That instrument is called a Melatron . It’s a keyboard 🎹 instrument used in the 60’s . Sounds like voice’s singing. Each key when pressed has an audio tape attached to the key and the following key would be a tape of higher voices singing. This instrument is a series of tapes for each key that recorded . The Moody Blues used the Melatron a lot as so many other bands from that era pre existing the modern day synthesizer keyboard. There’s synthesizer that can replicate this sound but nothing like and original Melatron tape keyboard 🎹. The keyboard/guitarist is Jonny Greenwood who is a brilliant composer/musician who I believe was nominated for an academy award for a film score . Along with with his brother the other guitarist in the band and all of the other members are all graduates of music studies from Oxford University. They’re all geniuses in their own right.
Thom Yorke's voice is so unique. The whole band has some unique very musical perspectives. When I heard OK Computer for the first few times, I was concerned that I would never listen to any other music ever again. It was powerful in countless ways. Stay awesome!
i found myself in a '[x] reacts to radiohead' hole and came here, and i have said in almost every single video that in rainbows is the best album they've ever recorded. I stand by it.
Omg yes! It’s unbelievable that a band this artistic found mainstream success-Couldn’t happen today, in this soup of static and shit, driven out of the autotune corporatist foundries!
You are so right about their ability to create "atmosphere!" I also appreciate the confidence they display by patiently playing and introducing new colors to the music as it progresses. They never feel rushed and they bring the listener in to their 'sound world.' Tremendous!!
There is a slight white noise inside the beginning with Thom and the acoustic guitar. They tease it more and more as the song goes. Its like the sound of a tape recorder of some kind of feel. Like a movie reel.
Saw them live at the Roundhouse. When they played this song the entire crowd fell silent. Not the usual bunch of murmurings and people at the bar. Just nothing but revered silence. At one point someone drops a plastic pint glass and it bounces on the floor. There’s a brief nervous laugh and then silence again. Spellbinding.
The "backing" choir you're hearing is played on Mellotron. It's a 70's tape based "synth" where to get new soinds you would change tapes with recorded sounds on it. David Bowie uses on some of his tracks too. It has a very specific tone to it.
I didn't know you had reacted to this song. I enjoy your reactions immensely, and this somg just blows me away. Much like the band themselves. Im not surprised at all that you're enjoying them, because you have great taste, and they're brilliant.
The song is literally about Romeo and Juliet. It's about escaping the ties that bind you. 'Pack and get dressed' is about him wanting Juliet to leave with him before her father finds them.
I have had the same connection in my mind for a long time. Somehow it reminds me of She's leaving home. It's nice to find I'm not the only one that had that association :)
Their music is everything.,... beautiful and haunting soothing and can turn around and rock your ass off harrrrd such an amazing band my fav and always will be ❤
Just found you and after a few videos subscribed. Absolutely love your breakdowns and perspective, excited to see more bands and how you interpret them 😅😊
Excellent reaction. I’d love for you to react to Climbing up the Walls, my personal favourite track of theirs. It’s so eerie, dark and foreboding. It is a masterpiece in my opinion. The lyrics and feel and vocal performance. You gotta do it, I think you’ll love it as you really seem to get them and their artistry.
React to the national anthem Radiohead's song from their experimental album Kid A. It's a trip on its own. Honorable mentions that you seriously need to react to : Daydreaming, Pyramid Song, How to disappear completely, Weird Fishes
Great reaction and review, honestly half of what makes Radiohead so impressive is their evolution throughout their albums, you never know what to expect! Another genre I think you would really enjoy and is also very unique, is Trip Hop, a blend of hip hop, jazz, psychedelic rock, blues, lounge and atmospheric styles. The top 3 artists to check out, Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky. They are far from the only ones, but they are considered the quintessential 3 core trip hop groups that every fan knows and owns their albums. For Portishead, try tracks Roads, Glory Box and Only You from their live concert in Roseland NYC, where they have a philharmonic accompanying them throughout. Massive Attack, tracks Dissolved Girl, Black Milk and Group Four are amazing, and is something different from the standard, Unfinished Sympathy, Teardrop and Angel, which are literally the only songs people ever react to. With Tricky, Hell is Around the Corner is an absolute must.
