WOW. Radiohead's always been on my radar but I ignorantly hadn't taken a deep dive through their discography until relatively recently. And what a mistake. This album absolutely wrecked me. It felt like the first time since Pink Floyd that I felt like an album was at the top of their game artistically and musically. In addition, the superb creative direction of the cohesiveness of both of those attributes together ties it all together. Let's begin.

1. Everything In It's Right Place

A lot of psychedelic music finds itself sort of becoming very hectic and all over the place until things click together in one glorious moment. This song is the opposite of that. Things slowly start to fizzle out of place and you want it all to make sense but they just get worse and worse. You want to shove the layers back into their right place. Thom Yorke puts you in his seat. Anxiety swirls around as you search for understanding but nothing comes.

2. Kid A

A shred of much needed relief. The title track is an atmospheric, ambiguous state. After Everything In It's Right Place smashes your world apart, Kid A lets you wallow in the remains for a moment. Indiscernible lyrics make it clear that this song isn't about what its saying, its about how it makes you feel. Kid A also begins to explore further the electronic influences of Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada as Radiohead departed from their 'rock' sounds of their previous albums.

3. The National Anthem

Right from the first riff, this song sets the pace for a dark, moody journey. Buckle in, as you float around this sonic space, things start to get out of hand quickly. It'll be easier to handle if you just stop trying to make sense of it and just fall in line. A statement about blind nationalism and the state of the union as society is just barely "holding on".

4. How to Disappear Completely

This is the most artistically accessible song on the album in my opinion. Clear lyrics and perhaps the fact that Yorke has openly discussed this song help the listener understand the anxiety and disillusionment Yorke experienced on his OK Computer tour. For an introvert, going on stage every night isn't the easiest thing. He said there was one night after Glastonbury where he 'shut down' and basically wasn't responding to anything. The eerie, dragged out notes help transport you to almost an out of body experience. Around the five minute mark, things get muddier and muddier until you dip into a euphoric clarity at 5:25.

5. Treefingers

Treefingers! All recorded on one guitar, Ed O'Brien created the samples and Thom Yorke assembled them together in this spacey waiting room. Take a moment to soak it in.

6. Optimistic

My personal favorite track off the album. After the dark first half, this song provides a satirical hope. You know it won't matter but you'll hold on to it anyways. The tribal beat feels so human its hard not to connect with that desire to push on. The song speaks of the ruthless nature of capitalism as "the big fish eat the little ones" and we just go on with our day cause its "not my problem in this world". And then comes the often misinterpreted line where "you can try the best you can" and "the best you can is good enough" , the latter statement is satirical because often times it won't be good enough. That's the nature of the game. Maybe my interpretation diverts from Yorke's intentions but this song makes me want to try anyways.

7. In Limbo

This song is the Joe Biden of the album. Friendly at first but then makes you quickly uncomfortable. "I'm on your side" but then theres "nowhere to hide". I wonder what Yorke went through that shaped this song. Yorke's discussed that track is about leaving and then coming back and he really makes you feel the uneasiness of "living in a fantasy".

8. Idioteque

Idioteque makes you feel like the bad guy. Like you've been doing something that you aren't aware of. Radiohead hasn't been secretive about their paranoia of technology encroaching itself into every aspect of our life and this song revisits that narrative in a world where we're nuking each other to death. The line "women and children first" refers to America's bombing of Amiriyah shelter during the Gulf War where 400 civilians lives were taken. He also touches on the fact that so many scary things are happening but a large portion of the population refuses to believe it (hint hint climate change). "We're not scaremongering, this is really happening"

9. Morning Bell

Another heavy song. "Cut the kids in half" isn't exactly brunch music. It's commonly discussed that the song might be about divorce but Yorke has clarified that its about a ghost in a house he had just bought. Truthfully, I don't have a lucid interpretation of this song. Just give in and let yourself float along at this point, I guess.

10. Motion Picture Soundtrack

My other favorite of the album. A love story between a soldier at war and his love at home. When the harps kick in around the 1:30 mark, you feel like melting away. This is relatively accessible as well although as with many of Yorke's songs, it might be wise to look at the lyrics to avoid misinterpretation.

11. Untitled

The album closes out with this rush of synthesized notes reminiscent of Treefingers that leave you floating away.

So there you have it. This album is a masterpiece and I really needed to spill my interpretation of it somewhere. As I compared to Pink Floyd earlier, let me take a moment to draw a contrast. Pink Floyd makes their message clear. They have a lesson that they're trying to teach you. Radiohead leaves you to invent your own message. Pink Floyd also leaves you feeling satisfied while Radiohead leaves you searching for closure. This was really fun to do. Maybe I'll do In Rainbows next. Thanks for reading anyways!