Is Kid A post-rock?

Is Kid A post-rock?

Somewhat. Treefingers and The National Anthem have traces.

>make a rock album
>make a different album
obviously post rock

Kid A is a pop version of post-rock

Only Optimistic has a conventional rock song structure, and the sound changes a lot throughout the album, it's not that different from Talk Talk's ideas, for example. If we don't mean post-rock as strictly crescendo-core than it pretty much qualifies as post-rock.

Nothing really "pop"-like about this album, but okay. It might be well-known on Sup Forums and to some Normies, but there's very little "pop" elements in this.

It has elements of it for sure

Kid A has much more in common to the first-wave, most definitely. It's just that, by 2000, albums like LYSF and Agaertis Byrjun already had shaped post-rock into cinematic-core.

>t might be well-known on Sup Forums and to some Normies
>some
dude when Kid A came out MTV was playing their bullshit 24/7

not that user, but it's pretty pop-like. It rarely strays out of traditional rock/pop harmonies, even if they are more unusual rock/pop harmonies than average. How To Disappear Completely, Idioteque, Optimistic, In Limbo, Morning Bell (5/4 does not a post-rock song make) and Motion Picture Soundtrack are all well within the realm of standard rock/pop/indie or whatever, unless we wanna start calling some Beatles songs post-rock too.

what are you considering conventional rock song structure here? verse/chorus/verse/chorus?

do you even mogwai, faggot?

That's only because of radiohead's previous success. There's no way it would be as popular as it is without that

you're super downplaying how accessible this album is. it's a little bit weirder than adele or whatever, but there's very little that's excessively challenging about it. it's just an alternative rock album with ambient/electronic influence

You're saying that as if being accessible and inventive at the same time isn't possible. They're the most acclaimed alt-rock band for a reason, right?

> verse/chorus/verse/chorus
Yes, I guess the main characteristic of post-rock is the absence of conventional structures and heavy reliance on textures instead of riffs or whatever. Kid A has all of that.

but kid A's textures are still heavily structured. Sure, The National Anthem is more experimental than Creep, but ultimately it's still quite structured. I think this is much closer to pop or rock than it is to post-rock, though there are conventions that Kid A shares with post-rock in general. You can definitely be accessible and inventive at the same time, I just don't think that makes something post-rock. The equation isn't accessible + inventive = post-rock, so even if Kid A is both of those things, that doesn't necessarily make it a post-rock album anymore than the fuzz at the beginning of Little Faith makes that a post-rock song.

>That's only because of radiohead's previous success.
>You're saying that as if being accessible and inventive at the same time isn't possible
So which is it? Make up your mind, radioboy.

I guess, but most of the "Pop" elements just seem covered by the Electronic and Ambient atmospheres, and the Rock parts of this album are more Krautrock and Art Rock inspired. And plus, artistically, it's just too esoteric to belong anywhere within the context of Pop; even the most Experimental Beatles records somewhat pale in comparison to this. Of course, there are much more experimental records than this.

Perhaps the amount of Sup Forumscore albums discussed today somewhat negates Kid A's initial experimentation, but compared to albums outside of such a list, this is more along the subtler spectrum of Experimental music. I wouldn't consider it a hugely accessible album, moreso an entry-level one (those terms aren't necessarily interchangeable in some cases).

...

>artistically, it's just too esoteric
lol, what the fuck does this even mean musically.
radiohead fans, man.

It's progressive for a band that plays popular music.

It's popular from the Sup Forums standpoint, but honestly what've been their big hits aside from Creep 25 years ago, which is still most played?

Toxic by Britney Spears is about as experimental as Optimistic, and I wouldn't call it an "entry-level" experimental song. Many songs on this album have pretty traditional melodic structures; they're pop/rock-y in the sense that they're often confined to diatonic tones, especially focused on the pentatonic scale, and they get stuck in your head. Sure, there are elements of Kid A that are more experimental than poppy, but I don't think the former outnumber the latter.

Like there are albums that I play around non-music obsessed friends that they get weird about. Kid A isn't one of them. Age of Adz is a more sonically unusual record than Kid A, and I wouldn't call that post-rock either. I also unironically think there are many Beatles songs that are more experimental than stuff on Kid A, especially for the time. Tomorrow Never Knows is an infinitely more experimental and innovative song than Idioteque, as much as I might love the latter.

they have a ton of popular songs, even if they don't get a fuckton of radio play. Most people under 40 who have a passing interest in music know Paranoid Android, Karma Police, Fake Plastic Trees, High and Dry, and probably No Surprises. If you have more than a passing interest (like you go to shows and glance at year end lists or blogs or whatever) then you've heard the fuck out of 15 Step and Burn the Witch, plus Idioteque, The National Anthem, and I'd wager even Weird Fishes.

Whether or not they are still relevant as a pop hit band doesn't mean they aren't popular. They're one of the most popular bands on the planet.

Kid A was literally the first rock album I ever sought out and listened to and I loved it.