Great reaction as always. It is interesting your point about the mix of human voice and electronic sound : notice that it comes from an album called "OK Computer", which is really about these concepts (humanity and modern alienation). To me, OK Computer was one of these albums that would establish new standards in music, a bit like Dark Side Of the Moon in the 70's. So doing a full album review of it would certainly be a great experience for you... and for us with you of course !
You are not the first person i've seen compare OK Computer/Dark side of the Moon and Radiohead/Pink Floyd and I 100% agree, as a huge fan of both bands I see it clear as day and IMO Radiohead are the best band since the monsters of the 70s and should be included in that conversation and in 10 or 20 years they will be.
Excellent reaction and analysis.. I've been following them since I heard Pablo Honey, I thought it was great that an English band put my name on a record.. I saw them in 2010 in Chile, my country, an incredible concert, there is a myth here in South America, it is said that where Radiohead is heard the most is here.. We are a very depressive country and there are many who listen to Radiohead for this reason... case that is not mine, musically they are geniuses their lyrics are a walk through all the feelings of the human being and their music is the perfect touch for that trip .. thank you for existing.. Regards from Chile
Radiohead made a track for a James Bond film, but I'm not clear if it was actually used- a video about it taught me about what makes Bond theme songs different.
such a beautiful song and if you listen to the next song on the album there is a nice uplift to the spirit. thanks for sharing. but also, I once had popped a bottle of wine and threw on this record while watching Metropolis (1927) and the entire album just lined up perfectly. hard to say when I began but you can get a taste of it if you watch this at 0.9 playback speed while listening to the track. ua-cam.com/video/p0De8dFmZ7Q/v-deo.html
it’s actually just a variation on Romeo and Juliette. The boy wakes the girl and they quietly leave the house before her father hears them, they runaway and trying not to lose their nerve, they kill themselves and die together. Then in the end he says he hopes that their parents choke on the idea that this happened because they wouldn’t let them be together, saying it’s their fault. That’s not exactly how it happened in the play/movie, but close enough.
Radiohead creates emotion through composition better than any band I have ever listened to. One thing I would add is that like bands like Pink Floyd, their records are a single work of art and meant to be listened to as a whole to get the vibe they are trying to portray.
Respectfully, I think you missed the point entirely. This was made for Romeo and Juliet, right? It's literally about Romeo and Juliet. The song captures the love between Romeo and Juliet, the disapproval of their parents and the families' hatred for each other, the desire the couple has to escape their situation, and how their ultimate end really was an "escape". There's no "God the Father" here; there's no guy who's just "sick of his life". "Her father" is literally Juliet's father. This song is like lifting just the emotions out of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and leaving the plot details to some high school drama students to perform. Thom Yorke does in four-and-a-half minutes what took the greatest English playwright of all time "two hours' traffic of our stage". Yorke leaves his listeners in perhaps a larger puddle of tears than Shakespeare did.
Music is subjective but what i get from this song is dark as hell. The whole song is about Romeo and Juliet decide to kill them selves. Verse 1, is were they wake up and decide it is the day they die,. Verse 2 they escape. Verse 3 is were they kill themselves buy have to convince each other to do it. Verse 4 is were they are waiting for the coldness if death. Verse 5 is were they are dying but reflect on the pain their family have pushed them to commit suicide so there hatred comes out. Verse 6 is were they are dead and claim they are at piece. Outro the most chiling is their souls not being at piece with theit hatred for what made them commit suicide and they wimper away in eternity as torchured souls. In other words suicide isnt the answer to your problems dealing with the problems is the only way. Tell me i am wrong on this. This song is so sad
This album as a concept is about machines and technology taking over and eliminating the human elements of living. So as it works in a Romeo and Juliet manner it can also be seen as a person escaping the artificial life he’s created. His sleep being the electrical distractions, the father being the machines/tech that keep us happy and the rules and wisdom being the AI/programming rules that technology abide by. Also the 2nd verse (sing us a song) has what sounds like children playing (or maybe seagulls) but fed through an electronic filter to further drive home that the fun and joy the person has is a lie.
