Radiohead song facts

AIRBAG by RADIOHEAD

This song is about a car crash Thom Yorke was in with his girlfriend in 1987. She suffered whiplash, but he was fine. Says Yorke: "Has an airbag saved my life? Nah... but I tell you something, every time you have a near accident, instead of just sighing and carrying on, you should pull over, get out of the car and run down the street screaming 'I'm BACK! I'm ALIVE! My life has started again today!' In fact, you should do that every time you get out of a car. We're just riding on those things - we're not really in control of them."

Yorke: "So much of the public's perception revolves around illusion. That's what Airbag is about, the illusion of safety. In reality, airbags don't really work, and they go off at random."

Radiohead first began performing this song acoustic, and the working title was "An Airbag Saved My Life," which was a reference to Indeep's 1983 Dance hit "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life."

Guitarist Jonny Greenwood: "'Airbag' is a classic example of Colin and Phil saying, 'Let's make it sound like DJ Shadow.' But unfortunately - or fortunately - it doesn't, because we missed again. It's that thing of lumbering around in the dark, but still being excited by what we do. We're discovering these things for the first time rather than getting the pros in to show us how to do it."

This is the first song on the album OK Computer. The last song on the album, "The Tourist," is about reckless driving, which leads up to a car crash. Therefore, the album ends where it starts and makes a bizarre circle of death.

The original title of the song was "An airbag saved my life." During an XFM Acoustic Session in October 1995, Thom Yorke said this was the title of an article in an AAA magazine that came through the post.

This was built around a looped 3-second sample of drummer Phil Selway, who cited instrumental hip hop producer DJ Shadow as an inspiration. Selway explained to Humo magazine July 22, 1997: "How that man pastes rhythms to each other. The end result sounds a lot different than we intended by the way."

BLACK STAR by RADIOHEAD

Lead singer Thom Yorke: "This is about sex in the morning. It's the best time to have it. Especially if you have brushed your teeth before."

John Leckie, who produced The Bends, was away the day the band recorded this. The result is a more raw and improvised sound then the rest of the album.

According to Q magazine April 2008, this track was initially regarded as B-side material recorded by the studio's assistant engineer Nigel Godrich. However Godrich, who was to become the band's regular producer, bonded with the band and it was promoted onto the album after a playback.

ANYONE CAN PLAY GUITAR by RADIOHEAD

In this song Yorke heaps scorn on desperate wannabes who seek validation via Rock stardom.

According to Q magazine April 2008 everyone in the studio, from band to catering staff was roped in to play guitar. The track was then cut up and added to the arrangement.

This was released as a single prior to "Creep" becoming a hit and failed to chart.

Thom Yorke got the idea for the famous line "I wanna be Jim Morrison" after seeing Oliver Stone's movie The Doors. The line is meant to convey Yorke's dissatisfaction with the mythical status Morrison is given. This was made clear in the band's appearance at the MTV Beach House, where they played this song, and Yorke sang, "Maybe if I grow my hair I can become Jim Morrison," before shouting "Fat! Ugly! Dead!"

Jonny Greenwood played guitar with a paintbrush on this song.

Jonny Greenwood: "I never listened to guitar playing in any band, ever, I still don't, really. Worshiping guitarists is all buying guitar magazines. Anybody can play guitar, but writing songs is a far harder challenge. I'd rather idolize someone like Elvis Costello than I would Steve Vai."

OPTIMISTIC by RADIOHEAD

During live performances, Thom Yorke has sung this version of the chorus:

"You can try the best you can, you can try the best you can. The best you can ain't good enough."

Yorke revealed in 2003 that the song's chorus ("You can try the best you can. You can try the best you can. The best you can is good enough.") came from words of encouragement he received from his partner, Rachel Owen. He was worried that "nothing we'd done was releasable."

PROVE YOURSELF by RADIOHEAD

"Prove Yourself" was originally the lead track on Radiohead's first release in 1992, The Drill EP.

According to Q magazine April 2008, this was championed by Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies, who said: "I didn't know anything about the band - it just sounded great. Years later I bumped into one of the band, can't remember which one, and he said, 'You were the first person to play the record-not John Peel or the Evening Session.' It's very nice that he remembered."

Numero CINCO!

