Best Decade Tournament - 90s - Numbers wins!

[LetMeSleep]

It's probably commute time for Varis. Or family time. This whole thing could take weeks.

[Heathen]

It's probably commute time for Varis. Or family time. This whole thing could take weeks.

Time limit should be 1 hour.

[William Bloke]

Sorry, just home.

Numbers takes Breeders - Cannonball



Great pick to, was on my list.

[William Bloke]

It's probably commute time for Varis. Or family time. This whole thing could take weeks.

Time limit should be 1 hour.

Not an altogether terrible idea there.

[stip]

I'm in firm agreement with Lament's general point but, yes, I think Kid A was Radiohead's first really good album.

I am as well, but this is also the decade where the majority of the board cut their musical teeth, and mostly with the same bands, and so I think it seems pretty appropriate for a few of those bands to dominate.

[LetMeSleep]

I'm watching you, Varis.

[stip]

Radiohead on the other hand - it wasn't till around 2000 when Kid A came out that I really started paying attention to them.

I'm gonna get blasted for this I'm sure, but I was beyond disappointed with Kid A when it came out. I found it to be a really boring retread of what artists like Massive Attack and Tricky and Portishead had spent most of the 90s doing. But because it was from "ROCK'S GREAT HOPE" everybody acted like it was the greatest thing ever. I found the whole Kid A "experience" to be really off-putting. Thom Yorke was in every fucking major music magazine giving promotional interviews about how he wasn't promoting anything. "We're not doing videos but here are mini-videos for every single song!" "No tours. Just two VIP/Celebrity/Press packed megashows in LA and NY that will be reported on like the second coming of Christ."

It just all seemed so fake and hypocritical, especially since at the time my line of thought was "Y'know, you can always just stop doing promo and press. I mean, Pearl Jam did just that a few years ago, and they were in a position of far more power and popularity." But whereas Ed got criticized back then for being whiny and ungrateful, Thom was praised for all of the "statements" he was making about the industry.

And then the album came out. And there was nothing exciting or groundbreaking or even all that interesting about it. But the world at large had decided it was a classic before it even came out, so there was no point in having a dissenting opinion. It was the same month Stankonia and Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea came out, so Kid A was out of my rotation pretty fast. When Amnesiac came out I gave Kid A a second chance, and found I liked a few songs, as I did with Amnesiac as well. But I just didn't care anymore. When Hail to the Thief came out, I thought it was terrible. I'll still give their new albums a listen, but again and again I just don't give a fuck. I still love the first three records though, and a lot of the non-album stuff from those eras as well.


99% of people here will disagree with me, but I don't really care. In my mind Radiohead has been running a smoke and mirrors scam for almost fifteen years now. It's like some kind of amazing "Emperor's New Clothes" act that I've just stopped trying to understand.

I've used that exact same emperor's new clothes line to describe Kid A on this very board. As you can imagine, it meant with wide agreement.

[ABNorman]

Idioteque would be in my top 10 songs of the 00's, but OK Computer and The Bends are pretty much the only Radiohead albums that get regular play from me. I like the others, just not in a "I really need to listen to this right now" kinda way.

[Theodore Bundy]

Pearl Jam - Alive

[PryTo]

99% of people here will disagree with me, but I don't really care. In my mind Radiohead has been running a smoke and mirrors scam for almost fifteen years now. It's like some kind of amazing "Emperor's New Clothes" act that I've just stopped trying to understand.

Consider me part of the 1%, although I think the "show" has gone on longer than 15 years. I've only heard a couple of things from Rhead that ever did anything for me, and even those songs were just so-so. They've always struck me as a band that was cool to say you liked more than a band that actually had, you know, good songs and stuff. I realize my opinion will not win me any accolades. And to be fair, their stuff has done so little for me that I've never really bothered to dig very deeply. But I've listened to some of what are considered to be their masterpieces and always been kind of meh.

[LetMeSleep]

I kinda love that Ted Bundy chose Alive.

[Birds in Hell]

For what it's worth, I was never a Radiohead fan until around two or three years ago (give or take - perhaps a bit more) when I decided to investigate their catalogue further; as such, my elevation of Kid A and Amnesiac above their (in my opinion, fairly unremarkable) earlier work is entirely removed from whatever cachet they held at the time.

That said, I think In Rainbows is definitely their best record. I don't much care for Hail to the Thief, though it certainly has a few standout moments.

[bada]

I was a huge Radiohead fan in the 90s but started losing interest when Kid A came out. I still enjoyed some of their post a OK Computer stuff but it wasn't the same.

Numbers took my next song.

[numbers]

Wow this thing moved along with a quickness. Thanks Varis.

[Brett]

Tortoise - "Djed"

I knew some of you would go for the obscure vote, but this one is just OUT THERE! I listened to it, I liked it... I mean, it's good for meditating, having on during dinner, maybe even a light jog. But top 10 material, for the entire decade? Must have special meaning, sentimental value, or something... ya know, SOMETHING!

I'm definitely doing this on the premise that this is my top ten, not a general consensus. Tortoise is one of my favorite bands, and their best albums came out in the '90s, so they had to be included. I considered going with "I Set My Face to the Hillside," as that's my favorite Tortoise song, but I felt "Djed" has more of an impact and would make a better statement, hence why I led with it out of the gate. That, and once Heathen joined this thing, I knew I would have to make sure I front-loaded some of the best stuff, so I wouldn't lose out entirely.

Agreed. I think there should be something in the rules to force Brett to pick something by Soundgarden or Tool.

There really should be. Every child needs structure, and without it, I'm just going to keep running around willy-nilly picking songs that define the '90s for me, but nobody else.

[Birds in Hell]

Did someone PM Big Red Ledbetter?

[stip]

Not I. Will be home in 30 and update

[Kaius]

I'm in firm agreement with Lament's general point but, yes, I think Kid A was Radiohead's first really good album.

How does it go....oh yeah!

You spelled OK Computer wrong.

And Hail to the Thief would be runner up.

[epilogue]

Sorry, just home.

Numbers takes Breeders - Cannonball



Great pick to, was on my list.

God, mick just fucking gets it!

Excellent pick.

[numbers]

I'm in firm agreement with Lament's general point but, yes, I think Kid A was Radiohead's first really good album.

How does it go....oh yeah!

You spelled OK Computer wrong.

And Hail to the Thief would be runner up.

I like In Rainbows more than Kid A