Top Ten: Radiohead Songs

There is a reason why I chose this photo. Radiohead could create this whimsical colors inside your head when you listen to them.

Ever since they started making songs in 1987, Radiohead has produced eight albums to date. They have a total of 157 songs, 17 of which are not included on their albums. I have introspected, reevaluated and recalled the years that I have been listening to their music.  Which songs have I played the most?  Which songs have the most impact on my mood and my life in general?

Here they are:

10.  How To Disappear Completely - Kid A

Of all the songs in Kid A, How To Disappear Completely is the most fitting song to sum the whole album.  Just like most of Radiohead songs, this one also grows on you.  The first listen may not seem appealing but when you get to have it played on repeat, it just sticks under your skin.  Thom Yorke's somber vocals implodes into a dark vibe that can only be describe by one line, I'm not here.  This song swells from quiet dynamics and climbs into a crispier sound on the second half.  It seems to be in reverse with it's title, this song immerses completely.

9.  Let Down - Ok Computer

If you have a friend that you want to introduce to Radiohead's music, you might want to let them listen to this song first. Let Down is one of Radiohead's most relatable-at-first-listen songs. The guitar on this song is surreal. It might be one of those depressing songs but this one has the positive tune to it, "let down and hanging around".

8.  The Daily Mail

Thom Yorke plunking away at the piano kicks this song in, though this song is one of Radiohead's later experimentation, it somehow reminds you of The Bends era, only it has bonus brass band that syncs with Johnny Greenwood's playful guitar riff. It might be one of Radiohead's simplier songs but it is very introspective.

7.  No Surprises - Ok Computer

When I hear this song, oddly I get a vision of a guitar and a xylophone dancing in my mind. It is lovely and delightful altogether. No matter how dreary the vocals sounds, the blissful ticking of xylophones brings this song another level of positive contemplation.

6.  Creep - Pablo Honey

Creep is anthemic. A lot of kids claim that this song is about their lives. Every one loves this song, except the band themselves. The magic of this song is the reality of what Thom Yorke was crooning about. We all have said "I wish I was special" at some point of our lives. There is meager amount of fancy on this song, except for the bridge that sounds as if he was chasing a star and it is slipping out of his grasp.

5.  Fake Plastic Trees - The Bends

This song is a bit cryptic on its overall theme. However this song is critically acclaimed as one of the best Radiohead songs and probably the best rock songs of all time too. It starts off as an acoustic song then erupts into loud distorted guitars and synths and then ends by reverting back to acoustic. It all happened while the vocals ride along with its mood. This song doesn't have a distinct hook that carries it, except for the beautiful melody and mournful vocals.

4.  Karma Police - Ok Computer

Overall, this song sounds dense. With it's strange song structure, this song creates a pattern built on the "this is what you get" shying away from the normal four lined chorus. Karma Police is also less sadder than most Radiohead songs. There is a moment in this song when Thom Yorke breaks out into "for a minute, I lose myself" and the instrumentation builds up along with it.

2.  Talk Show Host - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

The first line "I want to, I want to be someone else or I explode" was a strong magnetic field that attracts your consciousness. This is one of Radioheads dynamic and multi- layered songs that signaled the band has gone into a deep experimentation with their sound. This song is a bit on the trip-hop type although it still has the subtle melancholia and the same sad vocals.

1.  Codex - The King of Limbs

Codex has the least percussion of all The King of Limbs songs, baring Thom Yorke's voice, which in a way attaches it to the bands earlier works. This song has the reverb driven piano that makes a path, like a clearing, in your veins for Thom Yorke's cold voice to pass which eventually creates little loops of shivers on your brain. It seems like a classic Radiohead enclosed in a futuristic capsule.

How bout you? What are your top ten Radiohead songs?