Knives Out (song)

Last updated

"Knives Out"
Radiohead knivesout.jpg
Single by Radiohead
from the album Amnesiac
Released6 August 2001 (2001-08-06)
Recorded10 March 1999 – 17 March 2000 [1]
Genre Post-rock [2]
Length4:17
Label
Songwriter(s) Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Pyramid Song"
(2001)		"Knives Out"
(2001)		"There There"
(2003)

"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.

Contents

Critics described "Knives Out" as one of the more conventional tracks on Amnesiac. It received positive reviews and reached number 13 on the UK singles chart and number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry. It has been covered by the Flaming Lips, Christopher O'Riley and Brad Mehldau.

Recording

Radiohead recorded "Knives Out" during the sessions for their albums Kid A and Amnesiac, which were recorded simultaneously in 1999 and 2000. [3] Although the albums moved away from Radiohead's earlier guitar-led sound, the singer, Thom Yorke, said "Knives Out" was "no departure at all" and "survived because it was too good to miss". [4]

According to a studio diary kept by the guitarist Ed O'Brien, "Knives Out" took 373 days to complete. [5] He wrote that it was "probably the most straight-ahead thing we've done in years ... and that might explain why we took so long on it". [5] He felt that successful bands often over-embellish their music, especially songs written on acoustic guitar, but that Radiohead had captured the song's essence. [5] In November 1999, Radiohead performed "Knives Out" during a webcast from their studio. [6]

"Knives Out" was influenced by the British rock band the Smiths. Before its release, O'Brien played it for the Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who said: "I was beyond flattered and quite speechless – which takes some doing. He explained to me that with that song they'd tried to take a snapshot of the way I'd done things in the Smiths – and I guess you can hear that in it." [3] In another interview, he said: "The music did touch me the same way the Smiths did, and it was a wonderful feeling ... that sort of emotional quality and that sort of melodicism." [7]

Composition

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
"Knives Out"
A 25-second sample of "Knives Out"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

According to Drowned in Sound, "Knives Out" is the most conventional song on Amnesiac. [8] It features "chiming" [8] and "drifting" guitar lines, "driving" percussion, a "wandering" bassline, "haunting" vocals and "eerie" lyrics. [9] Yorke said the lyrics were about cannibalism, the "idea of the businessman walking out on his wife and kids and never coming back", and the "thousand-yard stare when you look at someone close to you and you know they're gonna die". [9]

Music video

The "Knives Out" music video was directed by Michel Gondry. Gondry was going through a breakup at the time, and expressed his feelings in the video concept, which has Yorke grieving in a hospital room. Gondry described the collaboration as a "terrible experience", and said: "I showed [Yorke] a storyboard and every single detail: he was completely excited and happy for it – and then, it turned out, they all criticise me for being selfish and putting my own views on it and my own introspection ... It did not go smoothly, but if it went smoothly, it would be mediocre." [10]

Release

In the UK, "Knives Out" was released on 6 August 2001 as the second Amnesiac single in three formats: two CD singles and a 12-inch vinyl single. [11] It reached number 13 on the UK singles chart. [12] "Knives Out" was covered by the Flaming Lips on their 2003 EP Fight Test, [13] the pianist Christopher O'Riley on his 2003 album True Love Waits , [14] and the jazz pianist Brad Mehldau on his 2005 album Day is Done . [15] The 2019 film Knives Out takes its name from the song. The director, Rian Johnson, a Radiohead fan, said the film was unrelated but that "Knives Out" was a good title for a murder mystery. [16]

Reception

David Merryweather of Drowned in Sound gave the "Knives Out" single nine out of ten, saying Jonny Greenwood's "chiming" guitar captured the "romantic disappointment" and "wistful ache" of the Smiths. [8] Reviewing Amnesiac for Pitchfork , Ryan Schreiber felt the guitar line was too similar to Radiohead's 1997 song "Paranoid Android", writing: "Great melody. However, they've fucking used it before." [17]

In 2010, Consequence of Sound praised "Knives Out" as one of Radiohead's "creepiest" songs: "It's one of many tracks from the English quintet that tickles the bones rather than warms them. But that's what makes Radiohead so unique." [9] In 2020, the Guardian named it the 13th-best Radiohead song, writing: "The impenetrable Amnesiac debunked industry rumours that Radiohead were primed for a bankable comeback – but amid that album lay this meat-and-potatoes rocker, its scurrying riffs, mystic ambience and cannibalistic lyrics qualifying as glorious light relief." [18]

Track listings

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Knives Out"
RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United States2 July 2001 Triple A radio Capitol [36]
3 July 2001 Alternative radio [36]
United Kingdom6 August 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Parlophone [11]
Australia27 August 2001CD [37]
Japan7 September 2001
  • Parlophone
  • EMI
[38]

Related Research Articles

<i>Amnesiac</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Radiohead

Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 30 May 2001 by EMI. It was recorded with the producer Nigel Godrich in the same sessions as Radiohead's previous album Kid A (2000). Radiohead split the work in two as they felt it was too dense for a double album. As with Kid A, Amnesiac incorporates influences from electronic music, 20th-century classical music, jazz and krautrock. The final track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is a collaboration with the jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come into My World</span> 2002 single by Kylie Minogue

"Come into My World" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album Fever (2001). Written and produced by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis, it is a dance-pop song in which the singer pleads to her lover to come into her "world". "Come into My World" was released as the fourth and final single from Fever on 21 October 2002, by Festival Mushroom, Parlophone and Capitol Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creep (Radiohead song)</span> 1992 single by Radiohead

