Kid A (song)

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"Kid A"
Song by Radiohead
from the album Kid A
Released	2 October 2000
Recorded	January 1999 - April 2000
Genre	Electronic music, Art rock, IDM
Length	4:44
Label	Parlophone
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich and Radiohead
Kid A track listing
"Everything in Its Right Place" (1)	"Kid A" (2)	"The National Anthem" (3)

"Kid A" is the second track from the chart-topping 2000 album of the same name, by the British band Radiohead.

One of the most obvious examples of Radiohead's shift in musical style from their melodic alternative rock songs of the mid-'90s, the heavily processed electronic piece polarised listeners as much as anything else on its album. However, it has since become a regular part of Radiohead's live sets and meets with some enthusiasm from fans.

Singer Thom Yorke and his bandmates were inspired during this period by the experimental glitch and ambient techno artists on the UK's Warp Records label, most famously Autechre and Aphex Twin, leading them to create something almost equally abstract. Although the whole album could not be said to be an appropriation of the so-called IDM style, drawing also from many other influences (see Kid A), the title track has been noted for its particular similarities to the work of Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin).

"Kid A" is not an "instrumental", but neither is it a song in the traditional sense. Thom Yorke's vocals have been heavily modified, producing a distorted effect similar to a vocoder and rendering his lyrics nearly unintelligible. Yorke sings over a backdrop of sterile, downbeat electronica, including a lullaby-like xylophone (possibly synthesized), synthesized strings and electronic drum pad or machine. Digital software such as ProTools and Cubase was often used in composing music by the band at this time and since.

According to interviews, the vocal effect was actually achieved by running Thom's microphone through the input of guitarist Jonny Greenwood's ondes martenot, an early electronic instrument Greenwood played on several other tracks of the album. Yorke has said the vocals on the album version were disguised to distance himself from the subject matter, which he found necessary because otherwise it would have been too painful. According to Colin Greenwood, "He’s always looking for new ways to try, you know, and express different persona. And the way of doing that is by treating the voice. He sang through a vocoder and the notes were triggered by the Ondes Martenot [Jonny was] playing at the same time as he was singing."

However when performed live, the vocals are not manipulated and are consequently more easily understood. Harmonica even featured on some live versions in 2000. The song was a very rare presence on setlists until 2006, when it was revived for the band's tour of Europe and North America.

John Mayer recorded an acoustic guitar cover of "Kid A", available as a b-side on his 2001 single Bigger Than My Body. The lyrics in his version are clearly discernable in contrast to Radiohead's recording, and most likely were taken from one of the many Radiohead fan sites that had pieced them together, as no official lyrics were released by the band.

[edit] Samples