Line #38 YMMV/Radiohead


1	* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: Few people thought ''Music/OKComputer'' was going to be successful, with the record being deemed commercial suicide by [[Creator/CapitolRecords Capitol]]. Cue several million copies being sold (and debuting at #1 in the UK for two weeks), ''skyrocketing'' Radiohead's international fame, and frequently being listed as one of the greatest albums of all time.
2	** Early in the band's career they were not darlings of the music press, being called "a lily-livered excuse for a rock band".
3	* {{Anvilicious}}: Thom Yorke's politics tend to veer into this during interviews (and arguably on ''Music/HailToTheThief'').
4	* AwardSnub: There are lots of Radiohead fans who believe that if "Spectre" had been chosen as the official theme song for [[Film/{{Spectre}} the Bond film]] it was written for, it would've won (or at least gotten nominated for) the [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong Oscar for Best Original Song]] that was won instead by the theme song that ''was'' used, Music/SamSmith's "Writing's on the Wall." [[note]]This ignores the fact that the final version of "Spectre" is probably very different from the version the band submitted to be used as the Bond theme, given that Thom remarked on Twitter that they had "played around" with the song after it was rejected and "made it their own."[[/note]]
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: Stanley Donwood's artwork has been a key factor to their career since ''The Bends'', creating some of the most iconic album covers of all time, as well as just all-around amazing pieces of art to fit in with the mood and themes of each album.
6	* BrokenBase:
7	** ''Music/KidA'' was this initially, due to its GenreShift to avant garde and jazz-influenced electronica. It was VindicatedByHistory fairly quickly, though many stalwart fans of the more grounded rock sound of ''Music/TheBends'' and ''Music/OKComputer'' have not returned to the fandom.
8	** The quality of ''Hail to the Thief'' and ''The King of Limbs'' are hotly debated. Some fans dislike the softer sound and short length of ''TKOL'' (it's the shortest album in Radiohead's discography, clocking in at 38 minutes) and think the production and song choice are not all that interesting for a Radiohead album. ''Hail to the Thief,'' conversely, is the longest Radiohead album to date (clocking in at 56 and a half minutes, which while not gargantuan in length is still very much on the long side); this led to arguing over whether having more tracks on an album is good because it means more Radiohead, or worse because it makes the album ''too'' long and may lead to [[AlbumFiller filler]] and [[ObviousBeta unfinished songs]]. The band themselves seem to be on the "too long" camp regarding ''Hail to the Thief'', with Thom later devising a rearranged tracklist which cuts out four songs.
9	** The whole "Radiohead should've won an Oscar for 'Spectre'" debacle detailed in AwardSnub above. Music/SamSmith's public response to the song (has never heard it, doesn't know who Thom is) didn't help matters.
10	** The band's fanbase is heavily split over whether or not "Electioneering" is a good song. Some argue that it's a perfectly fine song on its own merit, others argue that it's good but not ''as'' good as the other ''OK Computer'' songs, and others argue that it sounds completely out of place on the album, what with the more blunt and straightforward approach instead of the normal ambiguity. Thom's statement [[CreatorBacklash that he retrospectively would've left the song off the album]] has done a fair amount to stir the pot.
11	** While people are still stuck over ''Kid A'', there's a huge factor of those who can't decide on ''which'' album is the best one: ''Kid A'' or ''OK Computer''. Reasons range that ''OK Computer'' tends to suffer HypeBacklash while ''Kid A'' is a weird new breath of fresh air or ''Kid A'' is ''too'' weird in comparison to the cold and bleak ''OK Computer''.
12	*** Likewise, many feel ''Kid Amnesiae'', the bonus material disc on ''KID A MNESIA'' was disappointing compared to ''OKNOTOK'', which was very comprehensive in terms of collating the ''OK Computer'' era's B-sides and three previously unheard tracks, whereas ''Kid Amnesiae'' consists of alternative takes and isolated tracks and only a handful of unheard recordings (which aside from "If You Say the Word" are considered underwhelming), without including any of the B-sides from the ''Kid A''/''Amnesiac'' period, which are beloved by fans.
13	* CrazyIsCool:
14	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xN-H5QTYWs This performance]] of "Bangers + Mash" shows two crazy awesome things: Thom Yorke playing drums like a madman while singing and Jonny Greenwood's "abusive guitar"... something he does on any other rocky guitar-based song. Jonny's done it so much that he had to get an arm brace from repetitive strain injury.
