On A Friday appear in the
'before they were famous' category. If you can't tell by the pic, On A Friday
was the name of Radiohead before they became... Radiohead. Thom Yorke's antics
were plastered down and far more loved back in the early days of the Oxford
band. On A Friday was a short lived name; however it built the foundations for
Pablo Honey and even The Bends, two of the most overlooked Radiohead albums.
Pablo Honey is considered their worst album, and I've always been pissed off by
this claim that it's 'bad'. It features several killer alternative rock / punk
tracks with excellent lyrics, it's an album that’s constantly overlooked because
of their magnificent career.
It comes as a shock to me that
newcomers Alt-J have jokingly said they're better than Radiohead. Keyboardist Gus
Unger-Hamilton said: "We're doing better than Radiohead!" Which
was an answer to vocalist Joe Newman, who said: "Have you heard
their very first thing, when they were called On A Friday? It's really fucking
bad." These comments were sparked by NME's style of reporting
where they attempt to spark comments that are usually kept behind doors. NME
obviously brought up a question alike 'people are comparing you to Radiohead,
what do you make of this?’ I'm not saying NME asked that, I don't know... I
don't read NME. But that’s the kind of question that would get Alt-J geared up
with confidence. Side note: Who's actually comparing Alt-J to Radiohead? I mean
seriously... Who would do such a sinister thing?
In response to Alt-J's comments, have you heard "Mr. B"? Go and
listen to Mr. B, then come back to NME and say how lyrically outstanding they
were in 1990. It's a politically influenced anti-war track with a fantastic
chorus and brilliant acoustic verses. I think An Awesome Wave is a spectacular
debut album, but not one track on that album compares to the sheer imagery and
power of Mr. B's second verse, "Death wears a big hat and a thin red
tie. He dances in front of all the cameras. Death has a satchel his buddies
carry. And in it inside is the key to the world."
This interview with Alt-J can be read in this week’s edition of NME (October
24th), buy it if you want to read about Muse, Blur, Noel Gallagher and one or
two average indie rock bands. I must note that although Alt-J commented
negatively about Radiohead's demo years, they still disregarded the 'alleged'
comparison to Radiohead as: "Premature."
You can find Radiohead's early material all over the internet, just search
On A Friday into YouTube and you will be able to listen to the demo tapes
yourself. Second side note: These records are lo-fi demo tapes and not debut
material. Pablo Honey was Radiohead's debut album, and I have a right mind to
say it's complete and utterly better than An Awesome Wave. What do you think?
~Eddie
