10 Artists That Changed With One Song

Radiohead were never supposed to be one of the biggest bands in the world. Although they may have been designed to be alternatives from the mainstream, no one expected OK Computer to blow up like it did, painting a grim picture of what could happen should humanity lose itself to technology. When it came time to make a follow up though, Britain’s latest kings of rock decided to throw everything remotely rock and roll out the window.

Leaning on the sounds of jazz and electronica, Radiohead unpacked their synthesizer and went crazy on Kid A, with Everything In Its Right Place kicking things off. Compared to the smooth sounds of Airbag from the last projection, the difference is night and day here, as Thom Yorke plays an icy keyboard part and delivers an awkward riff that feels like it could have been computer generated. While his voice may have still been intact, the mission statement was clear: this was not going to be OK Computer part 2.

Across the rest of the album, Radiohead were making songs that catered more to the sounds of trip hop and the electronic scene, like building an entire track around a looped sample on Idioteque and using guitars as a dramatic soundscape on Treefingers. While this might not have been the Radiohead most wanted, it’s responsible for buying the band their freedom to do what they wanted. Kid A may have been a divisive album at first, but without it we never would have made it to the weird worlds to come like In Rainbows.