History Music / Amnesiac

* CreepyJazzMusic: "Life in a Glasshouse", a minor-key New Orleans-style dirge about the suffocating nature of celebrity.

''Amnesiac'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Music/{{Radiohead}}, released in 2001.

Upon release, the album was another commercial success for the band, topping the charts in the UK, Canada, and Finland and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It would go on to be the 80th best-selling album of 2001 in the UK, and would be certified Platinum in both the UK, the EU, and Canada, as well as gold in the US, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, and Japan.

->''[[BeingWatched There's someone listening in.]]''

** Carrying over from its appearance on ''Music/KidA'', the line "cut the kids in half" at the end of "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" appears to be a nod to one of the stories surrounding the Hebrew king Solomon in Literature/TheBible, in which the king responded to a custody dispute between two woman over a child they each claimed they birthed by offering to literally cut the kid in half and give each piece to one of the women-- the woman who protested the suggestion was granted custody.

* AppealToWorseProblems: Mentioned and criticized in "Life in a Glasshouse", which portrays the trope as being commonly used by the public to keep prominent figures from being open about their own problems (which would seemingly tarnish the ContractualPurity that encompasses the celebrity lifestyle).
-->''Think of all the starving millions''\\
''Don't talk politics and don't throw stones''\\
''Your royal highnesses''

* BeingWatched: "Life in a Glasshouse" repeatedly mentions how "there's someone listening in," tying in with the themes of CelebrityIsOverrated.

* BookEnds: The album's finale, "Life in a Glasshouse", has the line "packed like frozen food and battery hens", which possibly nods back to the album's opener, "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box".

* ContractualPurity: Discussed and criticized in-universe throughout "Life in a Glasshouse".

* PostRock: Like its sister album ''Kid A'', ''Amnesiac'' uses the same focus on timbre and texture over melody and lyrics; the jazz influences bring it closer to the sound of Music/TalkTalk's ''Spirit of Eden'' and ''Music/LaughingStock'' than to the more ubiquitous brand of ''Music/{{Spiderland}}''-esque post-rock.

* TheLostWoods: Forest imagery features heavily throughout the album's liner notes, disc tray, and disc label, giving a distinctly haunting, foreboding feeling that ties in with the album's stylistic blend of eerie hollowness and claustrophobia.

* LoudnessWar: As was the trend among music at the time, ''Amnesiac'' is louder than Radiohead's previous output. It's also the first album in their discography with clipping problems (starting with "You and Whose Army?"), which would plague most of their future releases from this point forward. YMMV on whether or not it adds to or detracts from the music, as songs like "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" already make considerable use of clipping as a stylistic element.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: This album is ''all over the place'' on this scale:
** "I Might Be Wrong" is a 4.
** "Knives Out" is a 3.
** "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" is arguably a 7.
** "You and Whose Army?" starts out as a 1, gradually reaching a 2.
** ...And so on.

* ALoadOfBull: The crying Minotaur, which serves as a visual motif for this album in the same manner as the Modified Bears for ''Kid A'', right down to appearing on the front cover (though the specific depiction of the minotaur on the cover makes him appear more similar to a human).

Mostly recorded alongside its predecessor ''Music/KidA'' with the intent of releasing both as a double album (before being DividedForPublication), the album is considered a companion piece-- if not a direct sequel-- to its [=Y2K=] counterpart. Lead singer Thom Yorke described it as "another take" on the album, as well as "a form of explanation."

Sonically, the album displays the same influences as ''Kid A'', from {{Jazz}}, {{Krautrock}}, ElectronicMusic, and ClassicalMusic, and coalesces them into a mold that is predominantly PostRock. Compared to ''Kid A'' however, it is looser and more eclectic in structure, placing greater emphasis on its jazz and classical elements while still prominently featuring an electronic rock edge. Of the eleven tracks featured on ''Amnesiac'', only the closer, "Life on a Glasshouse", had recording sessions progress after the release of ''Kid A'', with Radiohead inviting the Humphrey Lyttleton Band to perform with them on the track in the waning months of the 20th century.

Like ''Kid A'', ''Amnesiac'' was first teased with a series of short animated [[{{Blipvert}} "blips"]] that aired on MTV and were briefly made available online. However, ''Amnesiac'' featured a much smaller amount of blips (possibly because the novelty had already worn off by then) and featured actual singles shortly after, each with proper music videos. The singles in question are "Pyramid Song", "I Might Be Wrong", and "Knives Out".

** The video for both "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" and "Like Spinning Plates" also counts in its latter portion, consisting solely of two crying, conjoined babies being spun around in what looks like a giant washing machine.

* UncommonTime: Subverted with "Pyramid Song." It sounds arrhythmic, but is actually a heavily syncopated, 4/4 bossanova rhythm played ''really'' slowly.

->''[[BeingWatched "There's someone listening in."]]''

