This month marks the 20th anniversary of alternative rock legends Radiohead’s second album The Bends. So, to celebrate, here at the Indiependent we have created yet another ‘Best Of’- here’s a list of our all-time favourite Radiohead songs, with our contributors telling you exactly what makes these tracks so special…
Paranoid Android – Tamara Somasundaram
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPLEbAVjiLA&w=740&h=422]
‘Paranoid Android’ was one of the first Radiohead songs I ever heard. In fact at the time, I was making a revision playlist which had mostly songs I’d never listened to, and I ended up just listening to this song on repeat because I loved it so much, and I still do. It’s after this that I really decided to give Radiohead a chance, and since then they have become one of my favourite bands.
“Please could you stop the noise I’m trying to get some rest / From all the unborn chicken voices in my head,” I’ll never forget these first words to the song; they’re so strange and abstract and really had me hooked. A couple of other lyrics which stand out are: “Ambition makes you look pretty ugly” and of course, “I may be paranoid, but not an android” which is faintly heard from a robotic voice during the verses. The lyrics of this song are wonderfully weird.
As well as the abstract lyrics, musically, the song is wacky, but still sounds amazing. As a guitarist, I’ve always leant to a more minor sound when it comes to music where the notes don’t always complement each other, and this song does just that. The melody of the guitar is so different but when brought together with the other instruments it seems to fit perfectly.
‘Paranoid Android’ is one of the best songs on OK Computer, and goes in the top ten for best Radiohead songs for me.