History Music / TheBends

''The Bends'' is the second album by English AlternativeRock band Music/{{Radiohead}}. The album was released in 1995 -- and at a time when the band needed it most.

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: The album is fully of heavy AlternativeRock bangers, but also has the ballads "High and Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was," and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)."

* CoverVersion: Music/PeterGabriel covered "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" on his 2010 CoverAlbum ''Scratch My Back''. Radiohead, unfortunately, declined the opportunity to cover one of Gabriel's songs in turn for ''And I'll Scratch Yours''; according to Gabriel, the band were originally planning on covering Gabriel's [[Music/{{Security}} "Wallflower"]] for the album, but ultimately backed out because they disliked Gabriel's cover.

-->--'''"Just"'''

''The Bends'' is the second album released by English AlternativeRock band Music/{{Radiohead}}. The album was released in 1995 -- at a time when the band needed it most.

While their debut efforts, the 1992 EP ''Drill'' and 1993 album ''Music/PabloHoney'', were decently regarded by critics, they were both met with a general shrug by the masses, who considered its {{grung|e}}y sound derivative of Music/{{Nirvana}} at a time when [[FollowTheLeader damn near everyone was imitating the reluctant Seattle superstars]]. Most listeners didn't consider the tracklists of either release particularly memorable save for "Creep", the band's first hit, and indeed this consensus would become more widely adopted with time.

Radiohead's second album, meanwhile, saw a change in direction for the band, its blend of {{Britpop}} and PostGrunge a backdrop for more layered sounds and more fleshed-out, cryptic, and emotionally candid lyrics that set the stage for the band's increasingly abstract and experimental follow-up material.

* RefrainFromAssuming:
** "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" is often shortened to "Fade Out" due to it being the phrase in the title that appears in the chorus.
** Similarly, "Just" is sometimes appended with "(You Do It to Yourself)".

* InTheStyleOf: "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" was written as a homage to Music/{{REM}}, of whom the members of Radiohead were fans. Radiohead would end up accompanying R.E.M. as a supporting act during the latter's 1995 tour for ''Music/{{Monster|REMAlbum}}'', and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe's advice to Thom Yorke for coping with the stress of touring would influence both Radiohead's [[Music/KidA "How to Disappear Completely"]] and R.E.M.'s [[Music/{{Reveal}} "Disappear"]].

While their debut efforts, the 1992 EP ''Drill'' and 1993 album ''Music/PabloHoney'', were decently regarded by critics, they were both met with a general shrug by the masses, who considered its {{grung|e}}y sound derivative of Music/{{Nirvana}} at a time when damn near everyone was imitating the reluctant Seattle superstars. Most listeners didn't consider the tracklists of their EP and album particularly memorable save for "Creep", the band's first hit, and indeed this consensus would become more widely adopted with time.

While their debut efforts, the 1992 EP ''Drill'' and 1993 studio album ''Music/PabloHoney'', were decently regarded by critics, they were both met with a general shrug by the masses, who considered its {{grung|e}}y sound derivative of Music/{{Nirvana}} at a time when damn near everyone was imitating the reluctant Seattle superstars. Most listeners didn't consider the tracklists of their EP and album particularly memorable save for "Creep", the band's first hit, and indeed this consensus would become more widely adopted with time.

''The Bends'' is the second album released by English AlternativeRock band Music/{{Radiohead}}. The album was released in 1995 -- at a time where the band needed it most.

* CreatorBacklash: Done in-universe with "My Iron Lung", which Radiohead wrote as a response towards the success of "Creep" and their resentment of it. Among other things, the song openly calls itself and its predecessor "a total waste of time."

* AdultFear: "Bones" is based on the very realistic fear of becoming crippled by old age, a fear that becomes particularly prominent as one's adulthood progresses; the contrast between the narrator's huge amounts of physical activity in his childhood and him becoming next-to-immobilized by arthritis is an especially common focus of rumination among people in regards to the aging process.

* DownerEnding: "Street Spirit" is in the running for being one of the saddest album closers of all time, even though it's on a pretty brooding and moody album. This can be attributed to its somber sound and its lyrics that deal with how life is pointless, death is inevitable, and resistance is futile.
* DrivenToSuicide: The "lead fill the hole in me" line in "Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was". ''Melody Maker'' published an article around the time using the lyrics of the track as evidence that Thom Yorke was destined to go the way of Music/KurtCobain (incidentally, the album began production while Cobain was still alive; his suicide led to the band removing references to gun violence in "Sulk" to avoid anyone from making a connection to Cobain that was never meant to be there in the first place).

* RefrainFromAssuming: "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" is often shortened to "Fade Out" due to it being the phrase in the title that appears in the chorus. Similarly "Just" is sometimes appended with "(You Do It to Yourself)".

-->''"Immerse your soul in love."''

->''You and no one else"''

[[caption-width-right:350: ''If you think that you're strong enough\\
If you think you belong enough.'']]

''The Bends'', released in 1995, is the second album released by English AlternativeRock band Music/{{Radiohead}}, at a time where the band needed it most.

