Of Miles Rausch

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

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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

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The Bends (1995)

Notable lyric: don’t get my sympathy / hanging out the 15th floor / changed the locks three times / you still coming reeling through the door

Ok Computer (1997)

Typically, Ok Computer is the Radiohead album that people know, for good reason. This song, like the album, is solid. It features a complicated guitar-picking melody, which turns into a distortion-happy rock out wave, which turns into a floating, sing-song. This is the rock epic of Ok Computer. Clocking in at 6:24 and featuring guitar solos, breakdowns, changes in tempo and pace, and (of course) a messed up music video, this song has something for everyone.

Notable lyric: That’s it, sir / You’re leaving / The crackle / of pigskin / The dust / and the screaming / The yuppies networking / The panic, / the vomit / The panic, / the vomit / God loves his children, / God loves his children, / yeah!

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Com Lag (EP) (2004)

This song is one of the band’s few instrumental songs. This EP came out after Hail to the Thief, and it followed in the same “electronic” style that HTTT had established. I like the persistent percussion in this song, and the playful (female?) “Hey…” that floats around in the background. The song sounds optimistic, though it doesn’t really have a story that it tells. It just repeats and repeats and then fades out.

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Pablo Honey (1993)

This song was the single from the first album. Radiohead was fresh-faced and new, and they hadn’t quite hit on their sound yet. This album isn’t bad, but it’s my least favorite. When this song hit, it hit big. It became the anthem for a large number of angsty British youth, and, as such, Radiohead became “The Creep Band”. Speculation abounded that they were one-hit wonders, which infuriated the band. As such, it was a big success for the band but also a tragedy. They over-came the “one-hit wonder” moniker, but they rarely play this song in concert anymore.

Notable lyric: I don’t care if it hurts, / I want to have control. / I want a perfect body, / I want a perfect soul.

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I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (2001)

This was the only new song on the live recordings album that Radiohead released. It was one, however, that had been very popular in concerts. Reportedly, the song is inspired by a news story in which a boy was accidentally (perhaps) locked in an attic by his mom and subsisted on lollypops and crisps. This is one of those good guitar songs that is just as poignant and rich when it’s a solo guitar as it is with a whole band.

Notable lyric: and true love waits /
in haunted attics /
and true love lives /
on lollypops and crisps

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Hail to the Thief (2003)

This album was the first one that I got to experience as a fan. Jeff Gabhart and I drove down Sioux Falls to buy it. I got the Special Edition, and he got the regular edition. We listened to it the whole way back, but the results were anti-climatic for two reasons: one) I didn’t end up liking this album as much as previous ones, and two) the entire thing had been leaked months previously. As such, there were few surprises except on this song. At the end, I Will cross-fades into the song that comes after it. It might seem dumb to you, but I swear that both Jeff and I said, “Woah,” at the exact same time upon hearing it. And then I found $20.

Notable lyrics: With wild elephants / sitting ducks / I will / rise up

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In Rainbows (2007)

This is one of the few songs that can approximate a “love song” for Radiohead. This was one of the songs that I hadn’t heard anything of on the new album, and I really came to like it, especially for the bass line. To be honest, I hadn’t really listened to the lyrics until writing this, but they are typical Radiohead fare. You’d think a refrain like “You are all I need” would be a happy song.

Notable lyric: I’m a cloud of moths /
who just wants to share your light /
I’m just an insect /
trying to get out of the night / I only stick with you /
because there are no others

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Amnesiac (2001)

You know those stories of the quiet kids who get beat up, but then they summon this inner rage that allows them to vanquish their enemies? I used to love those stories. Having been born with an insurmountable predisposition toward passiveness, I loved the thought of one day being able to have the upper hand on my antagonizers (though, hopefully in a feel-good way, like curing cancer). This song is one of those stories. Beginning, literally, with an inhale, the quiet, echoing voice makes a host of passive-aggressive threats and, with the help of rousing piano and rising drums, the voice triumphs, washing over everything.

Notable lyric: We ride tonight / we ride tonight / ghost horses / ghost horses

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