Kid A (2000)
Kid A is a 2000 alternative rock album by Radiohead.
After the guitar anthems of OK Computer, Radiohead disappeared and came back with something colder. Kid A, released in 2000, trades rock songs for ambient electronics, skittering drums, and Thom Yorke's voice pushed through processors until the words dissolve. There are almost no guitars and almost no choruses, and for a while nobody knew what to make of it. It reads now as a turn-of-the-millennium record about anxiety and disconnection, and as the moment a huge rock band walked away from being one.
Quick answers
What is Kid A about?
After the guitar anthems of OK Computer, Radiohead disappeared and came back with something colder. Kid A, released in 2000, trades rock songs for ambient electronics, skittering drums, and Thom Yorke's voice pushed through processors until the words dissolve. There are almost no guitars and almost no choruses, and for a while nobody knew what to make of it. It reads now as a turn-of-the-millennium record about anxiety and disconnection, and as the moment a huge rock band walked away from being one.
When was Kid A released?
Kid A was released in 2000.
Who made Kid A?
Kid A is by Radiohead.
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A few thoughts on Kid A
Radiohead walked away from rock into static and dread. OK Computer is the anthemic album it reacted against, all soaring choruses where Kid A leaves none.
The rest of Radiohead's catalog
Kid A is Radiohead mid-transformation, half electronic, half unresolved. These albums map the whole arc around it, from the guitar-driven early records to the glitchy, processed sound Kid A opened up. Play them in sequence to hear a band refusing to repeat itself.
The guitar anthems Kid A walked away from
Kid A famously buries the guitars and choruses that made Radiohead famous. If you want the sound they left behind, these albums deliver the big riffs and anthems: grunge, arena rock, and the alt-rock heights Radiohead climbed before turning cold. The road not taken.
Turn-of-the-millennium anxiety in atmospheric records
Kid A reads as a year-2000 record about disconnection and dread, voices dissolving into machines. These albums share that uneasy, atmospheric mood, trading hooks for texture and unease. For late-night listening when you want a record that feels like static and nerves more than songs.