Tag Archives: radiohead

#670: Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling into Place

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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.

#623: Radiohead – In Limbo

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It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote about another song from Kid A. If you read that post, you’ll know how I came to listen it and what my initial reactions were. If not, I heard it for the first time in 2012. Only liked a few songs from it and went about my days. I came back to it in 2015, gave it a good listen with good headphones and found it was amazing. It was on that second listen that I realised how great of a track ‘In Limbo’ is.

‘In Limbo’ is the seventh song on the album. It starts with a lone fumbling keyboard lick before plunging into the depths with reverbed out guitars, booming drums and Thom Yorke’s buried vocals. Like other songs on Kid A, I believe that this song’s lyrics were randomly put together via the selection of phrases from a hat. Together, they build a vivid image of loneliness and isolation. It’s one of the most unsettling pieces to listen to. I love it though. The guitars play in a swirling triplet rhythm whilst Phil Selway plays this constant standard time groove like some machine. I’ve always enjoyed the fact that with good headphones this song sounds massive, yet really calming. Almost like floating. I like that weird vocal distortion that echoes after every ‘You are living in a fantasy world’ lyric. The whole package when blended together can send you into a trance.

Then just when things seem okay, everything starts falling apart. The track begins to fold in on itself and basically warps out of existence, left as some weird glitchy noises before hurriedly going into the next song. The last 30 seconds are arguably the freakiest that Radiohead ever put down on tape. I remember listening to it and thinking my headphones were breaking or a virus had messed my computer up, no joke. The track isn’t on that’s talked about a lot. If you really listen, it can definitely get a hold on you.

#610: Radiohead – Idioteque

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It took me a while to get into Kid A. I recall being very underwhelmed by it. I may have told this before, but I listened to the album for the first time in 2012 or so. I had read about how it was considered to be one of the best albums of all time, critically adored and praised by fans. I heard it through some very tiny, tinny earphones and was left thinking “was that it?”. I revisited a few years later – with proper headphones that time – and realised it was actually very good. Though on that initial listen seven years ago there were obvious highlights to me: “Everything in Its Right Place“, “Optimistic”, and today’s song “Idioteque”.

I had actually heard ‘Idioteque’ before though. Its promo video (see below) aired on MTV2 a few times. The music video was a live take with the track performed in a higher key and live drums, so, in my head, there was an idea of how the song on the album was going to go. Somehow the album version creeps me out a lot more.

It may not be for everyone. It takes about a minute for Yorke to start singing. In fact he only sings for just over two minutes in the time the song lasts for. The lyrics in the track are said to have been picked from some cut up phrases drawn from a hat but somehow fit together to conjure a message of impending doom. He uses his falsetto throughout but the verses and chorus have some of the most memorable melodies of the whole album. The track does a good job of building this anxious feeling despite it being a consisting of Thom Yorke’s vocal, some glitchy percussion, processed noises of what sounds like car keys and other various things. It sounds like the end of the world. Maybe the end of the world that’s shown on the album cover.

My iPod #438: Radiohead – Go to Sleep. (Little Man being Erased.)

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“Go to Sleep.” was the second single to be released from the album Hail to the Thief, Radiohead’s sixth album released in 2003. The record marked a return to the guitar oriented music the band were known for, after taking a few years down the electronic/experimental route with “Kid A” and “Amnesiac“. Though it gets a bit of flack for not being as cohesive as other Radiohead albums, and because its almost-hour-length is a bit too much for some to handle. Thom Yorke had the same feeling; he posted an alternate tracklist showing what the album may have been had the band taken more time on it. Good to see that today’s track made it on there.

The song has many twists and turns to it. It starts off with an acoustic guitar driven riff playing at a 10/4 time signature that after being accompanied by Thom Yorke’s wailing vocals for a while is joined by Phil Selway’s drums and delicate electric guitar touches via Jonny Greenwood. The track then takes another turn when tom-tom drums dominate the mix as Yorke starts singing about the possibilities of the loonies and the monster taking over and Greenwood’s guitar becomes more distorted and frantic, eventually producing random noises and glitched out sounds as the song fades out.

It’s one of the songs from the album that I’ve known for the longest; I watched the video on the television way before I ever bought the album. It will always be a favourite track of mine from it.

My iPod #352: Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees

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Sorry for the late post. I don’t feel well today. I wasn’t sure whether this would come out. The probability that this won’t be a very good read is high. But I will still do it instead of saving it for tomorrow, just because I feel that it is my duty.

So this is “Fake Plastic Trees”, a song and single from “The Bends” – Radiohead’s second album. A nice thing about this one is that it isn’t like any other single I’ve heard before. It’s slow-paced, contains weird futuristic keyboard sounds and is, for the most part, very subdued. That is until about halfway through when a note sung by Thom Yorke transforms into a snarl, the rest of the band come in, a guitar solo buried in the mix arrives a little late which results in a section which reminds me of the elevator breaking through the ceiling at the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That section ends almost as soon as it starts, and goes quiet again. Thom sings the last few lines, the keyboards fade out…. a glorious song is over.