A while ago when going through the Radiohead subreddit, I came across a thread which was based on the topic of the best/worst songs from the band’s album The King of Limbs. There seemed to be a consensus that today’s song, ‘Little by Little’, was considered to be one of the worst ones on there.
I went back to the album at some point last year, and when it got to the track I didn’t think it was bad. The climbing guitar hook was catchy instantly, its drop D tuning automatically gave this dark vibe, and Thom Yorke does his thing of singing words but bot really enunciating. It’s a very decent track.
There is a live performance of it that is considered by many to be much better than the version that appeared on the album. I have come to agree with that opinion. Their live take of the track, which you will see below, just edges it out. I like that it’s a bit slower and it feels a lot less busier than the studio version. You can actually hear the bass too. In the end, there are two versions of this song that everyone can get into so I feel like we’re all winners here.