It's not, Romeo runs away (elopes) with Juliette. It's woman tries to escape abusive relationship with her child/children in the middle of the night. Listen to it again, without thinking about the other connotation. She's talking to the children. I thought the elope thing, but then, listening one time, an epiphany.
That instrument is called a Melatron . It’s a keyboard 🎹 instrument used in the 60’s . Sounds like voice’s singing. Each key when pressed has an audio tape attached to the key and the following key would be a tape of higher voices singing. This instrument is a series of tapes for each key that recorded . The Moody Blues used the Melatron a lot as so many other bands from that era pre existing the modern day synthesizer keyboard. There’s synthesizer that can replicate this sound but nothing like and original Melatron tape keyboard 🎹. The keyboard/guitarist is Jonny Greenwood who is a brilliant composer/musician who I believe was nominated for an academy award for a film score . Along with with his brother the other guitarist in the band and all of the other members are all graduates of music studies from Oxford University. They’re all geniuses in their own right.
Feels weird without 'let down ' starting after it 😄
I couldn't agree more.
Yeah it does. Goes to show how much the album is a complete organism that needs each track to make the whole.
Fr
Soo true
No kidding!😂
Thom Yorke's voice is so unique. The whole band has some unique very musical perspectives. When I heard OK Computer for the first few times, I was concerned that I would never listen to any other music ever again. It was powerful in countless ways. Stay awesome!
"Only a guitar and his voice." But a voice like no other.
I've been listening to Radiohead for years, I've heard every song of theirs and im still not tired of their creations. They're so creative!
Once you've found your way into Radiohead check out the whole of 'In Rainbows' , their masterpiece in a very hard fought competition!
i found myself in a '[x] reacts to radiohead' hole and came here, and i have said in almost every single video that in rainbows is the best album they've ever recorded. I stand by it.
Omg yes! It’s unbelievable that a band this artistic found mainstream success-Couldn’t happen today, in this soup of static and shit, driven out of the autotune corporatist foundries!
Even better listen to in rainbows from the basement. Live set is awesome.
Few song do, but this one gives me goosebumps.
Likewise
You are so right about their ability to create "atmosphere!" I also appreciate the confidence they display by patiently playing and introducing new colors to the music as it progresses. They never feel rushed and they bring the listener in to their 'sound world.' Tremendous!!
Love this song, great analysis. Next up on the album is Let Down, which I sometimes think is the best song in the history of the universe.
Easy Star Allstars version... (obvs AFTER hearing the original)... Well worth a listen. Vocal by Toots Hibbert.
It's really hard to disagree with you.
Agree bro! Let Down and Airbag are soo damn good. Bookends within OK Computer.
IMO, this is one of their greatest songs.
"Is it a voice, or is it an instrument?"
- 'yes'
There's nothing Iike this tune fading out as the opening notes of Let Down begin.
There is a slight white noise inside the beginning with Thom and the acoustic guitar. They tease it more and more as the song goes. Its like the sound of a tape recorder of some kind of feel. Like a movie reel.
There are 2 Radiohead songs featured in that movie. The other one is 'Talk Show Host', one of my favorite Radiohead B-sides.
Saw them live at the Roundhouse. When they played this song the entire crowd fell silent. Not the usual bunch of murmurings and people at the bar. Just nothing but revered silence. At one point someone drops a plastic pint glass and it bounces on the floor. There’s a brief nervous laugh and then silence again. Spellbinding.
Continue with the next song on the record, "Let Down". My fav.
The "backing" choir you're hearing is played on Mellotron. It's a 70's tape based "synth" where to get new soinds you would change tapes with recorded sounds on it. David Bowie uses on some of his tracks too. It has a very specific tone to it.
Muse the band owes their whole catalogue to this song
Both Muse and Radiohead owes to Jeff Buckley if you see further
I’ve said this before but you have really good insight after breaking it down, you really care of what you’re listening to
This is one of those songs I avoid listening to while driving: it's just too good at taking me over.
I didn't know you had reacted to this song. I enjoy your reactions immensely, and this somg just blows me away. Much like the band themselves.
Im not surprised at all that you're enjoying them, because you have great taste, and they're brilliant.
