I Kept Trying to Leave Radiohead… But I Finally Realized Why I Never Could…

I’ve made a few posts over the last couple of days about drifting away from Radiohead, but I wanted to be honest about where that was really coming from.

The truth is, I absolutely adore Radiohead.

I first discovered them in the late ‘90s, and I had never heard anything like them. I’m 48 now, and after everything life has thrown at me, I can honestly say I’ve still never heard music that comes close. Even though I don’t think The Smile or Thom Yorke’s solo work quite reaches the heights of Radiohead as a complete band, it’s still better than most of what’s being released today. In my opinion, a lot of modern music is forgettable. That’s why I always end up coming back to Radiohead. I’ve tried moving on. I fell in love with Tame Impala, and I still think Kevin Parker is incredibly talented. But as much as I enjoy Tame Impala, I don’t think they’ll ever reach Radiohead’s level of musical genius. Radiohead’s catalog, their willingness to reinvent themselves, and the risks they’ve taken over the years put them in a category of their own for me. I’d even argue that my least favorite album from The Smile is still more interesting than most albums being released today.

I’m also one of those weird audiophile guys. I don’t even have a streaming subscription. I still buy physical CDs, rip them to my hard drive, and listen through my hi-fi system. Lately I’ve been collecting the Japanese CD pressings because so many of them include bonus tracks.

The real reason I kept trying to distance myself from Radiohead had nothing to do with the music.

My first marriage ended painfully, and my ex-wife and I shared a deep love for Radiohead. For a long time, listening to that music brought back memories I wasn’t ready to face. I think I convinced myself I needed to find another band to fill that space. Tame Impala came the closest, and I genuinely love their music, but they were never going to replace what Radiohead has meant to me.

I’ve realized you can’t force yourself to stop loving something that has been part of your life for decades. Sometimes you just have to separate the memories from the music.

I know people will point to bands like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and others, and I completely respect those opinions. But for me, no band has ever accomplished what Radiohead has. They’ve consistently challenged themselves, reinvented their sound, and created music that still feels ahead of its time. I’ll probably argue that for the rest of my life.

So if some of my previous posts came across as negative or dismissive, I apologize. They were coming from a place of hurt rather than how I actually feel about the band.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great Sunday. Ironically, I’m currently adding even more Radiohead collectibles to my collection, especially those Japanese CD editions with the bonus tracks.

I guess I finally accepted what I probably knew all along—I was never really leaving Radiohead. Sorry for the rant, I hope you guys understand.