no but seriously guys, parachute is a good album.

If they're easily the best band of our time, why was the conversation so lengthy?

I suppose you don't have to do anything, but saying Radiohead isn't one of the greatest bands of this generation or the Beatles aren't one of the greatest bands of all time is just burying your head in the sand and would result in many people thinking you have no clue when it comes to music.

when i say greatest, I'm mostly talking about a combination of their overall contribution to music (being revolutionary, unique, etc.), being well received by people who know music, drawing a large audience, staying power, etc.

omar - I can not honestly say that though. I do think they are bad. Sorry.

ao - When I tried to explain before why I didn't think RH was good people accused me of trolling (including you I think). I mean, you're "honestly confused" implies that you are interested in learning why I don't think they are good. But every time I use an insulting word about them it becomes a matter of me trolling the thread. It's actually why I've been pretty reserved in this thread on my opinion of them in the last several posts (believe it or not)....just an effort to keep the discussion civil.

i dont like radiohead but cant really come up with a band who i think are the best band of our time. All bands eventually put out dirge and ruin their reputation. At least Radiohead seem to never let down the majority of their fans and continue to innovate and be relevant aswell as being the most critically acclaimed band of this generation(no contest). They also deserve a lot of credit for changing style so drastically while retaining and maybe even increasing the size of their fanbase. So even though i dont like them i find it hard to argue with the OP.

Yes, that's what I think as well.

I hear their music and do not think it is revolutionary or unique. Sorry. I just don't think they invented this stuff nor do I think they do what they do very well at all (except for maybe the last few songs of The Bends which I think are done well...partly because the singer doesn't kill it. still wouldn't put a revolutionary tag on it though).

I said stuff like that before and then was told "but you have to think this" again and then I get told that I'm trolling. We've been going around in circles.

Obviously they have a large following and are darlings of the music rags, etc and draw large audiences.

disclaimer: i am not a radiohead fan and i don't own a single one of their albums.

microbob, you are really trolling this thread pretty hard. ok, so you don't like their music. but when you keep saying they're bad, that's not just a matter of taste. ham on rye and other posters itt have done a good job informing you of the fact that, by just about every objective measure--proficiency, longevity, influence, range of output, etc--they are an excellent rock band.

yet you insist on going beyond the subjective "i don't like them," to say that "they are bad." justify that claim. define "bad." you say you're not trolling but i haven't seen you say anything substantive, or that doesn't boil down to "i don't like it."

I do think mozart is bad. Sorry.

I hear his music and do not think it is revolutionary or unique. Sorry. I just don't think he invented this stuff nor do I think he does what he does very well at all (except for maybe the requiem which I think is done well...partly because he died before completing it. still wouldn't put a revolutionary tag on it though).

I said stuff like that before and then was told "but you have to think this" again and then I get told that I'm trolling. We've been going around in circles.

Obviously he has a large following and is a darling of the music rags, etc and draws large audiences.

Tom Morello says whats up

The fact that noone has managed to suggest an alternative that more than one or two people in this thread can agree with is pretty telling.

it kind of looked like bob was defending himself -- but I was high

This is not the same at all.

If this was a thread claiming Bush was the best choice for president there would be many posters agreeing on a better choice. He barely won both his elections!

I think this is key.

Obviously a lot of people do not like Radiohead, but there is probably not any band that would get such a large percentage of the population to vote for them as the best band of our time.

The fact that so many people have said they are not Radiohead fans, yet still appreciate their talent and cannot think of a better candidate pretty much closes the argument imo.

Radiohead were the dogs bollocks up until Kid A and most of their stuff hereafter, at which point they dissappeared up their own arses.

As for an alternative - When MUSE first came on the scene they were accused unfairly of being a Radiohead clone but in my opinion they've stood the test of time and surpassed Radiohead in terms of originality and sheer entertainment.

In fact, its about 13 years since Radiohead and entertainment could be used in the same sentence.

Grunching and not sure why I'm bothering to post in one of these threads, but Nirvana is the best/greatest/most influential band post 1990, ainec. Radiohead is a very good, very ambitious band (who I don't like to listen to very much), but they're not within a mile of Nirvana when you're talking about influence and place in the history books.

If "our time" is in the last, say, ten years, then I guess it would have to be Radiohead, not sure who else it could be.

Nirvana may be the most influential band of the 90's, but they are hardly the best or greatest at anything.

so in your opinion you think the existence of 50 albums "as good" as Kid A is a "sad indictment on the music of the last decade"?

does not compute

not really, it just means Radiohead fans are focusing on this thread imo.

Flaming Lips > Radio Head imo.

(Musically and terms of innovation, no way as big/longevity though as are not as commercial)

I think In Rainbows tipped the scales to making them the best. In Rainbows is simply amazing. Saw them live once and it was amazing. I hope they follow up In Rainbows with another epic album.

I would never say that about Mozart. Comparing Mozart to Radiohead (much less anything I've said about Radiohead) is pretty LOL-worthy.

I think you aren't going to listen to my arguments on Radiohead anyway.

Lately I've just tried to be polite about the whole deal in my last several posts. I feel like I'm essentially being told to stop insulting them AND give more detail about why I think they suck all that same time. I'm not really sure how to do that.

This could not be more wrong. People have suggested a crapton of other bands in this thread, to name a random and credible half dozen: Pearl Jam, Metallica, The Who, R.E.M., White Stripes.

The pole in this thread also doesn't count for ****. Every single mother****in' Radiohead lover is going to come into this thread and vote yes, whereas lots of indifferent people are just going to shrug and move along.

Bottom line, it's moronic to claim a "best" band when the criteria is so subjective (and ephemeral). Most in this thread will agree that Radiohead is great (except Microbob LDO), so how about we just retitle this thread "Radiohead Rulz!" and then let it die.

FWIW, if the thread had been titled "Radiohead Rulz!" I never would have opened it much less posted in it. I would have respected that it's just a bunch of RH fan-bois getting together to talk about a band they really dig. I think "best of our time" is making a more direct claim as to their place in history and was not isolated to just RH fans only.

I already made the point that a lot of people in this thread, including myself, agree with the choice of Radiohead despite either not being a big fan, or not liking them at all.

Nobody who isn't a big fan of the bands you mentioned would consider them to be the greatest of recent times.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious that this topic will always be slightly subjective. However, in choosing Radiohead I'm being as objective as I possibly can since they are neither my favourite band or the live performance I've had the most fun watching.