How ‘The Bends’ by Radiohead Changed Alternative Rock Forever
After the success of “Creep,” Radiohead was at a crossroads. They struggled to cope with the potential of being a ‘one-hit-wonder.’ While their label EMI sought another big hit, they went a different direction. The result was The Bends, an album that saw them redefining their sound, and thus, the trajectory of alternative rock for the next decade. This is the story of Radiohead and The Bends, and how it set the stage for Radiohead becoming one of the biggest bands in the world at the time.
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WATCH NEXT:
✓ The Story of Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead: https://youtu.be/UjzAvjWhuCA
✓ The Story of Creep by Radiohead: https://youtu.be/vzab4SglvHw
✓ The Story of Today by The Smashing Pumpkins: https://youtu.be/sHrImJFDuYM
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Poetic Wax is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Aftermath of Creep
1:32 From Grunge Misfits to a Glimmer of the Future
4:06 The Touring Grind and the Urge to Evolve
5:35 Crafting a Collaborative Masterpiece
10:05 The Final Touches that Defined The Bends
12:21 Explosive Guitars, Quiet Ballads, and a Defining Sound
14:17 A Lasting Legacy and the Birth of Post-Britpop
16:33 Crop Circles
CLIP REFERENCES:
Radiohead Perform Creep Live on September 14, 1993 | Late Night with Conan O’Brien https://youtu.be/J_sH-GrUeUw?si=EjmkByPaSyjhxRaW
Radiohead Creep Official Music Video (1992) https://youtu.be/XFkzRNyygfk?si=aKdT2MpMd3KuJ9YP
John Leckie Q&A Oslo Feb 2012 Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7EGt7e8IO8&t=1259s
John Leckie Q&A Oslo Feb 2012 Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSP91PbKpj0&t=1s
Radiohead – Planet Telex Live at Apollo Theatre 1995 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEbBTi6iR9A
Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzCD2pRfLcE
Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (Late Night with Conan, 1995) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRicAP8zPik
Radiohead Interview in a Shop 1995 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc8Dy–GnSw
Radiohead Interview (MTV, 1995) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR3HVqBD5oE
Radiohead Interview (Vancouver BC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdqIIG9lXU4
#radiohead #fakeplastictrees #thomyorke #thebends #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
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@AndyFenstermaker
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Next, I go deep into the history of "Fake Plastic Trees" and the surprising inspiration that helped make it the song we know today 👉 https://youtu.be/UjzAvjWhuCA
@kieranhealy9815
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
i like the way you have approached this man – like your style and the way this channel is set up – Poetic Wax is also quite cool -. THe best of luck with this man and ill be putting my guys on this .. Support from Ireland 😎😎😎
@annabellgrey7657
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Raidohead definitely helped change the alternative music by bringing in “feelings” disturbing things that so many people do not want to show!
Their loss .
@Syncop8rNZ
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
No filler, in fact the tracks I'm most likely to skip are the singles.
@liveshotsvideoproductions
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
This album came out during my college years, all the hippy rockers were talking about it and had it on their Walkman. Listening to it now takes me back and still gives goosebumps.
@GordonSlamsay
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
i grew up with The Bends and OK Computer on all the time.
when i went back to RH some years ago with a proper set of headphones my reaction to both was "oh i remember this song… oh i remember this one"
i recently got Pablo Honey on cassette and honestly, i think it's a pretty good album, not nearly as proggy as what came after but you can tell as musicians they were head and shoulders above their contemporaries. as stated in the video, "untapped potential"
@JohnnySanti-s3x
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Okay Computer sounds like a debut album with experimental sounds and five people just trying to have fun. The Bends sounds like the fifth album made by a very renowned band. Pablo Honey sounds like it is from a one album band that will always have a nostalgic place in music history, like so many one album bands from that era.
@JustCallMeBandit
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
I really love your framing of content, it feels very pleasant to watch. Keep up the great work!
@paulsenkans3401
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
I first heard RH in 2001. I thought Pink Floyd had reformed, with Roger Waters. I eventually listened to them properly in the covid years. OK Computer and Kid A in particular. I still have to catch up with their other work.
@cph2004
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
My iron lung was about how creep was successful and they needed a lifeline. Otherwise, their label was going to drop them.
@seanmartin4062
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
The Bends is the album of my youth & my favourite Album of all time…
The bends album is like a collection of number 1 hits or a best of Album I find it extraordinary even today still
@CarefulObserver1
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
I knew The Bends was a giant leap forward and light years ahead of its predecessor, in the first 10-20 seconds of listening to it on headphones at the record store, circa March 1995 when it was first released. I had liked Creep okay enough, but I wasn't a real fan of Radiohead until I heard the first half-minute of Planet Telex, bought the CD, went home and…yeah. Got to finally see them live in Glasgow (while on an extended tour of Europe myself) on the In Rainbows tour, June 2008.
@youtubeusername2254
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Would absolutely love you to continue this series and go through their next 6 albums! Please!
@danaleighmusic
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
This album changed my life. Excellent video, i hope you do more radiohead content!
@verybrd
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
ffs, they did not change everyone's lives, they just changed mine
@ProfessorPithy
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
The Bends is the best Radiohead album. Not a clunker on it.
@i_unfriend_u
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
By moving to the remote countryside, they took the same route as Led Zeppelin when they wrote Led Zeppelin III. It's interesting to see the types of ideas that form when you're isolated.
@elimakzmzc
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
abraham from the walking dead?
@abdullahsajjad6917
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
The bends is the most genius album from Radiohead 🎉
@spookyshark632
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Pablo Honey is a prologue. The Bends is the real first Radiohead album.
@thekillingfieldsable
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Pablo Honey was released in 1993, so you can't really accuse the band of riding on Britpop's coattails.
@Phobero
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
And for the worse
@GeorgeTheDinoGuy
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Fantastic video. The Bends is amazing, hoping Radiohead bring John Leckie on again if we ever get LP10.
@rayc2680
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 am
Even if they're not on of my favourite bands, that album is a masterpiece and made me think twice about the talent and ideas they have.
A real eye opener
Comments are closed.