Old Composer REACTS to Radiohead Pyramid Song | Composer Reaction & Breakdown
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- Опубліковано 6 кві 2021
- 👀A heavy and emotional response to Pyramid Song👀
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Radiohead Reaction & Breakdown - The Decomposer Lounge
Amnesiac is criminally underrated and deserves multiple listens.
Underrated? It's considered one of their three greatest albums. Weird fishes and ok computer being the other two.
Yeah, too many people dismissed it as 'Kid A' B-sides at the time, probably still now, but it always felt differently to me. Sort of warmer, in a strange way, where Kid A felt like a glacier bearing down on me. A beautiful one, but still very cold.
@@dominiclloyd6651 1- Weird Fishes isn't even a Radiohead album. 2- Amnesiac is not considered one of their three greatest albums. Kid A, OK Computer and In Rainbows are. 3- Amnesiac is criminally underrated.
overrated*... but still very good
@@beepst 2- The Bends, Ok Computer and Kid A are.
The strings were arranged by Johnny Greenwood who's one of the guitarists in the band. He's actually done some composing for film scores, including three Paul Thomas Anderson films.
John is a great musician. His soundtrack work is fantastic aswell.
I think He'll have a blast listening to Johnny's film music.
He's a genius musician. Other members of the band have talked about how far ahead he was musically and did things they didn't even really understand during OK Computer and Kid A in particular. Think I remember Thom saying he almost found it intimidating at times.
jonny has worked with pendrecki- so there ya go.
thom and jonny in one band is simply not fair.
The whole band is amazing, individually and even better together.
This particular song is made to cause a visceral emotional response... it's like magic. It is a masterpiece
I agree. It's even unique within their own sphere! Just one of a kind this creation. Fills me with a nourishing sadness ❤️
This song used to scare me so bad
I've always loved the way Phil's drumming sounds like it trips up into the song. Almost as if Phil can't quite find the timing either!
As if was saying, "i havent got it, havent got it, just kidding of course i have it"
He actually has that quality a lot.
Very intelligent drummer
It's the kind of drumming you get when a band has played together for so long, they can sense what the other members are going to do.
I've heard it so many times and play this on piano and it's not all that difficult chord wise but you can never recreate exactly what they do here with the rhythm. it's so awesome . just a moment behind, lagging , labored but still on beat. it's fun to try tho
Try “Reckoner,” “Nude” or “Weird Fishes” from the In Rainbows album
I second weird fishes
Third weird fishes , my favorite Radiohead song!
The production and composition on Nude is so nuanced and amazing! I think there'll be a lot to decompose with that one.
In Rainbows is the most perfectly produced album ever made. Geebz could decompose the whole album!!
Yes to Nude, but from the Basement.
You'll fully decompose before you cover every amazing Radiohead song. :P
Lol... And people like Coldplay.. Humans are strange
@@twelvemonkeys8786 Can’t you enjoy one artist without shitting on another? Radiohead is my favorite band of all time but you don’t see me hating on Coldplay for no reason.
@@Westonm but Coldplay are shite.. Bye bye fool
@@Westonm he didn't shit on coldplay until the second comment. just comparing the two and saying people are strange for having such different tastes. which is true
Coldplay and radiohead are vastly different bands.
Radiohead has been like a fine wine for me. I had heard bits and pieces of their music years ago, but hadn't fully "gotten it" yet. Now, suddenly, everything I hear by them seems to grab me by the throat emotionally. Especially this song. I was already along for the ride at the very beginning, but by the time the drums and the strings came in, I was flat-out weeping. I also found myself wondering how I could have not understood Radiohead before.
I think lots of us feel that way.
my favorite bands I seem to discover like that it's like I knew about him for a while kind of liked a few songs but then something just clicks and I see the light and suddenly everything is new and fresh and I've gone mad and love for Radiohead it was Kid A specifically idiotech for some reason that brought that for me in 2001. more recently I've discovered my love for tame Impala the inner speaker album really sealed that deal both bands are so amazing in that no matter how much you listen to them there's always something new to hear in the music created by Masters and true spiritual channelers of divine sound!
@@kittervision Same with me, I had heard a couple songs here and there, and i always liked them. But one day a few years ago, i heard this song for the first time and it just like awakened the dormant Radiohead gene within me.
Every new album I had to digest first but at the end it’s always epic and new, emotional, experimental, sensible, strong, playful and raw…I saw Tom York in a electronic music festival (sonar) in Barcelona, people totally underrated it, it was super creative and different and a
Lots of beats, I was on the first line like a groopy and he is mind blowing live. the emotion, the ENERGY and creativity…a level like the biggest ones..LEGEND
The emotional draw of these songs and the way Thom and the band do this to us is just incredible. So beautiful and emotive.
This song is utterly unique....I still can't absorb it fully. It's crazy.
🤔
You should try the 800 times slowed version. You'll go into orbit!
I'll never forget the first time I heard this song, still the same experience 4 billion times after.