15	** Jonny also deserves a mention for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DCWdYVyytY this performance of]] "Street Spirit", where he used the head of his guitar to play the synth ''and played his riff at the same time''. This comment under the video says it all:
16	---> "Is Jonny-"\
17	"Yes."
18	** Thom dancing is as crazy as [[http://thomhipsdontlie.ytmnd.com/ it is hypnotizing]].
19	* CreepyAwesome: The band's artwork, which makes liberal use of SurrealHorror to create imagery that is as unsettling as it is hypnotic and captivating.
20	* EnsembleDarkHorse:
21	** ''Amnesiac'' is probably the band's least-recognized album outside of the fandom, with critics preferring ''Music/KidA'' and mainstream audiences preferring ''Music/OKComputer'' and ''Music/InRainbows'', but it has a stalwart following in hardcore Radiohead circles. Its B-sides are considered to be some of the best of the band's career, and "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy"'s live debut on the ''King of Limbs'' tour was greeted with much enthusiasm.
22	** "Idioteque", "Talk Show Host", "How to Disappear Completely", "Lotus Flower", and "Burn the Witch" are examples of obscure-leaning songs that transcended the fandom and become some of the band's best-known songs.
23	* EpicRiff: Many.
24	** "Creep", "The National Anthem", "I Might Be Wrong", "Talk Show Host", and "Where I End and You Begin" have epic bass riffs.
25	** "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", "Electioneering", "Optimistic", "My Iron Lung", "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy", and "There There" have epic guitar riffs.
26	*** "Separator" has a jangly riff that comes in about halfway through, making it an unusually upbeat closer for a Radiohead album.
27	** "Idioteque", "Cuttooth", and "Morning Bell" have epic keyboard riffs.
28	** "Climbing Up the Walls" and "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" are rare examples of epic ''drum'' riffs.
29	* EpilepticTrees: For a band as cryptic as Radiohead, it's natural that there would be quite a few convoluted fan theories about their music, and in some cases Yorke has encouraged them. ''[[http://puddlegum.net/radiohead-01-and-10/ 01 and 10]]'', a theory that ''OK Computer'' and ''In Rainbows'' are intended to interlock, is one of the best.
30	* EvenBetterSequel:
31	** ''Music/TheBends'' got a much better response than ''Pablo Honey''.
32	** ''Music/OKComputer'' was even more critically acclaimed than ''The Bends''.
33	** Depending on who you ask, ''Music/KidA'' may be an even better sequel to ''OK Computer''.
34	* EveryoneIsSatanInHell: There are some fans who will insist that "No Surprises" and "Videotape" are about suicide, despite this having been contradicted by Thom himself.
35	* FandomRivalry:
36	** Music/MileyCyrus once attempted to [[InvokedTrope invoke this]]. After the 2009 Grammys, she was snubbed by the band when she asked for a sitdown. [[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/miley-cyrus-snubbed-by-radiohead-vows-to-ruin-them-20090305 When asked about it on the radio]], she promptly went off on a highly emotional, nigh-unlistenable rant, swearing that she would "ruin them".[[note]]Many are unsure as to which is sillier: the rant itself, or the fact that Miley's evidently a Radiohead fan.[[/note]] Attempts to do so have not appeared on the media's radar, if they have been made at all. The tension between the ''fandoms'' is actually minor (and mostly VERY confused by her outburst, on both sides).
37	** Played straight with Music/LanaDelRey, after Radiohead's management filed a major lawsuit against her for the similarities between "Creep" and her song "Get Free".
38	** Another rivalry appears to be present between Radiohead fans and Music/{{Oasis}} fans. Similarly to the Blur/Oasis rivalry, the Radiohead/Oasis rivalry seems to be at least partly rooted in British regionalism and the artsy/raw rivalry common among music listeners, with Radiohead being an artsy band from the British south and Oasis being a gritty band from the British north. There's also the wildly different musical styles between the two bands, and the fact that Oasis were ''the'' biggest representatives of early 90's British rock, while Radiohead where the main representatives of late 90's British rock.
39	* FanNickname:
40	** Until the name was announced as ''A Moon Shaped Pool'', the band's 2016 album was often referred to as ''[=LP9=]'' by fans.
