The thrill of the new: No. 2

If there's one thing Christmas is always good for, it's CDs as presents. Every now and then my family tries to find other things to give me and I usually manage to politely but firmly put them back on the straight and narrow.

The album that has grabbed my attention is not one I was given, but one I bought with Christmas money. Radiohead's Kid A is hardly new, but it's mostly new to me with the sensational exception of "Idioteque". And the album is stretching my tastes a little further outward.

My flirtation with Radiohead goes back a fairly long way. I can remember sampling both OK Computer and Kid A in music shops to see if I could understand what all the fuss was about. The reports that there was a band changing style each album was the biggest selling point. On both occasions I liked much of what I heard, or at least was interested by it. However I couldn't muster enough confidence to actually make a purchase.

My vague interest continued, and was amplified when I discovered how many of my fellow Tori Amos fans also enjoyed Radiohead. The die was cast when I was fortunate enough to win a copy of Hail to the Thief from a local radio station. I loved it, and still do. It amazes me that one band can not only imagine such variety but pull it off without a hint of strain.

I've been collecting other Radiohead albums over time - The Bends, then OK Computer and now Kid A - which has helped me understand how they got to their current stage of development. It seems that HTTT is where all the previous incarnations converge.

To be totally honest, I suspect I may be in love with the IDEA of Radiohead as much as with the music itself. But there is so much to love. In addition, I'm already aware that my favourite music satisifies on an intellectual level as much as an emotional one - give me Ravel over Debussy every time - so it isn't that surprising that a band that displays it's mental agility is such a hit with me.

Kid A does contain my least favourite Radiohead track thus far. "The National Anthem" seems to have only one idea - take a repetitive bass line and make a lot of wild noises over the top of it - and it's not an idea I enjoy. Elsewhere, however, there's plenty of compensation. "Idioteque" is still a major highlight, creating something manic from only a handful of objects.

The other truly awe-inspiring moment is "How to Disappear Completely", which seems to me to be the kind of music you would want for a documentary about either outer space or the ocean depths. It drifts along, creating a kind of alien mystery. The basic notion of a sad song with acoustic guitar and strings is simple enough, but somehow this gets transformed into a thing of wonder.

If I knew how it was done, I could be making millions. Of course, there are plenty of people who can't stand this kind of music, but the ones who do like it seem to get pulled in as if by a magnet.