Same with me. Living room, Acton, London, 2001. It gives me this crazy emotional reaction that feels like it washes right through me
@MrBonniesdaddy I heard it one day on MTV in my room. Then I went and got the album. Lead me in a path...
I was a child when it came out, my mother is a fan, and would play this album a lot. I think it was the very first time I heard a song that hit me on a different level. Most music that I enjoyed was energetic and I had the classic happy/ecstatic kid reaction to. But this song stopped me and made me quiet, it was so so beautiful. It has stuck with me forever and will continue to for the rest of my life.
Lucky you guys, I don't remember the first time I heard this song and don't remember what I felt. These emotions only suddenly break through for a second when my mind is kinda dreamy and not concentrated on anything at all. But it is impossibly hard to make those emotions stay, they are like sand pouring through your fingers. It's like a photo or a face of someone that you remember just for a second and then it vanishes again.
Very accurate
You can't over-goober when a song reminds you of your late dad. 🖤
Perfectly said Mike.
Another great reaction KoG!!
Much love...
We must cherish our fallen fathers
Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke wrote this & he based Pyramid Song on a song by the Jazz player Charles Mingus called "Freedom." This track originally contained handclaps, but the group didn't like how they came out and erased them. Radiohead performed this at some of their shows before releasing it on the album. It was known as "Egyptian Song."
Their albums Kid A and Amnesiac were recorded at the same time, but Amnesiac was released a few weeks later. In 2003, this was used in a public service announcement for forest fire prevention in the US. Radiohead never allows their music to be used for commercial purposes, but Thom Yorke thought this was a good cause so he let them use it for $1. This was written by Thom Yorke after a visit to an exhibition of Egyptian art, during a two-week sojourn in Copenhagen in 1999. He told MTV: "That song literally took five minutes to write, but yet it came from all these mad places. [It's] something I never thought I could actually get across in a song and lyrically. [But I] managed it and that was really, really tough. [Physicist] Stephen Hawking talks about the theory that time is another force. It's [a] fourth dimension and [he talks about] the idea that time is completely cyclical, it's always doing this [spins finger]. It's a factor, like gravity. It's something that I found in Buddhism as well. That's what Pyramid Song' is about, the fact that everything is going in circles." According to Colin Greenwood, it was the image of "people being ferried across the river of death" that most affected York. This is reflected in the song's many references to Dante's imaginary journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, Divine Comedy. These include the black-eyed angels, a moon full of stars and jumping into the river. Yorke hammered out this track's chord progression on a baby grand piano that he had bought, in rejection of Radiohead's guitar-led past. The siren - like sonic undertow was produced by Jonny Greenwood's ondes Martenot, an unusual Theremin-like device invented in 1928.
Wow. Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing. Brilliant
I’ve always thought that the name Pyramid Song was becuase of the piano time progression, I don’t know why I made this association
Thanks so much for this xo
Steven Hawking is fake. He was to science what Hellen Keller -another fake, was for socialism. Just wanted to break those two spells!
Pyramid Song is my favorite song! 🤠
Thanks for this, I immediately went and checked out Charles Mingus' Freedom and enjoyed it quite a bit - although, I couldn't really discern much of a connection 'til over halfway thru the piece, and even then it was pretty tenuous. Still, I'll be checking out more of Mingus' stuff, thanks to you 😉
I’ve never seen Radiohead, but I knew Colin Greenwood, their bass player, and shared drummers with Colin’s band when I was at Cambridge in 1988-91.
When our bands both played at a college ball, I remember watching Colin’s band. The other members of Radiohead weren’t at Cambridge and he was in a 3 piece with our drummer Andy, and a fantastic blues guitarist who I knew pretty well. This was Will Mazzarella (sp?) who was awesome. I’m a lead guitarist and I spent the whole time looking at Will, who sang and played like a virtuoso. I was sure if anyone I knew was going to “make it”, it’d be him. He was gorgeous, tall, charismatic, and cool as fuck.
But there was a tune they did where Colin did this astonishing, really out-there bass line. Maybe a bit like the bass on the “dinosaurs roamed the earth” track. Super hook, but not what you were expecting either.
Dan, my bass player, and I were slack jawed watching this. What the fuck, that isn’t a scale and I’ve no idea what he was playing.
We approached him afterwards and I said, what… how do you … what was that… type of thing.
Colin kind of said something, like, “I don’t know, you just find the note that is right. Play that one and then find the next note that wants to go there.” (Like that was going to help much!)
Same with this pyramid song with lyrics about a dream and the piano chords from heaven and that strange paused rhythm, lilting emphasis that is so addictive and gently pulled back to the loop as you surface every few bars, but there aren’t even any bars as you drift through the pleasure of surrendering to death. And the drum beat that isn’t a beat, that restarts your own heart and brings you back to the surface of the river, with the black-eyed angel singing to me.
