@18:35 "I really enjoy how they can continue to create these ideas of instability by creating expectation, and not delivering on it." Thank you. That is exactly what it is, I have never been able to name it.
The sense of unease they always seem to portray is a theme that they always seem to shoot for even in their most beautiful compositions there is always a feeling that something is a little off there is a track called Daydreaming that captures that really well from the same album as Burn the Witch.
@@CriticalReactions If you want to, take a few minutes and listen to "Fitter, Happier." I don't really consider it a song per se, but it is a track off the same album, "OK Computer." Basically, it's the same robotic voice, just like the one Stephen Hawking would use to speak for him, with some eerie music in the background. When they first toured for the album, they would have that playing over the speakers as they came out to the stage.
@@Asher8328 Try to copy and paste the "Fitter, Happier" song lyrics or text into a text editor while on a mac computer then play the text with speech with "Fred" voice selected in settings. It will be like listening to the song :)
Over the years I've been trying to compose a top ten list of my favorite songs (I'm very slow)--and as of this moment, after watching this video, I decided to put Paranoid Android in the list. I'm 62 years old, lived through six decades of music, including the '60's, so it's very hard to select ten favorites. But Paranoid Android grips me every time I hear it. It's weird, but I find beauty in the beautiful, ugly and chaotic parts of it.
This is certainly one of Radiohead's most ambitious tracks. They have done weirder, even more complex, but Paranoid Android is such a bold statement. Especially for a single! I really loved your take on the structure of the track, it seems a bit funny that the feeling/mood you were trying to describe was paranoia. The feeling of constant pulling of the rug, constant inestability and not knowning what it's coming next perfectly describe an state of anxiety and paranoia imo. That's the genius of the track, hidden in plain sight on the title. Now you've heard grungy Radiohead (Creep), proggy (Paranoid Android) and cinematic/orchestral (Burn the Witch), whatever you check next, I feel something more electronic, jazzier or folkier could be a great next step. Personally I'd go with Life in a Glasshouse because it's one of their more unique tracks imo, and a personal favourite. I might drop it on the next livestream if there's no theme that could fit for it. Great video as always, Bryan!
Mmm.....I read your comment and was thinking "I don't really think I was describing paranoia, I was getting a different idea." Then I went back and watched the analysis. It's clear as day! It wasn't *exactly* what I was feeling through the song but it all lines up very well. Great catch.
Radiohead is a lot of fun for people who understand theory I struggle a bit but I try and muddle through I can think of a lot of well composed songs that should be fun for you to check out just a few How to Disappear Completely, Pyramid Song, Climbing Up the Walls and Bloom and when you do Bloom make sure it is from the basement the extra drummer takes it to the next level.
Really, this ties in with the whole theme of the album itself (OK Computer). It’s hard to consider it as an individual track, but in context it all makes sense. And yeah, you’re onto something with your analysis for sure, especially the last bit about the Android and what it represents.
Late to the party as usual, but thoroughly enjoyed your breakdown. The fact that radiohead for the most part, keeps me on my toes and doesn't always do what I expect musically, is what always keeps me going back to them. On an emotional music level, you nailed it perfectly about the juxtaposition of the ugly and the beautiful.. Life is kind of like that and art reflects life and all of that.. You have earned a subscription and I'm looking forward to more breakdowns..
when i first heard this album at age 13 in 97, i felt that this was the most futuristic thing in my possession... worth the 1 week hunger in school for spending the money on this CD
A bit like Yes, Genesis or Rush; it helps to have your kind of musical training to unpick what Radiohead do. These guys really know what they're doing - and they play around with their subversion of what you're "supposed" to do, in terms of theory
I think you got it right regarding the theme. There is something sinister underneath that comes out to the surface eventually - like repression. It's in the lyrics as well - especially the line "the unborn chicken voices in my head"
Great musical breakdown! However I would say the thing missing to tie all of this together is simply the lyrics. The lyrics sort of walk us through the themes and directive, with the music supporting. Musically alone it seems a bit more chaotic. But it is a contemporary rock/pop song and Yorke is a very good lyricist, so they often lead us through their world through that lense, with the music closely following. But this was great! Definitely gonna check out more.