* ThrowItIn: The guitar riff that starts at about 2:50 into the song "Fake Plastic Trees" was supposed to start a half measure later, but was put in at the wrong time in mixing. The band decided that it sounded better the way it was, and left it in.

''The Bends'' was supported by five singles: "My Iron Lung", "High and Dry"/"Planet Telex" (released as a double-A-side), "Fake Plastic Trees", "Just", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)".

* EitherOrTitle: "(Nice Dream)" parodies this trope by parenthesizing the entire title without saying what it's an alternative to, essentially including the "or," but not the "either." "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", meanwhile plays this straight.

* SurrealMusicVideo: "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit". The latter was directed by [[Film/UnderTheSkin Jonathan Glazer]].

''The Bends'' saw considerable commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 22 on the Billboard 200 the following year, going on to become the 55th best-selling album of 1995 and the 43rd best-selling album of 1996 in the UK. The album was also certified quadruple-platinum in the UK, triple-platinum in Canada, platinum in the US, the EU, and New Zealand, and gold in Argentina, Belgium, and the Netherlands. True to critics' predictions, this success would end up paving the way for the even greater heights achieved by ''Music/OKComputer'' just two years later.

* CreatorBacklash: Done in-universe with "My Iron Lung", which Radiohead wrote as a response towards the success of "Creep" and their resentment of it.

* TheShowMustGoWrong: The guitar riff that starts at about 2:50 into the song "Fake Plastic Trees" was supposed to start a half measure later, but was put in at the wrong time in mixing. The band decided that it sounded better the way it was, and left it in.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Ranges from 2 ("Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was", "Street Spirit (Fade Out)") to 6 ("The Bends", "Just") "My Iron Lung" goes back and forth from 4 to 7. Other songs like "Planet Telex" and "Black Star" are a 5.

''The Bends'' saw a much more positive response than its predecessor, being praised by listeners as well as by critics in the UK, who praised its combination of an arena-friendly sound with emotionally-driven artistry. In the US, critics were considerably more mixed, in part due to the album's more atmospheric sound compared to the grunge boom (which was in its mainstream twilight in the wake of Music/KurtCobain's suicide the previous year, but was still dominating the American music scene at the time), but they too would go on to appraise the album in the following decades. The album was also a considerable commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 22 on the Billboard 200 the following year, going on to become the 55th best-selling album of 1995 and the 43rd best-selling album of 1996 in the UK. The album was also certified quadruple-platinum in the UK, triple-platinum in Canada, platinum in the US, the EU, and New Zealand, and gold in Argentina, Belgium, and the Netherlands. True to critics' predictions, this success would end up paving the way for the even greater heights achieved by ''Music/OKComputer'' just two years later.

In retrospect, between its solidifying Radiohead as rock tastemakers and its [[FollowTheLeader inspiring the next generation of British music]] through the glut of Britpop acts that saw fit to emulate its likenesses (Music/{{Muse}}, Music/{{Coldplay}}, etc), the legacy of ''The Bends'' has not been understated. ''Magazine/RollingStone'' gave it the 111th spot on their [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime "500 greatest albums" list]], and ''Q Magazine'' gave it the #2 spot on their "greatest albums" list... defeated only by Radiohead's own ''OK Computer''. Despite this, no single from the album was able to surpass or even match the gargantuan success of "Creep".

''The Bends'' saw considerable commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 22 on the Billboard 200 the following year, going on to become the 55th best-selling album of 1995 and the 43rd best-selling album of 1996 in the UK. The album was also certified quadruple-platinum in the UK, triple-platinum in Canada, platinum in the US, the EU, and New Zealand, and gold in Argentina, Belgium, and the Netherlands. True to critics' predictions, this success would end up paving the way for the even greater heights achieved by ''Music/OKComputer'' just two years later.

[[caption-width-right:350: ''If you think that you're strong enough / If you think you belong enough.'']]

While their debut efforts, the 1992 EP ''Drill'' and 1993 studio album ''Music/PabloHoney'', were decently regarded by critics, they were both met with a general shrug by the masses, who considered its {{grung|e}}y sound derivative of Music/{{Nirvana}} at a time when damn near everyone was imitating the reluctant Seattle superstars. Most listeners didn't consider the tracklists of Radiohead's EP and album particularly memorable save for "Creep", the band's first hit, and indeed this consensus would become more widely adopted with time. Radiohead's second studio album, meanwhile, saw a change in direction for the band, introducing more layered sounds and more fleshed-out, cryptic, and emotionally candid lyrics that set the stage for the band's increasingly abstract and experimental follow-up material.

Blending elements of {{Britpop}} and PostGrunge, ''The Bends'' saw considerable commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 22 on the Billboard 200 the following year, going on to become the 55th best-selling album of 1995 and the 43rd best-selling album of 1996 in the UK. The album was also certified quadruple-platinum in the UK, triple-platinum in Canada, platinum in the US, the EU, and New Zealand, and gold in Argentina, Belgium, and the Netherlands. True to critics' predictions, this success would end up paving the way for the even greater heights achieved by ''Music/OKComputer'' just two years later.