This album came out when I was 17 and immersed in Dylan and convinced nothing good could come outside of Bob -- bought the CD and knew optimism for the tail end of 90’s music. I was wrong about that, but this is still one of the greatest albums ever.
I appreciate the appreciation, but I'm not quite convinced. I don't agree that Pablo Honey is an extremely bad album. "Creep" is not one of their best songs, but I think pretty much everyone agrees with that by now, and "insufferable" goes much too far. Like most teen angst classics, e.g. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (which however is a much better song), it's a delicate mixture of the heartfelt and the ironic / deadpan, not just unironically "whiny." And it's not even one of the best early Radiohead songs, there are others which are much better, e.g. "Anyone Can Play Guitar," "Stop Whispering," "Blow Out," many of the early B-sides ("Killer Cars"), etc. Pablo Honey is not a terrible album, and OK Computer is not flawless. The defense of "Fitter Happier," pretentious filler if ever there was such, as "not a great song, but a great vibe" is bizarre. "Exit Music (For A Film)" is not a moving love song, rather it's really overrated and kitschily annoying, much more so than "Creep." A sentimental cliche which takes itself much too seriously (more than "Creep" does) and lacks any of the humour which offset the plaintiveness/melancholy in most of Radiohead (e.g. "Paranoid Android," "Karma Police," pretty much every song on The Bends). The absence of humour in "No Surprises" makes it a bit tiresome after a while. OK Computer is still an amazingly good album, of course, but I would argue that The Bends is more consistent, because it takes itself a little less seriously.
This album came out when I was 17 and immersed in Dylan and convinced nothing good could come outside of Bob -- bought the CD and knew optimism for the tail end of 90’s music. I was wrong about that, but this is still one of the greatest albums ever.
Yes!
YES! I love this album too. Time to give it a spin.
I had my face all ascrew during the first few paragraphs expecting you to make the case for Infinite Jest. Dodged a bullet.
I appreciate the appreciation, but I'm not quite convinced. I don't agree that Pablo Honey is an extremely bad album. "Creep" is not one of their best songs, but I think pretty much everyone agrees with that by now, and "insufferable" goes much too far. Like most teen angst classics, e.g. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (which however is a much better song), it's a delicate mixture of the heartfelt and the ironic / deadpan, not just unironically "whiny." And it's not even one of the best early Radiohead songs, there are others which are much better, e.g. "Anyone Can Play Guitar," "Stop Whispering," "Blow Out," many of the early B-sides ("Killer Cars"), etc. Pablo Honey is not a terrible album, and OK Computer is not flawless. The defense of "Fitter Happier," pretentious filler if ever there was such, as "not a great song, but a great vibe" is bizarre. "Exit Music (For A Film)" is not a moving love song, rather it's really overrated and kitschily annoying, much more so than "Creep." A sentimental cliche which takes itself much too seriously (more than "Creep" does) and lacks any of the humour which offset the plaintiveness/melancholy in most of Radiohead (e.g. "Paranoid Android," "Karma Police," pretty much every song on The Bends). The absence of humour in "No Surprises" makes it a bit tiresome after a while. OK Computer is still an amazingly good album, of course, but I would argue that The Bends is more consistent, because it takes itself a little less seriously.