41	** "Genchildren" for the untitled hidden track to ''Kid A''. The first widespread digital leak of the album put the word "Genchildren" in front of all the song titles, which was the screenname of the person who leaked it; since the leak had the piece ripped as its own track and it didn't have an official title, it was simply labeled "Genchildren" - some fans who downloaded the leak deleted the "genchildren" tag from the tags and file names to make it easier to organize their music files, but left it on the last track since it had no other text, making it less apparent to people who downloaded it secondhand that it was never intended as a song title. It's still occasionally called "Genchildren" by fans, if only because there's not really any other shorthand way to refer to the piece on its own.
42	* FanonDiscontinuity: In most fans' eyes, ''Music/PabloHoney'', either with the exception of or particularly "Creep". That said, "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Blow Out" are widely considered the best songs off the album that aren't named "Creep", and they seem to be especially appreciated by those who aren't fond of "Creep".[[note]]Like every album Radiohead puts out, it has its devotees. In this case, they just happen to be in a minority.[[/note]]
43	* FriendlyFandoms:
44	** Radiohead and Music/BoardsOfCanada have listed each other as influences, thus introducing fans of one to the other.
45	** Thanks to Thom Yorke's repeated collaborations with Music/{{Burial}}, their respective fandoms probably count (as with Modeselektor).
46	** There's also a significant overlap between fans of Radiohead and fans of Music/{{Bjork}}. It helps that Thom Yorke has cited her as one of his favorite musicians and sang "I've Seen It All" with her as a duet for the film ''Film/DancerInTheDark''.
47	* FridgeBrilliance: "Myxomatosis" is about record companies destroying musicians' messages or altering them beyond recognition-- that much is clear from the lyrics. Furthermore, the line "I don't know why I feel so tongue tied/Don't know why I feel so skinned alive" also appears on the Music/{{Amnesiac}} b-side "Cuttooth", which was held off of the album at the last minute for reasons unknown--maybe Myxomatosis is (at least in part) about the record company forcing the band to remove "Cuttooth" from Amnesiac.
48	* FollowTheLeader: A whole crop of fresh faced post-{{Britpop}} British alternative bands became popular after Radiohead released ''OK Computer'' and were at least somewhat indebted to the band sonically. Many of these bands later made a name for themselves, separated themselves from the "Radiohead clone" tag and proceeded to become some of the most popular and acclaimed British rock acts of the 2000's, including such bands as Music/{{Muse}}, Music/{{Coldplay}}, Music/{{Travis}}, Music/SnowPatrol, and Music/{{Stereophonics}}. Thom's response? "Good luck with ''Kid A''!"
49	* HarsherInHindsight:
50	** "Burn the Witch," with its video heavily inspired by ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'', was released shortly before the death of its director Robin Hardy.
51	** The aspects of ''A Moon Shaped Pool'' shaped by Thom's divorce from Rachel Owen, his wife of 23 years, became astronomically [[TearJerker heavier]] in light of the news of [[http://www.pmb.ox.ac.uk/news/dr-rachel-owen-1968-2016 Owen passing away]] seven months after the album's release.
52	* HilariousInHindsight: "Idioteque" contains the lyrics "ice age coming, ice age coming". Two years later, ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' was released, with the timing of it becoming meme fodder once fans discovered it.
53	* HoYay: Oh boy.
54	** Thom/Jonny (a.k.a. [[PortmanteauCoupleName Thonny]]) has a loyal following within the Radiohead slash community for a [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld2tda3VxC1qbfg40.jpg very]] [[http://oi55.tinypic.com/2ql4ozl.jpg good]] [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld2tcjhUnx1qbfg40.jpg reason]].
55	** Blurry pictures aren't as good as Thom dedicating a straight up love song to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chfq0g1iN4Y&feature=related Jonny]]. Though this was more due to "The Present Tense" drawing heavily on one of Jonny's classical pieces, later adapted for and featured on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhMPCknkPyM Norwegian Wood soundtrack]]. But don't tell that to the shippers.
56	* HypeBacklash: Many people are sick of the music community's obsession with the band, especially ''Kid A.'' ''OK Computer'' has become this for some in recent years due to multiple publications, fans, and just ''anyone'' listing ''OK Computer'' as the greatest album ever made and of course, people are gonna be overwhelmed. The fact that the band is frequently considered one that takes a while to ''really'' get into doesn't help matters, especially in a digitally-oriented age where acts are expected to hook neophytes from the get-go.
