From the beginning, Radiohead kept their focus on the future.When critics heralded OK Computer as the savior of rock, Radiohead renounced the genre and turned to the electronic sounds of Kid A. When the band perfected a hybrid acoustic sound in In Rainbows, they pivoted next to the digital loops and polyrhythms of The King of Limbs. Every record was an opportunity to experiment and to reinvent themselves.So when fans heard the reflective tone of Radiohead’s ninth studio album, several...

After the wild success of OK Computer, Radiohead was under immense pressure from critics and fans to provide a worthy follow-up. Several hoped for an OK Computer part two, with the same intricate, guitar-based melodies. But the band was burnt out. After several years of touring and promoting their third record, Thom Yorke became ill, and Phil Selway said the band was worried that their success had turned them into a one-trick band. Plus, according to Colin Greenwood, the band felt like they...

Whether they know it or not, fans who attend Radiohead performances are witnessing music history as it is being written. And I’m not just saying that because I’m obsessed enough with Radiohead to make a podcast about them. I say that because Radiohead often tests unreleased or in-progress songs through their live performances.Sometimes those tracks surface in the very next album — like “The Bends,” which we discussed in our last episode. But sometimes they don’t appear until several years...

Understanding Radiohead's lyrics is a common complaint for first-time listeners. It almost makes me wonder if “Creep” was such a hit because, in part, you can understand the lyrics so well. Whereas with songs like “The Gloaming” or “The National Anthem,” you may only pick up on every other word. Thankfully we have websites like Genius to clear things up.If you don’t know, Genius is a website that publishes official lyrics and then crowd-sources annotations and interpretations. The site also...

After the tremendous success of In Rainbows, Radiohead fans expected an explosive follow-up record. Instead, they received 37 minutes—the band's shortest yet—of synthesized loops, rhythmic layers, and restrained vocals. For that and other reasons, The King of Limbs is often found near the bottom of fans' "Best Of" lists. But Deepcuts creator Oliver Kemp argues that the album is beautiful and inventive in its own right, and that "The King of Limbs: Live From the Basement" brings this...

In our second episode we learned about the various timbres Radiohead uses to craft a unique sonic landscape. From the chunky guitar of “Creep” to the eerie synth of “Like Spinning Plates,” Radiohead is purposeful in the instruments and effects they choose to convey a message.So what happens when you boil all of those timbres into one instrument? The answer is Christopher O’Riley. Through his albums True Love Waits and Hold Me To This, Christopher weaves the distinct instrumental voices of...

With a few exceptions, like “Lotus Flower” or “15 Step," all Radiohead songs are a bit sad in their own way. But that’s not to say that they’re only sad.In this episode, Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic will uncover the unexpected humor of "Paranoid Android" and explain why identifying that humor is essential to fully understanding Radiohead’s work.

Today’s episode isn’t about a specific song. But it does serve as a belated preface to the theme of our first season: Radiohead and the press. This season I’m interviewing journalists, authors, and musicologists. People on the outside looking in. And Baryney Hoskyns's Present Tense: A Radiohead Compendium encapsulates this theme. It’s the story of Radiohead from the critic’s perspective—an anthology of profiles, reviews, and other journalistic pieces about the band, their work, and their...

“Like Spinning Plates” may be one of the most experimental tracks Radiohead has produced. It appears near the end of their fifth studio album, Amnesiac. The tracks from Amnesiac were produced during the Kid A sessions. But rather than release a 20-track LP, the band decided to release the other songs a year later as a separate album.Brad Osborn, assistant professor at the Kansas University School of Music and author of "Everything In Its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead" will will take us on...

To discuss the evolution of Radiohead, we must contend with their first hit-single, “Creep.” It was the song that catapulted them to stardom and to this day remains their most-streamed and most recognizable song. Although scorned by numerous Radiohead fans and even by the band itself, “Creep” is inescapable.In this episode we’ll focus specifically on the reception of “Creep” on MTV — at their MTV Beach House Performance in 1993 and on an episode of “Beavis and Butthead.”But before that: a...

A podcast that unlocks the alchemy of Radiohead — one song, music video, or live performance at a time.