Compilation of the year

Rubbish

I think Radiohead has got to be one of the band whose entire music career is near impossible to be summarized in a convenient thirteen track best of compilation album. I don't suppose anyone would be delighted to hear "The Bends" after "Pyramid Song" in a single listen. Not that "Pyramid Song" or "The Bends" is a bad song but as much as how Radiohead is not an album band, their entire collection of released albums does not sum up into one cohesive unit. Each album stands on its own; it has its own qualities and sound and trademark. Listen to 'Amnesiac' on its own and its a very dignified and rarified (I coined this term) or exotic album; compare it to 'The Bends' and it quickly becomes a cold turkey. I have in fact been thinking about the possibility of EMI releasing a greatest hits sort of collection for Radiohead for the past few years and I've even jumbled up a few tracks to see if it is a plausible idea - so far, I am drawn to a blank. Where to fit in "Paranoid Android"? What about "My Iron Lung"? What is the best track for the opener? Should it begin with the rockier early Radiohead, the neurotic middle age Radiohead, or the weird later age Radiohead? The other problem is that every album serves for a very specific kind of listener, for a very specific kind of listening. If 'The Bends' are listened to while moshing, then 'Kid A' are listened to while masturbating. Or something. Point is: don't buy this recently released best of collection of Radiohead. The recording company is desperate for money. For Radiohead purists like me, the title 'Best of' on the cover reads bullcrap.