This is kind of a down day, since I haven’t listened to The Bends enough to make a formal opinion (sneak preview: meh). But I still feel like writing a little about the claimed influence that Radiohead supposedly has had over the past 1x number of years. Even those who don’t particularly like Radiohead, like me, are quick to give them names like “the most important band in the world,” and, inevitably, “the most influential band in the world.” But is this true?

 

Well…if it is, I don’t see it. The Bends is probably their most copied album – they quickly went onto things that are (perhaps) not so easy to copy – but the influence it’s had seems pretty limited from where I’m sitting. The most commonly cited impact is that on bands like Coldplay and their ilk. Now, I’m not an expert on Coldplay at all, but what I’ve heard (the hits mainly) doesn’t particularly sound like the vast majority of The Bends. Coldplay clearly doesn’t have the same desire to push boundaries as Radiohead, and the only song here that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Coldplay album is “High and Dry.” And, really, none of these bands besides Coldplay themselves have made much of an extended impact in America. Radiohead’s influence on the rock mainstream here is minimal, to say the least, and I’m certainly not passing that off as a Good Thing. Would that there were no bands like this on our side of the Atlantic.

 

But – you might say – I’m just looking at the mainstream. Surely Radiohead, you might say, being one of the most progressive rock bands around these days, has had a greater impact on the indie scene. You might say a lot of things, but that doesn’t make them true. I can’t think of one prominent indie rock band that has the Radiohead of any time period as a strong influence. If anyone’s set the tone for what’s popular right now in indie music, it’s this guy and his buddies.

 

Time will tell, I suppose. However I may feel about them, Radiohead is clearly an extremely popular and respected band, by both common folk and fellow musicians. I couldn’t tell you why they’ve had such little impact so far on the various scenes they touch. Given what a guy with a nice laptop and a home studio can do these days, I don’t buy the argument that they’re just too hard to imitate. Maybe I’m just wrong – I don’t listen to anything approaching the totality of indie and alternative music. If that’s the case, drop me a line and let me know who I’m missing.