57	* MainstreamObscurity: For all the critical acclaim their albums get, few people outside of the established fandom are able to name any individual track from any of them (with the exception of "Creep," because everyone knows "Creep"). The flipside of this is that the fandom is so dedicated that any one person can likely name ''any'' track (well, any post-''Pablo Honey'' track, anyway) and are just as likely to love a semi-obscure b-side like "Cuttooth" or "Kinetic" as they are to love a high-profile single like "Paranoid Android" or "My Iron Lung".
58	* MemeticBadass: Bizarrely enough, a ''song'' example. "Burn the Witch" was once legendary among Radiohead fans for being a total mystery: though the title was floating around since the ''Kid A''/''Amnesiac'' era, no recordings were heard and no lyrics were pinned down (they were scattered throughout a promotional site for ''Hail to the Thief'', but were never stated as having come from the song before its eventual release) before it was released in 2016 as the first single from ''A Moon Shaped Pool'', four albums and over a decade later.
59	** Thom fed the flames by telling a concert audience, after teasing a few chords of it on the piano, that "this will all sound much better when it's played by the orchestra." [[FridgeBrilliance He wasn't lying about the orchestra.]]
60	* MemeticMutation
61	** After the release of the music video for "Lotus Flower", [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n6ZvDmbFoU fans]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKTx_T_PnCo started]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYq1oqtQ7k0 having]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xgeT2hzxrQ fun]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtC7mq9HWYk setting]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QzFHKPsupo Thom's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_fkzm6t3Ys dance]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA5ai8MccM8 to]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jENwkJ4QglQ different]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B77s3x-XoY music]]. Thom's dance [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqCvc1eCZ_s goes with everything]].
62	*** It's also been set to Beyoncé's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xgeT2hzxrQ Single Ladies]]" and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnjOUKXqm9Q the Benny Hill theme]].
63	** [[http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100225&t=2&i=66784626&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=2010-02-25T185025Z_01_BTRE61O1GC700_RTROPTP_0_MUSIC-RADIOHEAD-CAMPAIGN This picture]] of Thom in a 2008 interview has turned into a meme after receiving a [[http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0vp5uyy0g1qkbqnso1_400.jpg "You sicken me" caption]].
64	** "thm"[[note]]A popular meme on the band's subreddit that comes from a Reddit AMA Thom did with Nigel (as Atoms for Peace, not Radiohead) where Thom's poorly spelled answers to questions were sometimes suffixed by "thm".[[/note]]
65	** Thom likes "The Gloaming".[[note]]Another subreddit meme, stemming from the band's frequent playing of the [[EnsembleDarkhorse considered-to-be underrated]] song in concerts and Thom stating that it's his favorite ''HTTT'' song. When brought up on the subreddit, it usually receives response poorly written like Thom's, usually characterized by their lack of vowels.[[/note]]
66	** Phil's baldness has been a recurring joke amongst fans for a while.
67	** "OK KID"[[note]] A picture meme (specifically, a variation of the ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 Expand Dong]]'' meme) that has been floating around as a usage of snarky responses to people, whether it being related to Radiohead or not. The [[http://i.imgur.com/5Kg7Y04.jpg meme in question]] features a pic of Thom having a snarky and SmugSnake expression with the text "OK" from ''OK Computer'' and "KID" from ''Kid A'' plastered under him.[[/note]]
68	** EEEEEEEEEEEED[[note]]Based off of how Ed's wordless backup singing on certain songs (ex: "Karma Police", "Weird Fishes") has been perceived by fans to just be him singing and stretching out his name. Expect to see it at least once whenever Ed's brought up on the subreddit.[[/note]]
69	** "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Fat! Ugly! Dead!]]" [[note]] Radiohead's SoBadItsGood live performance at the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0si0fB0lnow 1993 MTV Beach House]] gives us a rather infamous improvised quote shouted by Thom when they were playing "Anyone Can Play Guitar", right after the "I wanna be, wanna be, wanna be Jim Morrison" verse. [[/note]]
70	*** "Anywhere '''[[SuddenlyShouting Any]][[CarefulWithThatAxe wHEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEE!!!!]] [[TheScream AAAAAAAAUGHH!!! AAAAUGHHHHH!!! AAAAAUUGGGHHH!!!]]'''" [[note]]The same performance also has Thom screaming his lungs out, improvising the "Anywhere" part of the second refrain. Some fans have the liking to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmA9iYHt3Tc&list=PLyHuW7IK95WVC3HMeB967vDpCWgwnQg4J&index=13 make fun]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC_gdMBCmf8&list=PL7MXv-3mFypwA_9yq6WE6t4nCaNtKSBIn&index=37 of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3pDB8CNaQs&list=PLyHuW7IK95WVC3HMeB967vDpCWgwnQg4J&index=47 his]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nccKVtXnqiY screams]].[[/note]]
71	*** Thom goes for a swim[[labelnote:Explanation]]The MTV Beach House performance culminates in Thom diving into the pool unprompted. The bit is often used by fans as a joking visual shorthand for the performance, and achieved such notoriety that a gif of it was briefly Radiohead's main page image on Last FM.[[/labelnote]]
72	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy7pic3lAN8 This memorable clip]] of Thom laughing on ''[[Series/BigFatQuizOfTheYear The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2007]]''.
