Only a melody so blissfully innocent could withstand such jittery, nightmarish contortions. Kid A’s unorthodox breakup song was later resurrected as Morning Bell/Amnesia (“like a recurring dream,” Yorke observed), but keep room in your heart for the cold-sweats original. 2+2=5 is his polemical anthem for the era of mass-broadcast deception and enhanced interrogation techniques, captured thrillingly in this Com Lag EP version. 2+2=5 (Live at Earls Court) (2004)Īs the Iraq war protests floundered, Yorke sporadically logged on to to denounce New Labour and the warmongering “thief” in the White House. The chorus flips the grunge ethos on its head, swapping self-loathing for theatrical vitriol. Just is a time capsule at the crossroads: hailstorm distortion meets perky hooks, wily vocals and – Yorke’s mischievous challenge to Greenwood – an absurd pageant of guitar chords. Post-Creep, Radiohead were poised between grunge and Britpop. The tantalising, unresolved chords mock him, but enchant us.
As birds and newspaper pages thrash in a gale, Yorke, too, longs for chaos. Scatterbrain (2003)Īn unsung gem from Hail to the Thief, Scatterbrain prescribes halting rhythms and deconstructed chords to a narrator fretting over his identity. Nowadays, Creep is a joke, but we’re all blissfully in on it. In the end, the band’s disavowal of the song sent its credibility full circle. “I want you to notice when I’m not around,” Yorke broods, a perfect lyric he probably hates. Radiohead’s biggest hit is so beautiful and corny, it is impossible to accept it on its own terms. The iffy tour version – shorn of strings and charm – attests to his handiwork on the recording. Finally entrusted to build an arrangement from scratch, he turned the live favourite Burn the Witch into this orchestral jaunt. Once the band’s secret weapon, Greenwood is now a garlanded composer and Radiohead’s melodic powerhouse. Trying a new tack, the Amnesiac opener layers anxious ticks and gamelan-style chimes before gently lampooning a “reasonable man” with an uneasy conscience. Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box (2001)Īfter decrying consumerism, swerving into outre avant-rock and selling millions of records anyway, Radiohead learned the hard way that condemning society would just make them even richer.
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