Radiohead Research Paper

Choose a book from the Continuum 33/3 series about an artist or group who have played an important or influential role in the history of popular music. Analyse the way in which it contributes to an understanding of their music and their career.

When bands are asked to list their influences, there is always one name they include:
Radiohead. This is no surprise, with their incredible amount of sub genres present in their songs. In 1992, Radiohead’s career took a huge lunge forward with their hit song ‘Creep’. Many expected that it was as far as Radiohead may go. Their first album ‘Pablo Honey’ did not receive particular attention and also received mixed reviews. There second album however proved they were not just a English Nirvana,
It seems we are given a pointless lesson into the history of music itself, ranging from the invention of sound recording to the positives and negatives of cassettes, CD’s and vinyl’s and the standard way in which bands record and release an album. When you finally make it to Page 31, you are introduced with the chapter title “OK Computer against the background of discussion so far” (Griffiths 2008 p 31). This title is very effective. It tells us that Radiohead do not follow these standard ways which are discussed in the first 31 pages. It portrays Radiohead as a unique band that have avoided the traditional ways throughout their career.
There are many lists that are presented throughout the book. The first one is shown on page 33, giving us a clear outline of each song on the album ‘OK Computer’, the song durations and the speed. This came as a bit of a surprise, as the rest of the book is written in a journalistic form, yet these lists seem almost academic. Page 43 presents us with another list.
This one includes each band member’s early favourite bands and albums. This list is very affective as it gives us a great insight into the different elements that may have gave Radiohead their
“For what it’s worth, I don’t consider that the words have quite a significance or neatness…”
(Griffiths 2008 p82). Griffiths is very honest with his opinions throughout the book, which gives more of an honest and conversational feel to it, making it easier to engage with. Throughout the book, he also pulls apart the lyrics and explains what each song may mean. “Characteristic words:
‘job’, ‘bruises’, ‘bring down the government’, ‘carbon monoxide’, ‘the pretty garden’ and ‘surprise’ are references to polity and science…” (Griffiths 2008 p62). Radiohead themselves believe their lyrics should be perceived differently by each listener. This is also why Radiohead are so popular, as their music can have such a personal effect on the listener. Not only does he explain the meaning of the songs rather badly, he explains them in an almost mechanical way, which does not fit well with such a complex band such as