Given that I am and have always been a fan of indie and alt-rock, I know that I’m supposed to like Radiohead. And so I’ve tried - I really have! I’ve been open-minded, making every effort to like them. I’ve even persevered giving Radiohead a good three decades to win me over. But when it comes right down to it, I still hate their music. Yes, I know. ‘Paranoid android’ is cool. And “Fake Plastic Trees” is pretty great, but that’s pretty much it really.
Thom Yorke has always bothered me. I thought he was weird back in the 90s, and I still think he’s weird now although I do admit a spotty adolescent is more likely to be impressed by Yorke’s soul-sucking neoliberalism than I am! I generally don’t mind electronic or even prog’ bands with an art school influence, Radiohead though can feel like a dead end amid the tributaries of its various influences. For whatever reason, I can’t stand them. The closest I’ve really come to liking a Radiohead song is The Pretenders version of ‘Creep’ where Chrissie Hynde absolutely nails the track in a way Radiohead never did.
As a big music fan and collector I’ve been bombarded with 30 years of critical and fan acclaim for Radiohead. I don't mean to take away from their artistry because there is no doubt that they are a talented group of guys, but I just don't like them. I can only gather that there’s something wrong with me, or maybe there’s something there that I’ve yet to get. Or is it just a case of it’s not them, it’s me? If you’re a Radiohead fan reading this, congratulations on being way, way smarter than the rest of us simpletons who just want to listen to a song with a good hook or a beat that isn’t in some weirdo 179/4.26 time signature. For me though, the map of my personal tastes has a Radiohead-shaped blank space in one corner, coated with some kind of space-age non-stick material that keeps me from liking them.
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