Gotta have that enthusiasm. Music is magical and there is so much of it out there. Being jaded, dismissive, or closed minded about music is, to me, a sad way to approach it.
Great reaction as always! From what I've heard Radiohead spliced three unfinished songs together to create this track. I love this track, but at the same time I understand why they never made another song like it again.
Agree with the previous comments, I also would highly recommend you listen to album versions first of: 'How to disappear completely'; 'Reckoner'; 'Pyramid Song'; (plenty of other great tracks as well) Then try the Live 'From the Basement' sessions Great analysis, keep going, especially Radiohead Also Massive Attack and UNKLE?...
This song (and the general theme of the OK Computer LP) is the representation of anxiety about a society empty of soul, devoid of meaning and the pre written destiny of living in a world ruled by capitalism and violence.
The electronic voice you hear underneath is the famous Stephan Hawking speaking through his computer. The film. The theory of everything. He could not speak so used the computer to talk.
For me the genius in this song is precisely the chaos and auditory dissonance, it caught me so off guard when I first heard it that it made me a huge fan of Radiohead.
@@enricojakobsoriano I think it might be down to the slow buildup. But strange, really, because Radiohead avid listeners are mostly some of the most "patient" ones😅
If you want an idea for a song by them to cover next, Daily Mail could be a nice choice. One of the very few they use a substantial amount of brass in, and just an awesome song besides. It's a song recorded during one of the "from the Basement" sessions (which are well worth checking out) and was released as-is, as a b-side. Absolutely one of my favourite of theirs, and a bit of a departure too. Another great choice could be Man O'War (Big Boots), the studio version from the re-release of their OK Computer album, which is the album Paranoid Android is on. Written at the same time, but they kept not being satisfied with studio mixes of it, so much so that it took two decades to get it right (same as what happened with Nude, except it took even longer). It really benefits from the prowess they honed over the years in little subtle touches as you go along that just make it shine. Love it, another favourite. To round it off at a neat three, I'd recommend their song Spectre which they wrote as a Bond theme for the movie of the same name, but it didn't get chosen. In my opinion the movie chose right because it didn't deserve it - the song's too good for it. An outstanding stand-alone and yet another favourite.
I said on Burn the Witch that Radiohead is as close as modern generations have to a band that's as important as The Beatles, and if OK Computer is their Sergeant Pepper's, this is their A Day in the Life: basically several disparate songs stitched together into a semi-coherent whole. I think a big part of its appeal is the ambiguity of tone: there's definitely something consistently sinister in many of the harmonies, yet what's on top of that in the melodies and textures are much less obvious. I think that's a pretty unique facet of Radiohead's art, because most music are very obvious about what kinds of tone it's going for: happy, sad, aggressive, tender, etc., but Radiohead seems to hint at aesthetics and emotions that are very complex and difficult to put words to. While I have no problem saying this song is a masterpiece, if I'm being honest it's always a song I've admire more than I genuinely love. Perhaps part of that is simply because the album its from is chock-full of superb songs that it's an embarrassment of riches to choose between. Let Down has always been my personal favorite because the way in which the final verse sustains a note in one speaker while continuing the verse in the other, essentially creating a polyphonic harmony, before it hits the final iteration of the chorus is perhaps the most stunningly beautiful moment in all of pop/rock music history.
You just keep the intrigue up with these guys. Every time I check out a new song you provide snippets of info about another that gets me excited to check out more. 😁
@@CriticalReactions If I can keep the Radiohead hype going then I'm doing my job. :) You really should just sit down with OK Computer and listen to the whole thing. It's probably the most important album of the last 30 years.
