Editing Kid A (section)

== Critical reception ==
{{Album reviews
| title = Contemporary reviews
| MC = 80/100<ref name=MC>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/kid-a/radiohead |title=Reviews for Kid A by Radiohead |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=14 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625223223/http://www.metacritic.com/music/kid-a/radiohead |archive-date=25 June 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev1 = ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''
| rev1score = {{rating|3.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4565554.html |title='Kid A' tops new album class |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=3 October 2000 |access-date=8 July 2015 |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |author-link=Jim DeRogatis |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008201752/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4565554.html |archive-date=8 October 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev2score = B+<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2000/10/06/music-review-kid |title=Kid A |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=562 |issn=1049-0434 |date=6 October 2000 |access-date=8 September 2011 |last=Browne |first=David |author-link=David Browne (journalist)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715202506/http://www.ew.com/article/2000/10/06/music-review-kid |archive-date=15 July 2015}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev3score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,374450,00.html |title=Mourning glories |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 September 2000 |access-date=3 July 2017 |last=Sweeting |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Sweeting |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313033216/http://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0%2C%2C374450%2C00.html |archive-date=13 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Melody Maker]]''
| rev4score = {{rating|1.5|5}}<ref name="MMreview"/>
| rev5 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev5score = 7/10<ref name="NME3">{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/20000926060052.html |title=Radiohead&nbsp;– Kid A |journal=[[NME]] |date=26 September 2000 |access-date=15 March 2015 |last=Cameron |first=Keith |archive-url=https://archive.today/20001017164459/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/20000926060052.html |archive-date=17 October 2000 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6score = 10/10<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6656-kid-a |title=Radiohead: Kid A |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=2 October 2000 |access-date=8 September 2011 |last=DiCrescenzo |first=Brent |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822223049/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6656-kid-a/ |archive-date=22 August 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Radio Ga Ga |journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=170 |date=November 2000 |last=Maconie |first=Stuart |author-link=Stuart Maconie |page=96}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="Fricke">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/kid-a-20001012 |title=Kid A |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=12 October 2000 |access-date=23 May 2012 |last=Fricke |first=David |author-link=David Fricke |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424161811/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/kid-a-20001012 |archive-date=24 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9score = 9/10<ref name="Reynolds">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTMuhxamaFEC&pg=PA171 |title=Radio Chaos |journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=October 2000 |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=171–72 |access-date=8 July 2015 |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226173549/https://books.google.com/books?id=HTMuhxamaFEC&pg=PA171 |archive-date=26 December 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10score = A−<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/02/06/pazz-jop-preview/ |title=Pazz & Jop Preview |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=13 February 2001 |access-date=8 July 2015 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916003923/https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/02/06/pazz-jop-preview/ |archive-date=16 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
''Kid A'' was widely anticipated.<ref name="The Irish Times">{{Cite news |title=Are Radiohead OK? |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/are-radiohead-ok-1.1103060 |access-date=2018-11-15}}</ref><ref name="MM2" /> ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' described it as the most anticipated rock record since the 1993 [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] album ''[[In Utero]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Borow|first=Zev|date=November 2000|title=The difference engine|url=http://students.ceid.upatras.gr/~kakaletr/articles/spin.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305004203/http://students.ceid.upatras.gr/~kakaletr/articles/spin.htm|archive-date=5 March 2007|access-date=20 March 2007|website=Spin Magazine|df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to Andrew Harrison, the editor of ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'', journalists expected it to provide more of the "rousing, cathartic, lots-of-guitar, Saturday-night-at-[[Glastonbury]] big future rock moments" of ''OK Computer''.<ref name="Harrison-2020" /> Months before its release, Pat Blashill of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' wrote: "If there's one band that promises to return rock to us, it's Radiohead."<ref name="MM2"/>