Not often can one come up with a definite answer to a question that can never be fully answered. Well let's back up, the question is - - "What's your top 5 favorite songs?". Yeah, I know that means you'll have to put your thinking caps on for this one! It's really hard trying to go through a steadily growing list of artist and pick your top favorites. You can have several or even hundreds of different artist that you like. But to pick that one to be called a top. That's truly a task beyond tasks. Unless you're just one of those who listen to one artist and like only one song. Then you would be missing the point, and there would be no real reason for you to continue reading. That makes you the weakest link, goodbye! But for those who actually care and are interested in knowing what I picked as my "Top 5". Keep reading and soon you shall discover the truth.

5) Arcade Fire, "Cold Wind" (2005)

Although there is no definite answer to what the true meaning to the song is. There's a sense of mystery hidden behind the lead singer's cracked-vocals. Not featured on any of their studio albums. "Cold Wind" is one of the best songs by Arcade Fire. It's a good Indie song that stands out from the bunch.

4) Nirvana, "All Apologies" (1993)

One of the best songs by Nirvana. Not because it was played on "Six Feet Under". But the songs is still great. Interesting lyrics and a hardcore edgy style music structure. The song was dedicated to Kurt Cobain's wife and daughter. To summarize the song, "peaceful, happy and comfort".

3) Radiohead, "Creep" (1994)

The song starts off rather mellow with depressing lyrics. As the chorus approaches. Jonny Greenwood plays three dead notes on his guitar as the chorus roars in. In retrospect however, just from those "dead notes" being played. That 'human error' really made the song. The whole song itself is very nicely arranged. Although it was considered to depressing to be mainstream. It's still one of the best by Radiohead

2) Flyleaf, "Tiny Heart" (2009)

Flyleaf is known for hardcore edgy rock songs. But going from hardcore loud to mellow alternative sounding isn't easy. But "Tiny Heart" does this with a good sound. The lyrics are very straight forward. With great vocals and nicely done song structure. When you can make a mellow song sound just as good as your hardcore ones. Then you're on the right track.

1) The Beatles, "She Said, She Said" (1966)

This song has an interesting origin. John Lennon and Peter Fonda were on an Acid Trip. When Peter Fonda told John Lennon he knew what it was like to be dead. After this statement. John was freaked out and decided to write a song based on that statement. That's how the song came to life. With backing vocals from George Harrison, this has to be one of the best examples of Acid Rock at its best.

Devon M

Song Facts Part Two

Nirvana "Serve the Servants"
This is Kurt Cobain's most autobiographical song. The lyrics contain references to his father, his wife Courtney Love and his own success.
The witch reference about Courtney Love in the first verse was Cobain's frustration with the press for constantly vilifying Love as a horrible house wife, mother, drug addict and detriment to Nirvana.
The divorce of Cobain's parents inspired the line "That legendary divorce is such a bore."

Radiohead "Paranoid Android"
Lead singer Thom Yorke decided to bar-hop in L.A. one night, but what began as a festive evening soon became a nightmare as Yorke found himself surrounded by parasitic scenestalkers intent on extracting a pound of Yorke-flesh. "The people I saw that night were just like demons from another planet." That night inspired "Paranoid Android", a song that sums up "OK Computer's" claustrophobic blend of melancholic beauty and nerve-rattling aggression.
Yorke: It's about being exposed to God. It was that one night, really. We'd been rehearsin the song for months, but the lyrics came to me at five o' clock in the morning. I was trying to sleep when I literally heard these voices that wouldn't leave me alone. They were voices of the people I'd heard in the bar. It turned out to be a notrious, coke-friend place, but I didn't know that. Basically it's just about chaos, chaos, utter f--king chaos".
The song's structure is patterned after "Happiness is a warm gun" by The Beatles. Both clearly a collection of other, shorter pieces of songs put together into one.
Many radio stations asked for a shorter version, but Radiohead refused.
The guitar solo at the end of the song was written by guitarist Jonny Greenwood. It was not originally intended for the song, but something was needed to close the song and this solo was in the right key and right tempo. Some parts of this closing solo are played forward and other parts are played backward.

Alkaline Trio "Stupid Kid"
This song is about how miserable life can be if you develop a crush on one of your teachers in high school. The video tells a story of a little boy in elementary school who is in love with his teacher, doing whatever he could to please her. He gets made fun of my the other students, and soon the teacher ridicules him in front of the whole class, making him a laughing stock. After he leaves outside the room toward her window, he takes off the hat that he's been wearing the entire video, revealing two horns. The teacher can be seen struggling, surrounded in flames. Of course this video lead to controversy, and it was banned until it got edited so the student has no horns and the teacher is wrestling with nothing

Blind Melon "St. Andrew's Fall"
This song tells the story of a man who becomes overwhelmed with grief and throws himself off a 20 story building.