The song is literally about Romeo and Juliet. It's about escaping the ties that bind you. 'Pack and get dressed' is about him wanting Juliet to leave with him before her father finds them.
like the Beatles' She's leaving Home.
I have had the same connection in my mind for a long time. Somehow it reminds me of She's leaving home. It's nice to find I'm not the only one that had that association :)
Hey here it is. Beautiful reaction, @SyedRewinds
Their music is everything.,... beautiful and haunting soothing and can turn around and rock your ass off harrrrd such an amazing band my fav and always will be ❤
That's synthesizer on a choir setting.
Kinda. it's a mellotron, which plays back it's sound off tape when the keys are hit.
“This band is quickly becoming one of my favorites “ famous last words lol welcome to the cult
Just found you and after a few videos subscribed. Absolutely love your breakdowns and perspective, excited to see more bands and how you interpret them 😅😊
Top 3 Radiohead song for me.
Excellent reaction. I’d love for you to react to Climbing up the Walls, my personal favourite track of theirs. It’s so eerie, dark and foreboding. It is a masterpiece in my opinion. The lyrics and feel and vocal performance. You gotta do it, I think you’ll love it as you really seem to get them and their artistry.
Fellow climbing up the walls lover❤
Best reviewer/ reactor on this site. Great insights and research and takes the music as how it’s meant to be.
Great song to react to...not the obvious choice. Hope to see more
Goosebumps every time
React to the national anthem Radiohead's song from their experimental album Kid A. It's a trip on its own. Honorable mentions that you seriously need to react to : Daydreaming, Pyramid Song, How to disappear completely, Weird Fishes
Great reaction and review, honestly half of what makes Radiohead so impressive is their evolution throughout their albums, you never know what to expect! Another genre I think you would really enjoy and is also very unique, is Trip Hop, a blend of hip hop, jazz, psychedelic rock, blues, lounge and atmospheric styles. The top 3 artists to check out, Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky. They are far from the only ones, but they are considered the quintessential 3 core trip hop groups that every fan knows and owns their albums. For Portishead, try tracks Roads, Glory Box and Only You from their live concert in Roseland NYC, where they have a philharmonic accompanying them throughout. Massive Attack, tracks Dissolved Girl, Black Milk and Group Four are amazing, and is something different from the standard, Unfinished Sympathy, Teardrop and Angel, which are literally the only songs people ever react to. With Tricky, Hell is Around the Corner is an absolute must.
Absolute MASTERPIECE!
I'm pretty certain the " choir" is multi-tracked synthesizer programmed to sound like Mellotron voices. Spooky , ethereal, & effective.
It's a Mellotron played by Jonny Greenwood.
Mind blowing interpretation and reaction!! Peace! ✌🏼
This isn't a song, it's a prayer.
Great reaction as always. It is interesting your point about the mix of human voice and electronic sound : notice that it comes from an album called "OK Computer", which is really about these concepts (humanity and modern alienation). To me, OK Computer was one of these albums that would establish new standards in music, a bit like Dark Side Of the Moon in the 70's. So doing a full album review of it would certainly be a great experience for you... and for us with you of course !
You are not the first person i've seen compare OK Computer/Dark side of the Moon and Radiohead/Pink Floyd and I 100% agree, as a huge fan of both bands I see it clear as day and IMO Radiohead are the best band since the monsters of the 70s and should be included in that conversation and in 10 or 20 years they will be.
Excellent reaction and analysis..
I've been following them since I heard Pablo Honey, I thought it was great that an English band put my name on a record..
I saw them in 2010 in Chile, my country, an incredible concert, there is a myth here in South America, it is said that where Radiohead is heard the most is here..
We are a very depressive country and there are many who listen to Radiohead for this reason...
case that is not mine, musically they are geniuses their lyrics are a walk through all the feelings of the human being and their music is the perfect touch for that trip ..
thank you for existing..
Regards from Chile
Radiohead made a track for a James Bond film, but I'm not clear if it was actually used- a video about it taught me about what makes Bond theme songs different.
In this Romeo & Juliet movie , there is a Radiohead song in it called ‘Talk Show Host’
It's perfect for Romeo and Juliet perfect and you should see them play it life it's beautiful almost any show they perform it is amazing to watch😂
Fantastic analysis
Great video and love your channel! Would definitely recommend weird fishes & nude off of in rainbows.
