This Isn't Happening

Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Beginning of the 21st Century

De: Steven Hyden

Narrado por: Angelo Di Loreto

THE MAKING AND MEANING OF RADIOHEAD'S GROUNDBREAKING, CONTROVERSIAL, EPOCHDEFINING ALBUM, KID A.

In 1999, as the end of an old century loomed, five musicians entered a recording studio in Paris without a deadline. Their band was widely recognized as the best and most forward-thinking in rock, a rarefied status granting them the time, money, and space to make a masterpiece. But Radiohead didn't want to make another rock record. Instead, they set out to create the future.

For more than a year, they battled writer's block, intra-band disagreements, and crippling self-doubt. In the end, however, they produced an album that was not only a complete departure from their prior guitar-based rock sound, it was the sound of a new era-and it embodied widespread changes catalyzed by emerging technologies just beginning to take hold of the culture. What they created was Kid A.

Upon its release in 2000, Radiohead's fourth album divided critics. Some called it an instant classic; others, such as the UK music magazine Melody Maker, deemed it "tubby, ostentatious, self-congratulatory... whiny old rubbish." But two decades later, Kid A sounds like nothing less than an overture for the chaos and confusion of the twenty-first century.

Acclaimed rock critic Steven Hyden digs deep into the songs, history, legacy, and mystique of Kid A, outlining the album's pervasive influence and impact on culture in time for its twentieth anniversary in 2020. Deploying a mix of criticism, journalism, and personal memoir, Hyden skillfully revisits this enigmatic, alluring LP and investigates the many ways in which Kid A shaped and foreshadowed our world.

Reseñas de la Crítica

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"This Isn't Happening not only is an excellent way to revisit Kid A but also a springboard for thinking about the shifting fortunes of rock music, the Internet, and the uneasy century we've been living in for the past 20 years."—Ezra Koenig of VampireWeekend

"If there was ever an album that deserves a book-length exegesis, it's Kid A, and there's no one better than Steven Hyden to unpack its mythologies and prophecies, and the extraordinary way it appeared to set the stage for the century that followed. This Isn't Happening is a smart, riveting, and dynamic history of a watershed moment for both music and the world."—Amanda Petrusich, author of Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World'sRarest 78rpm Records

"Even if you've immersed yourself in Kid A thousands of times, Steven Hyden's passionately argued and kaleidoscopic This Isn't Happening will make you rethink and reimagine Radiohead's most audacious album and its place in cultural history--and history itself."—David Browne, author, Dream Brother: The Livesand Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley andCrosby, Stills, Nash and Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's GreatestSupergroup

"Radiohead, music, and culture all stood at a crossroads in the year 2000. With insight and grace, Steven Hyden explores the ways in which the Kid A album pointed toward a future that no one could fully imagine--and captured a moment that, two decades later, we're still trying to comprehend."—Alan Light, author of The Holy or theBroken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of"Hallelujah" and host of "Debatable" on SiriusXM

"This Isn't Happening is beyond a mere analysis of Kid A. It is a vast and contextual examination of the world, both inside and outside of Radiohead, leading up to and flowing away from the creation of Kid A and its impact on both the band and culture as a whole. Connecting the record to film, politics, current events, and the cultural morass that comprised the final moments of the '90s, Steven Hyden gleefully and with meticulous absurdity dissects, deconstructs, and decodes the first great artistic enigma of the new millennium."—Alex Ross Perry,writer/director of Her Smell, Listen Up Philip, and TheColor Wheel

"[Hyden is] one of America's foremost rock critics."

—Wall Street Journal

"This Isn't Happening is a foundational text for understanding a difficult, prophetic album, and an addictive read for any fan of Radiohead."—Buzzfeed

Interesting Listen

Overall I enjoyed it. It's true that he meanders a bit but afterall it is called "Kid A AND The Beginning of the 21st Century" so it's not supposed to just be about Kid A. It also helps to set the mood of the time period. Those of us of a certain age remember the "Hipster v. Nu Metal" Wars of the early 2000's so bringing it up enhances the experience. Sure 9/11's effect on media is overdone but it's overdone precisely because it had a huge impact.

My main criticism is that the author often comes off as overly cynical of the present, (especially the present internet), but maybe that's because I'm a couple of years younger than he is so it was there a little earlier in my life and I acclimated to it quicker. Still, overall I thought it was worth the listen as a big fan of this album.

I Love Radiohead, but geesh

I thought the author went a little too far out in the deep end about this record. Injecting way too much politics and BS into a rock bands recording and relevance to social issues. I bought this because I love talking about music, and Radiohead is a great band, But all the political Rants made this a very irritating listen.

Entertaining journey into an all-time album

I love Hyden's writing style. He mixes well-researched factual information with a wonderful narrative that ties it all together.

Even diehard Radiohead fans will learn a lot from this book.

Can't recommend it enough!

Fantastic

Loved the book. The narration is great. Lots of great Radiohead info and stories of other bands and stuff from around the release of Kid a in 2000.

It’s interesting history and perspectice

I really enjoy the author’s story and perspective through from the 80s to the 2010s and how the internet affected the world politically, sometimes the author gets a little preachy and sluggish with his opinions of the internet, especially in the middle. I enjoyed the book especially the beginning and the end was so cozy on how Radiohead and the rock genre changed overtime. its a good book and has soul in it

Another great book by Steven Hyden!

If you were around in 2000 and remember Kid A (loved it or hated it) this is a must listen. I only wish Steven read it himself.

Amazing read but…

My goosebumps had goosebumps getting immersed in this book. The adrenaline rushes that the author created by tapping into my memories of the absolutely mind-blowing shows I saw with my friends in the early 00’s brought me to the verge of tears on multiple occasions. But to find out basically at the end of the book that the author never saw a single show during these years and only finally got around to seeing Radiohead once their live performances had taken a dramatic tumble downhill cheapened the entire read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and thought the author did a top notch job tapping into everything we the listeners were feeling at the time. But to have never seen it first person? And to wait until the very end of the book to tell the reader? Left a bad taste in my mouth.

True Love Reads

50% really good graduate level research paper/50%?decent opinion piece by a fan of the band. If you are a long-time Radiohead fan, you probably won’t learn anything new of any real import. It was worth listening to, I suppose.

Sucking a Lemon

I’m not sure what I was expecting. I love Radiohead. I’ve got Radiohead tattoos. I’m of the limited view that Kid A isn’t even a top 3 Radiohead record (that’d be Ok, Rainbows and Amnesiac. With enough drinks in me I could argue HTTT and Bends are better records also).

I was hoping that something here would change my mind. If anything I left more entrenched. It is perfectly serviceable nostalgia for those of us of a certain vintage, however. In that spirit it’s on point.

Fantastic Read

This was a great view into the creation of Kid A! I loved the humor, stories and pre and post Kid A history provided!