Exit Music (For a Film)

Last updated
"Exit Music (For a Film)"
Song by Radiohead
from the album OK Computer
Released21 May 1997
Length4:24
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Exit Music (For a Film)" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their third album, OK Computer (1997). It was written for the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet , and features acoustic guitar, Mellotron choir, drums and fuzz bass. Several critics named "Exit Music" among the best Radiohead songs. It has been covered by acts including the Easy Star All-Stars, Vampire Weekend, Matt Heafy and Kelly Clarkson.

Contents

Composition and lyrics

While Radiohead were on tour with Alanis Morissette [1] for their second album, The Bends (1995), the filmmaker Baz Luhrmann commissioned them to write a song for his upcoming film Romeo + Juliet and gave them the final 30 minutes of the film. [2] The singer and songwriter, Thom Yorke, said they began work immediately "when we saw the scene in which Claire Danes holds the Colt .45 against her head". [2]

Initially, Yorke attempted to work lines from Romeo and Juliet into the lyrics, but the final song became a broad summary of the narrative. [3] [4] He said: "I saw the Zeffirelli version when I was 13 and I cried my eyes out, because I couldn't understand why, the morning after they shagged, they didn't just run away. It's a song for two people who should run away before all the bad stuff starts." [5] The title is a double meaning, alluding to the song's use in the film's end credits and the deaths, or "exit", of Romeo and Juliet. [6]

Recording

Yorke recorded the vocals for "Exit Music (For a Film)" in a staircase of the St. Catherine's Court manor. St Catherines Court1.jpg
Yorke recorded the vocals for "Exit Music (For a Film)" in a staircase of the St. Catherine's Court manor.

Like several other tracks on their third album, OK Computer , Radiohead recorded "Exit Music" in St Catherine's Court, a manor in Bath, Somerset. [6] The vocals feature natural reverberation achieved by recording on a stone staircase. [6] [7] Yorke likened the opening, which features his singing paired with acoustic guitar, to Johnny Cash's 1968 live album At Folsom Prison . [8] Mellotron choir and other electronic voices are used throughout. [9] The song climaxes with the entrance of drums [9] and distorted bass run through a fuzz pedal. [10] The climax was an attempt to emulate the sound of the trip hop group Portishead, but in a style that the bassist, Colin Greenwood, called more "stilted and leaden and mechanical". [11] The song concludes by fading back to Yorke's voice, acoustic guitar and Mellotron. [4]

Luhrmann said Radiohead were late to finish the song: "We were doing the final mix, where you can no longer put new music in. Just as we were mixing the credits sequence – we had another song in there – suddenly this guy runs into the studio in London, where we were recording, with a tape that said 'From Thom, to Baz, I hope I'm not late'." [12] The song helped shape the direction of OK Computer. Yorke said it "was the first performance we'd ever recorded where every note of it made my head spin—something I was proud of, something I could turn up really, really loud and not wince at any moment". [13]

Release

"Exit Music (For a Film)" was excluded from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack album, as Radiohead wanted to save it for OK Computer, released on 21 May 1997. [6] An early version, with different lyrics and the title "Poison", was leaked in the 2019 compilation MiniDiscs [Hacked] . [14] it was included as the seventh track on the special edition of Radiohead: The Best Of .

Reception

In Vulture , Mark Hogan named "Exit Music" the 20th-best Radiohead song, writing that "of several Radiohead songs with cinematic titles, this soaring escape fantasy reigns as the surest bet to leave theatregoers with goosebumps". [15] In the Guardian , Jazz Monroe named it the 9th-best, calling it a "high-stakes blockbuster of its own. Yorke has never sounded gloomier, with poisonous murmurs rising to a bloodcurdling fever pitch." [16] In American Songwriter , Jim Beviglia wrote that Radiohead "go for the gusto with a sweeping crescendo" and that "Exit Music" was "Exhibit A for how to do a musical and lyrical slow build". [17]

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [18] Gold15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

In 2006, the American reggae band the Easy Star All-Stars released Radiodread , a reggae interpretation of OK Computer, including a version of "Exit Music". [20] The American rock band Vampire Weekend contributed a cover to the 2007 tribute album OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer. [21] In 2017, Matt Heafy of the American metalcore band Trivium released a cover featuring a black-and-white music video. [22] In 2022, American singer Kelly Clarkson performed "Exit Music" on her talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show . [23]

References

  1. ↑ Caffrey 2021, p. 8.
  2. 1 2 "Radiohead: The Album, Song by Song, of the Year", HUMO , 22 July 1997
  3. ↑ Sutherland, Mark (31 May 1997), "Return of the Mac!", Melody Maker
  4. 1 2 Footman 2007, p. 67.
  5. ↑ Moran, Caitlin (July 1997). "I was feeling incredible hysteria and panic ...". Select : 92.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Wawzenek, Bryan (12 May 2022). "Radiohead give star-crossed lovers their 'Exit Music'". Ultimate Classic Rock . Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Footman 2007, p. 35.
  8. ↑ Randall 2000, p. 154.
  9. 1 2 Footman 2007, p. 66.
  10. ↑ Wylie, Harry (November 1997), "Radiohead", Total Guitar
  11. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (September 1997), "The Dour & The Glory", Vox
  12. ↑ "Baz Luhrmann". ABC listen. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  13. ↑ Irvin, Jim (July 1997), "Thom Yorke tells Jim Irvin how OK Computer was done", Mojo
  14. ↑ Aubrey, Elizabeth (13 June 2019). "We listened to all 18 hours of the OK Computer leaks, and picked out these hidden gems". NME . Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  15. ↑ Hogan, Mark (13 May 2016). "I Might Be Wrong: Every Radiohead Song, Ranked" . Vulture . Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  16. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (23 January 2020). "Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  17. ↑ Beviglia, Jim (25 September 2024). "Ranking the 5 Best Songs on OK Computer, the Breakthrough Classic by Radiohead". American Songwriter . Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Radiohead – Exit Music (For a Film)". Radioscope. Retrieved 3 July 2025.Type Exit Music (For a Film) in the "Search:" field.
  19. ↑ "British single certifications – Radiohead – Exit Music (For a Film)". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  20. ↑ Tangari, Joe. "Easy Star All-Stars: Radiodread". Pitchfork . Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  21. ↑ Lapatine, Scott (12 March 2015). "Stereogum Presents... 'OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer". Stereogum . Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  22. ↑ DiVitta, Joe (6 April 2017). "Trivium's Matt Heafy Performs Powerful Cover of Radiohead's 'Exit Music (For a Film)'". Loudwire . Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  23. ↑ Wang, Jessica (26 April 2022). "Watch Kelly Clarkson perform a haunting cover of Radiohead's 'Exit Music (For a Film)'". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 24 June 2025.

Sources