After ''Kid A'' had been played for critics, many bemoaned the lack of guitar, the obscured vocals and the unconventional song structures.<ref name="ZORIC" /> Some called it "a commercial suicide note".<ref name="SMITH" /> ''The Guardian'' wrote of the "muted electronic hums, pulses and tones", predicting that it would confuse listeners.<ref name="ZORIC" /> In ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'', [[Jim Irvin]] wrote that "upon first listen, ''Kid A'' is just awful ... Too often it sounds like the fragments that they began the writing process with&nbsp;– a loop, a riff, a mumbled line of text, have been set in concrete and had other, lesser ideas piled on top."<ref name="mojo">{{Cite journal |last=Irvin |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Irvin |date=October 2000 |title=Boys in the bubble |journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]}}</ref> The ''Guardian'' critic [[Adam Sweeting]] wrote that "even listeners raised on [[krautrock]] or [[Ornette Coleman]] will find ''Kid A'' a mystifying experience", and that it pandered to "the worst cliches" about Radiohead's "relentless miserabilism".<ref name="guardian" /> Several critics found the [[free jazz]] of "The National Anthem" discordant and unpleasant.<ref name="Hornby-2000" /><ref name="Beaumont-2010" /><ref name="Sheffield-2015" />

Several critics felt ''Kid A'' was pretentious or deliberately obscure. The ''[[The Irish Times|Irish Times]]'' bemoaned the lack of conventional song structures and panned the album as "deliberately abstruse, wilfully esoteric and wantonly unfathomable ... The only thing challenging about ''Kid A'' is the very real challenge to your attention span."<ref name="The Irish Times" /> In the ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'', the novelist [[Nick Hornby]] wrote that it was "morbid proof that this sort of self-indulgence results in a weird kind of anonymity rather than something distinctive and original".<ref name="Hornby-2000">{{Cite magazine |last=Hornby |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Hornby |date=30 October 2000 |title=Beyond the Pale |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/10/30/beyond-the-pale-3 |url-status=live |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125356/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/10/30/beyond-the-pale-3 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=14 March 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The ''Melody Maker'' critic [[Mark Beaumont (journalist)|Mark Beaumont]] called it "tubby, ostentatious, self-congratulatory, look-ma-I-can-suck-my-own-cock whiny old rubbish ... About 60 songs were started that no one had a bloody clue how to finish."<ref name="MMreview">{{cite journal|url=http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2000&cutting=85|journal=[[Melody Maker]]|title=Radiohead Kid A|last=Beaumont|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Beaumont (journalist)|date=20 September 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528134048/http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2000&cutting=85|archive-date=28 May 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=25 April 2007}}</ref> [[Alexis Petridis]] of ''The Guardian'' described it as "self-consciously awkward and bloody-minded, the noise made by a band trying so hard to make a 'difficult' album that they felt it beneath them to write any songs".<ref name=Petridis-Amnesiac/> ''Rolling Stone'' published a piece mocking ''Kid A'' as humourless, derivative and lacking in songs: "Because it was decided that Radiohead were Important and Significant last time around, no one can accept the album as the crackpot art project it so obviously is."<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Kungman|first1=Michael|last2=Cohen|first2=Jason|date=24 October 2000|title=This Week: ''Kid A'' to Zzzzz — A Radiohead Reaction-ary|url=http://rollingstone.com/sections/news/text/newsarticle.asp?afl=&NewsID=12059&ArtistID=236|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001203192800/http://rollingstone.com/sections/news/text/newsarticle.asp?afl=&NewsID=12059&ArtistID=236|archive-date=3 December 2000|access-date=2021-11-06|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> 