Faith No More "Epic"
This is a mix of funk, white-boy rap, crunchy heavy metal, and faux-Classical keyboard/piano. It contains utterly nonsensical lyrics. The lyrics frequently allude to "it," without ever explaining what "it" is. The chorus simply consists of the band shouting, "It's it!," while vocalist Mike Patton responds with "What is it?" The title is not mentioned in the lyrics.

Kings Of Leon "Molly's Chamber"
This song is about a girl that is very attractive and can make any man drop to his knees and worship her. She can be a tease: "And when you think she's let you in that's when she fades away." And if you're thinking about abstaining from sex, she'll break your will: "Molly's Chambers goin' change your mind."
The title comes from a line in the Thin Lizzy version of "Whiskey In A Jar": "Being drunk and weary I went to Molly's chamber.

Nine Inch Nails "The Perfect Drug"
The "Perfect Drug" is Absinthe, which is a French green liquor. One of the ingredients contains wormwood. Wormwood contains a substance called thujone, which is an epileptic and can cause renal failure in extremely high doses. The effect of absinthe is sometimes compared to the effects of opium and marijuana.

The Rolling Stones "Paint it Black"
This is written from the viewpoint of a person who is depressed. He wants everything to turn black to match his mood.
The song seems to be about a lover who died:
"I see a line of cars and they're all painted black" - The hearse and limos.
"With flowers and my love both never to come back" - The flowers from the funeral and her in the hearse. He talks about his heart being black because of his loss.
"I could not foresee this thing happening to you" - It was an unexpected and sudden death.
"If I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes" - This refers to her in Heaven.
The Rolling Stones wrote this as a much slower, conventional Soul song. When Bill Wyman began fooling around on the organ during the session doing a takeoff of their original as a spoof of music played at Jewish weddings. Co-manager Eric Easton (who had been an organist), and Charlie Watts joined in and improvised a double-time drum pattern, echoing the rhythm heard in some Middle Eastern dances. This new more upbeat rhythm was then used in the recording as a counterpoint to the morbid lyrics.

The White Stripes "Icky Thump"
Jack White explained that he had heard his British wife, model Karen Elson, use the expression "Ecky Thump," a Northern English phrase that means "What The Heck." He changed it to the more American sounding "Icky" (meaning disgusting) so that teenagers would get it, citing how Led Zeppelin dropped the "A" in "Lead" for the same reason. Jack liked the expression and wrote the song around it with his bandmate Meg White.
The song is a commentary on immigration, and how immigrants are treated unfairly in America.
The lyrics, "I'm gonna sing around the collar" is a play on "Ring around the collar," which refers to the tough-to-remove sweat and dirt stains on the inside of shirt collars. It is typically used in laundry detergent commercials.
Candy cane is a traditional American red and white striped Christmas candy. The White Stripes use only these colors (often in stripes) and black in their sets and costumes.
The "Dry Ice" mentioned in the lyrics refers to solid carbon dioxide, which is typically used in horror films to create artificial fog.


The Beatles "Blue Jay Way"
George Harrison wrote this in a house he rented in Los Angeles on a street named Blue Jay Way. He was waiting for his friend Derek Taylor when he came up with the song.
The line "Don't Be Long" is repeated 29 times.
The vocals, organ, and drums were played on 2 tape machines slightly out of sync to get the phasing effect.
When the ending is reversed, it sounds suspiciously like "Paul is bloody." This added to the "Paul is Dead" hoax.

Saving Abel "Addicted"
Vocalist Jared Weeks wrote this song about sexual escapades in the early days of Saving Abel. He recalled on the band's website: "I used to work at a hospital. I'd have to be there at 4:30 in the morning drawing blood. I'd wake people up and stick a needle in their arm. I'd be walking around the hospital, singing 'Addicted' in my head, writing down the lyrics on patients' clipboards and doctor script pads.
"Saving Abel got its name from the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Guitarist Jason Null explained on his band's website: "I googled the story of Cain and Abel and found a line about 'there was no Saving Abel,' which just jumped out at me."
Abel was a son of Adam and Eve. As a shepherd, he made burnt offerings of meat to God, which were more acceptable than the fruits offered by his brother Cain. The jealous Cain then murdered Abel.