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake Plastic Trees</span> 1995 single by Radiohead

"Fake Plastic Trees" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their second album, The Bends (1995). It was the third single from The Bends in the UK, and the first in the US. It reached the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart, the New Zealand Singles Chart, the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian Rock/Alternative chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karma Police</span> 1997 single by Radiohead

"Karma Police" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997 as the second single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997). It reached number one in Iceland and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it reached number 14 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was included on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19-2000</span> 2001 single by Gorillaz

"19-2000", sometimes written "19/2000", is a song from the British virtual band Gorillaz' self-titled debut album Gorillaz. It was the second single from the album, released on 25 June 2001 in the United Kingdom. "19-2000" reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and number 34 on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. It was particularly successful in New Zealand, where it reached number one for a week in September 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyramid Song</span> 2001 single by Radiohead

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls & Boys (Blur song)</span> 1994 single by Blur

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just (song)</span> 1995 single by Radiohead

"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. In 2008, "Just" was included in Radiohead: The Best Of. The English producer Mark Ronson released a cover version on his 2008 album Version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Universal</span> 1995 single by Blur

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotypes (song)</span> 1996 single by Blur

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmless Man</span> 1996 single by Blur

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">There There</span> 2003 single by Radiohead

"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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How to Disappear Completely</span> 2000 song by Radiohead

"How to Disappear Completely" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their fourth studio album, Kid A (2000). It was produced by the band with their producer, Nigel Godrich, and was released as a promotional single in the US, Poland and Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bends (song)</span> 1996 single by Radiohead

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Going Out</span> 1996 single by Supergrass

"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 by Parlophone, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)</span> 1996 single by Pet Shop Boys

"Se a vida é " is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 12 August 1996 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The song is based on "Estrada Da Paixão" by African-Brazilian band Olodum, which Pet Shop Boys heard during the South American leg of their Discovery tour in 1994. The band shares songwriting credits with Pet Shop Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Before (song)</span> 1996 single by Pet Shop Boys

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Boy</span> 1999 single by Pet Shop Boys

"New York City Boy" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 22 September 1999 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Nightlife (1999). In the UK, the single peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the charts in numerous European countries, peaking at number three in Spain, and number four in Finland and Hungary. In the US, the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number 53 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.

References

  1. ↑ "Ed's Diary Archive". www.greenplastic.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Jones, Chris. "BBC – Music – Review of Radiohead – Amnesiac" . Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Johnny Marr". Mojo (Morrissey and the Smiths — Special Limited Edition). EMAP: 22. May 2003.
  4. ↑ Kot, Greg (31 July 2001). "'It's difficult justifying being a rock band'". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 O'Brien, Ed (22 July 1999). "Ed's Diary". Archived from the original on 13 April 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  6. ↑ Vanhorn, Teri (12 November 1999). "Radiohead debut song during webcast". MTV News . Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  7. ↑ Hoskyns, Barney (September 2001). "The Backpages Interview: Johnny Marr". Rock's Backpages . Archived from the original on 13 October 2001. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Single Review: Radiohead – Knives Out". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 Roffman, Michael (7 October 2010). "Tricks or Treats: Radiohead – 'Knives Out'". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Michel Gondry Hearts Himself Some Music Videos, Spike Jonze & Michael Jackson; Hates Radiohead". The Playlist. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  11. 1 2 "New Releases – For Week Starting August 6, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 4 August 2001. p. 23. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive" . Retrieved 2 October 2006.
  13. ↑ "FLAMING LIPS GET THEIR 'KNIVES OUT'! | NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 17 March 2003. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. ↑ Davies, Lucy. "BBC - Music - Review of Christopher O'Riley plays Radiohead - True Love Waits". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  15. ↑ Fordham, John (23 September 2005). "CD: Brad Mehldau Trio, Day Is Done". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "Is Radiohead's song 'Knives Out' in Rian Johnson's movie Knives Out?". Los Angeles Times . 7 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  17. ↑ Schreiber, Ryan (4 June 2001). "Radiohead: Amnesiac album review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  18. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (23 January 2020). "Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  19. ↑ Knives Out (UK CD1 liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. CDFHEIS 45103, 7243 8 79770 2 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ↑ Knives Out (UK 12-inch single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. 12FHEIT 45103, 7243 8 79724 6 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ↑ Knives Out (UK CD2 liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. CDFHEIT 45103, 7243 8 79724 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ↑ Knives Out (European maxi-CD & Australasian CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. 7243 8 79760 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ↑ Knives Out (US enhanced maxi-CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Capitol Records. 2001. C2 7243 8 77668 0 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ↑ Knives Out (Japanese CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone, EMI Records. 2001. TOCP-65871.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ↑ "Issue 601" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  26. ↑ "Radiohead Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 19, no. 35. 25 August 2001. p. 10. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  28. ↑ "Radiohead – Knives Out" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  29. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Knives Out". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  30. ↑ "Radiohead – Knives Out". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Radiohead – Knives Out" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  32. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  34. ↑ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  35. ↑ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  36. 1 2 "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records . No. 1408. 29 June 2001. pp. 116, 122. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  37. ↑ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 27th August 2001" (PDF). ARIA. 27 August 2001. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  38. ↑ "ナイヴズ・アウト | レディオヘッド" [Knives Out | Radiohead] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 2 September 2023.