1. How To Disappear Completely
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CxzWmluWHs Artist: RadioheadAlbum: 'Kid A'Year: 2000 There's a line in Doctor Who, when Bill Nighy's talking about why he believes Vincent van Gogh to be the greatest painter ever. He claims that to turn such pain and sorrow into such incredible art is a rare gift, and often, Radiohead are mis-credited as depressing when actually they're trying to do much the same thing. 'How To Disappear Completely' is incredible art in that vein, grown from Yorke's own chronic stage-fright. It's spine-tinglingly subtle, from the gentle tide of the strings to the melodic flicks of Yorke's vocals; the mention of the Liffey slowly grows into a crashing wave, and Yorke's lyrics focus on watching himself perform from a-top this crest, as if on a balcony or having an out-of-body experience. But not only is 'How to Disappear Completely' Thom Yorke's ultimate expression of fear and loneliness, it's perhaps the most perfect example of reinvention in music. Sure, it's representative of the minimality of 'Kid A', but it's more than that: it's an already-brilliant jigsaw rearranged to create something equally brilliant. This is a band who realised exactly what made them fantastic, and they chucked everything that didn't matter away. How ballsy is it to do that when you've just released the album of the last decade? And whilst only a few bands have released a decade-defining album, only one has ever followed it up with another one in the next decade. That's why I believe Radiohead are the greatest band ever. Well, one of the reasons. And that's a statement that I know is debatable. But for my money, there's no one better.