Local H "Bound for the floor"
This song is written from the viewpoint of someone who is concerned for another. The verses are this person mocking what he thinks the other is feeling, saying that the person he is concerned about is acting as if there is no point to life, that he was born to have bad things happen to him. The chorus is the concerned person telling the other to fight against it.
The key to unlocking the song is understanding the chorus, and in order to do so, you must know the term "copacetic." Copacetic is a slang term meaning fine, completely satisfactory, and okay. The lyrics, "And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic" mean that this person doesn't understand that he can't keep it all inside and pretend that everything is okay. The lines, "And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic" mean that this person is pathetic for trying to hide his true feelings and accept all the bad things that are happening to him.

Thrice "The melting point of wax"
There are references to Greek Mythology in this song. The speaker is Icarus from The Flight of Icarus, who created wings made of wax that melted when he flew too close to the sun. The song is about determination and the joys of flight, both literally and metaphorically. The Thrice song "Daedalus" is written from the perspective of Icarus' father.

Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"
For this song, lead singer Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics around the music. The words are a somewhat random collection of thoughts, with some creative rhyming thrown in to fit the rhythm of the song ("Can I get 2 maybe even 3 of these, come from space to teach you of the pleiades"). The song encourages the listener to live with passion and individuality ("This life is more than just a read-through"), something the Chili Peppers have done throughout their career.

Mini-Reviews

"F.U. Penguin: Telling cute animals what's what"
****

A funny witty book that talks about cute animals in the most sarcastic form of humor. This book will open your mind as well as your sense of humor. The author tries to explain his weird obsession with Penguins, followed by his odd obsession with cute animals. Feeling sick of being sucked into these animals cute and cuddly looks. He decides to write a book and exploit these animals as if they were doing this image for attention. "F.U. Penguins" starts off very humorous, but as you gradually read on in this novel.  The humor feels as if it were forced. There's nothing wrong with it. Although you'd wish that most of the short stories didn't feel forced to be funny. This approach sort of takes the edge out of the book in many ways. While at the same time leaving you wanting to read on. This book is highly recommended and does contain strong language.

Radiohead "Pablo Honey"
***

Radiohead's first album seems somewhat stellar compared to their other albums. This album contains their most overplayed song "Creep". This song became popular because guitarist Jonny Greenwood felt the song was too soft and decided to play his guitar very loud and aggressively during the chrous. Somehow this gave the song that angry tone and was considered the best. But there's more to this album that just that song. "You" (the first song on the album) has a very nice approach in terms of melody and lyrics. Very dark and moody track, Thom displays more emotion in this song than he does in "Creep". The lyrics aren't as depressing as "Creep", but they're a bit more dark and disturbing. "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Ripchord" are two other tracks that are very well worth listening to. Radiohead's guitar heavy days are well far behind them. But their first album could arguably be the least favorite by fans. With some songs sounding similar to Nirvana. Even in this case, Radiohead manages to put together a album that's entertaining to listen to and worth buying on iTunes.

iPad just an oversized iPod Touch
Apple iPad ($499)
**1/2

Likes: The simplistic approach to touch screen technology, plenty of apps to choose from, light weight design makes carrying it more portable than your conventional laptop.

Dislikes: Priced very high, even with Wi-fi from At&t, not enough memory to justify asking price, can't fully replace a laptop, battery life is just down right horrible, looks like an oversized iPod Touch.

Overall: The iPad is a good stylish chooses to the tablet PC. There's plenty of apps and much fun is offered with the iPad. But the lack of memory and the high asking price may push some away from it. Plus it looks like an oversized iPod Touch.

Devon test drives a Jeep
2010 Jeep Cherokee 4X4 ($37,400*)

Likes: Solid on road feel, comfortable well adjustable front seats, great veiw out, plenty of passing power when you need it, plenty of cargo space and all-wheel-drive system that intelligently shuts on and off when needed to save gas.

Dislikes: Engine sounds gruff when pushed, some road surfaces sends shivers into the cabin, interior materials are just plain horrible for a vehicle near $40,000, even with all the technology - there are competitors that offer it all in a better package.

Overall: Check out the 2011 Jeep Cherokee, which addresses all the complaints that I've made about this one.

Devon M