Left university, didn’t keep in touch with Colin or Andy. (Pre social media so it wasn’t easy). For a couple of years since I’d come across them, Radiohead were this band I loved and I had completely eaten up “the bends” and “ok pc” and had no idea Colin was in the band. Then I bumped into Andy at a Neil Young gig. “Isn’t Colin doing well”, he goes…
Only problem is, I am going to need about 20 of their songs to be on the playlist for my funeral. The next person’s going to have to wait a while before they get cremated.
Watching this guy’s face as he listens to music is enchanting.
@ J. Michael Neal - I definitely agree with you J. He is so soulful. 💯
Dude gotta be high as hell
his face goes thru about fifteen different consideration and acceptance expressions from one bar lol - then sometimes he agrees with the composer and nods his head like theyre having a conversation - its awesome
He peeks and prey, dude.
His music mind oozes form his expressions. I love watching him react to a favorite of mine and then getting to "that part" and seeing brain pick it apart and be like "aaaah, I understand this now"
Please paranoid Android, it is a real journey of a track. Was never keen on pyramid song back in the day, but I have a new appreciation for it now
like Bohemian Rhapsody gave birth to William S. Burroughs. I love Paranoid Android so much.
Paranoid Android and that entire OK Computer album is so good it completely changed my taste in music.
Yeah Paranoid Android still blows my mind
paranoid android 1st listen is a game changer for sure. One of the more impactful songs you'll ever hear on 1st listen IMO, it's just so much wow
This! Incredible song!
My father passed away when I was fairly young and I discovered this song not long afterwards. My throat still closes up every time I hear it, Such a hauntingly beautiful track.
'My throat still closes up every time I hear it', such a wonderfully poetic turn of phrase. Knew exactly how you felt
I came here to say that my father also died when I was 12 in 1996. I first heard this song on MTV, watching that haunting videoclip about a year later. I spent years trying to find what song was that and I did in my early 20s. It always has been my favorite, it's my emotional rollercoaster.
Same here...this and Videotape always get to me and remind me of him. He passed in his mid 40''s of cancer. Very healthy and active up to the that point and then BOOM...slowly gave way to it. . It's still hard to piece together, especially as I approach the same age.
17 years ago I heard this album alone in a hot tub in the middle of the night by the ocean and it’s been my favorite of all time ever since.
That sounds amazing. 17 years ago I would have been in 1st grade. It's taken me most of my early twenties and late teens to really define my taste in music
Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief are the most underrated Radiohead albums. Two of my favourites.
'I might be wrong' is their most underrated song.
TKOL is probably the most underrated, but Amnesiac and HTT also deserve a lot more recognition.
@@cuvo7285 I guess you're right, TKOL gets bad press for no reason. Its got some absolute tunes. Codex is
100% agreed
Amnesiac is probably my favorite record from them. I've always thought it was underrated. Hail to the Thief is great but it's middle tier for me.
And now after the Tool rabbithole, welcome to he Radiohead rabbitehole.
still hasn't done the grudge... :(
Radiohead has a rabbit hole. Tool has a pot hole. I'm a Tool fan but there is absolutely no comparison when it comes to depth of songwriting.
@@erichodosh2933 Indeed. Oh indeed. Tool attempt to be deep by going 'out there', but Radiohead achieve being deep by simply being fully human. Radiohead is another level altogether.
@@erichodosh2933 look man, my favorite two bands are radiohead and tool. Just because tool's psychedelic and prog, doesn't mean it's deeper. To me tool and radiohead both tell the story of self and its reaction to reality. Now one of them hails from a specific prog and metal orientation, while the other comes from a british post-punk root. to me, they both explore the world of music like none other can, and they both get progressive and psychedelic in their own way. Two sides of a very very precious coin.
@@cellardoor451 I think he is saying Radiohead is deeper.
Radiohead is very good at creating an atmospheric vibe that instantly brings me back to very specific points in time. Like hitting a mark anywhere on a dartboard that’s attached to not just memories but feelings. Some random & fleeting and some much deeper & emotional. Glad to see it’s a shared experience.
definitely can do that for me and the music also bring me to points that aren't actually part of this life right now but feel like they are a part of me at some time or parallel existence or past life it's a nostalgia for something I don't understand it hits really close to home, it's very emotional and meaningful it's like a spiritually enlightening psychedelic trip... it makes me feel like I'm close to other souls that hear the same beauty in this music that I do it's like the anthem of a soul family!
When I read that title I actually thought the guy had a reaction and then breakdown after listening to the song. As a Radiohead fan, I was nodding my head thinking this outcome is plausible. 😂
🤣
Me too. I went ahead and did so anyways. What a song.
Jonny Greenwood (the guitar player) does string arrangements for Radiohead. He is not the main songwriter in the band (vocalist Thom Yorke is) but he has written a lot of film scores, notably for The Phantom Thread which was nominated for Oscars. Also check out Daydreeming by Radiohead.
I second Daydreaming
Daydreaming, the saddest Radiohead song from their saddest album.
Greenwood's most famous work for cinema is the There Will Be Blood soundtrack. This is where he went all out as far as atonal string arrangements go.
Daydreaming would be awesome and also very intresting from a production standpoint i think
I was just about to write that, man... Good stuff.
Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has scored a few movies (There Will Be Blood) and is an orchestral composer, you can definitely hear that :)
The opening chords of this song never, ever fail to reduce me to tears. The most beautiful song ever written.
This song makes me cry. It touches something very deep inside of me. The music is soul-crushing and then add the lyrics and I feel like I'm grieving. It breaks my heart for some reason.
Hey there, classically trained musician and thus music theorist here! A few years ago I sat down and figured out this song, should you approach the tune with time signatures as opposed to just assuming syncopation and ignoring the weird time signature stuff going on. If you really sit down and just vocally say "1, 2, 3, 4" in time with the song, it just doesn't work out. It sounds like it does at first, but the further you get the further it falls apart. Granted, this was a few years ago and I lost my notes, but I'll try and sum up my findings on another listen with the information I recall.
Following the piano at the start is really difficult, but once the time doubles and the drums kick in, it's a little more clear to dissect exactly what's happening. Basically, it's constantly changing time signatures throughout the song, and they're all whacky. After the pickup fill by the drums (about 6:48 in this vid), leading onto the downbeat of 1, we can count (more clearly now that it's in "double time" or rather, the /8 is more tangible)...
1 bar of 5/8
2 bars of 8/8
1 bar of 11/8
~vocals come in here on 1~
As you might notice, 5+8+8+11=32, which would be divisible by 4 (in 8 measures) in the end, but simply counting in 4 doesn't properly land you on downbeats and 1's in every measure, so this would be a more accurate representation of that's happening. If you try and vocally count 8 bars of 4/8 during this time you will end up on 1 where I wrote the vocals come in, but it'll go a lot less smoothly than counting the time signatures I wrote above.
It tends to maintain this structure for most of the rest of the song, though there are some oddballs in there if I recall correctly. The beginning is much more complex, but you have to kind of keep that tempo and groove in your mind of when the drums come in, when the time is doubled and we have that kind of jazzy swing going on, and keep counting it in /8 even though we don't have the drums to hold that beat for us. This way, you can go back and hear at the beginning that it's something like...
1 bar of 5/8
1 bar of 8/8
1 bar of 3/8
1 bar of 5/8
1 bar of 11/8
1 bar of 5/8 ~ooh's start here~
2 bars of 8/8
1 bar of 11/8
~lyrics come in here on 1~
Obviously this is all very subjective and you can interpret this song and it's time signatures/etc however you'd like, but I was able to count with the above pattern throughout most of it. Like I said, at one point I had this entire song written out to every last measure, though I don't have the time to do that in a single UA-cam comment.
I hope this was interesting for someone out there to read, if you are another musician and disagree with my interpretation that's perfectly fine, like I said it can be very subjective from person to person. Let me know if you have any questions, or if this made perfect sense to you! Thanks if you made it this far~
I made it all the way through and so respect your breakdown - THANK YOU!!!
@@KeyOfGeebz Wow, thanks so much! Long time fan, I was going to suggest this song after I got done preaching about A Lot Like Birds' Connector, but your reactions to both came out on the same day like you read my mind!
This song is a really special one, as a drummer I always try and over-dissect weird funky theory stuff like this. I'm glad you were able to make sense of my rambling!
ua-cam.com/video/MdZSOoOF5Ms/v-deo.html - this does a lot better job of breaking down how it more matches a bossa nova feel in 4/4. When I figured that out I really felt like they had created something genius.
It's actually a lo more simpler than that. It's bars of 8/4 where the piano counts 3-3-4-3-4 (eights notes). A squared-base pyramid is made out of 4 triangles (3 sides) and 1 square (4 sides), that's why it's called pyramid song!
Ah thank you! Yes got 11 8 too. Am thinking though 11 8 all the way through no? Grouping at 22322. Easier to hear that when the vocals and drum give you the first beat of the bar
Jonny Greenwood is as much a genius as Thom. His guitar tones and parts are perfect almost throughout his entire career, and his string arrangements are just gorgeous. He scored the movie “There Will Be Blood,” which is one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time imo
Fact
His soundtrack for Phantom Thread is my favorite of his I think
Thom is a genius, Johnny is something more..
@@TeddymanYT so he’s done two of Daniel day Lewis films ? Coincidence he’s a genuine genius in musicality
I did not know he scored it! Makes me love that movie even more!
