Radiohead SUCKS: 10 Worst Radiohead Songs
Actually, we all know Radiohead does, in fact, not suck. They are about as far from sucking as any band on the planet…BUT…we thought it would be an interesting experiment for someone to go through one of their favorite bands’ catalog and pick out their worst songs; which, although we knew it would be very hard, ended up being a MUCH more difficult task than we could ever imagine.
We basically went through each album and picked out our least enjoyable songs, which, not unlike pizza, even “bad” radiohead songs are still very tasty. We only had one rule: songs that were deemed “filler” songs such as “fitter happier”, etc. wouldn’t be included because those are too much of a cop out. This was more for fun than anything else…so try not to get your panties in too much of a bunch.
Pablo Honey:
“Anyone Can Play Guitar”
“I Want to Be Jim Morrison”.. that’s all that needs to be said. Oliver Stone’s The Doors was popular at the time, so maybe it was ok to have that lyric in the 90’s. Today it would be very much like saying “I want to be Ian Curtis”.
The Bends:
“Sulk”
It’s hard for me to pick a song from The Bends because I absolutely love that entire album…BUT…this is the only song that reminds me this album came out in the 90’s. For some reason it sounds more dated than the rest of the timeless songs on the album. I’m probably making a mountain out of a molehill here, but the guitar and vocals are much more simpler and in that “90’s formula” than the others on this album. Still a good song, but probably the weakest on the album, imo.
OK Computer:
“Climbing Up The Walls”
What’s harder than picking “bad” songs from a band widely regarded as one of the best? Picking one from said bands album that is widely regarded as their best (not to mention one of the best of all-time). But it had to be done. The vocals in this song have an effect on them that make them almost unrecognizable. Add in the rusty door noises and the general gloom and doom of this song, and you have a song that can get pretty grating. Within the context of the album, it makes sense…but we just thought it was the weakest of the bunch.
Kid A:
“In Limbo”
The song sounds exactly like the title suggests…never quite going anywhere or even trying to, just stuck in a daze of echo and plodding guitar lines. Obviously that was their point…but when I put on Kid A it’s not because I can’t wait till this song comes on. It works well in the trilogy of Optimistic/In Limbo/Idioteque, but fails alone.
Amnesiac:
“Life in a Glass House”
Besides some of the filler, amnesiac has some of radiohead’s best songs and has really grown on me over the years. This song, just like previous songs on this list, is a radiohead dirge. It’s all well done, has a definite style and the horns are interesting, but where does this fit in the grand scheme of things. It stands out like a sore thumb in their catalog.
Hail To The Thief:
“We Suck Young Blood”
Although a great song live, and, if in the right mood, a great song to sit in a dark apartment and contemplate suicide, this is a song that’s skipped most the time in my listening to hail to the thief. It grates on you and seems to drag on forever. Which I am sure is the message radiohead is trying to get across, and they get it across very well, but compared to other radiohead songs which draw a fine line between uplifting and hopeless, this is just a huge downer.
“I Will”
I appreciate the minimal aspect of this song…but the high-pitched harmonizing layers of thom’s voice are just too much for me to overcome. Thom’s voice is beautiful when used effectively, but this song just grates on me and seems like more of an interlude than a song of it’s own, almost like an afterthought.
“The Gloaming”
This song is also great live (especially when being poured on for 4+ hours during a certain show) because Thom usually does his patented spazz dance, but on the album, while spooky and effective, his voice wears on me after a while. When Thom says “They should be ringing” 12 times in the chorus, he’s not lying.
In Rainbows:
“Faust Arp”
This could have been a better song, but it’s more like an interlude; as soon as you start to get into it, it ends. At first listen to In Rainbows I thought it was pretty flawless, until I got to this song and it just stood out to me. It seems like they stopped in the middle of writing it to go out and get some bangers & mash. When they returned they fell into a food coma and never ended up finishing the song.
In Rainbows Bonus Disc:
“Last Flowers”
It was a tough one to include this song because after getting used to it it’s quite pretty. But this one also is quite minimal. Translation: Thom’s vocals come blaring through to your core. Also the piano lines gets pretty redundant by the end of it.
Now I’m sure some of you would ask “Why Not Creep?”. I think this can best be answered by some experts:
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great post. i like the idea of critiquing really great bands.
“faust arp” and “anyone can play guitar”, i definitely agree with you.
“climbing up the walls” seemed to get some of the loudest cheers at the august toronto show which surprised me. i lean more towards “the tourist” for ok computer’s weakest.
“we suck young blood” definitely on there.
every other record surpasses pablo honey imo, so i’d include more from that one.
you should do one of these for bjork (if you’re a fan of course). she’s my favourite but i’m interested in what ppl would think are her weakest songs.
on October 6th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
In Limbo – awesome song, my only real quarrel with the list. Motion Picture Soundtrack is what I would have chosen off of Kid A. Although maybe there isn’t enough harp in rock music these days.
on October 7th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I actually hate radiohead. They owe me like $100 or more for the 2 concerts I went to that were way oversold and were a total bust…equipment failures etc. Also they are way over-hyped and they suck. Alright I said it…..THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!!!!
on October 7th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I think you missed a big one.
