Radiohead signed to EMI in 1991 and released their debut album, Pablo Honey, in 1993; their debut single, "Creep", became a worldwide hit. Radiohead's popularity and critical standing rose with the release of The Bends in 1995. Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), brought them international fame; noted for its complex production and themes of modern alienation, it is acclaimed as a landmark record and one of the best albums in popular music.
Radiohead's fourth album, Kid A (2000), marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating influences from electronic music, jazz, classical music and krautrock. Though Kid A divided listeners, it later attracted wide acclaim. It was followed by Amnesiac (2001), recorded in the same sessions. Hail to the Thief (2003), with lyrics addressing the War on Terror, was Radiohead's final album for EMI.
Radiohead self-released their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), as a download for which customers could set their own price, to critical and chart success. Their eighth album, The King of Limbs (2011), an exploration of rhythm, was developed using extensive looping and sampling. A Moon Shaped Pool (2016) prominently featured Jonny Greenwood's orchestral arrangements. Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Selway, and O'Brien have released solo albums; in 2021, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood debuted a new band, the Smile.
By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Their awards include six Grammy Awards and four Ivor Novello Awards, and they hold five Mercury Prize nominations, the most of any act. Seven Radiohead singles have reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart: "Creep" (1992), "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (1996), "Paranoid Android" (1997), "Karma Police" (1997), "No Surprises" (1998), "Pyramid Song" (2001), and "There There" (2003). "Creep" and "Nude" (2008) reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone named Radiohead one of the 100 greatest artists of all time, and Rolling Stone readers voted them the second-best artist of the 2000s. Five Radiohead albums have been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time lists. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead
Studio albums
Pablo Honey (1993)
The Bends (1995)
OK Computer (1997)
Kid A (2000)
Amnesiac (2001)
Hail to the Thief (2003)
In Rainbows (2007)
The King of Limbs (2011)
A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
Myxamatosis
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Holding half a head
Proceeded to show it off
To all his new found friends
He said, "I've been where I liked
I've slept with who I liked
She ate me up for breakfast She screwed me in a vice
But now
I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
I sat in the cupboard
And wrote it down in neat
They were cheering and waving
Cheering and waving
Twitching and a-salivating like with myxomatosis
But it got edited, fucked up
Strangled beaten up
Used in a photo in Time magazine
Buried in a burning black hole in Devon
And I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
Don't know why I feel so skinned alive
My thoughts are misguided and a little naive
I twitch and I salivate like with myxomatosis
You should put me in a home or you should put me down
I got myxomatosis
I got myxomatosis
Yeah, no one likes a smartarse but we all like stars That wasn't my intention (tension), I did it for a reason (treason)
It must have got mixed up
Strangled, beaten up
I got myxomatosis
I got myxomatosis
And I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
The song "Myxamatosis" by Radiohead mainly talks about the negative effects of fame and the music industry on artists. The lyrics begin with the image of a mongrel cat showing off half a head to its new found friends. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for the music industry's exploitative nature, with artists being forced to display their inner selves to the public, often to the detriment of their mental and emotional health.
The lyrics then dive into the singer's experiences with women, going as far as saying they've slept with anyone they wanted to. Despite this, they still feel tongue-tied and unable to express themselves. The next stanza talks about the process of songwriting, where the singer writes down their thoughts in neat, but these ideas get edited and messed up, with parts of them ending up in Time magazine or being buried in a burning black hole in Devon. This can be seen as a commentary on the commercial nature of the music industry, where even the most authentic and raw ideas are sacrificed for their commercial appeal.
The chorus talks about the singer's physical reactions to all of this stress, twitching and salivating like with myxomatosis, a highly infectious and incurable disease in rabbits. The singer questions their own reasons for pursuing this career, feeling misguided and naive. The song ends with the line "no one likes a smart ass but we all like stars", which can be interpreted as a commentary on society's obsession with fame and how it blinds us to the exploitation and suffering of those who achieve it.
Line by Line Meaning
The mongrel cat came home
A cat returns to its home
Holding half a head
The cat is carrying a severed head
Proceeded to show it off
The cat displays the head to its acquaintances
To all his new found friends
The cat is sharing the head with its recently acquired social circle
He said, 'I’ve been where I liked
The cat claims to have explored wherever it desired
I’ve slept with who I liked
The cat slept with whoever it wanted
She ate me up for breakfast
A woman devoured the cat for breakfast
She screwed me in a vice
A woman tightened the cat until it was in agony
But now
Currently
I don’t know why I feel so tongue-tied
The cat is having difficulty expressing itself
I sat in the cupboard
The cat sat inside a closet or shelf space
And wrote it down in neat
The cat took meticulous notes
They were cheering and waving
An audience was applauding and excited
Twitching and a-salivating like with myxomatosis
The audience is behaving as though infected with myxomatosis disease
But it got edited, fucked up
The cat's work was altered or destroyed
Strangled beaten up
The cat was violently attacked
Used in a photo in Time magazine
The cat's image was featured in a major publication
Buried in a burning black hole in Devon
The cat's remains were disposed of in an intense and obscure way
And I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
The cat is reiterating its bafflement
Don't know why I feel so skinned alive
The cat is bewildered by its emotional pain
My thoughts are misguided and a little naive
The cat acknowledges its own errors and immaturity
You should put me in a home or you should put me down
The cat is expressing a fierce self-loathing
I got myxomatosis
The cat is affected by the titular disease
Yeah, no one likes a smartarse but we all like stars
The cat notes that while people may dislike pretentiousness, they love fame
That wasn't my intention (tension), I did it for a reason (treason)
The cat castigates itself for causing unnecessary commotion
It must have got mixed up
The cat admits that a mistake was made
I got myxomatosis
The cat is still suffering from the illness
I got myxomatosis
Repeating the same line to emphasize the condition
And I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
The cat's confusion and frustration continue
Contributed by Makayla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Me me
on No Surprises
The way i interpret the lyrics: ; Once excitement of youthful perspective,, hopes, dreams are broken, into an almost nihilistic acceptance of patterns world, we coast,….. become a part of the dull hum we swore we never would become part of. Time pulls us forward, wears and tears until we accept. Can not fight against the current yet knowing we swore we would never.
no
on Radio Head - no surprises
heylo aaa