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)
Street Spirit Fade Out
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can feel their blue hands touching me
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out
This machine will, will not communicate
These thoughts and the strain I am underBe a world child, form a circle
Before we all go under
And fade out again
And fade out again
Cracked eggs, dead birds
Scream as they fight for life
I can feel death, can see its beady eyes
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again
And fade out again
Immerse your soul in love
Immerse your soul in love
The lyrics of "Street Spirit" by Radiohead convey a sense of despair and hopelessness. The opening lines describe the feeling of being overwhelmed and suffocated by the rows of houses crowding around the singer. The "blue hands" might represent the depressing mood that is pervasive in the neighborhood. The next lines convey a sense of inevitability; everything falls into place, whether we like it or not. We swallow it all whole like a bitter pill that doesn't sit well. The repetition of the words "fade out" at the end of each verse conveys both the sense of resignation and the idea that everything is becoming increasingly obscured and difficult to understand.
In the second verse, we get a sense of the singer's thought process. The machine, which could represent society or the people around the singer, "will not communicate." There is a significant sense of isolation in these lines, and the singer is under tremendous strain. The reference to being a "world child" suggests that the singer longs to belong to a community, to something bigger than themselves. Still, the danger of being subsumed and swallowed by that same community is never far away. The call to form a circle before "we all go under" is both a desperate plea and a pessimistic prediction.
The final verse portrays a grim reality. The "cracked eggs" and "dead birds" are symbols of lifeless, hopeless objects. The scream of the dying animals is a testament to the violence and brutality of life. The singer can feel the presence of death, sees its "beady eyes" staring straight at them. However, there is a glimmer of hope with the final line's suggestion to "immerse your soul in love." It is a plea to find meaning and connection in the face of adversity, to reach out for something meaningful in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Rows of houses all bearing down on me
I feel suffocated and trapped by the uniformity and monotony of suburbia.
I can feel their blue hands touching me
The pervasive sadness and soullessness of suburban life feels like it's grabbing hold of me.
All these things into position
The numbness of the suburban landscape seems meticulously planned and deliberate.
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
We are doomed to lose ourselves in the monotonous routine of suburban modernity.
And fade out again and fade out
Our existence in the suburbs is fleeting and forgettable, just like the music itself.
This machine will, will not communicate
Despite our reliance on technology, we cannot truly connect with each other.
These thoughts and the strain I am under
The stresses of modern life are overwhelming and take a toll on our mental health.
Be a world child, form a circle
We should embrace our common humanity and come together to live as one.
Before we all go under
If we don't do something to preserve our humanity, we will be swallowed up by the soullessness of modern life.
Cracked eggs, dead birds
The imagery of destruction and death represent the danger that surrounds us in the suburbs.
Scream as they fight for life
The natural world is struggling to survive against the forces of human progress.
I can feel death, can see its beady eyes
The sense of dread and mortality that surrounds us in suburban life is inescapable.
Immerse your soul in love
In spite of all this sadness and despair, love can still offer a glimmer of hope and connection.
Immerse your soul in love
Love is the only refuge from the barrenness of suburban life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Colin Charles Greenwood, Edward John O'Brien, Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Philip James Selway, Thomas Edward Yorke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Haroupi
LYRICS:
Rows of houses all bearing down on me
I can feel their blue hands touching me
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out
This machine will, will not communicate
These thoughts and the strain I am under
Be a world child, form a circle
Before we all go under
And fade out again
And fade out again
Cracked eggs, dead birds
Scream as they fight for life
I can feel death, can see its beady eyes
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again
And fade out again
Immerse your soul in love
Immerse your soul in love
@victoriaharden4903
I can't believe I'm 54 and just discovering Radiohead. When you live under a rock...
@lyssab6466
Music is ageless. Welcome.
@twochordcool
Enjoy the discovery. They are among the 5 best bands of all time.
@clinth6432
Victoria Harden welcome to real melody 😉 51 yr old from new Zealand so many bands try to mimic this sound
@karmacop149
Neat
@FadhilAsyrafi
Just discovered Radiohead too, about 3 years ago. I am 22 years old now and Radiohead coincidentally became my quarter-life crisis theraphy. One of the best things ever happened in my whole life.
@mappy54
Thom: “Street Spirit is our purest song, but I didn’t write it. It wrote itself. We were just its messengers; its biological catalysts. Its core is a complete mystery to me, and, you know, I wouldn’t ever try to write something that hopeless. All of our saddest songs have somewhere in them at least a glimmer of resolve. Street Spirit has no resolve. It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end. It represents all tragic emotion that is so hurtful that the sound of that melody is its only definition. We all have a way of dealing with that song. It’s called detachment. Especially me; I detach my emotional radar from that song, or I couldn’t play it. I’d crack. I’d break down on stage. That’s why its lyrics are just a bunch of mini-stories or visual images as opposed to a cohesive explanation of its meaning. I used images set to the music that I thought would convey the emotional entirety of the lyric and music working together. That’s what’s meant by ‘all these things you’ll one day swallow whole’. I meant the emotional entirety, because I didn’t have it in me to articulate the emotion. I’d crack…
Our fans are braver than I to let that song penetrate them, or maybe they don’t realise what they’re listening to. They don’t realise that Street Spirit is about staring the fucking devil right in the eyes, and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he’ll get the last laugh. And it’s real, and true. The devil really will get the last laugh in all cases without exception, and if I let myself think about that too long, I’d crack.
I can’t believe we have fans that can deal emotionally with that song. That’s why I’m convinced that they don’t know what it’s about. It’s why we play it towards the end of our sets. It drains me, and it shakes me, and hurts like hell every time I play it, looking out at thousands of people cheering and smiling, oblivious to the tragedy of its meaning, like when you’re going to have your dog put down and it’s wagging its tail on the way there. That’s what they all look like, and it breaks my heart. I wish that song hadn’t picked us as its catalysts, and so I don’t claim it. It asks too much. I didn’t write that song.”
@cuteasxtreme
mappy54 damn...
@joeyattaway2685
it had to be written
@marshallbs
+Joshua Lessore To say he's pretentious implies he's lying. That's he's trying to make something "appear" to be what it isn't. Wake the fuck up! Music is fucking subjective. That's the problem with your personal projection. If you haven't figured that out yet you're a bigger idiot than I can imagine. Just because the song doesn't effect you as much as it effects someone else doesn't mean they're making it all up. Maybe he was just being sincere and not caring what other people think. He's talented enough he has the right to express himself as an artist. Who gives a shit if it doesn't effect everyone the same is him. I mean, I wish I had written that song as it describes my depression better than I can. Props to him for doing that.
I've always wanted to write a song about the need people have to shoot down others emotions and discredit them. It's something I notice about a lot of people and society in general. Everyone is so desperate to be "cool" and unaffected. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's just not connecting. I don't know what it is exactly but it's definitely destructive. Lets shut down someone else's emotional expression by labeling it pretentious! That we we can feel cooler than that person! It's an interesting theme but I'm not as talented at expressing it poetically.