PART 5. THE TOP TEN.10/ There There (The Boney King of Nowhere.) - Hail To The Thief - 2003I knew I would forever love this song when, during my first listen, those tribal drums kicked in. The rhythm is incredibly catchy. And then that guitar riff in the beginning. Genius. I love how Thom's voice sounds so strained when he sings "There there." But my favorite part of the song is when Jonny Greenwood's guitar solo comes in. His guitar takes on a sort of cackle. It sounds and reminds me of a crow. I just can't get over how awesome the tone is. It's one of the scariest sounding tones I've ever heard. I love the lyrics sung here: "Why so green and lonely? Heaven sent you to me. We are accidents waiting to happen." Mind blowing. Absolutely mind blowing. Completely deserving of Top 10.09/ Airbag - OK Computer - 1997The fact that this is the opening track for their most renowned album says a lot. I know exactly what that says. It says that this is one HELL of a song. And it is. Every single piece and portion of this song is expertly crafted. The drums are cut up and sampled. The constant sleigh bells in the background. The amazing guitar riff. The awesome bass riff. The fantastic rhythm guitar. Thom's voice. And finally, the lyrics. "In an interstellar burst I am back to save the Universe."08/ Reckoner - In Rainbows - 2007When I first heard this song I expected to hear the gloomy, heavy rock song that was "Reckoner" back in 2005 and earlier. But they took me by surprise. This "Reckoner" was different. It was beautiful. It was celebratory. Instead of the original lyrics, "Feeling pulled apart my horses," there were new ones. "Dedicated to all you, all human beings." The bridge was completely different. "Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore. In rain, in rain. Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore (In rainbows)." I wasn't sure about it on first listen... but the more I gathered from it... the more I listened... the more I discovered that this is one of their best songs to date.07/ Paranoid Android - OK Computer - 1997What hasn't been said about this song? The story is that this is basically 3 different songs pieced together. There's the beginning. The curious melodies and playful guitars. But it switches moods rather suddenly. "Kickin screamin gucci li'l piggy!" The song becomes frantic and the time signature switches between 4/4 and 7/8... but just as your head is about to explode, the song breaks down into a slow-sung sad song. "Rain down, rain down, come on rain down on me from a great height. From a great height." But the crazy side starts to rear its head. "That's it sir! You're leavin! The crackle of pigskin. The dust and the screamin. The yuppies networkin and the panic. The vomit. The panic. The vomit. God loves His children. God loves His children, yea!" BLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!-INSANE-GUITAR-SOLO.The perfect rock song.06/ No Surprises - OK Computer - 1997I once saw a video of two news reporters reporting on the premiere of Radiohead's new music video for "No Surprises." The lady news reporter, after hearing several seconds of the song, comments. "This is music you'd wanna cut your wrists to."I don't agree that this is a suicide song... but it certainly is a sad one. While it does reference suicide ("I'll take a quiet life and a handshake of carbon monoxide"), I don't think that the song is about this. It appears to be a song about being content with having an ignorant and safe life. Ignorance is bliss. No alarms and no surprises, please. But ultimately, the song's placement at #6 in my Top 10 comes down to it's simple melodies. It's an instantly memorable song and one of their best written.05/ Subterranean Homesick Alien - OK Computer - 1997For some of you, the title of this song may grab you as a direct reference to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." While the titles are the same except for the last word, the songs sound and are written very differently. The song is what it sounds like. From the guitars to the keyboard, the song has a spacey quality to it, which is reflected in the lyrics. "I wish that they'd swoop down in a country lane late at night while I'm driving. Take me aboard their beautiful ship and show me the world as I'd love to see it." This song may not make many people's Top 10 Radiohead Songs but it does for me. After learning the song on guitar, I became hooked to the chord progression. I've loved it ever since.04/ Karma Police - OK Computer - 1997I personally think this is the catchiest song they have ever done. Even more catchy than "Fake Plastic Trees" or "My Iron Lung." Everything from the vocal melody to the piano part during the chorus just begs you to sing along. And that's not even the best part of the song! The ingenious lyrics of the verses bring you to the brilliantly crafted chorus of "this is what you'll get when you'll mess with us" before the song explodes into the catchiest melody of Radiohead's career to date. How dare you not sing your HEART out to "For a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself, I lost myself!" This is definitely the best song on OK Computer. But they outdid themselves.03/ Pyramid Song - Amnesiac - 2001It's very hard to believe that the follow up to Kid A would not only hold up as a great album but would also include, in my opinion, one of the best songs of all time. It seems like the only way they could go is down after