Album of the Week: Radiohead - "The Bends"

Rating: 9.6/10

In case it wasn't already clear,  Radiohead are my favorite band. From the overly-maligned Pablo Honey to the band's most recent output The King of Limbs, I love it all. Today marks twenty years since the 1995 release of The Bends, Radiohead's first truly Radiohead-y album, the record that began to display their brilliance and which proved that the band's legacy wouldn't be limited to "Creep." The Bends does this by abandoning the grunge approach of their debut for a more agitated and unusual brand of guitar rock. While I still consider OK Computer to be my favorite Radiohead album, I find myself listening to The Bends more often than any other selection from the group's discography. The more straightforward nature of the songs, which still maintain a pop quality to them despite their weirdness, combined with a generally happier tone ("Street Spirit" notwithstanding) make it the perfect combination of Radiohead's eccentricities and listen-ability. 

The two best examples of Radiohead's pop side on The Bends are, fittingly, the album's two biggest hits - "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees." Both lean on acoustic guitar riffs before exploding into something greater, and both show off Thom Yorke's impressive singing ability. "High and Dry," later revealed to be unliked by Radiohead themselves, centers around a simple two-phrase chorus that works its way into your brain immediately, and boasts a guitar solo that pops out of your speakers every time. "Fake Plastic Trees" focuses on Yorke's vocals and acoustic guitar and a lonely Hammond organ (played by guitarist Jonny Greenwood) for the first half of the track. Once Yorke snarls "it wears him," the song erupts for a few brief yet soaring moments, before dying back down, leaving Yorke to wish he "could be who you wanted."

But where The Bends thrives where Pablo Honey came up short is that this record is incredibly diverse, and not directly derivative of any one genre or band. It's hard to believe album opener "Planet Telex" and closer "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" were written by the same artist, let alone included on the same album. The former is a distorted mess of guitars and drums, in the best way possible. "Street Spirit" is a beautifully morose labyrinth of "cracked eggs, dead birds" and death's "beady eyes," telling a tale of absolute despair only Thom Yorke knows how to deliver. In between the album's bookends, "My Iron Lung" features two separate beserk guitar freak=outs, "Sulk" is a subtly harrowing song about the Hungerford massacre, and "Just" showcases Radiohead at their most strum-happy.



While not as paranoid as OK Computer or Hail to the Thief, jarring as Kid A or Amnesiac, or jaw-droppingly gorgeous as In Rainbows, The Bends remains probably the greatest guitar-rock record of the period between Kurt Cobain's death (and grunge's along with it) and OK Computer's tech-rock revolution. Each and every song is vintage Radiohead, and the album as a whole serves as the perfect bridge between the quintet's grunge phase and their highly-celebrated era of oddity. It may not be the most complex output of Radiohead's career, but it just may be the easiest to just pick up and listen to.

Key tracks: "The Bends," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just," "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"

Album of the Week: Kanye West - "The College Dropout" (10th Anniversary)

Rating: 7.8/10

Kanye West. Just reading his name probably conjures up a strong image in your head. You may know him for his numerous critically-acclaimed albums, hit singles, and awards. Or, maybe you know him as an egotistical paparazzi favorite who stole Taylor Swift's thunder at the VMAs and claimed that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Most likely, you know both sides of Kanye; his extreme self-confidence and inflated self-image are part of what drives his music, music that is highly regarded by hip-hop fans and critics alike. Ten years ago this past Monday, the world was first introduced to the crazy mind of Kanye when his debut album, The College Dropout, was released. Few could expect the various twists and turns that his career would take, whether it was the vocoder-laden 808s & Heartbreak or the harsh, audacious Yeezus, on which West could dub himself a deity in the not-so-subtly-titled "I Am a God." The College Dropout was our first taste of what West brought to the table, and it was clear from the start that he was destined for stardom.

The crowning moment of the album, the track that got everybody's attention and started to define West's place in the rap game, was the ominous, marching "Jesus Walks." Excellent use of sampling and superb production only enhance Kanye's poignant lyrics, which were uniquely religious for the time. By boldly embracing Christianity on the song, West took hip-hop to a place where it hadn't been in quite some time, as explained by the second verse; "So here go my single dog radio needs this/They said you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, videotape/But if I talk about God my record won't get played." It's also a monster of a song, with a booming choir and tricky snare roll backing Kanye.

The album, while tackling major themes, also displayed West's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor for the first time. Pretty much the entirety of "The New Workout Plan" is satirical, mocking society's pressure on women to always look their best. The record is littered with small skits in the form of dialogues, all of which are intended to provide comic relief. Some unintentional humor can be found in the now-dated pop culture references, such as West name-dropping Kathie Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin on the aforementioned "Jesus Walks."