I think that this song is very cohesive, and you have to look to the title of the song, "Paranoid Android." You need to delve into the lyrics. You are experiencing paranoia along with the narrator. The intrusive thoughts lie below the surface at the beginning, and those thoughts take over. The narrator is talking to the voices in his head. Then at the end, you have the plea for peace "Rain down, rain down from a great height, from a great height." (God loves his children.) The phrase "I may be paranoid, but I'm not an android" is ironically provided in a computerized voice. The entire theme of the album is the isolation that's borne of living in a social media landscape. Social media isn't human interaction; is a substitute for human interaction, just as an android is a substitute for a human. In 1972, Alvin Toffler wrote a book called Future Shock which predicted increasing isolation as an effect of technological advances. OK Computer doesn't seem quite as prescient after you read that book, but the problem only gets worse over time. We now live in a world with incels. Paranoid Android is a cry that "I may be isolated, but I'm still human!" The need for human interaction is driving him insane, but he has no one to interact with but the increasingly loud and intrusive voices in his head.
I've heard Tarred and Feathered and it was the first song on the channel that left me speechless when it was over. It took me a good 30 seconds to really collect my thoughts and figure out how I was going to explain what I just heard 😅
@@CriticalReactions The main writer behind them ( Tim Smith ) was self deprecating and said he did pop music. He had a punk vibe, yet there's this prog vibe which is a dicotomy. I've heard early Cardiacs that clearly referenced Zappa material. He was awarded an honorary doctorate. There's much to be explored there.
@@pascalg16 oh god yes, tool is the rick and morty of music. I doff my hat to you sir. Insufferable fan base, solid production, overhyped to fuck, and you have to have a super high IQ to understand it. :P
I’ve never liked this song. In my opinion Radiohead’s more interesting work came after this album even though this album is probably their biggest to date
“I may be Paranoid but I’m not a Android” that’s the words underlying the chorus
I read that this is a text-to-speech machine used by Stephen Hawking.
@@per48erfitter, happier, more productive
More Radiohead. This is super interesting. I'd love to hear your analysis of Pyramid Song.
Just about to suggest that. Seems like a great fit for this channel. Everything in it’s right place would be another good one.
Ok Computer is one of the greatest albums of all time!!!!!!
Pyramid song, how to disappear, reckoner, and daydreaming all
Are a must for any composer to dissect for The use of composition to create atmosphere
Subsequent listening will open up new layers for ages. Once you get in deep enough, it becomes addictive. Definitely, worth the time.
Always liked this song, remember listening to it back in the nineties and it was so weird and unique.
@18:35
"I really enjoy how they can continue to create these ideas of instability by creating expectation, and not delivering on it."
Thank you. That is exactly what it is, I have never been able to name it.
The sense of unease they always seem to portray is a theme that they always seem to shoot for even in their most beautiful compositions there is always a feeling that something is a little off there is a track called Daydreaming that captures that really well from the same album as Burn the Witch.
I'd say that how to dissappear completely is the pinnacle of this
I like how deeply you focus on the harmonics. Makes a great reaction for more complex and melodic songs
Love your Radiohead journey 😉 please try “How to disappear completely” live version. I am curious on your prof. Take on that masterpiece 🙏🏻
The robotic voice that was speaking in the background during the first verse was saying, "I may be paranoid, but not an android."
Thank you! I honestly thought it was something in another tab of my web browser but the second time around it just fit it too well rhythmically.
@@CriticalReactions If you want to, take a few minutes and listen to "Fitter, Happier." I don't really consider it a song per se, but it is a track off the same album, "OK Computer." Basically, it's the same robotic voice, just like the one Stephen Hawking would use to speak for him, with some eerie music in the background. When they first toured for the album, they would have that playing over the speakers as they came out to the stage.
@@Asher8328 Try to copy and paste the "Fitter, Happier" song lyrics or text into a text editor while on a mac computer then play the text with speech with "Fred" voice selected in settings.
