Recording
Radiohead recorded "Fake Plastic Trees" in 1994 at RAK Studios, London, with the producer John Leckie. [4] The sessions were strained, as Radiohead were under pressure from their record label, EMI, to record a single to match the success of their debut, "Creep". [5] The guitarist Ed O'Brien likened one early version of "Fake Plastic Trees" to the Guns N' Roses song "November Rain", saying it was "pompous and bombastic ... just the worst". [6]
One evening, Radiohead attended a concert by the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley at the Garage, London. [7] Yorke later said that Buckley gave him the confidence to sing in falsetto, [8] and Leckie said: "It made [Thom] realise you could sing in a falsetto without sounding dripping." [9] Inspired by Buckley, Yorke recorded a solo take of "Fake Plastic Trees" on acoustic guitar. [6] According to the bassist, Colin Greenwood, Yorke played three takes, then burst into tears. [8]
Radiohead created the final version of "Fake Plastic Trees" by overdubbing their parts onto Yorke's performance. The drummer, Philip Selway, described following Yorke's fluctuating tempo: "Part of the beauty was the way it would actually slip in and out, but trying to follow it was a nightmare." [10]
The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).
"Knives Out" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the second single from their fifth album, Amnesiac (2001). It features lyrics about cannibalism and guitars influenced by the Smiths.
"Creep" is the debut single by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 September 1992 by EMI. It was included as the second track of Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). It features "blasts" of guitar noise by Jonny Greenwood and lyrics describing an obsessive unrequited attraction.
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"Pyramid Song" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Amnesiac (2001), in May 2001. It features piano, strings, an unusual "shuffling" rhythm and lyrics inspired by the Egyptian underworld and ideas of cyclical time.
"Girls & Boys" is a song by English Britpop band Blur, released in March 1994 by Food Records as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it.
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"Just" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, included on their second album, The Bends (1995). It features an angular guitar riff played by Jonny Greenwood, inspired by the band Magazine. It was released as a single on 21 August 1995 and reached number 19 on the UK singles chart.
"The Universal" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is featured on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 13 November 1995 by Food and Parlophone as the second single from that album, charting at number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 in both Iceland and Ireland.
"Stereotypes" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the opening track to their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 12 February 1996 as the third single from that album, charting at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted in Australia, peaking at number 95 on the ARIA Singles Chart in June 1996. The accompanying UK B-sides—"The Man Who Left Himself", "Tame" and "Ludwig"—demonstrated a dramatic change in style for Blur, being stark and raw, foreshadowing the stylistic shift that would realize itself on their eponymous follow-up album.
"Charmless Man" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the fourth track on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 29 April 1996 in the United Kingdom as the fourth and final single from that album, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart and also charting in Australia, France, Iceland, and Ireland.
"There There" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, Hail to the Thief (2003), on 21 May 2003. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Canada and Portugal, and number 14 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song appears on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).
"The Bends" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their second studio album, The Bends (1995). In Ireland, it was released by Parlophone on 26 July 1996 as the album's sixth and final single, and reached number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart.
"She Will Have Her Way" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter and Crowded House lead singer Neil Finn. Released on 1 June 1998, the track peaked at number 19 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. The song gave its name to the 2005 tribute album She Will Have Her Way, which features female Australasian artists performing tracks written by Neil and Tim Finn. It was also the inspiration for the title of the 2010 tribute album He Will Have His Way.
"Going Out" is the first single from English rock band Supergrass's second studio album, In It for the Money (1997). It was released on 26 February 1996, more than a year before the album, and reached five on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 on the Irish Singles Chart. The song was apparently originally written in the key of E because the engine of Supergrass' tour bus would tick at that same musical pitch.
"Richard III" is a song by English rock band Supergrass. It was the second single released from the band's second album, In It for the Money (1997), after "Going Out", which was released over a year before. "Richard III" was released in March 1997 and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart on 6 April, their highest placing since "Alright" / "Time" in 1995, which also peaked at number two. The song also reached number 21 in Iceland and number 30 in Ireland.
"Sun Hits the Sky" is a song by English rock band Supergrass. It was released as the third single from the band's second album, In It for the Money (1997), in June 1997. The single reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 20 in Iceland. The B-side, "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others", is a cover of the 1986 Smiths song.
"Before" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 22 April 1996 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). Upon its release, the single peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, number four in Finland, and number one in Hungary. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
"Lucky" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, first released on The Help Album, a 1995 charity compilation organised by the charity War Child. "Lucky" was recorded in five hours with the producer Nigel Godrich. Radiohead included it on their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), and released it as a single in France in December 1997.
