Happy Kid A Day
It was 9 years ago today (Oct 2) that an album changed my life. I was in college at the time, and having grown up on a diet of mostly Christian rock and Oldies, I had no acquaintance with Radiohead. I was up visiting my friend Topher who lived on the dorm floor above me, and he had just returned from purchasing Kid A. I remember the peaked curiosity followed by the listening ecstasy that accompanied hearing the first few chords of “Everything in it’s Right Place.” It was love at first sight and there’s been no turning back since. This album is phenomenal. Everyone always mentions the titillating electronics as the groundbreaking drawing factor, but for me it’s the band’s use of conventional instrumentation within that electronic frame that seals the deal. The angry horns in “The National Anthem”, the driving bass line that arrives at the end of the title track, and the chugging guitar in “Optimistic”–these are the things that remind you why this is a rock album and not a pop album.
Do yourself a favor and put this on tonight–real loud–and celebrate one of the defining albums, nay one of the defining moments (all 50 minutes of it), in rock and roll.
