Radiohead and Philosophy - Brandon W. Forbes [120]
it is the reflection of a profound reality;
it masks and denatures a profound reality;
it masks the absence of a profound reality;
it has no relation to reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum. 74
This triumph of the simulacrum—the state in which a simulation doesn’t just represent a reality, it actually takes its place—leads to what Baudrillard calls hyperreality, the state in which people are unable to distinguish the real from the fake. Think of the way the architectures of Disneyland and Las Vegas ape entire cultures, dazzling consumers with ersatz exotica, and lulling them into a dazed receptiveness to the all-important corporate message/massage. Or consumer branding, the logic of which dictates that we choose to purchase a feeling of crypto-bohemian comfort rather than a coffee; a swoosh rather than a sports shoe; a vague notion of authenticity (“The Real Thing”, which actually isn’t real) rather than a sweet, fizzy, brown drink (which is the reality).
An entity such as Radiohead almost by default sets itself up in opposition to such manifestations of capitalist mind control via the simulacrum. They are a rock band, with all the connotations of rebellion and non-conformity that this implies. That said, much of their music transcends the clichés that attend such a simplistic definition: in search of inspiration, they are more likely to delve into the traditions of electronic dance music, or the classical avant garde, than they are to mine the back catalogs of, say, Led Zeppelin. But their place in modern culture remains that of a rock band: they are reviewed by rock critics, their music plays on rock stations, and if record shops still exist by the time you read this, their CDs are shelved alongside the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the Rolling Stones, not Rimsky-Korsakov or Ravi Shankar. At concerts, Radiohead fans tend to wear Converse sneakers and don’t drink overpriced Chardonnay or talk about skiing holidays in the concert interval.
Moreover, the band labors under that equally unsatisfactory tag of ‘alternative rock’, a core characteristic of which has always been an insistence on ‘authenticity’ and an admission of human frailty and imperfection. No inconvenient truth may be swept under the mat, no bum note may be excised, and no zit may be air-brushed. In the words that Richey James Edwards, of the Welsh band Manic Street Preachers, hacked into his scrawny arm in 1991, the most important thing is to be “4REAL.” (The guitarist, who had a history of depression and self-harm, cut himself during an argument with NME journalist Steve Lamacq, who had questioned the Manics’ integrity. In 1995, Edwards disappeared—completely? —and was legally declared dead in November 2008.)
Radiohead go further to oppose corporate simulacra. In their song lyrics, their public statements and their activities as a band, they criticize the pervasive influence of global capitalism and its effect on culture and society. But can a successful rock band, operating within the landscape of the modern media, avoid the processes that Baudrillard envisaged? How does Radiohead avoid becoming a tawdry simulacrum of itself?
I Wish I Was Special
In the early years of the band’s existence, philosophical conundrums about perception and reality were hardly an issue. At the time of the first album, Pablo Honey, and the successful single, “Creep,” Radiohead were lumped together with Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the then-current grunge movement (for no better reason than that they looked unhappy, and sounded as if they might have listened to Sonic Youth when they were young). By 1995, with the release of The Bends, Radiohead were often classified as Britpop (see Oasis, Blur), because they were British and had guitars.
While the band members didn’t fit neatly into the stereotypical rock mold (too middle-class and not disposed to throwing televisions out of hotel windows) they were awkward and intense enough to slot into any number of indie sub-genres. Moreover, they were patently 4REAL, to the extent that