Comments on: Radiohead As Interpreted By Fifth Graders

Radiohead As Interpreted By Fifth Graders

Atom12 — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 07:53:09 -0800

Mitsi Kato's fifth-grade class at Roosevelt Elementary in San Leandro listened to Radiohead and drew pictures of what the music suggested to them.

By: salmacis

salmacis — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 07:58:42 -0800

They look earily similar to the sort of scribbles found on the inlay of OK Computer and the Airbag EP...

By: stonerose

stonerose — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:01:50 -0800

My mother retired from teaching the year two of her second-grade girls suggested lip-syncing Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" for the Christmas talent show.

By: randomnfactor

randomnfactor — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:03:13 -0800

simply brilliant. shards of light in an otherwise grey morning. i believe some of the commentary although definitely funny, is misplaced. mommy come help me? yeah baby.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:07:45 -0800

Folks at atease (in between laughing hysterically) are skeptical, but this is still one of the funniest things I've read this month. Is this how Thom Yorke sees himself? A lonely figure sprawled across a piano bench as the faceless multitudes leer at and judge him? Does he want our love? Does he want us to leave him alone? Or does he want a thousand-foot ice cream cone? Fine, Thom: Here's a thousand-foot-high ice cream cone.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:12:55 -0800

That's hysterical. :)

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:15:56 -0800

Radiohead: It's about bummed-out dolphins.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:30:19 -0800

mommy come help me? I love the ambiguity: What Radiohead is saying, or "get me out of this screwy social-science experiment, now!!!"?

By: fvw

fvw — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:33:35 -0800

Nice, and definately very radioheadesque. Though the 'click on image for a larger view' text which is actually what you have to click to get a larger view annoys me no end.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:37:42 -0800

Awesome. Good to see schools actually challening kids to work with their brains.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:38:11 -0800

challenging, that is. We don't want the kids challened.

By: aramaic

aramaic — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 09:04:28 -0800

Speak for yourself xmutex, kids these days could use a stout challening.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 09:05:51 -0800

I'm surprised no one drew a picture of a turd.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 09:13:32 -0800

aramaic: why should kids challenge a stoat? That seems dangerous to me. Unless they challenge a stoat to, say, checkers. But even then, I might let the stoat when, what with the teeth and all. could use a stoat challenging indeed.

By: majcher

majcher — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 09:21:14 -0800

I'm surprised no one drew a picture of a turd. Or a vacuum cleaner.

By: bunnytricks

bunnytricks — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 10:29:42 -0800

Thom Yorke may want a thousand foot ice cream cone, but only Robert Smith can eat one and still have room left over for cake and vodka. 'cause he's a fat drunk. Hah.

By: Argyle

Argyle — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 10:38:30 -0800

Great FPP Atom12! Thanks!

By: jpoulos

jpoulos — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 10:49:37 -0800

The booth in the center reads "Free Suicides." Someone buy this kid a Coldplay CD. Everyone reads dong resin.

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 11:23:01 -0800

Why do the children have to keep negative ideas to themselves? That sounds like a really crunk-damn bad idea?

By: Orb

Orb — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 11:34:51 -0800

Interesting what the kids came up with, but I'm one of those people who lives under a rock and have no clue what the songs they are talking about sound like. I've heard the name Radiohead before, but wouldn't recognize them if I heard them on the radio. Should I bother? Is it worth it? :D And I'm with jon_kill ... teaching kids to keep their negative ideas to themselves is a bad idea. Whether or not an idea is negative is all a matter of perspective.

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 11:36:34 -0800

I'm with orb, meaning that I agree with myself.

By: evilelf

evilelf — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 12:09:02 -0800

Hopefully these were not the same children who were forced to listen to Guided by Voices...

By: whatnot

whatnot — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 12:09:31 -0800

I am glad they didn't play "how to dissapear completely," as most of the kids would have jumped out the window. Orb, I would advise against consuming alcohol or any other depressants before listening to radiohead.

By: marzenie99

marzenie99 — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 12:51:02 -0800

They should've listened to Super Furry Animals instead.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 13:22:41 -0800

Orb, I would advise against consuming alcohol or any other depressants before listening to radiohead. You know, I just don't get why people think their stuff is so depressing. She listens to the song currently playing, chorus of which goes "As the tanks roll into town/a little bit of knowledge will destroy you". Ah, the Amnesiac b-sides... What's not to like? They've just got their eyes open. Plus it's got a great beat and you can dance to it. "Once again, we are hungry for a lynching..."

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 13:23:35 -0800

(Promises self to take musical obsessions to proper venue, and talk like a pirate for the rest of the day in appropriate Mefi style)

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 13:44:39 -0800

wouldn't recognize them if I heard them on the radio. Should I bother? Is it worth it? No, Orb, I'd say Little Fluffy Clouds is more appropriate for you.

By: Orb

Orb — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 16:16:24 -0800

jon_kill: It's always good to agree with yourself. Just be sure to keep any negative ideas you may have entirely to yourself. soyjoy: I had never even heard of Orb (the band) until people started coming to my web site and thinking it was about the band, and they seemed to be confused that it was just me babbling about my insane life. So Radiohead is depressing. That probably explains why I haven't ever heard of them. My life is depressing enough without adding any extraneous input. Funny, on preview, I realized that I had referred to my life as inane rather than insane ... though I suppose both would apply.

By: skallas

skallas — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 20:25:30 -0800

Did they get to see some of the cover art? Seems a bit influenced by what Radiohead puts in its CD cases. I agree with whoever said this was really sub-par for fifth graders. A simple google search for 5th grade art brings up some really cool stuff. I really like this class's work.

By: asterisk

asterisk — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 21:45:00 -0800

I think this is great! (being a huge Radiohead fan myself) I always thought the Kid A era stuff is good for background thinking music. Beyond the inclass thing maybe this will get a few of the kids to be more open to listening to non top40 music... They do, however, immediately request that we play Sean Paul or 50 Cent instead. Oi... too late... on to the 4th graders.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Sat, 20 Sep 2003 14:46:53 -0800

Okay, just one more comment and I'll call it a day. I don't think listening to Radiohead, or any kind of music more challenging than top 40 pop, would really be all that much of a stretch for 10/11 year olds. I grew up in a household where we listened to a lot of folk music and a lot of classical music; when I was about 11 years old my favourites were Joan Baez, Phil Ochs (especially Pleasures of the Harbour) and the Beethoven symphonies, all 1 to 9. The only thing I found difficult to listen to was jazz, because I liked melody, and I didn't hear any... I think the best thing one can do for children is to give them the chance to experience music and art and literature in all its complexity, without worrying about dumbing it down or whether or not they understand it. It doesn't matter if they "get it" the way an adult would; what matters is that they have the experience of knowing what is possible.