12 incredible moments from Radiohead's 'The Bends' on its 20th anniversary

by Mark Teo

March 13, 2015

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In the 20 years since Radiohead’s The Bends was released, a lot—and we mean a lot—has happened. At the time of its release, it was hailed by many as Radiohead’s master work, a piece of flawless British guitar music that established Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and co.’s voice as singular. Two decades back, the band could’ve called it quits and we still would’ve considered it one of the modern era’s best guitar records; it still would’ve topped Pitchfork’s best albums of the ’90s; Yorke would still be a legend, thanks to era-defining singles such as “Fake Plastic Trees,” “High and Dry,” and the stirring closer, “Street Spirit.”

That’s not how Radiohead’s story ends, of course: The Bends, while still a favourite among a certain breed of Radiohead purists, wouldn’t even be the Oxfordshire band’s biggest splash on pop-culture’s consciousness. OK Computer and Kid A would be monumental successes, at once making Radiohead the biggest band in the world while reshaping indie rock, electronic music, and everything in between. They would release veritable classics in the ’00s with Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows, and The King of Limbs. They became the darlings of headphones recluses and summer-fest weekend warriors alike, would inspire IDM and Coldplay, and would move unprecedented units of digital music. Yorke himself would become someone who turned Bittorrent, long the enemy of the music industry, profitable, and in an even more unexpected turn, he’d do it while sporting a greying man bun.

All of this would be unfathomable during the era of The Bends. But 20 years on, the meaning of the album has changed: It is, yes, still a perfect album, and off-kilter pop songs like “Black Star” and “My Iron Lung” sound just as wonderful as the first time we heard ’em pipe out of our speakers. But given context, it’s no longer just a slice of musical perfection; given our understanding of history, it’s also the blueprint—or the foundation—of one of popular music’s most radical bands. It’s not just a great album, but a fascinating one, and one that, while given two decades to steep, is just as appreciable as it was in March of 1995.

Accordingly, it’s hard to pick out the best moments of The Bends, but it’s easy to pick out 12 amazing moments—namely, each of the songs. Here’s the album in its entirety—only played live. Think of it as a live Radiohead mixtape. Enjoy!

“Planet Telex”

“The Bends”

“High and Dry”

“Fake Plastic Trees”

“Bones”

“(Nice Dream)”

“Just”

“My Iron Lung”

“Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was”

“Black Star”

“Sulk”

“Street Spirit (Fade Out)”

Tags: Music, News, Radiohead

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