73	** Faster, Jonny! [[labelnote:Explanation]] When the band performed "Idioteque" at Glastonbury in 2003, [[https://youtu.be/jX-fDKWGbRs Thom kept telling Jonny to play in faster tempo by exclaiming "Faster!" in between the lyrics]]. Since that performance, "Idioteque" (and Jonny Greenwood himself) received memetic status in Radiohead fanbase.[[/labelnote]]
74	** "Radiohead predicted ''WesternAnimation/IceAge''."[[labelnote:Explanation]]As mentioned above in HilariousInHindsight, the opening lyric to the second verse of "Idioteque" is "Ice age coming, ice age coming". The song was released in 2000, while the first ''Ice Age'' was released in 2002. Many have joked about this coincidence.[[/labelnote]]
75	** "I'm back to say the N-word!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]An infamous mishearing of the line "I'm back to ''save the universe''" in "Airbag", which quickly became popular to quote among fans whenever the song comes up thanks to how absurd and out-of-place it is in the context of a Radiohead song.[[/labelnote]]
76	** Because Thom Yorke's lyrical style can result in some lines that sound very strange out of context, a couple memes exist among fans regarding these word choices:
77	*** THE FLAN IN THE FACE [[note]]A repeated phrase from "A Wolf At the Door", which has become a meme because of how weird of an image it is and has been looped in videos [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTfDn9bcWbk such as this one]].[[/note]]
78	*** No x42 [[note]] A reference to "A Punchup At a Wedding", which starts by repeating the word "no" [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly 42 times]]. Like "the flan in the face" from the same album, it's often brought up when discussing some of Thom Yorke's odder lyrical choices.[[/note]]
79	* MisaimedFandom: "Creep" is often quoted on pro-anorexia websites, for its lines "I don't care if it hurts/I wanna have control/I want a perfect body/I want a perfect soul."
80	* MoralEventHorizon: [[TranquilFury "I Will"]] is Thom's reaction to women and children being bombed in their bunkers during the Gulf War.
81	--> '''Thom:''' It's also sort of the angriest thing I've ever written as well, you know. That sort of anger, that you can't even begin to express, you know. This thing about you can do anything you want to me, [[PapaWolf but if you come after my family I will kill you.]]
82	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: When ''Music/TheBends'' was first released in 1995, its melancholy tone, introspective lyrics, and eclectic influences were a radical deviation from {{Britpop}}'s generally upbeat and rockist template. Alongside its follow-up, ''Music/OKComputer'', it instigated a shift away from the genre and directly influenced its successor movement, post-Britpop. However, while ''OK Computer'' is still regarded as standing apart from the artists it influenced, the initial novelty of ''The Bends'' is hard to see decades later, when its style became the new basic standard among British AlternativeRock; Radiohead themselves were aware of this, motivating their shift to more GenreBusting material in the 2000's.
83	* OlderThanTheyThink:
84	** After making its live debut in and being performed regularly throughout ''The King of Limbs'' tour, at least one news publication mistook "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" for a new song, when in fact it was released in 2001 as a B-side and appeared in the 2006 film version of ''Literature/AScannerDarkly.'' Its popularity among fans and newfound relevance during the recession eventually led to the band deciding to play it at concerts.
85	** The band themselves are a case of this; despite releasing their first album in 1993 and generally being associated with the mainstream AlternativeRock movement of the 1990's and early 2000's, Radiohead's been around since 1985.
