Radiohead 101: Exit Music (For A Mix)

Okay, first off -- why Radiohead? They're definitely not twangy. There's really nothing here that says they're Americana music. Actually, they're absolutely not Americana music. Nothing of the sort. However, being, in my humble opinion, the most important, innovative, and influential rock band of the last fifteen years, you should know about them. You can hear their influence in Americana bands like Wilco and Nickel Creek, and those two bands are so influential in their own right, I'm sure you'll hear a lot more of this type of music.

So, if you're a die-hard twang-only fan, just leave this one alone. If you like Indie Rock, you're already a Radiohead fan, most likely, so just sit back and relax. If, however, you've heard a lot about Radiohead, and someone tossed you a copy of Amnesiac and your ears hurt, don't worry -- I've done this before. I'll go slow and gentle.

Why is Radiohead music difficult to approach? Why bother having this blog post at all? Well, Radiohead is a very experimental band, and they've really pushed the envelope in recent years on what we consider "music." They've incorporated complex melodies, crazily changing rhythms, airy abstract lyrics, intense voicings of instruments, and highly textured nasal falsetto vocals. In short, they're state of the art. Most Radiohead fans got there at the beginning, have travelled alongside these guys, heard the transition into more and more abstract and advanced music, and they love the new material so much, they've forgotten how much they had to train their ear to get there. Trust me, it's worth understanding. It's truly just amazing music... music in its purest sense. However, just to walk in and start playing Amnesiac or Kid A without a little ear training will just make it sound like noise. I had a big argument about this with my brother the other day. He's an avid Radiohead fan, and it took him a bit to remember his own time absorbing this music.

So how am I going to get you up to speed? You're going to get two classes. This first class, 101, will take you up to where Radiohead developed their own distinctive sound, but not so far as to where they really branched out into the extraordinarily good experimental stuff. (If you've noticed I've used a significant number of superlatives in this article, just wait, I'm just gettting started. Radiohead is absolutely one of the most important bands there is right now, and I'm a huge fan.)

So, a little history. Radiohead started as a rather odd grunge band during the time of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and all those guys I wasted so much of my youth on. (Well, "wasted" is just me being funny. I loved that shit in school, and still like quite a bit of it.) But they didn't really fit the grunge model. They were from Britain, not Seattle, for instance, and they used some sounds most grunge bands didn't. Oh, and they had three guitarists. For the love of God, they had three guitars. Why? I have no clue. I used to really be pissed off about that. "They don't fucking need THREE guitars! They don't use all three!" Still, I loved this first album, Pablo Honey, when it came out. My brother's and my high school rock band played Creep, and we wore that album out.

However, grunge was on it's way out. Radiohead arrived late, and like I said, weren't quite the grunge band anyway. So I lost interest when their second album came out. I didn't get back into them until much, much later. Anyway, they abandoned the three guitar sound, and started adding more keyboards, abstract sound effects, and ambient backgrounds on their second disc, The Bends. This album is really great. But they hadn't quite perfected their sound yet. They had changed enough to lose their grunge faithful, but they picked up a bunch of literate college kids. I, sadly, was not one of them.

Then came OK Computer. This is, in my humble opinion, the album that really defined Radiohead. They had finally arrived. This album kicks ass, pushes the boundaries of musicical taste, never loses the melody -- ever, and then it kicks more ass. It can range from the abstract and airy to the head-rocking, air-guitar-spewing. In short, it's when their sound gelled and then changed forever.

I'll cover the next three albums, Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail To the Thief in the next lesson, Radiohead 201. I'd stay away from them until you're happily comfortable with this playlist.

Note, there are lots of great songs on Pablo Honey, The Bends, and OK Computer, but I'm giving you only the most significant and best songs from those albums. Note that I'm heavy on OK Computer, pretty inclusive of The Bends, and only included a few Pablo Honey songs. This isn't meant to say I don't like some of these albums. They're all great, believe me. However, I'm trying to give you the taste and training to tackle the truly powerful songs in the next lesson. Go back, buy, listen, and worship all of these albums. They're all great.

1) Paranoid Android from OK Computer: This is, most likely, my absolute favorite Radiohead song. I don't expect you to get this one on the first listen, but it's what you're aiming for. This song showcases their transition power, open airy arrangements, and blistering electric guitar. This song is really two songs in one, an homage to the Beatles' A Day In The Life, where a song is started, a second played in the middle, and then the end comes back and finishes the first song. The lyrics are meaningless as far as I can tell. This song should be played insanely loud. A definite five-star among five-star songs.

2) Anyone Can Play Guitar from Pablo Honey: An early rocker, but with such great lyrics and melody it is definitely a five-star song. "And if the world does turn, and if London burns, I'll be standing on the beach with my guitar..."

