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Originally Posted by dylansmale  no, those aren't the best albums. Their new stuff is way more futuristic, probably by light years. |
Since when is futuristic inherently an improvement? Besides... just because the touchstones were slightly more out of the mainstream (i.e. Aphex Twin, Can, DJ Shadow et al) doesn't mean the later records weren't heavily influenced by previous work... just not as recognizable to an average pop music listener as Sexy Sadie popping up in Karma Police.
For what it's worth, I don't think they've made a bad record aside from the first one. And Kid A may (on some days) be my favorite, but I could certainly make an argument that the inspired orchestrated guitar perfection of The Bends, or certainly the era defining OK Computer both trump the comparatively scattered Amnesiac or the overlong Hail To The Thief. Not that these are by any means bad records... on a different day I'd argue Amnesiac is brilliant for containing both some of their best songs alongside some of the most experimental. My point is, I don't think discounting The Bends or OK Computer for not being "futuristic" enough is completely missing the point.