86	* OldGuardVersusNewBlood: It can be argued that some recent Radiohead albums (such as ''Hail to the Thief'' and ''In Rainbows'') have been trying to strike this sort of balance.
87	* ParanoiaFuel:
88	** "[[SanitySlippageSong Climbing Up the Walls]]" is a VillainSong that draws on Thom's time spent working in a mental hospital:
89	---> '''[[ProperlyParanoid EITHER WAY YOU TUUURRN!]] [[LookBehindYou I'LL BE THEERRRRE!]]'''
90	--->'''[[BodyHorror OPEN UP YOUR SKUUULL!]] [[BeingWatched I'LL BE THEERRRRE!]]'''
91	--->'''[[TitleDrop CLIMBING UP THE WAAAAAALLLLLSS!]]'''
92	** "A Wolf at the Door" was inspired by an incident where Thom was physically assaulted and the police did nothing because, apparently, he was "asking for it" by being famous. The chorus pairs this up with parental fears:
93	---> I keep the wolf from the door but he calls me up
94	---> Calls me on the phone, tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up
95	---> Steal all my children if I don't pay the ransom
96	---> And I'll never see them again if I squeal to the cops
97	** Thom sums up the paranoia in Radiohead's music nicely here:
98	--->"The thing that worries me about the computer age is the fact that people know so much about you. It's an incredible invasion of privacy. And no matter where you are in the world people can monitor you if you're using your credit card. I heard this weird rumor on TheInternet about how the military is funding this great big research project and basically, they believe that in the future, the balance of power won't be determined by who has the most nuclear weapons, but by who has all the information. I'm not afraid of being taken over by computers though, because the thing is, computers cannot resist. You can always smash 'em up, and they're totally defenseless. All we need are more people with hammers."
99	* RefrainFromAssuming:
100	** "Just" is sometimes appended with "(You Do It to Yourself)" by mistake. The title appears in the song 3 times. The refrain appears 15 times.
101	** "Creep" often appears on filesharing sites as "So Fucking Special" after its best known lyric.
102	** Both "Myxomatosis" and "Cuttooth" have been mislabeled as "Tongue Tied."
103	** "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" is probably out there on hundreds of filesharing websites mislabeled as "Reasonable Man."
104	* SampledUp: The keyboard line and glitchy drum fills from "Idioteque" were sampled from Paul Lansky's "Mild und Leise" and Arthur Krieger's "Short Piece", respectively. Since neither sample was an especially prominent part of its original song but became vital parts of "Idioteque", the average music fan probably associates the two clips more with Radiohead than with Lansky or Krieger.
105	* SignatureSong: "Creep", "Karma Police" and "Paranoid Android" are the songs Radiohead are best known for among the general public, but opinions vary widely within the fandom.
106	* SoBadItsGood: The MTV Beach House 1993 performance, especially the unplanned rendition of "Anyone Can Play Guitar". Between Thom's silly getup, the sudden interjection of "Fat! Ugly! Dead!" as a jab at [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison]], and the constant ChewingTheScenery that culminates in him screaming into the camera-- face red as a tomato-- and diving into the pool, the show is frequently held up as an anti-classic among the fanbase, who've created a treasure trove of memes about it over the years.
107	* SongAssociation: Lots of instances. "Exit Music (for a Film)" and "Talk Show Host" being used in (and in the former's case, written for[[note]]Yes, the song was specifically written for, and featured in the end credits of, the 1996 adaptation of Shakespeare's classic story. Director Baz Luhrmann approached the band with the request for a song during their 1996 tour and showed them the last 30 minutes of the movie, which gave them enough inspiration to begin work immediately. (It was heavily inspired by the original story as a whole, as well as the 1968 Franco Zeffirelli film adaptation that Thom saw as a teenager, and was built around the idea of what would've happened if the pair had escaped the morning after they consummated their marriage.) Due to the song's inclusion on ''OK Computer'', the song was held off of the soundtrack at the band's request, but in its place, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nesLOCQEhVI a remix of "Talk Show Host" was used.]][[/note]]) ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'', "15 Step" being used in ''Film/{{Twilight}}'', "Everything in Its Right Place" being used in ''Film/VanillaSky'', "Life in a Glasshouse" being used in ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'', "High and Dry" being used in ''Film/FiftyFifty2011''...[[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1955602/ the list goes on.]]
108	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel:
109	** ''Music/TheBends'' is a lot more refined than ''Pablo Honey'', and is regarded by many as the album where the band found their voice.