Sonically, the album displays the same influences of its' direct predecessor, from {{Jazz}}, {{Krautrock}}, ElectronicMusic, and ClassicalMusic, and coalesces them into a mold that is predominantly PostRock, but compared to ''Kid A'' it is looser and more eclectic in structure, placing greater emphasis on its jazz and classical elements while still prominently featuring an electronic rock edge. Of the eleven tracks featured on ''Amnesiac'', only the closer, "Life on a Glasshouse", had recording sessions progress after the release of ''Kid A'', with Radiohead inviting the Humphrey Lyttleton Band to perform with them on the track in the waning months of the 20th century.

Sonically, the album could be considered as a "smoother version" of ''Kid A'', while just as experimental if not more so, featuring more prominent jazz influences that set it apart from its largely electronic predecessor. As with ''Kid A'', ''Amnesiac'' displays influences from {{Jazz}}, {{Krautrock}}, ElectronicMusic, and ClassicalMusic, and coalesces them into a mold that is predominantly PostRock, but compared to ''Kid A'' it is looser and more eclectic in structure, placing greater emphasis on its jazz and classical elements while still prominently featuring an electronic rock edge. Of the eleven tracks featured on ''Amnesiac'', only the closer, "Life on a Glasshouse", had recording sessions progress after the release of ''Kid A'', with Radiohead inviting the Humphrey Lyttleton Band to perform with them on the track in the waning months of the 20th century.

Mostly recorded alongside its predecessor ''Music/KidA'' with the intent of releasing both as a double album (before being DividedForPublication), the album is considered a companion piece-- if not a direct sequel-- to its [=Y2K=] counterpart. Lead singer Thom Yorke described it as "another take" on the album, as well as "a form of explanation." Sonically, the album could be considered as a "smoother version" of ''Kid A'', while just as experimental if not more so, featuring more prominent jazz influences that set it apart from its predecessor.

Like its predecessor, ''Amnesiac'' displays influences from {{Jazz}}, {{Krautrock}}, ElectronicMusic, and ClassicalMusic, and coalesces them into a mold that is predominantly PostRock, but compared to ''Kid A'' it is looser and more eclectic in structure, placing greater emphasis on its jazz and classical elements while still prominently featuring an electronic rock edge. Of the eleven tracks featured on ''Amnesiac'', only the closer, "Life on a Glasshouse", had recording sessions progress after the release of ''Kid A'', with Radiohead inviting the Humphrey Lyttleton Band to perform with them on the track in the waning months of the 20th century.

Like its predecessor, ''Amnesiac'' displays influences from {{Jazz}}, {{Krautrock}}, ElectronicMusic, and ClassicalMusic, and coalesces them into a mold that is predominantly PostRock, but compared to ''Kid A'' it is more eclectic in its mixture, placing greater emphasis on its jazz and classical elements while still prominently featuring an electronic rock edge. Of the eleven tracks featured on ''Amnesiac'', only the closer, "Life on a Glasshouse", had recording sessions progress after the release of ''Kid A'', with Radiohead inviting the Humphrey Lyttleton Band to perform with them on the track in the waning months of the 20th century.

Upon release, the album was another commercial success for the band, topping the charts in the UK, Canada, and Finland and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It would go on to be the 80th best-selling album of 2001 in the UK, and would be certified Platinum in both the UK, the EU, and Canada, as well as gold in the US, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, and Japan. While these numbers didn't equate to the same kind of gargantuan success that ''Kid A'' saw, and despite being received tepidly by those who expected Radiohead to return to the more rockist sound of their first three albums (particularly the arena-friendly style of ''Music/OKComputer''), ''Amnesiac'' received favorable reception, winning the UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Recording Package. It would later be ranked at No. 320 on the 2012 revision of ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='=]s [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime "500 Greatest Albums"]] and No. 508 on ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic''[='s=] dynamic [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums "All Time Top Albums"]], generating multiple fan-favorite songs along the way.

-->-- "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box"

Upon release, the album was another commercial success for the band, topping the charts in the UK, Canada, and Finland and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It would go on to be the 80th best-selling album of 2001 in the UK, and would be certified Platinum in both the UK, the EU, and Canada, as well as gold in the US, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, and Japan. While these numbers didn't equate to the same kind of gargantuan success that ''Kid A'' saw, and despite being received tepidly by those who expected Radiohead to return to the more rockist sound of their first three albums (particularly the arena-friendly style of ''Music/OKComputer''), ''Amnesiac'' received favorable reception, winning the UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Recording Package. It would later be ranked at No. 320 on the 2012 revision of ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='=]s [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime "500 Greatest Albums"]] and No. 508 on ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic''[='s=] dynamic [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums "All Time Top Albums"]], generating multiple fan-favorite songs along the way.

Mostly recorded alongside its predecessor ''Music/KidA'' with the intent of releasing both as a double album (before being split in twain), the album is considered a companion piece-- if not a direct sequel-- to its [=Y2K=] counterpart. Lead singer Thom Yorke described it as "another take" on the album, as well as "a form of explanation." Sonically, the album could be considered as a "smoother version" of ''Kid A'', while just as experimental if not more so, featuring more prominent jazz influences that set it apart from its predecessor.