Radiohead

[jeffie]

I love a good tetch - keep it going.....

[Ed209]

Because thats why they have as many fans as they do and not the other rubbish they have produced?, because at a festival its not there fans coming to hear the latest album live? Especially as headliner...

[The Nal]

What are you going on about!? You can't expect every band to just turn up at a festival and whack out a greatest hits set. Its only acts at the arse ends of their careers (e.g. The Stones) or are doing reunion tours (e.g. Blur, Rage) who you might expect that from. Radiohead are not a band who will harbour to half arsed fans who dismiss their (very successful and critically acclaimed) later stuff because it doesn't sound like the bends. What they gave was a good cross-section of their career that of course was weighted slightly in favour of their more recent albums. But they've sold a bucket load of these albums so why would they think the audience wouldn't want to hear them?

They're not a band on the way down, they are still at the peak of their creative output and so have no need to rely on their earlier output. I wouldn't expect that from any band in Radiohead's postition. If you expect greatest hits from every festival headliner you see you're going to have a lot of dissapointing gigs ahead of you.

[LondonTom]

What are you going on about!? You can't expect every band to just turn up at a festival and whack out a greatest hits set. Its only acts at the arse ends of their careers (e.g. The Stones) or are doing reunion tours (e.g. Blur, Rage) who you might expect that from. Radiohead are not a band who will harbour to half arsed fans who dismiss their (very successful and critically acclaimed) later stuff because it doesn't sound like the bends. What they gave was a good cross-section of their career that of course was weighted slightly in favour of their more recent albums. But they've sold a bucket load of these albums so why would they think the audience wouldn't want to hear them?

They're not a band on the way down, they are still at the peak of their creative output and so have no need to rely on their earlier output. I wouldn't expect that from any band in Radiohead's postition. If you expect greatest hits from every festival headliner you see you're going to have a lot of dissapointing gigs ahead of you.

[Ed209]

No I don't expect every band to do it, but radioheads latest stuff is more of an acquired taste and with out the hits before the recent records they wouldn't be as big as they are. I don't think its half arsed fans really, they liked the stuff before and now don't like the drivel the band are now playing, it stands to reason that the majority of people ain't going to enjoy the latter stuff. My point wasn't to discuss whether they were right or not to do that but more as why people didn't enjoy them as much, it just logical reasoning that band like radiohead should played less of the music that as more of an acquired taste as a headline act. Especially with the pop culture at reading/leeds

Edited December 10, 2009 by Ed209

[russycarps]

No I don't expect every band to do it, but radioheads latest stuff is more of an acquired taste and with out the hits before the recent records they wouldn't be as big as they are. I don't think its half arsed fans really, they liked the stuff before and now don't like the drivel the band are now playing, it stands to reason that the majority of people ain't going to enjoy the latter stuff. My point wasn't to discuss whether they were right or not to do that but more as why people didn't enjoy them as much, it just logical reasoning that band like radiohead should played less of the music that as more of an acquired taste as a headline act. Especially with the pop culture at reading/leeds

[Craigston]

I think you'll find the vast majority of people thought the gigs were utterly wonderful.

It is hardly radioheads fault that you and your friends only like pop.

[Toilet Duck]

Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief are both cracking albums...and Amnesiac actually put Kid A in context and made me revisit it after much of it had passed me by initially...I'd have the sets they played the last couple of years over a "hits" heavy set any day. Much of what makes radiohead great onstage is the energy the band themselves feel. If they aren't into it, then it just lacks something and they trot out classics on autopilot. It's obvious the Thom especially is much happier with their current sound and it shows when they play live. Those who are giving out just don't seem to have come to the realisation that they actually don't like Radiohead anymore. And rather than go along and moan about it, why not go and see something you do actually like??

[VCK]

Who cares if someone prefers their earlier stuff to their later stuff? Are we not entitled to think that one era of a band is better than another even if it - shock horror - isn't your favourite era? Surely everyone thinks that any band's set would be better if they played more of their favourite songs?

I wish people would stop getting so wound up just because I commented on how the only "huge" songs they did were Just and Paranoid Android at Leeds. For the record In Rainbows is one of their best albums and I was blown away by their set, but I'd say that Glasto 2003 is a lot more acclaimed than either Reading or Leeds this year, and looking at the setlist I'd say '03 was pretty much a "greatest hits set".

I know some of the die-hard Radiohead fans are a bit uptight but Christ, can a man not say he prefers Paranoid Android to Weird Fishes/Arpeggi?

[scaryclaireyfairy]

fans who are bemoaning the lack of earlier material in sets should have gone to see them when those albums were current. it's not the 90's anymore. things move on.

if you were too young at the time, get the bootlegs.

radiohead have always given around 40% of their setlist to new material. it stands to reason that as the back catalogue grows, the less your chance of hearing your particular favourite songs from 3 or 4 albums ago is.

