10 Greatest Bands Who Mixed Music Genres
8. Radiohead
Radiohead’s approach to experimentation isn’t just bold, it’s downright defiant: every time they gain critical adulation for their latest format, they scrap it and start anew with something totally different. Somehow, it always seems to work.
They started life as a grunge-lite act, and while Pablo Honey is no one’s favourite Radiohead LP, it spawned “Creep”, a solid hit. The band were immediately sick of the song, though, and refused to play it for years. They shifted to their glam rock phase with The Bends, big, open hearted songs, full of depth but with real singalong quality.
It was a hit, so they chucked it. OK Computer was far harder to classify, beautiful ballads complimented with operatic odysseys, electronic experiments, and everything in between. Everyone loved it, so they went another direction again. Kid A is icy cold and mostly bereft of guitars - again, a winner, yet another masterpiece.
Later albums tangled with protest music, danceable rhythms, and piano balladeering. Whatever they’re up to, they’re nigh impossible to categorise - they’re just Radiohead.