Rock is a genre of music that emerged against an era of conformity. As soon as it surfaced in the 1950's, the middle class labeled it as the "music of the devil" and pushed to eliminated it from their homes. Still, the youth of this era embraced the ideas of Rock. To them, it was a form of rebellion against the traditional values of their parents' generation, and it was a voice through which they could represent their disdain for regulation and authority. Young generations continually ate up the records of their favorite Rock artists. Millions of dollars were made, and before long Rock became a well-established industry. Soon money became more important than material, and success was more dependant on marketing rather than musicianship. As the twenty-first century approached, the Rock industry had spiraled into a cycle of production, promotion, and consumption. Rock had created a rigid structure of itself and essentially undermined the rebellion that had once nursed it. However, at the turn of the century, Radiohead challenged the structure of Rock by created a purely non-commercial album: Kid A.
A New Kind of Album
Kid A was an act of rebellion against the Rock genre itself. This was due to its heavy reliance on digital technology. Many Rockists strongly opposed the use of technology, believing that it would take away from the music rather than contribute to it. Radiohead saw this as an opportunity to appall the Rock industry with something they would never expect: the use of music technology as a central feature in a rock album. Previously, techno and rock had always been thought of as binaries; two ideas that were polar opposites on the spectrum of musical genres. However, Kid A brings them together with striking success.
The Future and Music
Kid A not only applies the use of technology in its music, but it also addresses ideas concerning the rapid technological developments of society in its message. The title track, "Kid A," is the hypothetical name that Thom Yorke gave to the first human clone. Radiohead's reference to a human clone shows that they believe humans are not exempt from society's transition from authentic experiences to artificial recreations of them. As a whole, Kid A shows that not even Rock is exempt.
As one band member described the album, "it's not ten songs, it's one composition in ten parts." So it would seem, as the album opens up with the song "Everything In Its Right Place." And as far as Kid A is concerned, everything was put in its right place: the band Radiohead found its place in music, and rebellion returned to its rightful place in the Rock genre.
Sources
Tate, Joseph, ed. The Music and Art of Radiohead. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2005.