Try "The Pyramid Song" :)
Check out the song they wrote for spectre. Miles ahead of the Sam smith song they went with.
Nooo why dont you just do the entire album :(
You have an amazing discography to discover my friend
I’m not gonna recommend anything, take your pick
Could be suicide, but couldn't it also be just lovers escaping something they know to be doomed?
Best Radiohead song imo
such a beautiful song and if you listen to the next song on the album there is a nice uplift to the spirit. thanks for sharing. but also, I once had popped a bottle of wine and threw on this record while watching Metropolis (1927) and the entire album just lined up perfectly. hard to say when I began but you can get a taste of it if you watch this at 0.9 playback speed while listening to the track. ua-cam.com/video/p0De8dFmZ7Q/v-deo.html
Re next song, I see what you did there. I genuinely love Let Down because it's just so...happy!
A stunning song!
Ok, now check out - Street Spirit (fade out)
You'll love it.
Could also be viewed as a mother escaping with her children from an abusive relationship.
Review metallicas ride the lightening, please
it’s actually just a variation on Romeo and Juliette. The boy wakes the girl and they quietly leave the house before her father hears them, they runaway and trying not to lose their nerve, they kill themselves and die together. Then in the end he says he hopes that their parents choke on the idea that this happened because they wouldn’t let them be together, saying it’s their fault.
That’s not exactly how it happened in the play/movie, but close enough.
❤️❤️❤️
Radiohead creates emotion through composition better than any band I have ever listened to. One thing I would add is that like bands like Pink Floyd, their records are a single work of art and meant to be listened to as a whole to get the vibe they are trying to portray.
Respectfully, I think you missed the point entirely. This was made for Romeo and Juliet, right? It's literally about Romeo and Juliet. The song captures the love between Romeo and Juliet, the disapproval of their parents and the families' hatred for each other, the desire the couple has to escape their situation, and how their ultimate end really was an "escape". There's no "God the Father" here; there's no guy who's just "sick of his life". "Her father" is literally Juliet's father.
This song is like lifting just the emotions out of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and leaving the plot details to some high school drama students to perform. Thom Yorke does in four-and-a-half minutes what took the greatest English playwright of all time "two hours' traffic of our stage". Yorke leaves his listeners in perhaps a larger puddle of tears than Shakespeare did.
Music is subjective but what i get from this song is dark as hell. The whole song is about Romeo and Juliet decide to kill them selves. Verse 1, is were they wake up and decide it is the day they die,. Verse 2 they escape. Verse 3 is were they kill themselves buy have to convince each other to do it. Verse 4 is were they are waiting for the coldness if death. Verse 5 is were they are dying but reflect on the pain their family have pushed them to commit suicide so there hatred comes out. Verse 6 is were they are dead and claim they are at piece. Outro the most chiling is their souls not being at piece with theit hatred for what made them commit suicide and they wimper away in eternity as torchured souls. In other words suicide isnt the answer to your problems dealing with the problems is the only way. Tell me i am wrong on this. This song is so sad
Do dogs by Pink Floyd
He should really do Animals in full. I think he'd appreciate it a lot.
@@ZosoLU Absolutely
My favorite album by them.
This album as a concept is about machines and technology taking over and eliminating the human elements of living. So as it works in a Romeo and Juliet manner it can also be seen as a person escaping the artificial life he’s created. His sleep being the electrical distractions, the father being the machines/tech that keep us happy and the rules and wisdom being the AI/programming rules that technology abide by. Also the 2nd verse (sing us a song) has what sounds like children playing (or maybe seagulls) but fed through an electronic filter to further drive home that the fun and joy the person has is a lie.
It's not, Romeo runs away (elopes) with Juliette. It's woman tries to escape abusive relationship with her child/children in the middle of the night. Listen to it again, without thinking about the other connotation. She's talking to the children. I thought the elope thing, but then, listening one time, an epiphany.
Nobody call thom yorke “yorke”…. Say his whole name. Thom Yorke. A proper fan would do that. ;)
If you're a real fan you would call him Thomas Edward Yorke
good request @djturtle