Lead guitarist multi-instrumentalist 2nd in charge (a kind of loose but not altogether wrong description) Johnny Greenwood is a Grammy and Oscar nominated modern classical music Movie Music composer (best known for being film making genius Paul Thomas Anderson's go-to composer and his staggering work on "There Will Be Blood" - though Thom has followed his lead scoring the remake to horror classic "Suspiria" you haven't made it to any of their work from the 2010's on albums 8 and 9 to hear it manifesting even more gloriously into the DNA of the band). Johnny is now amongst the top tier of sought out film composers particularly in the Indie film world, his score on the recently released Jane Campion Netflix movie "The Power of the Dog" a dark powerful movie, is amazing. And when you get to any songs - "Burn the Witch" - from "A Moon Shaped Pool" their 2016 most recent full band Radiohead album#9, I just cannot wait to hear what you think and it is so cool to trace his development as this song was done in 2000, and his first film work was around 5 years later. You will begin to get the band complexion from a writing and production standpoint as you journey goes on - for a very long time I hope as I just love it to death - with Thom doing minimum 90% of the true song core writing and Johnny sort of acting as the arranger to put those tunes into the next level, then the other 3 band mates do their thing (and each has super significant and somewhat loosely clear cut roles themselves) until it makes its way into career spanning (minus first album an as sound engineer on 2nd with John Leckie of all people producing on "The Bends" before taking over on "Ok Computer" for a hell of a debut) Nigel Godrich (and Thom alongside him), himself a man with a pretty epic resume outside of being RH's "6th" member that spans a lot of music I suppose you'd place as in line with what you'd expect from Radiohead's producer, such as Beck (there is a guy for you to dive into - holy cow) and one of his 3 true master works, "Sea Change" to some other pretty different genres. Ha, there is no CHANCE anyone read all of that - so let it be my own joyful cathartic response :) .
Johnny Greenwood (the guitarist) is a genius, he has done the score for there will be blood and got an oscar nominee for Phantom Thread.. he has arranged everything with is band radiohead ;)
I think you should consider doing "Everything in its right place." One of the most insane left turns in rock history.
I came here to say the same. It is in fact the cousin song of “Pyramid Song”: it was allegedly written in the same week and has some similarities in chord progression and sound effects.
have you ever heard Bilal's version of this song? Its stunning. Especially live w Questlove & the crew
ua-cam.com/video/za8u0Xu5g20/v-deo.html
kid a cannot be listened to song by song. It needs to be absorbed as a whole.
This album was something I listened to on repeat and was such a turning point in my life, but absolutely informed music around it. Incredible.
Yes, good choice
Ok, I have to make another comment now that I've finished the video. What a wonderful reaction to a truly beautiful and mysterious song. For this son to bring emotions and a connection to your dad is so nice. Love it. I'm still here. 🙏
It was cool to see how much you appreciated Jonny Greenwood's string arrangements. It's pretty rare for a band to have a member who writes their orchestral parts, and amazing ones at that.
He plays an electric guitar with a violin bow!
he has been nominated for oscars for his musical scores
Radiohead has been my constant for the past 23 years. Glad you're enjoying! Pyramid Song always makes me emotional. When I finally saw them live a few years ago I cried like a baby when they played it.
King of limbs tour?? I got to see them on that tour with my younger daughter when she was 16..she literally almost passed out and we had to leave right before the encore..she was ok of course..was lucky enough to see them twice before on other tours as well..
it's great to see you becoming ONE OF US. Radiohead is endlessly interesting in their composition. 'Where I End and You Begin' is still my vote, Geebz!
Ooh really great one! Best on HTTT imo.
Wise pick
Well said, one of my faves but they have so many I often forget about it
A great song to switch the lights out, lay down, and appreciate that someone very very clever has made that tune for you to enjoy
Reckoner & Videotape from In Rainbows are a must as well
YES! YES YES YES YES! I wholly second both of those tracks.
I was playing Cyberpunk and they have a mission called "pyramid song" where surprise...You dive to an underwater town and explore. First RH reference I've found in video games.
sucks that the game delivered poorly, thats a lovely reference
I'm still here.
Some Björk would be amazing to see if it's not already been done. Pagan Poetry perhaps
Sigur Ros, too.
Check out Bjork and Thom Yorke - I've Seen it All
Amazing how you mentioned my favorite song of her's. Out of all the artists and out of all her discography. Love that song.
or Undo or Unison
Reeeeeckoneeeeer next please :)
Great Suggestion!
Reckoner is one of the perfect songs.
Reckoner is complex simplicity with extreme emotional richness. Definitely worth doing!
@@Funkspace Ah yes, complex simplicity. The deafening silence makes me feel alone together
Yes... still here! Radiohead & TOOL are kings! My all time favs!
MY FAVES TOO!! 🤩
Same here!!!
Please do more Radiohead songs,All their songs are profusely unique and different from each other.
RADIOHEAD IS A GENRE!!!
Ha ha..Radiohead is a genre. They have been my favorite band for 20 years and I have never heard that term. Love it and will steal it. thanks
@@michaelcarr3924 spread the word my man😂😂😂🔥🔥🔥, Radiohead is the best and my favourite band as well.
Very profound. RH is a genre.
Radiohead is a philosophy. Radiohead is a way of life.
Radiohead is a galaxy
How do you know your a musician? You try and lock in the time signature when listening to pyramid song. This song travels from ear to brain to stomach and finally the heart. Timeless.
Glad you enjoyed this one! This is my favourite Radiohead song, it’s just glorious!
I was lucky enough to have heard it live on the Hail to the Thief tour in St. Louis. Beyond otherworldly to say the least.
