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This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's 'Kid A' and the Beginning of the 21st Century is a book by American music critic and journalist Steven Hyden. It recounts the events surrounding the creation of Radiohead's 4th studio album Kid A which the band released in 2000. The book was published by Hachette Books in September 2020 and takes its name from a lyric found in the song "How to Disappear Completely" which featured on Kid A.

Content
This Isn't Happening details the rise of Radiohead from their beginnings as a young collage rock band from Oxford, England to becoming international celebrities after the release of their 1992 hit Creep and later, their critically acclaimed album OK Computer in 1997. However, Hyden focuses mostly on the creative struggles of lead singer Thom Yorke which led the band to experimenting with elements of electronic music, ambient music, jazz and krautrock.

The story of Kid A’s development is told mostly through references by Hyden to an online journal kept by guitarist Ed O'Brien from January 1999 to April 2000 when Radiohead were recording Kid A. These journal entries are used throughout This Isn’t Happening to chronicle the creative journey the band when on while recording Kid A and the difficulties they faced.

This Isn't Happening also looks at the career of Radiohead after Kid A and the legacy that the album left behind. He describes the impact that Kid A had on music in the years after its release and also how it changed Radiohead and prompted them to further experiment with unfamiliar genres and sounds.

Hyden intertwines his own personal experiences with discussing the work of Radiohead, documenting his own journey as a fan of the band and how their music influenced him. He uses pop-culture references when discussing the band’s work as a way of showing the impact that it had on society and the arts.

Critical Reception
This Isn't Happening was well received by the music press and the literary critics alike with Pitchfork highlighting the book as part of their Book Club and Kirkus describing Hyden's book as "a knowledgeable, earnest, always persuasive testament to a cultural touchstone". Kirkus also featured the book on their list of Best Music Books of 2020 in collaboration with Rolling Stone.