I've been a big fan of Radiohead for a number of years now, and what's interesting through the years is the way my perception of Pablo Honey has changed. When I first got into them, I absolutely despised it. I started with OK Computer and then Kid A and then In Rainbows (this was all around the time In Rainbows came out). Something about Pablo Honey just struck me as sophomoric or unfocused, but every time I listened to an album through again I liked it a little bit more, as if knowing the band better finally made it more cohesive. It's still not my favorite album, but I certainly do appreciate it and listen to it from time to time. Anyway, I still hate Creep.
So much of music is where you are when you first hear something. Pablo Honey, and Creep in particular have a strong nostalgic effect for me. What do you think of The Bends? It's such a great rock album, an awesome guitar driven piece of work.
The Bends was the first Radiohead album I had, and I found it sort of average. I love it now, but at the time it was really "eh". Somewhat embarrassingly, what really got me into Radiohead was their best-of album. I had the US double disc special edition (pretty rare in NZ, I think, I haven't seen another copy) and after that I was able to listen to the actual albums thinking things like "oh, Street Spirit is on this album, awesome!".
Somewhat embarrassingly, what really got me into Radiohead was their best-of album. I had the US double disc special edition (pretty rare in NZ, I think, I haven't seen another copy) and after that I was able to listen to the actual albums thinking things like "oh, Street Spirit is on this album, awesome!".
-Nothing wrong with using a "best of" album to get you in to a band. It can be a fun way to get to know songs and then, eventually discover those songs real homes.