Pablo Honey

Who Woulda Thought...
by: bill aicher

It was the early 90s. Rock music was dour and angst-ridden. Grunge music ruled the airwaves and the "alternative" sound was just catching on.

And like any era, it needed an anthem. A song to fit that moment in time. So along come this little band out of England with an album title inspired by an Adam Sandler skit and a little song called "Creep."

And a generation found an anthem.

"Creep" was the perfect pop song. While the rest of the pop world was singing songs about being in love and the rock world was singing about being alone and depressed, Radiohead came out with a mix of the two - a man who looks up to a person while looking down upon himself.

The rest of Pablo Honey did not fare so well. People viewed the band as a one-hit wonder. The rest of the album offered nothing spectacular, just a collection of pop rock songs that were easy to sing along to.

Still, Pablo Honey, is a much better album than people give it credit for. While it is true that it was just a starting block for what was to come, it was a good pop/rock album. Songs like "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Vegetable" established the band as more than one song. And the closer, "Blow Out" gave a hint of what this band just may be capable of.

It wasn't the best album of the early 90s, but Pablo Honey opened the ears of the world to Radiohead. It gave them a name to recognize next time they came around.

Just think what would have happened if "Creep" had never hit big... would they have even gotten the studio go-ahead to make The Bends?

Now, 8 years after its release, Pablo Honey performs two functions. It is a sweet helping of ear candy as well as a place to look to see just where what is quite possibly the world's greatest rock band got it's start.

Thank God they got their chance.