Radiohead on the BBC

last night Radiohead, Cat Power, and Feist graced the 200th episode of the Jools Holland show on the BBC, which is a late night show that is far edgier than anything we've got over here. And I say that with full knowledge of how dickish it is to be one of those elitists who say they only enjoy "foreign films" and listen to a victrola instead of "CDs". whatever, fuck those pricks. but this show is cool and it brings me to my point, which is that I think Radiohead is the greatest band of my generation.

Now this sort of thing is obviously purely subjective and arguing about who the greatest band of all time is is about as fun as finishing a dump and realizing that you have nothing to wipe with (the other day I seriously considered taking my sock off and using it). But for me, growing up listening to music during my formative years (90's thru today), Radiohead stands out in my mind. They came along during the grunge years with "Creep", a song i certainly could identify with as a gangly youngster ("i want you to notice/when im not around/you're so fucking special/i wish i was special").

Some bands got stuck in that era and never evolved (where are you now Bush....o yeah, fucking Gwen Stefani...respect), but Radiohead, like any great band made the music that they wanted to and didn't follow trends. They set them. And they have always been a thorn in the side of major record labels. Their recent release of In Rainbows online, for free, is a testament to their commitment to music itself. It also doesn't hurt that they're already super rich and didn't exactly need the money. However, every one of their albums sounds like Radiohead and no other band, and thats why I think they're great. Look at it like this - when you're old and someone asks you what music was like when you were growing up, what are you going to say? I'm proud to say that I was/am around to experience a band like Radiohead in their peak years and I can only hope that I get to see them live at some point in my life.

Above is them performing "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" on the Jools Holland show last night. Notice they pan to Cat Power in the audience. Shes amazing both as a physical specimen and as a singer, but thats for another blog. Cheers, and if you dont care about Radiohead and/or think they suck, tough titties.