Besides fair amounts deep philosophical ideas and funny lyrics, The College Dropout is also chock-full of some great tunes. "Through the Wire" has a great sample, and Kanye impresses with his rapping skills despite having recorded the track with his jaw wired shut after a near-fatal car accident, which is detailed in the song. On "All Falls Down," Syleena Johnson provides a classic early '00's R&B vocal, and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z shows up on "Never Let Me Down" to help West close shop on the track. Other big names contributing solid verses to the record include Common,  Jamie Foxx, and Ludacris.

The College Dropout is undoubtedly one of the top hip-hop albums of the 2000's, and holds its own when held up to the great releases of past decades, too. It remains Kanye's best-selling effort, debuting at #2 in the US  and going double platinum. To some, it may pale in comparison to West's newer works, specifically My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus, but that doesn't make it any less of a great album. Not much could have been known about what the future held for Kanye West after hearing The College Dropout, but one thing was obvious from the get-go: this man was wildly talented, and far from finished.

Album of the Week: Green Day - "Dookie" (20th Anniversary)

Rating: 7.7/10

On this day twenty years ago, the history of 'punk' music changed forever. That's because on that day Green Day's major-label debut, Dookie, was released, and would go on to become a massive commercial success. Riding on the strength of four hit singles and a famous, wild, widely-televised performance at Woodstock '94, it climbed up to #2 on the US charts and launching Green Day's lengthy career as rock radio mainstays. The public viewed it as the first mainstream breakthrough for a 'punk' artist, though members of the subculture swore that Green Day were anything but. While the group certainly had punk roots, as seen in their early outputs, Dookie was a polished and dare I say safe record. While this may sound a bit ridiculous considering the subject matters and crude lyrics featured on the album, the overall sound was not nearly as extreme as that of other DIY-rock. There's still a rebellious spirit to be observed here, pretty much a necessary characteristic of anything 'punk,' but the instrumentation is a little less unruly.

While some punk fans hate Dookie for perhaps being mislabeled and misrepresenting what punk culture is, others dislike the doors it opened for other pseudo-punk bands to hit the airwaves. Following the success of Dookie, bands like The Offspring, No Doubt, and Sublime all started having hit songs, all marketed as being some variation of punk. The blink-182 happened, emo happened, and the Vans Warped Tour happened, and people began declaring that 'punk is dead.' Despite a mid/late-2000's revival populated by groups like Rise Against and Against Me!, and an ongoing resurgence among indie crowds thanks to artists such as Ty Segall, Cloud Nothings, and F***ed Up, many feel that the punk scene will never return to what it once was. And some trace it all back to Dookie. So, needless to say, Green Day's breakout album was and still is a divisive one.

Of course, none of this makes Dookie a bad album by any measure. It certainly didn't sell 20 million copies without the help of some brilliant songwriting. Specifically, the four singles I mentioned earlier are golden, each one remaining in heavy rotation on alternative and rock radio throughout the country. "Longview" became famous for its sleazy bass riff, galloping drum beat, and Billie Joe Armstrong's disaffected vocal. "When I Come Around" contains an excellent guitar riff and is a great example of Green Day's songwriting abilities. "Well, I heard it all before/so don't knock down my door/I'm a loser and a user/so I don't need no accuser to try and slag me down/because I know you're right," Armstrong mumbles over Mike Dirnt's jumpy bass playing.

Green Day's energetic apathy is perhaps best represented by the other two smash hits off Dookie: the resourceful "Welcome to Paradise" and the committedly schizophrenic "Basket Case." The former takes a strong verse and molds it into a fantastic chorus, with Dirnt's backing vocals making the difference. The ambitious instrumental break works wonders, and gives a new appreciation for the band's musicianship. The latter is a three-minute burst of vitality and introspective self-loathing. "Am I just paranoid, or am I just stoned?" asks Armstrong, having already labeled himself "neurotic to the bone" and "one of those melodramatic fools," all within the first 45 seconds of the track. Along with the chorus-opening "sometimes I give myself the creeps," these lyrics are some of the most identifiable from not only Green Day's catalog but also all of mid-'90's rock. Tre Cool's spirited drums and Armstrong's Idol-like sneer make this song what it is, and what it is is a great piece of rock music.

The bulk of the album is made up of short, simpler tracks that tend to meld together, which is why Dookie falls short of being a 'classic' in my book. Probably the only truly great Green Day record besides American Idiot, Dookie was a rare case of a new band who already knew who they were, and where they were headed, and twenty years later, the hits still hold up.

Key Tracks: "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise," "Basket Case," "When I Come Around"