It will be like listening to the song :)
Over the years I've been trying to compose a top ten list of my favorite songs (I'm very slow)--and as of this moment, after watching this video, I decided to put Paranoid Android in the list. I'm 62 years old, lived through six decades of music, including the '60's, so it's very hard to select ten favorites. But Paranoid Android grips me every time I hear it. It's weird, but I find beauty in the beautiful, ugly and chaotic parts of it.
This leapt out to me today. Can't believe I've not seen it already... not that you hadn't heard this b4. Wheezer did an interesting cover of this too.
This is certainly one of Radiohead's most ambitious tracks. They have done weirder, even more complex, but Paranoid Android is such a bold statement. Especially for a single!
I really loved your take on the structure of the track, it seems a bit funny that the feeling/mood you were trying to describe was paranoia. The feeling of constant pulling of the rug, constant inestability and not knowning what it's coming next perfectly describe an state of anxiety and paranoia imo. That's the genius of the track, hidden in plain sight on the title.
Now you've heard grungy Radiohead (Creep), proggy (Paranoid Android) and cinematic/orchestral (Burn the Witch), whatever you check next, I feel something more electronic, jazzier or folkier could be a great next step. Personally I'd go with Life in a Glasshouse because it's one of their more unique tracks imo, and a personal favourite. I might drop it on the next livestream if there's no theme that could fit for it. Great video as always, Bryan!
Great track but definitely not their most "ambitious"
Mmm.....I read your comment and was thinking "I don't really think I was describing paranoia, I was getting a different idea." Then I went back and watched the analysis. It's clear as day! It wasn't *exactly* what I was feeling through the song but it all lines up very well. Great catch.
Yeah Life in A Glasshouse is a masterpiece
Radiohead is a lot of fun for people who understand theory I struggle a bit but I try and muddle through I can think of a lot of well composed songs that should be fun for you to check out just a few How to Disappear Completely, Pyramid Song, Climbing Up the Walls and Bloom and when you do Bloom make sure it is from the basement the extra drummer takes it to the next level.
Climbing up the walls has one of the most brutal screams i've ever heard, and I listen to black and death metal on the regular
@@FellowHuman137 "Open up your skull, I'll be there...." Also one of the most sinister and foreboding lyrics
Really, this ties in with the whole theme of the album itself (OK Computer). It’s hard to consider it as an individual track, but in context it all makes sense. And yeah, you’re onto something with your analysis for sure, especially the last bit about the Android and what it represents.
This is the 90s attempt at bohemian rhapsody
Love the use of the fitter, happier voice in the background 😍
Late to the party as usual, but thoroughly enjoyed your breakdown. The fact that radiohead for the most part, keeps me on my toes and doesn't always do what I expect musically, is what always keeps me going back to them. On an emotional music level, you nailed it perfectly about the juxtaposition of the ugly and the beautiful.. Life is kind of like that and art reflects life and all of that.. You have earned a subscription and I'm looking forward to more breakdowns..
A composer with only 3 Radiohead songs under his belt? Gleefully excited for you, but still shaking my head...with a snark little smile.
when i first heard this album at age 13 in 97, i felt that this was the most futuristic thing in my possession... worth the 1 week hunger in school for spending the money on this CD
Thank god! somebody doing a radiohead reaction that isn't an awful later-year live performance. Good on you man.
A bit like Yes, Genesis or Rush; it helps to have your kind of musical training to unpick what Radiohead do. These guys really know what they're doing - and they play around with their subversion of what you're "supposed" to do, in terms of theory
Best radiohead song for me is Jigsaw falling into place
I think you got it right regarding the theme. There is something sinister underneath that comes out to the surface eventually - like repression.
It's in the lyrics as well - especially the line "the unborn chicken voices in my head"
The live at Glastonbury is well worth a watch to see how they handle this live.
