Brendan Kelly is many things. He’s a Chicago punk rock staple, a founding member of bands such as the Lawrence Arms, the Broadways and the Falcon, the man behind the hilarious Nihilist Arby’s Twitter account, my Monday night bartender and, before our interview, definitely not a fan of Radiohead. That’s why, in this edition of Blind Spots (where artists listen to one of the most famous albums they’ve never heard), I decided to force him to listen to the innovative U.K. band’s iconic 2000 album "Kid A.”

"Very literally yes, I’m not a fan. I don’t wish them any particular ill, but I’ve never heard ‘Kid A’ for chrissakes,” joked the 39-year-old Lincoln Square resident, who’s about to release the Falcon’s first album in 10 years ("Gather Up The Chaps,” out March 18). "In the early ‘90s I was this young punk kid, and when [Radiohead’s breakout 1992 single] ‘Creep’ came out, it was part of this alternative tidal wave of just gross nonsense. It was sort of peddling pop music but through sadness and malaise. There was like this disgusting feeling that these dorks were doing something important. Sure, some are canonical bands now, but I just didn’t like the whole thing. I was a punk rocker—I didn’t like the stuff on the radio.”

Blind Spots: The Lawrence Arms' Brendan Kelly has never heard Radiohead's 'Kid A' Blind Spots: The Lawrence Arms' Brendan Kelly has never heard Radiohead's 'Kid A' SEE MORE VIDEOS

While he knows "Creep” isn’t the best indicator of how Radiohead’s sound would evolve, and despite never hearing "OK Computer” or any of the band’s full albums, he’s optimistic that "Kid A” will prove him wrong. Read below to see what he thought of the full record.

1. "Everything in Its Right Place"

Radiohead - 'Everything In Its Right Place' Radiohead - 'Everything In Its Right Place' SEE MORE VIDEOS

Josh Terry: This one’s called "Everything in Its Right Place.” Thom Yorke’s voice tends to be a little alienating because it’s so high pitched and slightly nasal. What do you think?

Brendan Kelly: I mean my first thought is that this seems like the kind of thing you get high and listen to and then start losing your mind. Not in a cool way but in a "Ah, I gotta go outside!” way. It’s very claustrophobic, and when he hits that high note in the refrain, it kind of reminds me of Christina Aguilera or the Pussycat Dolls.

JT: Really?

BK: [Kelly mock-sings the falsetto notes].

JT: I was probably 12 when I first heard this and was on a diet of classic rock and punk, so my first thought was, "I didn’t know music could do this!”

BK: I will say this sounds almost exactly how I thought it was going to sound. I don’t hate it by any stretch of the imagination. That song didn’t reveal anything to me. It started and then it built up all this tension and then just faded away. So much so that it made me think, "Does it remind me of Christina Aguilera?” This is the part where people reading this are going to say, "This guy doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.”

2. "Kid A"

JT: Amazingly, John Mayer covers this song.

BK: Wow, high praise [Laughs]. There’s this "whale song” vocal thing going on here. I feel like I’m at a nice party with, like, cheese served on a stone. It’s not, like, offensive in any way.

JT: "My friend has an art gallery opening” music.

BK: I assume this album is unbelievably long?

JT: Not too bad. 49 minutes.

BK: I can’t imagine seeking either of those two songs for any reason.

3. "The National Anthem"

JT: For some reason I feel like you’ve probably heard this bassline before.

BK: I’m imagining a commercial where a sleek white car is barreling through a parking garage at night.

JT: It’s called "The National Anthem.”

BK: This is a cool soundtrack song, like if you’re in a movie and you’re walking into a club and there’s a lot of people who look like they’re about to kick your ass. I like this cacophonous jazz nightmare going on.

JT: I was reading initial reviews of this album, and these horns were the most divisive part about this record.

BK: That’s the first part of this I’ve heard where it’s legitimately moved the meter over to "cool.” This sounds really good.

JT: I’ve seen Radiohead live a few times, and this song is always a highlight in concert.

BK: This "traffic jam” part or whatever you want to call it, I can’t imagine it being like when I was a kid and listening to [Guns'N'Roses'] "Appetite For Destruction” all the time. I’d imagine by the fourth listen it would make me go crazy.

JT: Also, being young, I don’t think I was a sophisticated enough listener to love it on repeat listens. Definitely not a song you’d put on a mixtape for a high school crush.

BK: Ha, like, "What do you think of me, really?”

JT: What’s the strangest song you ever got on a high school mixtape? I got "No Children” by the Mountain Goats. Then we broke up two months later.

BK: [Laughs.] It’s been so long since I’ve had those shenanigans. When I was that age, the mixtapes I got were all the same with the Cure, the Smiths and Violent Femmes.

4. "How to Disappear Completely"

BK: What’s this one called?

JT: "How to Disappear Completely.”

BK: Oh, that’s an oft-referenced title. Listening to this, the word "droning” comes to mind. I’m liking that weird, ambient thing they got going on with synths and horns doing the same thing. It’s pretty neat.

[Silence]

BK: …This record’s also just like totally for fucking, right? If you’re not like drinking wine or eating cheese, you’re fucking when this is on.

JT: A little bit.

BK: It also has this really epic vibe to it. Like, you’re standing on the deck of a spaceship looking over a galactic formation.

JT: Like we said earlier, it’s definitely a great soundtrack record. It’s so cinematic you can imagine these crazy scenarios.

BK: I can back this song.