I don\'t know how the hell Phish would pull off playing Radiohead.
Why do they need to be brave? Are people really that brainwashed into thinking Radiohead are anywhere in the same league as Phish, who musically could rip them to shreds? Experimental doesn\'t mean anything if the end product is almost unlistenable. At least the first two albums had some half decent songs on them (even if the vocals sucked). I have tried to see what people see in Radiohead, honestly, but, like Coldplay, who too are also somewhat over-rated, they peaked right at the start and the desire to be different and \'clever\' has meant they do not play to their strengths. To be fair, \'In Rainbows\' was OK in patches and may herald a return to better things after three very so-so albums, but Radiohead should hardly be put up there alongside Floyd, Led Zep, Beatles etc.
Personally I find "The Bends" to be among the best rock albums of the 90s. "OK Computer" ... I mean listen to "Let Down" or "Subterrainian Homesick Alien" or "Airbag"... unlistenable? Man you\'ve got some different taste in music than me I guess! This stuff is genius.
"Kid A" was certainly difficult to digest the first few times I heard it. Now I think it\'s beautiful. Wasn\'t a huge fan of "Amnesiac" or "Hail to the Thief" in comparison... but IMO "In Rainbows" represents total redemption for the band and if they come out with another album that good I\'d have to say they\'ve reached their 2nd peak for sure.
The Coldplay comparisons I think are way off. Coldplay probably wishes they were Radiohead, but their sauce is way too weak. Muse probably wishes they were Radiohead too, but they just don\'t have the soul to even place them in the same tier of great music.
The fact, at least from my perspective as a musician who can rip a bunch of Phish songs, is that both of these bands would have a hell of a hard time trying to play the other band\'s stuff. Johnny Greenwood is nothing to scoff at on guitar. In fact he\'s a total genius and no doubt would show up Trey on a technical level and in terms of diversity. Maybe Greenwood would have a tough time nailing "The Landlady" but basically there\'s no way Trey could even come close to reproducing the guitar on most of "The Bends", "OK Computer", or "In Rainbows".
I\'d actually be shocked and highly impressed if Phish could pull off "Climbing Up the Walls" or "Paranoid Andriod".
"Kid A" is lighter on guitar overall but I still have no idea how Phish could pull that one off without straight up showing the world they can\'t hang with Radiohead when it comes to trying to play Radiohead.
Greenwood is certainly Anastasio\'s equal (actually better from an objective musician\'s point of view).... just a much different sort of music.
