Musical Thesis: Radiohead “The Bends”

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At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.

Rows of houses all bearing down on me
I can feel their blue hands touching me
All these things into position
All these things we’ll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out

The year is 1995. I am obsessed with Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and the Seattle scene. At 12-years-old, I am shaping my taste in music. I am also deeply influenced by my friends. Without a doubt, they serve as my greatest source of music discovery.

In our small town in southwest Oklahoma, Radiohead was not on anyone’s radar. We had no way of understanding that beneath our feet, the landscape of music was shifting from grunge toward a more introspective form of alternative rock. We did not know The Bends was in the process of changing everything. A…