with a lemon in his mouth and then made a perfect album

Kid A is a perfect night time driving record, darker the scenery the better. As a close second, it's an amazing headphone album. The landscapes, texture and ambiance really make the album.

Whenever I play Kid A, I have to listen to the entire album. I can’t skip around because it’s so ‘fluid’- there are few pauses between songs.

I suspect Radiohead wouldn't exist now if they'd made a conventional rock follow up to OK Computer...

Oh yeah, Radiohead's perfect album: *Ok Kid*

Those opening 5 notes to the album are easily one of my favorite moments in music

Thom Yorke: eats lunch The Media: Greatest sandwich in musical history

Fun Fact: Trent Reznor said this was one of the most important albums of all time.

Kid A is 20 years old today, nice.

Kid A is one of the few albums I've come across that sounds truly genuinely apocalyptic. It really sounds like the end of the world to me

The "first human clone" thing isn't true- Thom actually chose the title "Kid A" after seeing it in a music software purposely because it lacked any meaning at all. His goal was to make it a random blip of a title, something that wouldn't be assigned meaning.

The Bends -> OK Computer -> Kid A A legendary music sandwich.

Kid A is an album that make you change your opinion about electronic music

Glad you followed up your OK Computer video! Maybe we could an In Rainbows one in the future?

I've never understood why everyone talks like Kid A came out of nowhere, like OK Computer was a traditional guitar rock album. It had Fitter Happier on it ffs

I was in high school when this album came out, and me and all my friends immediately loved it. We didn't read magazines and the internet wasn't that evolved, so we were not aware this album was controversial. We just thought it was beautiful and genius and listened to it repeatedly.

Kid A is a desert island album for me. It was probably the best listening experience of any album I’ve ever had.

This album is 23-years-old but still sounds futuristic.

Kid A was so incredibly influential to me in my teen years. I rarely pulled this album out. Selectively, when the emotions and atmosphere and situation were all in alignment, I would reach behind the passenger seat of my car, dig out the case from a specific spot in the backrest pouch, and slip the CD inside the headunit. Idioteque was by far the most intense track for me - listening to it while driving just a few over the speed limit on a dark stretch of highway beneath a canopy of stars, rushing wind sounding faintly above an open sunroof, with charged emotions dancing through my veins as I traveled toward a war-zone of love and drama befitting the age... That was an experience like no other.

Idk. I feel like if you listen to their albums in order of succession from Pablo, the Bends, OK Comp, Kid A, it sounds like a pretty natural progression.

Now I need In Rainbows, PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN

To be honest in an electronic album. The best song on the album is How to Disappear Completely, that whole song revolves around the acoustic guitar. It's also Thoms favourite song

I really want Kid A to be my favorite Radiohead album, but OK Computer and In Rainbows are just too good. It's really hard for me to pick a favorite

I just discovered this album today. Heard the first song a few weeks ago. It came on today on YT music and I clicked 'go to album'. Jesus. I can't remember the last time I listened to a full album. I'm on third listen of the day. I feel like this album found me at the most perfect time in my life where I can appreciate it more now than at any other time. Absolutely incredible.

Airbag has no drum machines, but loops of live drumming, inspired by DJ Shadow. There are also no "synths" on S.H.A., its a Fender Rhodes.

Morning Bell: most underrated song ever.

I’ve never taken rock critics seriously again after their slaughtering of Kid A when it came out.

"I live in the house that Creep built..." - Thom Yorke (said bittersweet-ly)

4:16 that’s an interesting statement. To me Kid A feels like when in the cartoons the characters would shrink down, jump into a computer, and go into a new computer world. If Ok Computer was about fighting against technology than kid a was about getting lost in it. That’s why the lyrics make no god damm sense. They just keep falling further and further into the computer.

Kid A is such a beautiful album and you've dived into it masterfully! Also, PLEASE do a video on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea soon!

Love Kid A. Listening to Kid A while walking through Manhattan at 300 in the morning will move you in ways you never thought. Kid A just had that feel.

Kid A has always been an album I would travel through space with.

Kid A and Fight Club were everywhere when they came out.

Kid A was the album that made me love Radiohead. It's still a major influence on my music. This u-turn in style really reminds me of Talk Talk's change when they made Spirit of Eden, another classic.

