Top 10 Radiohead Songs - Part 1

I made this list unbelievably hard on myself to make. I began with five songs that were immovable objects from the top five spots, but was hell-bent on making a top ten list. To add to the struggle is that I don’t know if I’m entirely settled with the songs I cut from the top ten. Music is mood dependent, so sometimes songs connect with you on entirely different level if your sitting in your bedroom watching the Red Sox (as I am at this writing) or if you are outside on a beautiful day. While Pablo Honey is justly (I feel) without a representative on this list, only one song from my favorite album, Hail to the Thief, made the cut. In some bizarre coincidence, the top six songs are taken from six different albums, which was unintentional, but I’m no less pleased by it.

And before I get this list started, here’s a little warm up medley to get you in the mood by Hard N Phirm:

Rodeohead - Hard n Phirm

10. You and Whose Army - Amnesiac
I think what I love about this song is that it sounds so bleak and dark, but it’s an aggressive taunt to an unknown opponent (holy Roman Empire???). And no matter how it’s sung, “We ride tonight” always sounds like it’s ass-kicking time.

9. Nude – In Rainbows
This is possibly one of Radiohead’s sexiest songs. The bass line simply pulsates with sensuality. An ironic companion to the lyrics that tell of the emptiness of passion fulfilled. The highlight of the song is when it sounds like it’s about to take an aggressive turn, then the music cuts out with only Yorke’s voice holding a note. Beauty incarnate.

8. Paranoid Android – OK Computer
Almost didn’t make the list due to over-familiarity, but it’s simply too good to ignore. I can barely believe that it was released as a single at six and a half minutes and not adhering to normal song structure. It plays out like a less celebratory “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This was the song that made me take notice of Radiohead, partially because it was so unusual and partially because the music video is awesomely weird. Best of all, the name is a "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" reference.

7. Fake Plastic Trees – The Bends
What begins as a pretty standard (albeit beautiful) song escalates to an anthem, only to come back down to earth. “Fake Plastic Trees” exemplifies one of the things Radiohead does best: contrasting quiet and loud, melancholy and triumphant.

6. 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm) – Hail to the Thief
Another song that bucks the normal verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus structure. I’m always in awe of how seamless the shifts in style and atmosphere are in these songs. Awe and envy.