Album of the Decade: Kid A

Kid A is the most revolutionary album since Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Yes, that statement has strong implications. Much like the NBA trying to find the next Michael Jordan, the comparison to The Beatles’ 1967 album means that greatness necessarily was present in the album. Indeed, Radiohead’s 2000 effort displays a bold vision of musical experimentation and a triumphant defiance of accepted music convention, making it a clear choice for album of the decade.

The risks in this album are enormous but ultimately paid off in the end. Forgoing the rock melodies that made their previous album, OK Computer, a dramatic success, Radiohead embraces the unconventional in Kid A. The album opens with “Everything In Its Right Place”, a mixture of piano and computer sounds, with nonsensically minimal lyrics (e.g. “Yesterday I woke up sucking on a lemon”). But, what the lyrics lack in sense, the music makes up for with power and feeling. Never has there been such a deeply meaningful connection between listener and instruments. The complex rhythms and progressions allow for the listener to become lost in the depravity that is the focus of “Everything In Its Right Place”.

This experimentation continues throughout the album, particularly in songs such as “The National Anthem” and “Idioteque”. It is this experimentation that makes Kid A so unique. At the turn of the millennium, the prevailing trends in music were boy band pop, conventional rock, and the resurrection of rap. Radiohead broke with the prevailing trends in this album. While they could have created another rock album in the vein of OK Computer and it still would have been a hit, the group created one of the most uniquely intricate albums ever.

This defiant experimentation is what should be expected from music as a serious art form. A truly great artist will push past convention and create a masterpiece that will be remembered for generations. There are only a few such artists in any given time. This decade, the one who exemplified that spirit the most was Radiohead.

The Best of the Rest

Honorable Mentions:

• The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem (2000): There has never been, and never will be, a rapper as incendiary as Eminem. In his sophomore effort, Eminem intertwines the struggles of fame with the frustration of the state of popular music at the turn of the millennium. Equal parts comedy (“The Real Slim Shady”) and raw drama (“The Way I Am”), The Marshall Mathers LP, set the standard for rap in the 21^st century that hasn’t been met yet.
• Chinese Democracy, Guns ‘N Roses (2008): The album that is to music what Duke Nuke’em Forever is to videogames (often delayed, G’NR started writing material for the album in 1996 and started recording in 1998). Axl Rose’s magnum opus rocks and it rocks hard, recalling days when rock made no apologies for itself. Fans of power vocals, heavy guitar riffs, and audio clips of Martin Luther King, Jr. speeches (in “Madagascar”) will enjoy this throwback to the days of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. For the sheer magnitude of the project alone, Chinese Democracy deserves some recognition. Thankfully, the music itself is a great listen.
• Paper Trail, T.I. (2008): Recorded as he was anticipating trial and sentencing on weapons charges, T.I. provided the decade’s party anthem (“Live Your Life”) while appearing equally contrite and non-remorseful for legal woes. A deep display of human emotion and the best collaborative rap effort of the decade (“Swagga Like Us”) make Paper Trail and easy recommendation.
• Speakerboxx/The Love Below, OutKast (2004): The Grammy for Album of the Year went to this double album, and for once the Academy got it right. Each disc has a unique focus: Big Boi’s Speakerboxx is a traditional southern rap album, while Andre 3000’s The Love Below explores the ways which hip-hop, funk, and R&B come together. Each stand alone on its own merits, but combined make for one enjoyable listening experience.

The discussion doesn’t end here. Respond to Matt in the comments or on twitter (www.twitter.com/lamagnam or www.twitter.com/entertainium). The next installment of The Best of the Decade will run on Sunday, November 29^th with television in review.