Absolutely beautiful album, remember being a young teenager and listening to this album for the first time, hit me like a truck going 80 on the freeway.

To be honest, I can't get past the first 5 seconds without giving the CD a 10. "Everything In Its Right Place" features one of the most hopeless, frightened atmospheres I have ever come across in music. I don't know how much Thom Yorke actually thinks about suicide, if at all, but this song is the PERFECT soundtrack for somebody whose life meaning has been destroyed. The soft echoing keyboard tones, Thom's pleading vocals set in perfect coordination with the four-chord rising self- annihilating ring of the music. The world is enormous and you are tiny in it. It's all too much to handle. The stress and loss and constant boredom and pain. I felt it when I was a teenager, and this song fucking BRINGS IT ALL BACK!!! But then the album continues. Okay, so this is the album that everybody called "difficult" when it came out. What this means is that it is "creative," "non-traditional" and "interesting," and normal "modern rock" radio listeners aren't prepared to be, or interested in being, challenged. I don't mean to sound bitter - I just find it disappointing that "modern rock radio" claims to be on the cutting edge, yet all they play is bands that perfectly fit into pre-established popular genres. It's about ad sales and keeping your job, and I understand that, especially in this economy (my company had 130 people six months ago; now we're down to 13. YET I'M STILL THERE!?!?!?!?!). But I digress. There is very little guitar on this album. It's built on synth sound backgrounds, bass lines, moods, chimes, sounds of unclear origin and Thom's beautiful voice. It's not ALL sad by any means. "The National Anthem" (NOT THE ONE BY FRANCIS SCOTT KEY!!!! THIS IS A DIFFERENT ONE ALTOGETHER!!!!) books along on a cool-as-shit bass line and jazzy horn section, "Motion Picture Soundtrack" is just a pretty little church organ choir-ey close, and. mmm. Well, hold that thought. "How To Disappear Completely" IS TAKING ME BACK TO THOSE AWFUL TEENAGE YEARS AGAIN!!! GODDAMN YOU, THOM YORKE!!! HOW DO YOU DO IT SO PERFECTLY!?!??!?!?. These are songs of complete emotional isolation. He claims in interviews that his lyrics of "I'm not here; this isn't happening" were inspired by a dream in which he was floating outside of his body, but with the repetitive sinking bass line and violin-orchestrated tears of pain wafting over his words, it's impossible for me personally to not consider it to be the words of a lost soul in the midst of unbelievable suffering and confusion - trying to convince himself that it's not real. His girlfriend died next to him in a car accident; he watched the World Trade Center collapse with his wife inside - whatever you wish. To Thom, maybe it's transcendental - to me, it is a perfect execution of the "tortured soul" motif without a hint of self-pity coming through. Luckily I'm not an official song critic, because I'd be WRONG on this one! I have a friend who says this album sounds just like Eno, but to my ears, only the ambient drones of "Treefingers" really fit that mold to a tee. The rest of the songs are varied in instrumentation, production and mood, but all just MAKE IT. All of them work perfectly, giving you a package full of sadness, cool- as-shit 6/4 guitar twiggling ("In Limbo"), four extremely sorrowful chords repeating over and over above booming, distorted drums ("Idioteque"), prettiness atop loud tap-a-tap rat- a-tat drumming ("Morning Bell"), and even that other one! I'm not naming it! That is my rebellion. But okay - in short - COOL SOUNDS THAT YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT THEY ARE, ARRANGED INTO BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT PACKAGES OF UN-GENRE- SPECIFIC MUSIC. REPEATING BACKGROUND VOCALS, HUGE SMASHES OF DIDDLING NOISE, BACKWARDS SUCKLING - HOW TO CREATE SOMETHING AMAZING OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL. I wish all bands were this good. This album is fantastic! Smart as hell and full of emotion too. Buy it and listen to it a whole bunch of times. -Mark Prindle.

Thank you for making this and the OK Computer one. Doing the Internet a service.