[Ed209]

Who cares if someone prefers their earlier stuff to their later stuff? Are we not entitled to think that one era of a band is better than another even if it - shock horror - isn't your favourite era? Surely everyone thinks that any band's set would be better if they played more of their favourite songs?

I wish people would stop getting so wound up just because I commented on how the only "huge" songs they did were Just and Paranoid Android at Leeds. For the record In Rainbows is one of their best albums and I was blown away by their set, but I'd say that Glasto 2003 is a lot more acclaimed than either Reading or Leeds this year, and looking at the setlist I'd say '03 was pretty much a "greatest hits set".

I know some of the die-hard Radiohead fans are a bit uptight but Christ, can a man not say he prefers Paranoid Android to Weird Fishes/Arpeggi?

[Craigston]

It is all about opinions: of course you can like one 'era' of a band's records and not another. But to expect Radiohead to play less of their last ten years output in which they've produced some of their (in my opinion!) best stuff is laughable.

If you don't like their latest stuff (which is bound to feature heavily) don't watch 'em! Even at Leeds there were other options.

As to your comment re the set at Glasto 2003 being a) 'better' and 'a greatest hits set': that's a) your opinion [which I disagree with] and plain wrong:

As I recall, 10 of the 19 tracks they played at Glasto 2003 were recent i.e. from Kid A and after the start of their new and in my view, equally brilliant, 'era'.

Loved their leeds set but then I would've regardless of what they played. Hope to love their Glasto 2010 set MORE!

Edited December 11, 2009 by Craigston

[jeffie]

Are they definitely playing then? Not even on the rumours page.

There's been this massive discussion based on a presumption - hope everyone isn't going to crash and burn!

[safe]

imo, all of radiohead's work since the bends has been consistently brilliant, and their setlist's show this, it's not like oasis who didn't regard half their albums and mainly stuck to the first two, they play almost a shared amount from amnesiac/HTTT/the bends, and then slightly heavier from kid a, OK computer and in rainbows, and when I saw them in 2008 I felt this worked really well, and I got to see some of my favourite songs from all eras, my iron lung, national anthem, 2+2=5 etc. basically THEY AWESOME

[russycarps]

having said all this, the 1997 set was by far the greatest radiohead gig I have ever been to, and that solely consisted of the first three albums

I suggest all the people in tears over the leeds/reading set download this gig immediately. It was immense but to expect a repeat of this set list in 2009 is laughably naive.

[MEGABOWL]

Blur were doing a one-off reunion series of gigs so of course were going to play a greatest hits set.

Why on earth would radiohead do the same?

The fact that so-called "big radiohead fans" are saying the leeds set list was disappointing suggests they they actually mean they are big fans of ok computer and the bands. These albums represent only a fraction of the bands output these days. There is no possible reason for them to play heavily from those 2 albums. Sorry about that.

[MEGABOWL]

Yeah, that was the point I was making, that if Leeds had got the three extra 'classic' Radiohead songs Reading got, then there might have been the balance some complained their Leeds set lacked.

[russycarps]

Don't be a dick. "Oh well if people disagree with me it must mean their music tastes are inferior".

My favourite Radiohead albums are Kid A and In Rainbows, and Leeds was brilliant technically but it wasn't a well-judged festival set. What they did at Reading was-nothing wrong with throwing in a couple of old standards to keep the crowd onside-see Glastonbury 2003. Saying "it wasn't a good festival set" isn't personally insulting the band or saying it was shit, yet, like the Springsteen defenders a few months ago any slight criticism of Radiohead seems to be causing offence

[MEGABOWL]

your favourite albums were well represented - yet still you moan!

There were songs from their older albums - yet still people moan!

Not everyone is going to get exactly the set list they want when a band has made the amount of music radiohead has - a headline slot is barely 2 hours long.

Deal with it.

[russycarps]

Go back up a post to see my main point. Which is correct.

You were Jens Wildman in the Springsteen threads and I claim my five pounds.....

[Tugger2k]

not really, radiohead are far from my favourite band. I am "jens wildman" about the flaming lips but if they were playing I certainly wouldnt expect them to play loads of songs from telepathic surgery or in a priest driven ambulance. Bands move on.

[russycarps]

i bet they are scheduled to play but will get cancelled to accommodate the footy!

[Tugger2k]

the very thought of that has made me so angry I have just slaughtered a bus load of baby pandas

[russycarps]

i dont know why? the words 'below' and 'average' were invented for that tone deaf time waster!

[Tugger2k]

must.....not.......react........