that album. While Amnesiac certainly isn't as good as Kid A (or even, arguably, OK Computer) there's this one song on there that just stands out. It is, in essence, the collective emotional energy of the band packed into 4 minutes and 49 seconds.When the song opens with its first 3 piano chords, there's a split second where it sounds like it is going to be at a certain time signature. But there's this slight pause between the 3rd and 4th chords. Then it goes back into a steady pace of the 4th chord, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th... but then another pause. It's as if Thom just doesn't want you to follow along at all. When I first got this album around 2004, I couldn't make sense of the chords. I heard their beauty and heard Thom singing along... but I couldn't wrap my head around the way the chords were placed. It seemed unimaginable that there could be a time signature to this song. Some people familiar with music theory might pick up on what's going on quite early but to the average listener, it doesn't click. Not even when the drums first pick up. But after a couple of seconds... the drums begin a steady rhythm... and now it all makes sense. I could go on and on and on... but I'd only be talking about the music.The words tie everything together. It's an incredible story of a dead man's journey to the afterlife. I cannot remember if the Egyptians believe in a similar journey to the afterlife (which would make a connection to the title) but I do know that the Greeks believed that you had to ask a boatman to ferry you across the river Styx. In the song, Thom sings about jumping into the river and seeing black-eyed angels swimming with him. It's an incredible image to think about. The next line, "We all went to heaven in a little rowboat. There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt" marks the segway into a rythmic song. It's mirrored in the lyrics. "All my lovers were there with me. All my pasts and futures." The last line in the song sums up the whole of the song. "There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt."02/ How To Disappear Completely - Kid A - 2000This is the only song more emotional than "Pyramid Song." As a teenager, I connected to this song for many reasons that only a teenager could make sense of. But my connection with this song has held strong for the duration of nearly 8 years now. Just for different reasons. Having studied music theory and learning so many things about music I can love and connect with this song for so many reasons. The beauty of the vocal melody. The way the strings and ondes martenot are constantly making noise. The way the srings mirror the vocal melody. How when the strings take over during Thom's "ooh and ahh" part, they go from a perfect harmonic blend to a dissonant array of pitches that finally come together at the last moment and tie the song together into a beautiful close. The lyrics are simple. "I'm not here. This isn't happening." There isn't anything too complex. It's beautiful without having to find new ways of being it. It's proof that Radiohead is made up of some incredibly talented musicians.01/ Idioteque - Kid A - 2000One day, Jonny Greenwood walked into a record store and was browsing through records when he found First Recordings — Electronic Music Winners. On the record were two pieces. One titled Mild und Leise by Paul Lansky and the other called "Short Piece" by Arthur Krieger. Apparently Jonny Greenwood was so impressed that he shared the record with the others and they ended up sampling both songs in my favorite Radiohead song.When the song opens, it is a very obvious departure from their pre-Kid A material. The drums aren't real. In fact I'm not sure WHAT is a real, physical instrument being played in this song, apart from Thom's vocals. The song's lyrics capture a sense of chaos in the midst of a pending nuclear fallout. It's an apocalyptic song of sorts. "Who's in bunker? Who's in bunker? Women and children first." "We're not scaremongering. This is really happening." It's incredible how the 4 chords taken from Mild und Leise fit the mood of the song so well.But what I love about this song isn't really the lyrics. It's the musical depth of this song. There are layers upon layers upon layers of sounds, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and words to be found. Until I got my hands on a version of this song with the middle channel cut out and another version with the left and right channels cut out, I thought I had discovered all there was to discovered. Up to about 3 months before I got the two new edits, I had discovered something new about every other month. Then when I got the 2 edits, I discovered a handful of other things. It's really incredible how packed this song is. The harmony vocal line just under the lead in the chorus... the multiple vocal takes being sung at the same time at certain points in the song... the 3 vocal parts at the end all being sung at the same time... the drum sounds upon drum sounds upon drum sounds... the ambient noises all over the place... It's a song to marvel at. I've not heard a single song that has done this as well as this song. Combine this with the incredible lyrics and the signature electronic chord progression and you have found the reason why this is my favorite Radiohead song.Thanks for reading my lengthy fan-obsessions for the past couple of weeks.
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