Great musical breakdown! However I would say the thing missing to tie all of this together is simply the lyrics. The lyrics sort of walk us through the themes and directive, with the music supporting. Musically alone it seems a bit more chaotic. But it is a contemporary rock/pop song and Yorke is a very good lyricist, so they often lead us through their world through that lense, with the music closely following.
But this was great! Definitely gonna check out more.
Really love your videos - great mix of analysis and childlike enthusiasm for the music.
Gotta have that enthusiasm. Music is magical and there is so much of it out there. Being jaded, dismissive, or closed minded about music is, to me, a sad way to approach it.
Great reaction as always! From what I've heard Radiohead spliced three unfinished songs together to create this track. I love this track, but at the same time I understand why they never made another song like it again.
Agree with the previous comments, I also would highly recommend you listen to album versions first of: 'How to disappear completely'; 'Reckoner'; 'Pyramid Song'; (plenty of other great tracks as well)
Then try the Live 'From the Basement' sessions
Great analysis, keep going, especially Radiohead
Also Massive Attack and UNKLE?...
I think he said it since the beginning, about the noise inside his head. For me, it's like listening an unstable person speaks.
This song (and the general theme of the OK Computer LP) is the representation of anxiety about a society empty of soul, devoid of meaning and the pre written destiny of living in a world ruled by capitalism and violence.
The electronic voice you hear underneath is the famous Stephan Hawking speaking through his computer. The film. The theory of everything. He could not speak so used the computer to talk.
I believe part of the back story of this song is that it was three separate song ideas they glued together
For me the genius in this song is precisely the chaos and auditory dissonance, it caught me so off guard when I first heard it that it made me a huge fan of Radiohead.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Tourist by Radiohead.
That would be cool. A good deep cut
@@j.prt.979 One of my favorites.
@@enricojakobsoriano Same. I usually don’t find anyone who likes that one a lot. Top 3 on OKC for sure
@@j.prt.979 I know.. it’s strange. It’s such an amazing song and closes the album perfectly. Glad to find someone who appreciates it! Cheers!
@@enricojakobsoriano I think it might be down to the slow buildup. But strange, really, because Radiohead avid listeners are mostly some of the most "patient" ones😅
This is a song that might grow on you. I know it really did on me.
If you want an idea for a song by them to cover next, Daily Mail could be a nice choice. One of the very few they use a substantial amount of brass in, and just an awesome song besides. It's a song recorded during one of the "from the Basement" sessions (which are well worth checking out) and was released as-is, as a b-side. Absolutely one of my favourite of theirs, and a bit of a departure too.
Another great choice could be Man O'War (Big Boots), the studio version from the re-release of their OK Computer album, which is the album Paranoid Android is on. Written at the same time, but they kept not being satisfied with studio mixes of it, so much so that it took two decades to get it right (same as what happened with Nude, except it took even longer). It really benefits from the prowess they honed over the years in little subtle touches as you go along that just make it shine. Love it, another favourite.
To round it off at a neat three, I'd recommend their song Spectre which they wrote as a Bond theme for the movie of the same name, but it didn't get chosen. In my opinion the movie chose right because it didn't deserve it - the song's too good for it. An outstanding stand-alone and yet another favourite.
One of my all time Fav's. ;0)
I said on Burn the Witch that Radiohead is as close as modern generations have to a band that's as important as The Beatles, and if OK Computer is their Sergeant Pepper's, this is their A Day in the Life: basically several disparate songs stitched together into a semi-coherent whole. I think a big part of its appeal is the ambiguity of tone: there's definitely something consistently sinister in many of the harmonies, yet what's on top of that in the melodies and textures are much less obvious. I think that's a pretty unique facet of Radiohead's art, because most music are very obvious about what kinds of tone it's going for: happy, sad, aggressive, tender, etc., but Radiohead seems to hint at aesthetics and emotions that are very complex and difficult to put words to.
