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Radiohead play around with emotions and decide that they're boring.

Well, that's what I scribbled at the end of my notes. (I don't normally take those, but ya know...) Maybe that is the whole reason that Pablo Honey exists. After all, anyone who has heard what Radiohead do today and heard this 1993 release by those same guys might wonder, what in the world led to such an ominous transformation?

Radiohead probably have the highest ratio of popularity to album sales of any band on the planet. So out of those who do listen, a staggering percentage of them seem to have something to say. There is quite a bit to talk about, too. It could be the lyrics, it could be the motivation, it could be those damn music videos. But even Radiohead had a time before all that, when they too were just another band in the proverbial poverty of musical artists.

Pablo Honey may have been their only way out. Someone might have told them, "Sometimes in order to see the light you have to risk the dark." And in risking the dark, Radiohead realized they liked the dark. So they turned the whole thing bass-ackwards, "risking" the light so that they could help us to see the dark. Pablo Honey is Radiohead's brief stint with the light, a sell-out album if you will. A regular old alternative romp of pop/rock ennui. And you know what? It's not bad.

"You" doesn't sound much different than most of the rock music that's out there today. Churning 3/4 beats, Yorke wailing over electric guitars, and sudden chord changes, seemingly for no reason at all except that it sounds good. And damn if that chiming guitar intro doesn't bring back the sound of Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not To Come".

"Creep" is Radiohead getting all prophetlike. At this point in time, I think they were just being sarcastic. But the greatest power is the one you don't know you have. "I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul" may have been a wish that was made for reasons of infatuation, but ultimately, it ended up becoming the mantra for the world as we know it today, with all its facial cleansers, computer-assisted surgery, and youth formulas. It's downright ... creepy.

Radiohead even did arena rock, can you believe it? Take a listen to that awesome intro for "How Do You" and tell me that wouldn't be perfect to play at a football game. It need not last long. "Stop Whispering" sounds almost like the Gin Blossoms and the Foo Fighters got in a fight and started playing louder and louder, faster and faster. This song has one of the strangest guitar solos I've heard. Then Thom delivers a grating but awesome scream that nearly (but never completely) disappears behind the torrential wall of sound behind it. Nice advice, too -- Stop whispering, start shouting!

Most rock bands have a quiet song. At some point or another, they just have to prove that they are emotionally fallible, and Radiohead pull that off with "Thinking About You". Forget "Creep", this is the love song of the album. Thom subtly alludes to "playing with myself" and how all her friends are just there to kiss her feet. But the best line is "Why should you care when I'm not there?" Simple, direct, blunt.

Hype can talk all it wants about "Anyone Can Play Guitar" but it was never in my upper half. There are a lot of cool parts to the song, they just don't add up in the most coherent of ways. The verses sound like something right off of The Bends and then the chorus is probably the most pop moment of the whole album. "Ripcord" makes up for it with more arena rock.

A story seems to start forming out of nowhere with "Vegetable". It sounds like Toad the Wet Sprocket meets Weezer, but with more intricate guitar work than one would expect from any of those clowns. Thom comes out of nowhere in the second chorus and whines "I'm not a vegetable!" It almost sounds too thoughtless. But damn if you don't wonder what kind of situation leads to the need to express that. Of course I could tell you about it, but we'd be here all day. (It really is wonderful to be a Radiohead fan!)

The story continues with a song called "Prove Yourself" which sounds like it's going to be way too similar. That is, until the insanely cool chorus breaks out. The words "prove yourself" are repeated with an almost robotic enthusiasm. Almost as if he were suicidal at one moment ("I'm better off dead"), then in an interstellar burst, he's confident beyond all comprehension. Could there be medicine involved in that transformation? All bets are off. I liked this song too much the first time and messed it up in my mind. But it's still quite a doozie.

A quick glance over the song titles reveals "Prove Yourself", followed by "I Can't". When "Prove Yourself" finishes up (way too soon), Thom heads back into that whiny Goo Goo Dolls mode with "I Can't". I kind of get it, but it doesn't do too much for me. He seems too content with that fact, but I suppose anything is better than fighting it, if that's what you really believe.

"Lurgee" is only slightly better, with a dreamy pop/rock atmosphere and a feeling of comfort in the aftermath of the hurricane -- "I feel better, now you're gone, I got better, I got strong." Sounds to me more like "I got better, I got stoned," but we hear what we want to hear.

One of Pablo Honey's greatest moments is its final song, "Blow Out". It starts off quietly with a rushed beat and trippy guitar notes, and gradually builds up to more arena rock before melting down into a pot of sheer metallic noise. Soon, all that remains of the original melody is Colin Greenwood's bass and Phil Selway's drums, and they just play on and play on and play on, despite the sky ripping apart right over their heads. I think it's safe to assume that if this were a story, then the protagonist would either be dead (if he got stoned) or Godlike (if he got strong).

Did Radiohead plan this from the beginning, or was it all an accident? There's no telling. It is possible that they did this just to establish the fans or the funding so that they could go on to make some massive statements later on. Either way, Pablo Honey leaves the distinct impression that this was a band that had no idea who the hell they were. Ten years later, everyone knows who they are, including Yorke and the gang themselves. Now we're just trying to figure out what they are.

Other Radiohead reviews:
Kid A
Amnesiac
Hail To The Thief
The Bends
OK Computer


Recommended: Yes