Time is often the only measure of works of arts and entertainment. Today, would anyone argue that “Dances with Wolves” deserved a best picture Oscar over “Goodfellas?” The same thinking applie to music. In 1997, Radiohead gained international acclaim with their third album, “Ok Computer.” Despite being dubbed the best album of the year by almost every single publication, Bob Dylan’s “Time Outta Mind” took home the Grammy. Over the last three years, “Ok Computer” has evolved as the 90s definition of a concept album, consistently considered as one of the top two albums of the decade (next to Nirvana’s “Nevermind”). Radiohead has quite a lot to live up to. Dubbed as the saviors of rock after ‘Ok,’ the band’s recording of their new album, “Kid A,” was an eagerly watched event, and the wait is finally over. The result is easily their most innovative and best album to date. Saying that this is their best album is a mixed bag indeed. The album is by far the band’s most original and coherent, as tracks flow effortlessly from one to another. It is also their most confusing. “Pablo Honey” contained some great rock; The Bends was full of textured emotional songs, and “Ok Computer was an amazing wall of sound. Kid A is something completely different. Something new. The album is full of sounds neverfore recorded by a “rock” band. Powerful guitar sounds have been replaced with sounds of organs, harps and a full on brass section. Trying to describe these songs is much like trying to explain what chicken tastes like, but their quality demands a try. The album opens with “Everything In Its Right Place.” The song builds as front man Thom Yorke’s vocals are looped over and over, and the result is sonic heaven. The bliss continues over the rest of the album. “The National Anthem” contains probably one of the hardest bass lines ever mixed, and the song comes to a close with brass section blowout that demands to be heard. The song “How to Disappear Completely” is clearly the most radio friendly song, yet it is nowhere near pop. The track coasts along slowly and flows into an instrumental, “Treefingers,” that is pure mood.

“Optimistic” and “Morning Bell” are both addictive songs that require several listens. Both have easily been the standouts so far on their European tour, and the studio versions do not disappoint. The album’s biggest surprise is track seven, “Idioteque.” Machines, rather than the band’s usual guitar riffs, do everything in the song. The result is easily one of the best “techno” songs in years. “Motion Picture Soundtrack,” a song Thom Yorke has played acoustically many times, is amazingly different. Harps echo throughout, as does Yorke’s voice over his best-written lyrics to date. The song is easily Radiohead’s finest ballad since “Fake Plastic Trees.” The true standout is “Kid A,” the second song. The song starts like a music box and builds into a sound that has never been before recorded. Yorke’s voice is looped through a synthesizer so much, it’s almost unrecognizable. This is the most original song of the year. Much has been written about artists hiring new producers to give their music a more technological feel. Madonna is clearly one, but “Music” is nowhere near the complete work that is “Kid A.” The beauty of the album is that you can tell that the band experimented with instruments and tried new things. “Kid A” is the band’s labor of love, and it shows. Will “Kid A” finally break Radiohead through the wall? It is doubtful. The band already has the respect of every critic on the planet, and this album will surely cement that relationship. However, while the band is huge throughout the world, U.S.A. superstardom is still out of reach. “Kid A” most likely will not change that, but the beauty of Radiohead is their refusal to churn out “Radiohead” albums. A little known fact is that “My Iron Lung” off “The Bends” is actually about how annoying their biggest hit “Creep” has been. The band does what interests them, not what sells records. In this day, that is to be applauded. Will “Kid A” become a staple of radio and “Total Request Live”? Probably not. Will high school and collegiate males blast this out of their car stereos with the aplomb they do Dave Matthews and Eminem? No. Is that a bad thing? No. Is “Kid A” the best album of the year? Yes.