Wow you surprised me didn’t expect that face to the voice

Yeah but what if they made the Greatest Right Turn in music history

When Kid A came out, I thought it would revolutionise music like Nirvana's Nevermind. It may have only revolutionised Radiohead. I thought it a masterpiece. And it was one gateway, for me, to accepting the cold echoes of electronic music. My preference seems to err on the ambient side of music, for whatever reason. And as I age, the depth of classical music inspires me. Apparently, the overarching movement to cold simplicity in modern pop just doesn't appeal to me. But this album was a gateway in so many ways, marking my musical path. And this is a great video analysis. You ask if I prefer OK Computer or Kid A. They are my two favourite Radiohead albums, so I refuse to pick. I love them both in entirely different contexts.

Although Kid A has some of Radiohead’s best songs of all time, OK Computer is still my favorite.

The cliffhanger on the OK Computer video was amazing. So glad the follow up is here!

I think this really was the beginning of the end for guitar rock as the dominant form of popular music.

A gorgeous album. This is the only album I remember exactly this first time I listened. Instantly I fell in love, and knew the 90s rock was dead and gone, erased by the power of this release.

Its an album that made me fall in love with electronic music

Your video on OK Computer encouraged me to listen to them more, since I had never given Radiohead a real chance before. This morning, I listened to KID A on the way to work and now you've uploading this video. It was meant to be.

As a big fan of Aphex Twin, I loved KID A and AMNESIAC immediately. It was like a dream come true: Finally an intelligent rockband acknowledging and incorporating the beauty of 90s electronic avantgarde. Plus they have one advantage over even Aphex Twin: Thoms soulful, fragile voice.

Im so thankfull for this channel, for real!

My brother said he went to see Radiohead after their ok computer tour where they were trying out Kid A stuff and everyone was very puzzled. He still thought of them as an alternative rock group and seeing them take such a turn into electronic music was a bit of a shock to him as this was the first time for him hearing any music from Kid A

Great use of editing! You made the artwork come to life

I love when bands experiment with sounds. Also subscribed because you're videos are amazing.

Excellent review. I remember the day I bought the CD and initially thought the record company packaged the wrong CD. I bought it the day it came out. I was soon blown away. As a fan for several years, I wasn’t mad that it wasn’t guitar driven and I found it a beautiful work of art. Too difficult to say if it’s better than “OK Computer”. I love both equally.

Dropped a like on this video before it even loaded. Glad you’re sharing the stories of this band

I'd love videos like this about Pink Floyd, Tame Impala, Fleet Foxes, Trent Reznor or Sigur Ros,

What a phenomenal video - In Rainbows my fav' album - looking forward to seeing that video

nice work. thanks for doing this video.

nice video, I love listening/reading about one of my favorite albums. btw, it is actually Ed who was responsible for Treefingers

Finally, it’s here I’ve been waiting for this video more than Anima

KID A is truly my favorite Radiohead album and I love all their work. Amazing, how guitar centered an album like the Bends can be and from the same parent as KID A.

Kid A was exactly what I needed, my freshman year in college and still today after a long day at work. I loved Ok computer but Kid A blew me away! Good analysis!

Kid A was the album which got me into Radiohead because I was (and still am) a huge IDM fan. I’d heard OK Computer and all their singles before and quite liked them but then I heard Idioteque and went “oh I get it now” and somehow learned to love the band as a whole.

Wait, have you showed your face before? Or is this a face reveal? Either way I’m really jealous of your hair

Fantastic video! Thank you 🙏

I love Kid A. It blew my mind years ago. I still listen today

9:23 you missed the opportunity to say that the band dissapeared completely.

This was indeed a masterpiece and still one of my favorites. So impressed with this power move in a modern, more futuristic (at the time) direction. Nice when a band gets better and more innovative with age - quite rare in the music industry (after a precious, amazing album). Thanks for the great video

Fantastic, middle 8! Thank you!

I’m a simple man: I see Kid A, I click.

Alright now that you have all the indieheads coming to you for quality content, you know you have to hit In The Aeroplane Over the Sea and Loveless right?

Yup. Despite what people think, Kid A does not exist in a vacuum. It wasn't dropped onto the planet, it had very real influences. The album itself wasn't unprecedented, but Radiohead's sudden departure after a brush with greatness was. I think Kid A is easily Radiohead's best album in the context of their discography, but when you consider them as stand-alone albums... I dunno, the race is definitely tighter. Also, you gotta teach me those reverb tails sometime. *antonio banderas leaning back in satisfaction gif*

You do a REALLY good, respectful job of summing these things up. Nicely done & thanks.