110	** ''Music/InRainbows'' is generally considered to be far better than ''Music/HailToTheThief'' (which is generally considered to be good, but at the time had led to fears that the band had become too self-indulgent.)
111	** Some fans believe that ''A Moon Shaped Pool'' is this for ''Music/TheKingOfLimbs,'' the latter of which is often accused of being [[LighterAndSofter too light and short.]]
112	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong:
113	** Some fingers were pointed at "Knives Out" for its melody being taken from (if not heavily influenced by) "Paranoid Android".
114	** "15 Step" is just a bit too similar to Music/SteelyDan's "Two Against Nature".
115	** "Creep" uses a chord progression for "The Air That I Breathe" by The Hollies, to the extent the authors have a songwriting credit and royalties on Radiohead's song.
116	** "La Ritournelle" by French musician Sebastien Tellier has skittering drums and a similar melody and general feel to the later "Reckoner".
117	* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel:
118	** "Worrywort"
119	** The sounds after "Motion Picture Soundtrack" are beyond heavenly.
120	** The bridge of "Reckoner".
121	** "15 Step" is extremely upbeat, despite the [[LyricalDissonance anxious lyrics]].
122	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3GLYgJQARI "How I Made My Millions"]], an [[TearJerker emotional]] and informally recorded piano ballad.
123	** Whenever Thom says ''"release me"'' in "Morning Bell" (either version). It gets even better with the Kid 17 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCs63lh7pH4 version]].
124	** "(Nice Dream)".
125	** "Nude" is both sonically beautiful and [[TearJerker emotionally distressing]].
126	** "Separator".
127	** "Daydreaming"... well, until [[LastNoteNightmare the ending]].
128	** "Give Up the Ghost" may be a TearJerker, but that coda with the layers upon layers of vocals also qualifies as this trope.
129	** ''TKOL'' as a whole might fit, depending on who you ask.
130	** "Desert Island Disk" is the lightest and probably the most affirming song on ''A Moon Shaped Pool."
131	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The initial reaction of some to the drastic change the band made in ''Kid A''. Some fans reacted to ''The King of Limbs'' this way, too.
132	* ToughActToFollow: It's been said that Radiohead's biggest competition is their own back catalog. ''OK Computer'' and ''Kid A'' stand out as the defining, game-changing moments for the band--maybe even for popular music at large.
133	* UglyCute:
134	** The Modified Bear and the Weeping Minotaur, who've garnered a reputation as being oddly adorable in spite of their designs being played for horror in official material.
135	** Thom Yorke is often considered this by fans, being a distinctly endearing person who's often seen as charming from a visual standpoint as well as a social one despite/because of his somewhat homely appearance by celebrity standards. It helps that Yorke himself was never particularly self-conscious about his appearance, taking his looks in stride for the most part (barring his odd Music/KurtCobain imitation during the ''Music/PabloHoney'' era).
136	* VindicatedByHistory:
137	** ''Music/KidA'' got mixed reviews when it first came out, but now it's considered the best album of the '00s by many (a verdict that Pitchfork might have had a hand in by giving it a rare 10/10 upon release).
138	** Even ''Pablo Honey'' got vindicated, being considered one of the best debut albums in recent years. Initially, this album faced an inversion of this trope, being well-regarded by critics upon its debut but earning more and more ire as Radiohead's later albums continued to one-up it and expose how derivative of Music/{{Nirvana}} it was (a complaint that also hindered its ability to catch on among general audiences). Nowadays, the common opinion lies somewhere within the territory of "good in its own right and a great debut, but outperformed by its successors."
139	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The data visualization effects in the "House of Cards" video.
140	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical:
141	** Despite the overtones of a title like ''Music/HailToTheThief'', the band denies it refers to the 2000 presidential election. However, they ''did'' admit to the album being about the rise of the far right, among other things. Thom Yorke claims the title is a reference to a slogan that became popular after the 1888 US presidential election, which ended with an outcome similar to the 2000 election.
142	*** Of course, Thom himself has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nHK9iqdoDo#t=319 stated otherwise]], leaving things a little ambiguous.
143	** "Karma Police" gets this sometimes, with its somewhat controversial lyrics ([[ThoseWackyNazis "arrest this girl, her Hitler hairdo is making me feel ill"]]).

Context YMMV / Radiohead