Wednesday, January 24, 2018


Here's where I ruin that Radiohead song everyone likes

When I was a kid, I had to go to my friend's house to watch MTV because my family didn't have cable. I was a jealous friend. When I was 14, we moved to Orange County, and the HOA wouldn't allow antennae, which meant we had to get cable. And it happened to be the greatest years in MTV history.

In the early and mid-90's, the music world was a filled with great acts like Nirvana, Bon Jovi, Dr. Dre, 2 pac, Cypress Hill, Radiohead. And some of the best work from your favorite 80's stars like Madonna, Janet Jackson came out at that time. Everyone was making music videos, and they were cool as hell.

Radiohead came out with their first album, Pablo Honey. Four guitar players in a band? Why not! That guitar pound like a shotgun cocking to introduce the chorus of Creep was a wakeup call. Radiohead really stood out in the giant wave of alternative rock, and they'd go on to evolve and grow as I did through those formative years.

But Creep is so great because who hasn't felt like they "don't belong here"? It's a unique theme for a pop song but immediately accessible to everyone. And haven't you thought someone else was so perfect that you're ugly and unworthy by comparison? Well, Thom Yorke obviously has.

Much later I got off a train in Prague. A guy with a car said he ran a little hotel called Prague Lion and would give us a ride into town if we just checked out the hotel. I rode in front and Kid A was playing on his CD player. He'd gotten the album that day and was stoked. We ended up staying at his hotel and having a crazy adventure in the Czech Republic filled with absinth, running from the law, and an insane ossuary. But that's another story.

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