Fitter Happier off Okay Computer. That has to be the farthest thing away from a song than any other. Most think its just a way to split that album into two sides like an LP.
on October 8th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
We considered that song more filler/interlude and thought it was just too easy to put on this list. Otherwise it was the first thing mentioned. But in terms of the album OK COmputer, it’s pretty great. So not sure i would put it on there anyway.
on October 8th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
i’m sorry but SORRY? You just named some of radioheads most underated songs from the albums, all those songs should have been from Pablo Honey. “We Suck Young Blood”, and “I Will” are the highlights of HTTT! “Climbing Up The Walls” is my second fav on OK Computer.
You’ve made one terrible list.
on February 8th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
“all those songs should have been from Pablo Honey”
the ground rules were we HAD to pick (only) one song from each album. Obviously this list is going to be highly subjective, so we were prepared for comments such as yours. to each their own. like we said…no radiohead song is bad per se..just an interesting experiment we decided to try with one of our fav bands.
on February 10th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Let down is the only song I skip on OK computer. I disagree with “Life in a glass house”. That song has a really different feel that, for me, feels a void in radiohead’s other albums. This is because I am a huge jazz fan.
on April 1st, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Faust Arp?
I Will?
Climbing Up The Walls?
i would vote u for the number 1 worst radiohead fan… cos ur selection includes the best songs of radiohead
on April 17th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
ok, then name what you would think are the worst radiohead songs?
on April 18th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Faust Arp is a beautiful song. I feel you are criticising it for being short.
Let it be. It’s an eloquent and uplifting prelude to the album’s best track, ‘Reckoner’, and the haunting violin towards the end not only adds edge and depth, but invokes on each listen the sound that would ultimately define Greenwood’s exceptional score to 2008’s ‘There Will Be Blood’.
on May 19th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
im God
on June 19th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
kind of late, but here’s mine:
1. Pablo Honey-”Lurgee”-just kind of drags on to me.
2. The bends- “sulk”-i agree, that or bulletproof/nice dream. just didnt care for any of those
3. OK Computer-”let down”-kind of doesn’t belong imo. sounds like a sitcom song or something. at least the tourist builds, and climbing up the walls is actually one of my fave RD songs haha. so scary, and it’s about mental patients being released unfit into society; breaking into peoples homes. scary!!!
4. Kid A- “Motion Picture Soundtrack”-like harry patch(great for RH to donate the funds), musically it feels to trapped. motion picture is beautiful at first, but drags on and on…
5. Amnesiac-”Morning Bell/Amnesiac”-kid a is much better imo. feels confusing emotionally, and the songs dies. too similar to no suprises to me. the only one i skip as amnesiac is probably my favorite album . glasshouse is my all time favorite song. i like it because it sounds nothing like they have ever done before. love that jazz.
6. HTTT- “I will” . mainly because every other song is great live. just kind of ok for me personally. the 15 seconds that rh jams out on ‘we suck young blood’ is worth the wait, plus the clapping is great.
7. In Rainbows-”go slowly”-it feels soooo long. faust arp is beautiful. ‘go slowly’ is my least fave on album just because it doesnt grab me. the lyrics are great, but i could read it as a poem. oddly, i dont care for nude that much either. great for a sex song, but beyond that it’s ok.
so, there that is my list
on November 11th, 2009 at 4:13 am
can you do a favorite from each album?
on November 11th, 2009 at 4:20 am
Sure.. here are mine:
Pablo Honey – “Anyone can play guitar”
A lot of people don’t count this album in Radiohead’s discography, but I tend to like a lot of songs on it. “Vegetable” might be my second favorite on the album, but it’s tough for me not to enjoy the bassline on this song.
The Bends “My Iron Lung”
I like everything on this album, and if asked next week what my favorite song on this album is it would probably be something different, but I think over time I have gotten the most enjoyment out of this one.
OK Computer “No Surprises”
It’s just beautful, but again impossible for me to pick a definitive song from this album that I like above all else. “Electioneering” comes in a close second, maybe because it’s one of the heaviest/rawest songs in Radiohead’s catalog and it comes on an album that is filled with a lot of downers (albeit really really good downers) and it is really really tough for me not to say “Paranoid Android”, but I am sticking with “no Surprises”
Kid A “Idioteque”
The lyrics are haunting and the music pushed their own boundaries and opened up other more electronic/beat heavy songs on future albums.
Amnesiac “I Might Be Wrong”
Such a good guitar riff and I love thom’s vocals on it.
In Rainbows “Nude”
This song destroys me.
Again, I probably will read this next week and want to change my mind.. but right now this is the best I can do, and that’s good enough.
on November 13th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I love the song Life in a Glasshouse, which is probably the only thing I’d change on the list. I can see why not everyone would like it, but I’m a huge fan of both the melodic direction and the whole jazzy feel.
Great list though.
on January 1st, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I’m surprised to see Life in a Glass House, We Suck Young Blood, I Will, Faust Arp and Last Flowers (!!!) on the list. But you’re right, it is a difficult task to pick the worst Radiohead songs, and even the worst aren’t really all that bad.
on February 4th, 2010 at 2:53 pm