I got In Rainbows as a gift just because of this song. Either Christmas or a birthday, I can’t remember – either way it doesn’t matter much. The album had been out for a few months though. Unfortunately I was 12 at the time and didn’t have much patience for listening through albums. So when I say I got the album because of this song, I mean I basically didn’t pay attention to every other track that was on there. Not the brightest decision. Took a few more years after to realise that I had a great album just sitting on the shelf in my house.

‘Jigsaw Falling into Place’ was the first single from In Rainbows, the first time that I remember some kind of hype for the arrival of a Radiohead album. The strangely hypnotic video (seen above) was on MTV2 all the time, repeated constantly at various times throughout the day, and it was through watching that that its words and music were slowly ingrained into my memory. Back then, I thought it was a fantastic song. Even moreso at this time after closer listening with headphones.

The song, from what I gather, is about getting drunk, flirting and dancing on a night out but described in the quite abstract and surreal way that Thom Yorke usually does in his lyrics. The song subtly builds in intensity from the very start. The woozy ‘err/ahhh’ backing vocals and busy bassline. The general groove is on point and never provides a moment to breathe Electric guitars eventually join in. And then the moment that every Radiohead fan notes, Yorke’s sudden jump in octave when the beat goes round and round. Each element included in the four minutes ‘Jigsaw’ lasts for work perfectly in tandem. A part in particular that I’ve noticed nearing the end is where some acoustic guitar strums pan from the left channel to the right channel the backing vocals close everything out. Radiohead fans love this track. I don’t think it’s too bad myself. Just a shame they rarely perform it live.