Cast your fears away, it's Bleep Years for another day...
2000: Radiohead's Everything In Its Right Place
Underworld wrote the rulebook rulebook on vocal manipulation and the clever art of repeating words words without it sounding like a pathetic call-and-response. Well. They didn't write the rulebook, but on tracks like Cowgirl, they did it best best.
Johnny Angular-Face's fingering of a Korg Kaoss Pad lent Kid A's Everything In Its Right Place a voice voodoo that was far removed from the band's status as the Greatest Rock Band Ever (copyright Q Magazine 1927). Suddenly, Radiohead were topping Orbital's mouth-manipulating collaborations with Noami Bedford and Goldfrapp.
I remember seeing Kid A live, in which tracks for Amnesiac were also previewed. A bloke did a Noah-esque wee on a tent pole next to me. I also remember seeing Radiohead support James back in the smoky mists of pre-Oasis Manchester, a gig at which I had my first alcoholic drink. I can't remember what the drink was but it was in a bottle and the name, I think, ended in 'Ice'.
Back in 2000, I used to make music without much success. I also had a Kaoss Pad. I seethed with jealousy at the angular bloke manipulating the pad's screen with a poetic dexterity. Still, this track represented a clash of rock and electronic music that hadn't really been properly explored for several years. The opening chord on Everything drops in from some new kind of place, and rock music has been playing catch-up ever since.
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