Same! Wish it was like 3 times longer tho!
So depressing though
I’m still here. Don’t burn yourself out, Geebz!
One of their most beautiful and phenomenal songs! Seeing your first reaction was really touching. There is NOTHING in the world like hearing a Radiohead song like this for the first time. It was a treat to see your first time. There are MANY more like this. Thank you!!
Every track by Radiohead is a masterpiece in one way or another. The more you listen the more you'll find
One of my all time favorite Radiohead songs. So beautifully haunting. And it is in 4/4. The strings were recorded in the studio. The lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, composed the string section.
I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but pretty sure it's not 4/4. Sounds more like 3/4 + 2/4 or something, but maybe that's the swing of the rhythm
@@muzikkification It's in 4/4. The way they're accenting the chords on certain beats gives it that 'off' feeling.
@@muzikkification
It’s true, you don’t know what you’re talking about. 2/4?
@@larjkok1184 ...what?
@@larjkok1184 Well I just found this from Mixdown:
'The heavily swung feel of this song has led to some pundits associating it with 3/4 or 12/8, while some even claim it’s best counted as 3/4 + 2/4 + 3/4.'
So yeah, 2/4 is a time signature believe it or not
I'm still here. That was excellent. Pyramid Song is a portable transcendental experience. Do Daydreaming next!
Same for me was my first experience to Idioteque
Daydreaming is such a melancholic song.. pulls at the heart strings..
If he does Daydreaming he needs to watch the music video for it that Thom Yorke and Paul Thomas Anderson created. It's the best way to experience it for the first time. Such an incredible video.
It's amazing that a band accused of plagiarism for arguably their greatest hit (creep) are actually absolute songwriting geniuses
I was blessed enough to go to an acoustic set by Thom and Jonny in Italy a few years ago which was a fundraiser for the earthquake hit area in central Italy. When they played "Pyramid Song", I swear that I thought "if I die later tonight, at least I've witnessed this". It was astounding, if much more stripped down than this version.
Check out Street Spirits (Fade Out) by Radiohaed.
The Band says that the song wrote itself and they only play it as their last song live because they tear up in tears after they play it.
That's my one beef with RH. You can only hear so many songs because they are so depressing.
As well as being syncopated, it is also swung, so it feels even more floaty
I'm still here 🙂
Thank you for sharing your experience with us
This piece is pure art. The chords take you in such a deep journey of nostalgia, darkness, and still, passing through all the uneasiness and the confusion, offering resolution, i mean, how can you just not cry to it?! It's just pure beauty. Because, if you add to the melodyc analysis of the song, the meaning of the lyrics, it's just overwhelming. To me, the song talks about facing death, in the end of your life, and knowing, at last, that all this pain, all this confusion, all the struggle, finally has a resolution. In the end, you meet your father again (as I wish to meet my own father, who also passed away), we're finally together, and you know what: there is nothing to fear, nothing to doubt. Resolution, at last.
My friend, this is exactly why listening to Radiohead (and I have been for nearly 30 years) equates to me as an almost religious experience
There's two songs that made Radiohead click with me after many years of kind of hating them. One is a dark, disturbing nightmare hellscape called Climbing Up the Walls. The other is a beautiful, melancholic, almost poppy number called Let Down, which made me finally realize that Thom is a goddamn amazing vocalist. I think you'd have an interesting time with both of those.
They're one of my top favorite bands of all time now, btw, rubbing up against others like The Cure, another group of absolute wizards who can do amazing things with simplicity.
If only tonight we could sleep, my fav
obligatory let down in underrated
Radiohead's guitarist is an award winning classical composer. The influence of Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis, is apparent.
I'm so happy to hear you speak so highly of this song and to see you react so positively to Radiohead in general. When I talk about radiohead's music to friends and family, they generally don't get it. I've always thought that Radiohead was doing more musically and technically than just about any other modern band.
Ikr? Whenever I find a Radiohead fan in real life we instantly become friends
@@chessplayinghaw2737 I'm the same until the gigs. Then I lament every Radiohead fan ever 😂 seen them three times and mostly, all I heard was the ten nearest fans screaming every word 😔
I listed this song on the last radiohead reaction so I feel heard for the first time in my life lol. Please continue what you do Geebz.
Still here! I think I’ve listened to this song at least 1000 times and it still does something magical to me every single time. Radiohead are something else. Five childhood friends who started a band in school, and (at least) 2 of them grew up to be geniuses! What are the odds of that?! You should try Let down or Reckoner next. Then you can hear what they sound like without all the extra instruments, but still with the compositional layers. Let down gets really huge towards the end, reckoner just sort of holds you in a good place the whole way. Sorry to waffle! Aloha!
Still, still here... Radiohead is a fabulous rabbit hole to go down.
I think, of all the bands I've heard, Radiohead have the largest number that just resonate with my at a deep emotional level. Sometimes I find them too much to listen to because of that.
I saw them live once, and the concert was so strange and beautiful - the crowd were so reverential, and the band humble and grateful for the reception they got, it was more like attending some kind of spiritual service. Amazing band.
