276. Radiohead, "The Bends"

 

It may be hard to remember now, what with Radiohead being the premiere avant-rock band in the world and Thom Yorke doing whatever the fuck it is he does, but they used to be an indie rock band, albeit a very good one, and this album was their last in that incarnation.  Which is to say, it's a very good indie rock album, the last one Radiohead would ever make.

I say it's a very good album because of all the good songs.  "Bones" is one of my faves, an absolute jam where Jonny Greenwood's fuzzed out guitar rides a pumped up bassline and Phil Selway's pounding drums while Yorke absolutely belts an instantly memorable chorus.  It sounds like they spent months on it, and they probably did.  "Black Star" is borderline magical, soft verses that launch into a majestic, anthemic chorus rife with astronomical references ("Blame it on the black star/Blame it on the falling sky/Blame it on the satellite/That beams me home"), a song that seems to be about loving someone who's so troubled (probably mentally ill) that you are forced to leave but can't escape your feelings.  "My Iron Lung," the first single in the UK, is so 90's indie it's practically wearing a striped sailor shirt, with the guitar bouncing between arpeggios and squeals of noise.

Real 90's heads will remember "Fake Plastic Trees" from its cameo in Clueless ("the maudlin music of the university station," lol):

But the centerpiece of the whole album is probably "High and Dry," a quiet-ish song, driven by acoustic guitar and Yorke's borderline falsetto, keening chorus.  H&D also features one of the best videos ever made, a clip I was absolutely obsessed with.  It's like an inexplicable mini-Tarantino movie, but not as annoying:

I had somehow taped this from MTV and watched it repeatedly.  That's how you used to get music videos - wait until it came on MTV and then hit "Record" on your VCR.  Wild.

This album came out in 1995.  Radiohead's next album, in 1997, was OK Computer and I remember getting it and going "whaaaa...?"  It was not like this.  Sure, it has become one of the Most Important Albums Ever (and I know it will be much much higher on this list) but I miss this Radiohead, the one that wrote these great, hooky melodies and songs.  Ah well.  

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? I was going back and forth on this.  I know I love this album, but is it really one of the Top 500, or just a very good 90's indie rock album?  I ended up deciding that yes, it's a Top 500.  So yes.