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)
The Trickster
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rust in the brain
The air is sacred here
In spite of your claim
Up on the roof tops
Out of reach
Trickster is meaningless
Trickster is weak
Talking out the world
Hey
Hey
Hey
This is only halfway
Hey
Hey
Hey
This is only halfway
I wanted you so bad
And I couldn't say
All things fall apart
We wanted out so bad
We couldn't say
These things fall apart
We're talking out the world
Talking out the world
Hey
Hey
Hey
This is only halfway
Hey
Hey
Hey
This is only halfway
Truant kids a can of brick dust worms
Who do not want to climb down from
Their chestnut tree
Long white gloves
Police tread carefully
Escaped from the zoo
The perfect child facsimile
It's talking out the world
Talking out the world
The lyrics of Radioheadβs song, The Trickster, are a blend of abstract stream of consciousness and vivid imagery. The song begins with the lines βRust in the mountains, rust in the brain / The air is sacred here, despite your claim,β which suggests that something has gone wrong, but there is still something divine about the place. The following lines talk about being up on the rooftops and out of reach, perhaps indicating a desire to escape something. The Trickster, who is a figure from mythology, is then mentioned twice. The first time he is called meaningless and weak, while the second time he seems to be a force that is altering the world. The repetition of βtalking out the worldβ suggests that something is being lost or destroyed through the Tricksterβs actions.
The chorus, which repeats the line βThis is only halfwayβ three times, seems to suggest that the situation is only partially resolved and there is more to come. In the second verse, the singer talks about wanting something so badly they couldnβt say, and then how things fall apart. The repeated use of the phrase βTalking out the worldβ continues to convey a sense of destruction. The final lines contain the vivid image of truant children with a can of brick dust worms who have escaped from the zoo. Again, there is a sense of something being lost or broken.
Line by Line Meaning
Rust in the mountains
The mountains are rusty and old, like a decaying memory.
Rust in the brain
The singer's mind is similarly old and decaying.
The air is sacred here
The atmosphere holds an importance, even in its deterioration.
In spite of your claim
Contrary to what you believe or say.
Up on the roof tops
The artist is observing the world from a high and distant place.
Out of reach
The singer is detached from reality and the experiences of others.
Trickster is meaningless
Trickery holds no real value or substance.
Trickster is weak
Those who deceive are ultimately powerless.
He's talking out the world
People who use deception are speaking nonsense.
Hey
An interjection that punctuates the artist's observations.
Hey
Another interjection that reinforces the singer's point.
Hey
A final interjection that emphasizes the incomplete nature of the artist's insights.
This is only halfway
The singer recognizes the limitations of their understanding.
I wanted you so bad
The singer had a powerful desire for someone.
And I couldn't say
The singer was unable to express their feelings.
All things fall apart
Everything eventually deteriorates.
We wanted out so bad
The artist had a strong desire to escape something.
We couldn't say
The singer was unable to articulate their reasons for wanting to escape.
These things fall apart
The singer recognizes that everything is transitory.
Truant kids a can of brick dust worms
A group of mischievous children spread out a can of worm-like dirt.
Who do not want to climb down from
These kids refuse to abandon their elevated positions.
Their chestnut tree
These children are perched atop a chestnut tree.
Long white gloves
The police wear gloves as a symbol of their authority.
Police tread carefully
The police are cautious, perhaps because they fear the children or their precipitous environment.
Escaped from the zoo
The children are wild and free, like escaped zoo animals.
The perfect child facsimile
The children represent an ideal of youth and naivete.
It's talking out the world
These children are also speaking in meaningless platitudes.
Lyrics Β© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLIN CHARLES GREENWOOD, EDWARD JOHN O'BRIEN, JONATHAN RICHARD GUY GREENWOOD, PHILIP SELWAY, PHILIP JAMES SELWAY, THOMAS YORKE, THOMAS EDWARD YORKE
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