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Although this album does not come out from an independent
corporation or "label" and instead comes from a multinational giant,
it's easy to see how Radiohead could be seen as alternative music, almost the definition
of alternative rock. The use of instruments is unconventional and the aggressive attitude of hard rock
and focus on rhythm in dance music is missing.
The lyrics are also alternative because they are not about boyfriends and girlfriends. We see some political references including the title of the album. In Amerikkka we say "Hail to the Chief" to refer to the president or any big boss. We will give the lyrics a "B+." On the radiohead.com website we see links to Oxfam, Greenpeace, Z Magazine and an organization for the abolition of Third World debt--some good causes. We also have the "Free Tibet" organization listed, an illusion supporting mystic slavery defenders that Radiohead shares with Rage against the Machine. (See our FAQ on Tibet.) Decadence is there in the music and even the sign-up for the website refers to the organization for fans as "W.A.S.T.E." The website offers to send waste to members every so often. The music is alternately pleasantly sleepy, annoyingly phlegmatic and dreamy--diffuse. The reviewer can see what people like about this album and we expect great things in the future from this band--with fan websites in Russian, Polish, Italian and Spanish to name a few. The whole strategy of trying to reach tired people looking for a break is quite interesting. Radiohead deserves the credit for this approach to outreach: not everyone can always be Rage against the Machine anyway. Persynally, the reviewer questions whether it is possible to communicate with the asleep. For instance, one may wonder if it is possible to have jarring or grotesque communications about slabs of meat hanging from the ceiling that work while sleepy. Perhaps Radiohead has found another way to celebrate the decadence of imperialism. Someone stole an election; someone is eating meat; someone is sucking "young blood" and speaking of "rivers poisoned"--but Radiohead's reaction is diffuse and sleepy. In this reviewer's opinion, Radiohead's reaction to the world is rather too complex in a way that is likely to backfire. At MIM we emphasize matching tone with substance, content with form. We need to recognize that we live in a world where people live lives as ridiculous as Hollywood movies. It matters on a daily basis how we educate ourselves and others to be angry and when not to be angry. The question about Radiohead is whether it has juggled form and content in a way that contributes to the sicknesses Radiohead opposes. I was hoping to use the Radiohead chat forum as evidence one way or another, but the fans there are often so silly as to defy categorization. Mixed in with the comments of at least a semi-serious nature such as to air-condition the Middle East and Africa for peace, we see a lot of reveling in imperialist decadence. In defense of Radiohead it could be said that "everything happens at the margin": Radiohead plunges in, attracts imperialist decadence and then points in another direction, at least in the links section of its website. In some ways "Hail to the Thief" is the perfect reflection of the predicament of the times: the stereotypically unmotivated and whiny X Generation meets the 2000 elections and 911. We at MIM are more than afraid that many of the formerly apathetic and uninformed are now ready dupes for fascism. Radiohead seems to be saying there may be signs of intelligent life even when asleep. We only warn the whole "don't have a cow" generation of Bart Simpson that the rulers are quite prepared to instigate wars--even on imperialist soil. At least the sleepy may not feel great motivation to make war on all the Third World countries: at some point, the imperialists are not going to find enough young police to run every Iraq in the world.
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