I think the first time I saw Radiohead it was at Bonnaroo and that was probably the best time of my life I never felt such elation it was like a literal religious experience so much energy I was jumping around so happy very much in my own world but also very much mentally vibing with every single person there. if I only lived for that one experience it would not have been a waste
I've always said music was my religion because it's the only thing that's ever brought me to a place where I feel absolutely in touch with something bigger than myself something very beautiful something connecting me to all the other souls something true and authentic and more real than real . when Thom speaks of his performing and creative process as though he is basically channeling the creativity is not so much in control he's a vessel for it to come through and I think that's how true creative mastery comes about there's so much more to life than what we see here and now and Radiohead makes a bridge from here to there.
@@kittervision Yes! Agree wholeheartedly with all of that. It baffles me how intensely moving music can be, I don't understand why it has that effect, I'm just grateful that it does. I've started learning the piano because I want to try to create experiences like that myself :)
I don't know if you know much about Thom Yorke's solo records, Twist and Dawn Chorus from his latest album are both mesmerising songs
Those songs are the dogs bollocks aren't they!!
His solo stuff and his work with Atoms for Peace are totally different from RH but equally amazing! Check it out.
The Eraser's tittle track is a good one to review.
Bingo! My two favorite songs from Anima, esp Twist! That’s such and incredible album.
borrowed from a commentor on the original video, but thought you'd find this interesting; and kinda surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.
"each bar of this song has two dotted quavers, a crotchet, and two more dotted quavers. if you think about this in 16ths per bar, this equated to the notes equaling 3, 3, 4, 3, 3. a pyramid has four triangles and one square that make up the shape. this rhythm LITERALLY makes this song a pyramid"
This track, codex and videotape are my Radiohead holy trinity. I go around in circles trying to decide which one takes the crown.
All masterpieces of beauty
Video tape is heart wrenching
I'm a decent musician, have listened to this song hundreds of times over the years, and *still* struggle to find the downbeat until the drums come in.
Try this trick out, Darren. Play the song double speed and the pattern becomes much easier. It almost sounds like a dance club track rhythm.
@@Kathayne636 OMG it's true, mindblowing
One of my top 30 radiohead songs.
I'm still here.
I'm totally jealous you get to discover Radiohead for the first time. As someone who is very familiar with them, the next best thing is watching others do through that process.
Other thing I would say, is that Thom's writing is some of the most beautiful you'll read or hear. I know it's not the main point of this channel, but I hope on a personal note you get to connect also with his words. They are equal to the calibre of his voice, and the musicianship of the whole band.
Enjoy!
This song is Exhibit A as evidence that I must be some kind of emotion junkie. It utterly destroys me every time I hear it, yet I can't get enough. I limit myself to no more than a couple listens a year so I don't build up a tolerance. I love it so much.
still here, and what a coincidence, because if I remember correctly, this song was about meeting people in dreams! :O
Soooo stoked you LOVED this song as much as I do. 😁🎶✌️🥳
It's wonderful you had those shared experiences with your dad. This is a very powerful song. Peace be with you, brother.
I love how you break the songs down. As very poor novice musician who is surrounded by very good musicians, my son, brother in law and wife, I appreciate music. I wish I had spent more time practicing music than shooting a basketball because now as an older man I cannot play ball like I did, but I can play music and could have been much better. In our family band I have been demoted from rhythm guitar to drums and now to bass. I guess next I’ll be on the kazoo, lol. I still play the others on certain songs. My son is a musical savant. He has never had a lesson and can play anything and is very accomplished. However, enjoy music so much. I love listening, hearing people as yourself break it down with some theory, analyzing the lyrics, getting the back story and attempting to play it. This is a powerful song that fills all of your senses, yet it is simple enough that I can play without pulling my hair out and when you can play a song you feel it even more. Radiohead is one of my favorites and Johnny Greenwood is a genius. He composed the sound track for “There will be blood” and many other movies. Thom Yorker’s voice is hypnotic. Thank you for having this channel.
"Simplicity is the finest form of sophistication"
Leonardo Da Vinci
His face fully sums up this record and it’s composition, it’s complex and it’s clever 🤔 no other band on this planet could have composed this, with the string arrangement, sonic layers, and syncopation 😬 long live Radiohead
Their brilliance will continue to grow in appreciation and people will still be dissecting and discovering their rich, dense music long after we are all gone.
I'm still here. I feel this way about much of there work, and find myself often alone in my connection to Radiohead and their efforts. Genius. THey ALWAYS take me somewhere, and I don't see how others don't "see"/ feel it...
Good to hear you say it...
The fact you got that it was in 4/4, despite the fact it sounds like anything but is highly impressive.
Woohoo! You finally did Pyramid Song! Now you gotta check out Weird Fishes!
New drinking game: Take a shot every time he says "I'm not a vocal coach, but..." in a video xD
Loved this reaction nevertheless. I discovered you a couple weeks ago and it feels like I haven't even made a dent in watching all your content. You really provide for your fanbase and I think that's awesome of you.