3) Let Down from OK Computer: This song really introduces you to the patented Radiohead "Spinning In Space(TM)" sound. (New, from BLAMMO!) Don't look down if you're prone to dizziness.

4) Thinking About You from Pablo Honey: The second of three five-star songs from their first album, this acoustic rocker, just voice and guitar, is about as close to an Americana sound that Radiohead gets. This is one of my favorite of their songs, and it shows how amazing their songwriting was even from early on.

5) Black Star from The Bends: Recently covered by our beloved Gillian Welch, this is another greatly-written song. It almost makes me lament their lack of cohesive songwriting later on, almost. (They do get a bit more abstract with less apparent meaning behind their lyrics later. At that point it's all about the music, not the words. Enjoy these great lyrics while you can.)

6) The Bends from The Bends: The solid title track from their second album. Makes my body move, man.

7) Fake Plastic Trees from The Bends: Absolutely the best song on their second album, a five-star if ever there was one, and one of the best songs they ever wrote... I'll leave you with my brother's words. At a party a couple of years ago, when this album had already been out for ten years, my brother had a little too much to drink. And as Karnowski brothers are prone to do, especially when drinking, he was rambling on and ranting about something to someone. (I'm so guilty of this.) And then this song came on the mix... and he just stopped. "This fucking song... man, I love this fucking song," he said. I couldn't have said it any better, my brother.

8) Polyethylene (Parts 1 And 2) from Paranoid Android (CD1): Alright, all you die-hard Radiohead fans... you better check out this song. This is the only song I included from the plethora of bootlegs, imports, and B-sides from their various EPs and singles. I frickin' love this song, both the nasal acoustic part 1 and the great rockin' part 2. Pick this one up... I mean it. Paranoid Android (CD1) means it's from the first of two competing CD singles for Paranoid Android. I don't know why there were two, but definitely get this one if you can.

9) Electioneering from OK Computer: From the rattle of the tambourine to the twangy jangle rock of the electric guitar, to that goddamn cow bell. This song kicks my ass. And that's just in the first ten seconds... This is one of the more rockin' songs from OK Computer. "We'll go forwards... you go backwards... and somewhere we will we meet..."

10) Lucky from OK Computer: "Pull me out of the aircrash, pull me out of the lake, 'cause I'm your superhero, we are standing on the edge..." That electric guitar is so chilling. Gives me tingles up and down my spine. "I feel my luck could change..."

11) You from Pablo Honey: Listening to this song from their first album, I wonder how people could have ever lumped them into grunge? Great tune.

12) No Surprises from OK Computer: There's an elevator in my office building, and every time it beeps, it's the exact first note of this song. Hearing that every day keeps this song constantly in my mind. Great tune, morose, lilting, limping. (Is this song about suicide, or at least the contemplation of suicide?) It's amazing how even their low-key songs still have a steady beat that sucks you in. I didn't realize till just now it was about such a morose topic.

13) Bones from The Bends: This should go under the "most misunderstood song lyrics" category along with "Bathroom on the Right" and "Jacque the Monkey." It's not "well you got to feel like alien bones," but "well you got to feel that in your bones." And any song with "And I used to fly like Peter Pan" as a song lyric, especially sang with such energy and intensity... well, that song is al-frickin'-right in my book.

14) Creep from Pablo Honey: Tell me you've never heard this song before. You liar! GAH-ANK! GAH-ANK! (That was the guitar riff, in case you were wondering.) GAH-ANK! "I want a perfect body... I want a perfect soul..." (Yeah, they really needed three frickin' guitars to play that riff.)

15) Just from The Bends: "You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts..." Amen, baby. Oh, and great guitar work on this too.

16) (Nice Dream) from The Bends: Some orchestral backing, nice! And I like the choral effects on the backing vocals too.

17) Airbag from OK Computer: "I am born again..." One last high-energy kickin' song before I end with...

18) Exit Music (For a Film) from OK Computer: I saved some of the best for last. This song highlights one of Radiohead's strengths -- the "entire song is a slow crescendo" song. I think Paranoid Android highlights that too. This song starts slow, achingly slow, acoustic, and builds to an earth-shattering musical tsunami complete with vocals strained to the breaking point, always musical, always singing, never screaming, but just there -- just below a scream. This song inevitably maxes out the volume on my truck stereo if played while driving. I've lost some good friends that way. Oh well, it was worth it. Anyway, if you like this song, it's just a hint of the great things to come in the next playlist. Stay tuned!

Cliff's Notes: If you can't get all these songs together, and are looking to just buy a single album to bone up -- buy OK Computer. You might have a tougher time of it without the other two albums to soften it up a little, but I think that album stands on its own quite well. Like I said, I think that OK Computer defined the official Radiohead sound. It will definitely get you ready for the next playlist -- 201.