Queens of the Stone Age might just be my favorite band of all time, and Radiohead are an achingly close second. I'd go as far as to say they've probably inspired me to create music more than Queens have.

After arriving at college, I was introduced to Radiohead by one of my dormmates, who was playing "2 + 2 = 5" late one night in the dorm's lounge. I loved the fast-paced rock nature of it, but after hearing other songs from the band, I only came away truly enjoying the former. Was I missing something? I'd heard nothing but positive things about OK Computer, but I found it to be mostly unenjoyable when I first listened to it in autumn 2023.

Taste is subjective. I suppose it took being weathered by schoolwork and life in general to foster my appreciation for Radiohead. I distinctly remember playing Kid A Mnesia Exhibition over winter break and being awestruck by the world it created with sound alone. I'd gradually started to enjoy "Everything in Its Right Place" and "Karma Police", and I'd already greatly enjoyed the rock style of "Electioneering". Months later, I listened to the band's full discography. I loved the intensity of Hail to the Thief, and "Pyramid Song"... well, to say it "blew me away" would be a terrific understatement. That song profoundly affected how I experienced certain genres of music.

Anyway, Radiohead was starting to grow on me, and eventually, I came to see them as I do now... which is to say, as geniuses and all-around awesome guys. What else can I even say about them that hasn't been said previously? I'm not sure. They've inspired me in a similar manner to how Richard D. James has (i.e.: through their releases from Kid A onwards). Thom Yorke and his often-perceivedly depressed mates have proven to me time and time again that you don't need super complex or extremely orchestrated songs to generate a metric ton of emotions (see: "I Want None of This" and "True Love Waits"). Then again, when Radiohead does decide to do a highly complicated piece, it comes out spectacular (see: "The National Anthem", "Life in a Glasshouse", and "Videotape").

In short and in summary, Radiohead are wonderful, and they encapsulate just how beautifully strange it is to be alive. They themselves put it best: "there is nothing to fear and nothing to doubt."