Radiohead's Amnesiac Turns 20
Less than a year after their game changing Kid A, Radiohead returned with more electronic wonders.
Kid B. The follow-up to Radiohead’s instant classic, turn of the century album never stood the chance of following the hype of its predecessor, but the record still holds its own in terms of early millennia staples. By now, there isn’t much left to say when it comes to Radiohead’s fifth record, but it’s still worth celebrating everything Amnesiac achieved for the band. The mix of ballads, some of their most experimental works, and a slight rocker, all give it valued context amongst their discography. It’s not Radiohead at their best, but it’s a record that holds a special place for so many.
Recorded in the same sessions that gave way to the transcendental Kid A, Amnesiac was the “out there” album that proved that even in their most experimental mind set, Radiohead were still capable of making music that would reach people beyond their most die-hard set of fans. Nothing on this album would fit as a stadium rocker nor a radio hit, but somehow, Radiohead remained on top of their game and furthered their status of a band that could cater to their most loyal and still attract those willing to venture past their usual limits. “Knives Out” is a solid jam, but getting anyone into “Dollars and Cents” still feels like an extreme chore and one I’ve failed at for two decades.
In the years that followed the album’s release, nothing about Amnesiac seemed destined for fame even as the group continued to climb the ranks of modern day rock titans and headline festivals around the world. The songs on Amnesiac are weird, even by Radiohead standards. “You and Whose Army” isn’t a song for the masses, but to experience them play it live, might make you suddenly shift your opinion. Either that or you’ll perhaps feel like you’ve joined a cult. Kid A put the group on a pedestal, but their unwillingness to conform helped set them apart from other rock and Brit-Pop acts that dominated the landscape and from this point on, they became the Pink Floyd of their generation. A band willing to experiment with psych and prog and still find common ground with their fans.
On August 8, 2008, Radiohead headlined the first of three nights at All Points West, a festival from the people behind Coachella that took place in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park. It was better than expected for a festival in a random location that was more about the setting than any logistical dream, but it failed to turn into something profitable and will probably be best remembered for its inaugural year which featured the band touring behind In Rainbows for the first time in NYC.
Personally, this remains a special time because it was also the day of my teenage years and shortly after the band’s set, I’d turn twenty. After a stellar performance on the opening night that spanned their greatest hits, the band came back for an encore and introduced Amnesiac’s “Pyramid Song” with the following: “New York and New Jersey, this song is dedicated to our extremely hectic city and those moments when you try and find some peace.” As soon as Thom rang out the piano notes to intro the song, a subtle calm fell over the crowd and for the duration of the track, it seemed as if nothing else mattered. Now, it’s impossible for me to hear this song and not instantly float back to that moment in time.
Kid A has been regarded as an album that changed history and ushered in a new wave of music in the new millennium, but Amnesiac continued the wave of impact set forth by its sibling and to this day upholds the experimental side of one of the last major bands in popular music.
There is something about experiencing music out in the world, how it changed the way you hear and remember a song, and on that night, Radiohead achieved that special moment. Now, 20 years after the release of the album and over a decade since that night, the feelings and emotions still come back when I hear the song and am transported back to that moment.
Amnesiac doesn’t get the heavy plays from me the way The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows do, but every time I decide to throw it on my turntable, I’m wildly pleased with the dense electronics and can digest them in the context of an album. “I Might Be Wrong” is a track that I usually forget until it comes on in sequence, and I’m floored every time it does. Still the ending combo of “Like Spinning Plates” and “Life in a Glasshouse” which shake me to my core. These aren’t songs that they typically fit into set lists these days (although I did catch the first one at MSG back in 2018), but to me, they’re two of the band’s most symbolic moments. It’s when they truly pushed themselves to their furthest sonic templates. Beyond rock, electronic, and anything else, they finally dabbled in jazz that sounded brilliant and uniquely them. The biggest band in the world dropping a clarinet solo onto a record and having it pay off with extreme visionary wonder isn’t something we’re likely to see ever again.