Re Releasing and Spinoffs: How RadioHead Stays Fresh

A new week brings a new article, this time we have Lauren Stanzione all the way from NYC talking about Radiohead!

Nothing is more popular than the rerelease, and "spin off" band in our current musical climate. Old bands merging into new bands; current solo artists digging up old content to reimagine albums from 1, 10, 20, 30 years ago. From Taylor Swift to Radiohead, the re-releasing of music done by both bands and the transformation of bands into side projects is more popular than ever.

Take Radiohead. A barrage of re-releases, and even a venture into a more unusual sound with Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead's reemergence alongside British jazz drummer Tom Skinner's new band, The Smile, Radiohead is a classic example of the practice effectively working.

The band that began in 1985 is still shaping the music we listen to today; and

continues to release tracks in inventive ways. Before their current hiatus, Radiohead's most recent release was Kid A Mesnia. 2021 was the beginning of the re-release phenomenon; it was when many pop stars began to either re-release or expand upon albums unlike the deluxes before. Radiohead's approach with Kid A Mesnia was to harp on their original roots; rather than doing different levels of a "deluxe" album, they instead instituted their album with different discs, infusing a level of nostalgia in their work

The separation from disc to disc had different focuses and sounds. The first disc, "Kid A" was a meandering in an electronic sound. The second disc, *Amnesiac" focuses on a prominent electric feel than the first disc more like contemporary The Smile. Although the third disc of their 2021 release, "Kid Amnesiac", is the most re-release-like; its focus is on unreleased and rethought versions of past songs. "Like Spinning Plates" is a new song from the disc, and it focuses more on piano than synths; the disc focuses on an older feel, rather than a modern electronic throughline. Songs like "Pyramid Song" use long instrumentals as a way to return to this style.

Their final disc feels like a goodbye; a return to the old to lay it to rest. While the discs before fell the beginning of something else, a different type of Radiohead. This is where recent work

from The Smile holds hands with Kid A Mesnia; The Smile's newest album, "Cutouts" represents this electronic energy. Songs like "Foreign Spies" adopt a Kid A feeling, while their newest hit, "Zero Sum" represents a new and alternate sound. The Radiohead members also do a nod to their past with "Don't Get Me Started", which is more piano than other tracks, while still feeling electronic.