Some critics felt ''Kid A'' was unoriginal. In the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'', Howard Hampton dismissed Radiohead as a "rock composite" and wrote that ''Kid A'' "recycles [[Pink Floyd]]'s dark-side-of-the-moon solipsism to Me-Decade perfection".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hampton |first=Howard |title=70ss Rock: The Bad Vibes Continue |language=en |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 January 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/arts/music-70-s-rock-the-bad-vibes-continue.html |url-status=live |access-date=2018-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202024623/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/arts/music-70-s-rock-the-bad-vibes-continue.html |archive-date=2 December 2018}}</ref> Beaumont said Radiohead were "simply ploughing furrows dug by [[DJ Shadow]] and [[Brian Eno]] before them".<ref name="MMreview" /> The ''Irish Times'' felt the ambient elements were inferior to Eno's 1978 album ''[[Music for Airports|Music For Airports]]'' and its "scary" elements inferior to [[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]]'s 1995 album ''[[Tilt (Scott Walker album)|Tilt]]''.<ref name="The Irish Times" /> ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]'' wrote: "What do they want for sounding like the Aphex Twin circa 1993, a medal?"<ref name="Sheffield-2015" /> In an ''[[NME]]'' editorial, James Oldham wrote that the electronic influences were "mired in compromise", with Radiohead still operating as a rock band, and concluded: "Time will judge it. But right now, ''Kid A'' has the ring of a lengthy, over-analysed mistake."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=James|first=Oldham|date=30 September 2000|title=I was a complete fucking mess when ''OK Computer'' finished|journal=[[NME]]}}</ref> The ''Rolling Stone'' journalist [[Rob Sheffield]] wrote that the "mastery of Warp-style electronic effects" appeared "clumsy and dated".<ref name="Sheffield-2015" /> Rob Mitchell, the co-founder of Warp, felt ''Kid A'' was not "gratuitously" electronic, nor as radical as Warp acts such as Aphex Twin and Autechre, but instead represented "an honest interpretation of [Warp] influences" that was "totally authentic". He said it was an "excellent" album, and predicted it might one day be seen in the same way as [[David Bowie]]'s 1977 album ''[[Low (David Bowie album)|Low]]'', which alienated some Bowie fans but was later acclaimed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oldham |first=James |date=2020 |title=I was basically becoming unhinged... completely unhinged. |url=https://go.readly.com/magazines/5e551761d9e840113f4ee8b0/5e8c5fa703c6b71b7fcfda0e/1 |url-status=live |journal=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: Radiohead]] |pages=55 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405075354/https://go.readly.com/magazines/5e551761d9e840113f4ee8b0/5e8c5fa703c6b71b7fcfda0e/1 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>

[[AllMusic]] gave ''Kid A'' a favourable review, but wrote that it "never is as visionary or stunning as ''OK Computer'', nor does it really repay the intensive time it demands in order for it to sink in".<ref name="Letts2010" /> The ''NME'' was also positive, but described some songs as "meandering" and "anticlimactic", and concluded: "For all its feats of brinkmanship, the patently magnificent construct called ''Kid A'' betrays a band playing one-handed just to prove they can, scared to commit itself emotionally."<ref name="NME" /> In ''Rolling Stone'', [[David Fricke]] called ''Kid A'' "a work of deliberately inky, often irritating obsession&nbsp;... But this ''is'' pop, a music of ornery, glistening guile and honest ache, and it will feel good under your skin once you let it get there."<ref name="Fricke" />

''Spin'' said ''Kid A'' was "not the act of career suicide or feat of self-indulgence it will be castigated as", and predicted that fans would recognise it as Radiohead's best and "bravest" album.<ref name="Reynolds" /> ''Billboard'' described it as "an ocean of unparalleled musical depth" and "the first truly groundbreaking album of the 21st century".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/reviews/reviewdisplay.asp?ID=87891 |title=RADIOHEAD Kid A |access-date=15 March 2015 |magazine=Billboard |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001204001200/http://www.billboard.com/reviews/reviewdisplay.asp?ID=87891 |archive-date=4 December 2000 }}</ref> The critic [[Robert Christgau]] wrote that ''Kid A'' was "an imaginative, imitative variation on a pop staple: sadness made pretty".<ref name="Christgau" /> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' called it "oblique oblique oblique&nbsp;... Also incredibly beautiful."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |date=2000-10-03 |title=Like Our New Direction? |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2000/10/03/like-our-new-direction/ |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=[[The Village Voice]] |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405075352/https://www.villagevoice.com/2000/10/03/like-our-new-direction/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Brent DiCrescenzo of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' gave ''Kid A'' a perfect score, calling it "cacophonous yet tranquil, experimental yet familiar, foreign yet womb-like, spacious yet visceral, textured yet vaporous, awakening yet dreamlike". He concluded that Radiohead "must be the greatest band alive, if not the best since you know who".<ref name="pitchfork" /> One of the first ''Kid A'' reviews published online, it helped popularise ''Pitchfork'' and became notorious for its "obtuse" writing.<ref name="Leonard-2017">{{cite web |last=Leonard |first=Devin |date=3 May 2017 |title=''Pitchfork'' grows up |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-05-03/pitchfork-grows-up |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120412/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-05-03/pitchfork-grows-up |archive-date=21 November 2018 |access-date=21 November 2018 |website=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref><ref name="Enis-2020">{{Cite magazine |last=Enis |first=Eli |date=2020-03-26 |title=Everything In Its Right Place: How a Perfect 10.0 Review of Radiohead's ''Kid A'' Changed Music Criticism 20 Years Ago |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/radiohead-kid-a-pitchfork-review-brent-discrescenzo-2000-9342543/ |access-date=2024-01-27 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

