Watch this, from Saturday Night Live.
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Scathing criticism after the hop.
I submit to you that if you had watched the above video in ignorance of Radiohead, but familiar with SNL and aware that this was excerpted from the show, you would have thought, for the first minute or two, that a skit was starting about a band that completely lacked talent.
Is Radiohead running some kind of sonic masochism club? (That would be a cool name for a band, by the way.) I don't think that's quite it.
Some bands, when they make music that no one enjoys, have the excuse that they have no talent. What's Radiohead's excuse? It's my belief that this a social critique or experiment, cleverly designed to expose what we'll do to fit in or feel superior to those around us. With Britney Spears, those listening can honestly say they enjoy the music (and yes, I do hesitate to use that word to describe the sounds she sells). Radiohead offers their fans the converse of what Britney Spears offers hers: no enjoyment, but you can feel proud of what you tell other people you listen to. They may not like it, but they're terrified to criticize it because they're almost sure they don't understand it. And those who want others to know/believe that they're Radiohead fans, but are unwilling to shell out for concert tickets, or to pay an astronomical price for In Rainbows, heaven help you. Radiohead offers you a promotion in the pecking order of the supercilious, and the more you pay, the higher your rank. If you want to enjoy life, and in fact if you want to be a mentally, emotionally, and socially healthy person, I recommend avoiding that lifestyle entirely. Go ahead and listen to Britney Spears, if you like.
Embed fail.
ReplyDeleteEven without the video, I can easily believe in the pretentiousness and worthlessness of Radiohead's music. Though, I would not suggest to anyone that they ought to listen to Britney Spears.
The exact same embed code works just fine elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout that now.
ReplyDelete