Fake Plastic Trees – Cameron Sims
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUJP0BwWB5Q&w=740&h=422]
Possibly one of Radiohead’s most recognizable tracks, ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ is a masterpiece in its own right. The third single off of The Bends is marked as a turning point in Radiohead’s career. It was said to be Thom Yorke and Co.’s first step away from the grunge genre that they had previously adopted during the years surrounding their debut album, Pablo Honey.
The track was written about the plastic plants that surrounded Canary wharf in London, Yorke described it as “the product of a joke that wasn’t really a joke, a very lonely, drunken evening and, well, a breakdown of sorts”.
It’s fair to say that the track is an emotional one from the start, but it’s an odd feeling of sadness as the lyrics seem humorous on paper. Even Yorke himself said that he “wrote those words and laughed”. But the lyrics are meaningful in their own right; especially with advances in modern artificial intelligence, Yorke’s words seem more relevant than ever. Maybe we’ll soon have rubber men in our houses doing our ironing and watering our fake plastic shrubbery.
It’s fair to say that song really excels in the musicality of the track. For the majority of the song, Yorke’s vocals seem fragile and give out this immense feeling of venerability but then it builds up to an melancholy climax with a musical crescendo that could make anyone’s heart sink. The Smokey organ that then passes through with the acoustic guitar creates a feeling of tragedy and would be an ideal backdrop for an emotional, slow motion, death scene of your favourite character in a film.
According to guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, after singing the final vocal take for the track, Yorke broke down in tears in the recording booth.
Whether it was intentional or not – Radiohead’s subtle change in direction became an era defining single. Painting the bleak image of modern life. One that we all know but choose to ignore. One of artificial reality and fake plastic trees.
[Feature compiled by Emily Ingram]