Mix Tape - Radiohead

(If you want to know about the general concept behind Mix Tape, move your mouse here.)

This was supposed to be an easy one. I've been listening to a lot of Radiohead at work lately, and I thought it would be a nice easy creampuff way to ease back into this feature idea to do a Top Ten Radiohead article. Well, it's not easy. Part of the problem is that I've previously listed The Bends as one of my Desert Island Discs, so if I just went with a Ten Favorite Songs theme, it'd be a slight repackaging of that album, with a song thrown in here and there for a little different spice. And I feel as though that's just not too fun for y'all. So we're gonna go with the following critera for this Mix Tape:

• There must be at least one song from each major album *
• There should be an emphasis on making a listenable discs - no jarring transitions
• And because of the above point - no live tracks

With that in mind, I threw all the songs that I might conceivably use into an iTunes playlist, which turned out to be 31 songs. With a little hard work, I've narrowed the list down to ten songs for Mix Tape - Radiohead Style. I hope you enjoy it.

(Note: Radiohead is one of the bands which is thus far absent from the iTunes music store. If you'd like to help remedy that situation, please fill out the form located here.)

1. Like Spinning Plates (from the album Amnesiac)

I'll admit that Amnesiac is the album that I've listened to the least. And that I got into Like Spinning Plates via the live album I Might Be Wrong. However, I do like the studio version as well, and I think it's a good fit to lead off the mix, a little mellow and ambient to ease you into the 'new' Radiohead. * It also transitions quite smoothly into...

2. 2 + 2 = 5 (from the album Hail to the Thief)

I've tried to like Hail to the Thief, I really have. The problem is, for every song I like, there are another two that I just don't quite get into. The album just hasn't grabbed me as a whole yet. I'll give it another eight listens over the next two years and then see where we're at. * It's especially disappointing considering I really enjoy this song, and since it's the first track on the album, I got my hopes up that I was going to like one of the new albums on the first listen for once. No such luck, but I like this song here.

3. Killer Cars (from the Planet Telex single)

This song has seen a few different releases, including a live acoustic cut on the Itch EP, which is really killer. This version sounds like it could've been left on the cutting room floor for the release of The Bends. Since we won't be covering the song Airbag tonight, this seems like a good place to point out that Thom Yorke has a fear of cars, or perhaps more specifically car crashes, which is pretty obviously the theme of this one as well.

4. Ripcord (from the album Pablo Honey)

Digging back to the initial release here, and to answer your question, no we will not be hearing the song Creep on this mix. It's not that I don't like the song, but because the newer albums are a little bit more down-tempo, the old pop songs have to fill in the blanks to keep things moving. And so we have Ripcord here, because it's peppy, poppy, and I just plain groove to it.

5. Talk Show Host (from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack)

This could've made the O:98 Mix, considering that Jake and I listened to it all the damn time off the Interactive bootleg. Of course, I don't suppose that was an official release, nor that it was released in 1998 at all. So it falls back a mix to here, cited from the official Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. It also has one of my favorite stupid lyrics of all time. Ahem:

You want me? - Fuckin' come and find me - I'll be waitin' - With a gun and a pack of sandwiches... and nothing

Umm... what? That's so bad that I have to love it. Plus it actually is a good song. And you owe it to yourself to track down a copy of Interactive - in my mind it is the definitive Radiohead live album. *

6. Lull (from the No Surprises single)

I suppose I could have just as easily put No Surprises itself here - both the songs are a little slower and have the use of the kiddie xylophone in them. * But if you really pressed me for a reason I guess I'd have to say that Lull just seems a little brighter to me. Not happier, just brighter.

7. Idioteque (from the album Kid A)

Here's the exception that proves the rule - and if you missed the rule earlier it's that the 'new' stuff is more down-tempo. I was wondering if the song, or at least the title, was a slight mockery of U2's Discotheque, and it may be true, but my Googling on the issue was inconclusive. In any case, this is the most accessible track off of Kid A, and I think it fits best here. *

8. Vegetable (from the album Pablo Honey)

If you held a gun to my head, I wouldn't have predicted that the only album I'd include two songs from was Pablo Honey, and that neither Creep nor Anyone Can Play Guitar would make the cut, but hey that's how it goes. Vegetable's just got a better vibe for me here is all. Plus it's a slightly better transition out of the last song, which is a bit of a pain in that regard.

9. Sulk (from the album The Bends)

So when I finally get around to including a song from the most pop-ish album, it's pretty obvious that we're not in pop mode here, and so one of the less catchy songs is needed. Sulk is your answer. It doesn't have the pop beat, but it's got classic Radiohead textured guitar, and seriously soaring vocals at the end. This is probably my favorite Radiohead song to sing along with. And I like to have a big money song in the penultimate spot on a mix. Mission accomplished.

10. Exit Music (For a Film) (from the album OK Computer)

In my own mind, this was a tough sell for the last song on a mix. For some reason my mind always wants to hear another song after it, and so it's a bit jarring when the silence stretches out. But I think that's just me, so we should be fine here, because it is the track from OK Computer that slots best to finish things off. This song was also in Romeo and Juliet. It played over the end credits, hence the title.

So there you have it, ten Radiohead songs selected for listenability, and to cover the catalog. If you'd like to post feedback, or a list of your own Radiohead Mix Tape * , please visit the Forum.

-01/30/06