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The
Role of the Critic:
Radiohead's Kid A & The Next Great Rock 'N Roll Swindle Page
3
The
Critical Response
The
reviews of Kid A were just as hard to decode as the album itself.
Spin Magazine's Simon Reynold's review labeled the album as a
"post-rock masterpiece" but warned that it as an album
that fans would have to "persevere and discover" (Reynold).
David Fricke's Rolling Stone review was just as puzzling. With
phrases like, "Kid A is a work of deliberately inky, often
irritating obsession", "nothing in the song sounds like
it is in its proper place", and "Kid A is even harder
to decode", Frike's article takes on a lukewarm approach
yet still has the nerve to give the album a four star rating (Fricke).
Reviews such as this beg the question, is Fricke so desperately
trying to like this album that he is going as far as decoding
something that does not even exist? Furthermore, what happened
to liking an album for it simply being pleasing to the ear? Fricke
seems to think that, in his own words, the "crusty funk of
'The National Anthem' ends with what sounds like a New Orleans
brass band walking into a brick wall" is genius that will
"feel good under your skin once you let it get there"
(Fricke).
The
paradoxical reviews continued to flow in. Online record store,
CD Now's review claimed that Kid A contained, "atmospheric
songs that go nowhere," but was also, "one of the year's
finest records". Few critics were bold enough to go against
the grain like the Irish Time's Kevin Courtney whose review stated,
"I have heard the future of rock'n'roll, and it's a load
of self-indulgent, semi-ambient twaddle. Radiohead's new album,
Kid A, is the most hotly-anticipated album of the year, pushing
even U2's forthcoming album down the ladder of conversation topics.
Its release date is September 29th, and already the media are
sharpening their screen pointers for the pretentious think pieces
and puffed-up reviews. Q Magazine - in an exclusive interview
with the band - has already hailed Kid A as Radiohead's greatest
work to date; yet, when this major event on the musical calendar
finally comes to pass, I believe it will turn out to be the biggest
disappointment of the year. Let's put it this way: after Oasis
released Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants earlier this year,
Robbie Williams cheekily sent them a sympathy card. He should
send Radiohead a wreath." (Courtney).
Previously,
I mentioned that in this particular time and place, the critical
media could be viewed as a whole, and now I can further explain
why. While neigh Sayers such as Courtney did exist, they were
but a lonesome cry in powerful thunderstorm. With words like "genius"
and "masterpiece" being thrown around on a regular basis,
the often-welcomed cynical view of some critics held little to
no weight. The hype machine was already at full tilt and all that
could be done was sit back and wait to see what happens.
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