Nicely done! I was always OK and then a few years ago I HEARD Kid A and blew my mind and I loved it!

It was my first Radiohead album. I remember watching about the band briefly in the news, and searched for their top sales album, and I found this. As a little 14 years boy raised without TV, videogames and listening basically to low budget gospel, was a REALLY transformative experience. I was in stasis and cathartic state for weeks. My mind just expanded beyond imagination. My life changed forever. I got obsessed in music, specially music that made me feel undescribable feelings, unnamed feelings, unique. Was like injecting transcendence into my veins just pressing on the play button. I will never forget how it feels to freshly see the world in infinite new colors. Radiohead for me was never sad, because it gave me light, it brought me to life.

I think this is the first time I've seen your face

Nice account my friend, well set out. I bought the album the day it came out, aged 15, and was immediately in bliss at the opening chords of 'Everything In Its Right Place' . It was exactly what I wanted from Radiohead at that time.

Best one so far. Keep it coming bro!

I still remember my first listen of Kid A. Blew my mind. I had not been a massive fan until that moment.

It's so amazing to see an analysis of my fave album i listened to as a teen, years years after!! i heard a theory that the musis you listen to up to age 16 will define your taste. well.... it was mostly radiohead for me so no wonder i ended up being able to enjoy a very wide variety of genres and styles, cuz radiohead was just so inventive and uninhibited by conventions.

New favorite channel. Incredibly interesting and informative.

Thank you for this! It enriches my listening experience so much. I'm fascinated.

It’s such a captivating album. I feel so strangely emotional whenever I listen to it.

God, I love Kid A

Truly amazing content!

Excellent video man

I love it and loads of people hated it at the time. It was perfect atmospheric music.

People kind of exaggerate when they say the band threw away their guitars or that Thom didn't sing much. Neither of those statements are true, they just started using their instruments in different ways and experimenting with other instruments and devices. Despite the experimentation, there was still guitars and Thom had some conventional vocal performances on it. How To Disappear Completely in particular sounds like it could've been on The Bends or OK Computer. It's a good blended album of where they had been and where they were trying to get to.

Wow, this has to be one of the best and comprehensive reviews I've ever heard!!!!

very well set up video!

Thom Yorke made music for the Suspiria remake soundtrack and it was haunting and beautiful all at the same time. The feeling of his music is just so atmospheric, and I truly believe he is one of the greatest musicians we've ever heard. Anything he creates is just pure genius. Awesome video! I love both albums but Ok Computer (especially Exit Music) hold a special place in my heart.

"Texture over hooks" What a nice way to describe the album and, in fact, the band as a whole! 👍👍

this video is brilliant... Well done.

Great video, ty for the content!

Wow, you look like Todd from Scott Pilgrim vs the world

Dope. My favourite album of all time.

Your videos are getting better and better, great to see your channel is gainging popularity.

great work on this video.

When you talk about Kid A you have to talk about Boards Of Canada's influence on it because they mastered that style.

Nice choices for your record display (Sounds of Silver and Lonerism are two of my fav albums). Also incredbile video

I did not get into Radiohead until 2009. My younger brother had created a Mix CD of Radiohead he named "I could have sworn I saw..." I remember the first time I started listening to it, and thinking that some of the songs were okay, but towards the end he put on more stuff from Kid A and Amnesiac, and after a few seconds I would skip to the next song. I told my brother about this, and he said I need to put it in the CD player while I'm driving and do not skip one song. I got an opportunity to do that a few years later (in 2009) when I had to drive alone to a small town in Bulgaria. I put it in with the thought that I would listen to it the entire way through. Once I did that, I got Radiohead. One of the songs I skipped through initially because it sounded so weird at the start was "You and Whose Army?" Once I listened to it all the way through, I decided it was one of my favorite songs. Now, I love Radiohead, and I think they are one of the greatest rock bands in history, and the greatest group of musicians out there. I am glad I pushed myself to listen to my brother's disc in the end

Thanks, I really enjoyed this.