While I have no problem saying this song is a masterpiece, if I'm being honest it's always a song I've admire more than I genuinely love. Perhaps part of that is simply because the album its from is chock-full of superb songs that it's an embarrassment of riches to choose between. Let Down has always been my personal favorite because the way in which the final verse sustains a note in one speaker while continuing the verse in the other, essentially creating a polyphonic harmony, before it hits the final iteration of the chorus is perhaps the most stunningly beautiful moment in all of pop/rock music history.
You just keep the intrigue up with these guys. Every time I check out a new song you provide snippets of info about another that gets me excited to check out more. 😁
@@CriticalReactions If I can keep the Radiohead hype going then I'm doing my job. :) You really should just sit down with OK Computer and listen to the whole thing. It's probably the most important album of the last 30 years.
I used to think about this song, as their "Bohemian Rhapsody", hehe. But the Beatles comparison makes sense too.
you should react to Radiohead - How to disappear completely
I would also recommend you take a look at Pyramid Song and How To Disappear Completely
My favorite song
Bloom would be a lovely track to hear your analysis of - a good side-step from the last two.
It's music about a paranoid, (psychotic) state of mind. No cohesion to be found there....
For another interesting composition about psychosis, try Van Der Graaf Generator - A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
little by little live at the basement - radiohead
Better. Happier. More Productive...
RAAAAAAAIINN DOWN
please react to Radiohead - Bloom (live from the basement), it's important that you do the live version not the studio version
The song fits well in the overall album :)
good stuff
Ok computer they best álbum ever ❤
I think that this song is very cohesive, and you have to look to the title of the song, "Paranoid Android." You need to delve into the lyrics. You are experiencing paranoia along with the narrator. The intrusive thoughts lie below the surface at the beginning, and those thoughts take over. The narrator is talking to the voices in his head. Then at the end, you have the plea for peace "Rain down, rain down from a great height, from a great height." (God loves his children.)
The phrase "I may be paranoid, but I'm not an android" is ironically provided in a computerized voice. The entire theme of the album is the isolation that's borne of living in a social media landscape. Social media isn't human interaction; is a substitute for human interaction, just as an android is a substitute for a human.
In 1972, Alvin Toffler wrote a book called Future Shock which predicted increasing isolation as an effect of technological advances. OK Computer doesn't seem quite as prescient after you read that book, but the problem only gets worse over time. We now live in a world with incels.
Paranoid Android is a cry that "I may be isolated, but I'm still human!" The need for human interaction is driving him insane, but he has no one to interact with but the increasingly loud and intrusive voices in his head.
Ergo Proxy.
Its a bit of fitter happier underneath
Dude, you are comparing a 1997 song to a 2016 song. Bands evolve and Radiohead more than any other band.
Awesome!
With the current restrictions and feelings of Isolation... we really need a positive dose of Lurgee to free the Soul. ;0)
you gotta react to btbams new single fix the error!!
This song was built in isolation. The bits were added separately from the other members of the band.
Hey Bryan, you need to hear some Cardiacs.
I've heard Tarred and Feathered and it was the first song on the channel that left me speechless when it was over. It took me a good 30 seconds to really collect my thoughts and figure out how I was going to explain what I just heard 😅
@@CriticalReactions The main writer behind them ( Tim Smith ) was self deprecating and said he did pop music. He had a punk vibe, yet there's this prog vibe which is a dicotomy. I've heard early Cardiacs that clearly referenced Zappa material. He was awarded an honorary doctorate. There's much to be explored there.
If Rick and Morty was a band, they would be Radiohead.
Nah man King missile.
Or Tool
Without the burping.
@@pascalg16 oh god yes, tool is the rick and morty of music.
I doff my hat to you sir.
Insufferable fan base, solid production, overhyped to fuck, and you have to have a super high IQ to understand it.
:P
@@FellowHuman137 Accurate.
I’ve never liked this song. In my opinion Radiohead’s more interesting work came after this album even though this album is probably their biggest to date