If Radiohead Was Without Jonny Greenwood?

flyswatter · 08-07-2012 02:57PM #1

I saw this on another forum and thought it was an interesting point.

Basically the poster stated that without Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead would just sound like any other Alternative Rock band.

Agree or disagree?

I dunno myself, I think Yorke brings a real computer music influence to the band as seen on The Eraser and possibly Kid A et al.

Colm! · 08-07-2012 03:09PM

Jonny definitely helped to the band out of the Pablo Honey stage (which, let's face it, was when they had a fairly generic sound) but I agree, Thom brought much of the electronic music influence. You can see the similarities between The Eraser and The King of Limbs or (to a lesser extent) Kid A, but Jonny does bring his own influence.

Would Radiohead not have Jonny they'd certainly be in a different place; their sound mightn't have "evolved" quite the same way it did.

Sad Professor · 08-07-2012 03:11PM

Disagree. Greenwood is an essential component, no doubt about it, but Yorke is almost certainly the creative driving force of the band. While they wouldn't be nearly as good without Greenwood, they would still never sound ordinary as long as Yorke was heading them.

As with a lot of bands, it's the creative pairing of its two main members that really makes it what it is.

flyswatter · 08-07-2012 03:12PM

I would figure Greenwood is the "composer" of the band, he's the only one classically trained and was even composer in residence for the BBC orchestra at one point.

J_E · 11-07-2012 03:04AM

Maybe things would have turned out a little differently, but they were inevitably going to go electronic after OK Computer, Thom was the one who really drove them towards a different direction. I still think they'd sound like themselves. Sometimes Jonny gets overcredited, there are other members in the band providing great input you know.

If Radiohead Was Without Jonny Greenwood?

Comments