Radiohead

My friend Kurt loves Radiohead. He has said that he feels like Radiohead is 'the sound on Nineveh repenting'.

My friend Robbi loves music. He has said the he feels like 'Hail to the Thief' is the sound of Nineveh getting self-righteous.

*begin technical religious discussion*

I think Radiohead is not the sound of Nineveh repenting, but the sound of Nineveh lamenting. Repentance, in my mind, in a technical sense, in Christian context, requires faith and some knowledge of God. It requires some 'changing of mind'. I don't see these things in Radiohead. From my viewpoint they talk about the brokenness of the world, and they're sad about it, but there's no sense of a move to change, or even of any direction to change in.

However, I think Robbi's charge that 'Hail to the Thief' is the sound of Nineveh getting self-righteous is too critical. Instead, I would say that 'Hail to the Thief' is the sound of Nineveh criticizing Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the people who claim to have it right, but they lack compassion. Their religious observances are often shallow. They view their status as 'chosen people' as license for arrogance. The nice thing about Radiohead is that they don't have it all figured out, and they know that, and they don't claim to. And I think they're properly critical of those who do.

What do you think?