Yorke said Radiohead had not attempted to alienate or confound, but that their musical interests had changed.<ref name="Kot-2001" /> Jonny Greenwood argued that the tracks were short and melodic, and suggested that "people basically want their hands held through 12 '[[Mull of Kintyre (song)|Mull Of Kintyre]]'s".<ref name="REYNOLDS" /> Yorke recalled that Radiohead had been "white as a sheet" before early performances on the ''Kid A'' tour, thinking they had been "absolutely trashed". At the same time, the reaction motivated them: "There was a sense of a fight to convince people, which was actually really exciting."<ref name="Crack">{{cite web |last=Frost |first=Thomas |date=May 2019 |title=Thom Yorke: Daydream nation |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/thom-yorke-daydream-nation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620185517/https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/thom-yorke-daydream-nation/ |archive-date=20 June 2019 |access-date=21 June 2019 |website=[[Crack Magazine]]}}</ref> He said Radiohead felt "incredibly vindicated and happy" after ''Kid A'' reached number one in the US.<ref name="Kot-2001" />

At [[Metacritic]], which aggregates ratings from critics, ''Kid A'' has a score of 80 based on 24 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".<ref name="MC" /> It was named one of the year's best albums by publications including the ''[[The Wire (magazine)|Wire]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 2001 |title=2000 rewind |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/charts/2000-rewind |journal=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]] |issue=203 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730114041/https://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/charts/2000-rewind |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Record Collector]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=The Best of 2000 (Issue #257, January 2001) |date=January 2001 |title=The best of 2000 |journal=[[Record Collector]] |issue=257}}</ref> ''Spin'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2000 |title=The 20 Best Albums Of 2000 |url=http://www.spin.com/new/2000top20/staffpicks/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010606235113/http://www.spin.com/new/2000top20/staffpicks/ |archive-date=6 June 2001 |access-date=30 July 2023 |website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]}}</ref> ''NME''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soghomonian |first=Talia |date=2009-11-06 |title=Best Albums Of 2000 - Have Your Say |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/best-albums-of-2000-have-your-say-773517 |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=[[NME]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730114030/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/best-albums-of-2000-have-your-say-773517 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ''Village Voice''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |date=2019-02-01 |title=2000 Pazz & Jop: Albums While They Last |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2019/02/01/2000-pazz-jop-albums-while-they-last/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=[[The Village Voice]] |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730114030/https://www.villagevoice.com/2019/02/01/2000-pazz-jop-albums-while-they-last/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the [[43rd Annual Grammy Awards|2001 Grammy Awards]], ''Kid A'' was nominated for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] and won for [[Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album|Best Alternative Album]].<ref>{{cite web |title=43rd Annual Grammy Awards Winners |url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&field_nominee_work_value=&year=2000&genre=All |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095007/http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&field_nominee_work_value=&year=2000&genre=All |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=8 March 2015 |work=Grammy.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=43rd Annual Grammy Awards – 2001 |url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2001/grammys.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311012724/http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2001/grammys.htm |archive-date=11 March 2015 |access-date=9 March 2015 |work=Rock on the Net |df=dmy-all}}</ref>