Category: Aside

Hail to the Thief (2003)

This song was a revival. Kid A and Amnesiac, while great, were claustrophobic and paranoid. As fans, we longed for a little taste of the old Radiohead: confident, a little bitter, and hard. This song announced a step back that way, but with a twist. This song really hit home for me when I watched a broadcast of their Glastonbury performance of it. The song begins a little comtemplative, a little soft, a little dull. Then with one sudden point, and a swift upstrum, the song erupts with everyone going a hundred miles an hour. Oh, what the heck.

Notable lyric: It’s the devil’s way now / There is no way out / You can scream & you can shout / It is too late now / Because / You have not been / paying attention

Amnesiac (2001)

Notable lyric: i jumped in the river and what did I see? / black-eyed angels swimming with me

In Rainbows (2007)

This song has had a long life. It’s been played live for years, and they never found a suitable way to play it in the studio. It used to be called “Big Ideas (Don’t Get Any)”, but they went with the “scandalous” title “Nude”. I didn’t find it very singular live, but I’ve really taken to this studio track. It’s like an old blanket that you wash for the first time in ages. All warm and snuggly.

Notable lyric: So don’t get any big ideas / they’re not going to happen / You’ll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking

listen here

Kid A (2000)

Notable lyric: It’s holding on / It’s holding on

The Bends (1995)

This is a story song. I don’t like the video for it. The video for Just has a good story, even if the song is a little lacking in that quality. This song has a good story, but the video was kinda lame. The guys riding around in shopping carts. What? *sigh* The song is great, though.

Notable lyric: But I can’t help the feeling / I could blow through the ceiling / If I just turn and run

listen here

Ok Computer (1997)

Nothing seems more musically impressive, to me, than complicated rhythms. I always had the most fun in band with songs that had multiple key signatures. “1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4…” This song has a melody like that. It reminds me of the stars sparkling, how random it can seem. I started conceptualizing a music video for this song a long time ago. It was 3d. A little girl is left at a dock, I think. I might still have my sketches somewhere. There’s also this moment at the climax where Thom is singing two parts at the same time that gives me chills almost every time.

Notable lyric: You know, you know where you are with / you know where you are with / floor collapsing, falling / bouncing back and one day / (I’m gonna grow wings)

listen here

Airbag / How Am I Driving? EP (1998)

This song was originally titled “Ok Computer”, the name of the LP that preceded this EP release. Of course, the song was later changed to Palo Alto, which holds, as its slogan, “The City of the Future”. I love how friendly the refrain is. People are friendly in Silicon Valley because the weather’s great, and they know that they are smarter and more well-off than you are. Thanks for asking.

Notable lyric: But, I’m okay / How are you? / hanks for asking / thanks for asking

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In Rainbows (2007)

Radiohead is at their most poignant when they’re at the piano. This is one of those songs. It is one of those songs where the instruments themselves conjure the images spoken of in the song. As Thom sings about “videotape”, the drums tap out a syncopation familiar to those who have used VCRs before. You can see a grainy, long-ago-taped image playing on a screen. And going dark.

Notable lyric: When I’m at the pearly gates / This will be on my videotape / my videotape / Mephistopheles is just beneath / and he’s reaching up to / grab me

listen here

Amnesiac (2001)

There are a handful of songs by Radiohead that the uninitiated might find “weird”. This is one of them. For the vocals on the song, Thom sang them forwards and recorded it. Then he listened to it backwards and memorized it. Then he sang them backwards, recorded it, and flipped it for the vocal track on the song. The beautiful part of this song, which has such a distinct, studio-heavy sound to it, is that they completely reimagined it for concerts, turning it into a fantastic piano piece.

Notable lyric: while you make pretty speeches / I’m being cut to shreds / you feed me to the lions / a delicate balance

listen here