A beautiful demonstration of how simplicity and complexity are not opposites.
I'm still here.
A cool thing to note is that there's an F# at the top of every chord for the entire song. If you wanna try it the main theme is just F# major chord across two octaves (maybe the LH is just fifths for the whole thing though), then a G#maj7 which obviously still has the F# at the top, then Amaj+6 again F# at the top. There is actually an exception sometimes the piano will move up to the G during the Gmaj7 and make a standard G chord, then afterwards the piano player leaves the G at the top during the first F# chord for 2 beats making a F#b9. I really love this piano part it's one of my all time favourites outside of classical music. Also RE: the rhythm. However you want to think of it it has to be in groups of 3. So if you want to think of it as one 4/4 passage that takes a while to land on the 1 then really you should be thinking of it in 12/8.
This is definitely one of my all-time favorites of theirs. That being said I think people failed to give enough credit to Nigel Goodrich and his producing ability, between his work with Radiohead and Beck, He's made some of the most spine tingling music I've ever heard that resonates like no other.
Radiohead’s one of those artists that 90% of their work will give you something unique to think about, outside their album work as well, but anything from Kid A and A Moon Shaped Pool should really hit you in specific with your type of musical background
I completely agree. Those albums may just be their two best efforts. I honestly think Kid A is one of the greatest albums ever recorded.
'Deck's Dark' is a phenomenal song. One of best songs by any band ever.
@@interstellarbeatteller9306 I hope he does a reaction to that one as well. Along with Daydreaming and Spectre. The latter should have been the theme of 007
@@TSPH1992 He'd be there forever if he did half of their most brilliant songs!
PS you've given me a Great idea to make my own Radiohead Bond theme tune! Thanks!
@@interstellarbeatteller9306 You're too kind
The relationship you had with your father sounds very special, music has the power to heal.
Thanks for the video.
I'm still here. New watcher, lifelong hardcore Radiohead fan. UA-cam suggested you and I'm glad I clicked. Came for the Radiohead but I'll stay for the rest too. Thanks for helping non-musician music-lovers like me explain why we love what we love so much.
I love seeing people react to radiohead. I feel like I can tell people how amazing they are but they'll never understand until they listen and feel radiohead.
You're right. It is because Radiohead songs need to be understood. The way it's composed requires the listener to comprehend & digest the songs. It feels mundane at first but the meaning will sink in as you listen to it more. Unlike casual songs on the radio that have predictable chord patterns that get annoying when you listen to it more due to lackluster, Radiohead requires patience & a cerebral cortex to be appreciated.
There hasn’t been a time since I very first heard this song that it didn’t give me goosebumps. It’s possibly the only song that always makes my breath catch in my throat every single time I hear it.
I can't begin to fathom being in the control room and hearing that song back for the first time after they'd finished it. It exists on another plane of reality.
Respect. It took me a long time to understand it was in 4/4. Iconic band.
Feeling it right there with you budd. This song holds so much emotional weight for me. Thank Om for mirror neurons. You gave me a connection tonight. Blessings. Peace. Love.
Got a like for the Om reference- cool... don’t know anything about mirror neurons though
From Radiohead: "Paranoid Android", "The National Anthem", "Nude", "Street Spirit", and ALL the others. :-)
You really need to look deeper into Radiohead. Truly skilled musicians who work together seamlessly.
THE POWER OF RADIOHEAD
This is one of my top5 Radiohead songs... Goosebumps every time I listen to it...
How did I miss this song? I love radiohead, and I've never heard this song.......my god its beautiful.
Probably because it’s on Amnesiac. Good album but often goes unnoticed by many.
The lyrics are very depressing
@@nosuchthing8 I like that
Radiohead have so many hidden gems on every album. I’m always finding a new one
Radiohead and depressing goes together like pb&j
Radiohead has a way of pulling emotions out of you. It's very therapeutic.
It is really impressive that this man could instantly tell this song which has caused countless debates on its time signature is 4/4.
I was wondering "is he going to hear that piano" and sure enough, at 3:40, you didn't disappoint. You not only got that it was a peculiar rhythm, but you got the time signature and syncopation too. Really impressed you picked up on that on your first listen. :)
What a beautiful piece of music this is.
Oh man, I’m still here. This one is big for me. This album hit right before my stepdad passed away. This song is so special to me in a similar way that it hit you. The haunting piano. The dancing string countermelodies. The subtle but strange swing beat that’s all held together by a strong and smooth bass. I used to play this as loud as I could and lose myself in it when the emotions were too much for me to take. “All my friends were there with me. All my pasts and futures. And we all went to heaven in a little rowboat. There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt.”
You weren't overgoobering, Thom was a most excellent and serious soul, bless him for his contribution.
I love it that so many people argue about the time signature of this song, and on your first listen you were like "yeah I think its 4/4 but syncopated" and nailed it. Kudos.
I love when the drums come in and what it does do the rest of the track.