SONG OF THE DAY

“No Surprises” by Radiohead (OK Computer, Parlophone, 1998).

WHERE I HEARD IT

Brought to you by NPR, the 90’s, and my Dad, who sent me this NPR article about 90’s music.

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

– “No Surprises” was released as the third and final single from the group’s 1997 album OK Computer.

– It was accompanied by a music video that featured a single shot of singer Thom Yorke’s head in a plastic bubble filling with water.

– The single peaked at #4 in the United Kingdom.

– Radiohead wrote “No Surprises” while touring with the band R.E.M. in 1995.

– “No Surprises” was the first song Radiohead recorded on the first day of recording sessions for OK Computer. The version of the song on the album is the first take recorded. Singer Thom Yorke commented, “We did endless versions afterwards […] and they were all just covers of the first version. So we gave up and went back to [the original].”

– The lyrics originally told the story of a man who has become fed up with the way things are working out for him and is having problems with his girlfriend. Two lines from this version are, “He was sick of her excuses / To not take off her dress when bleedin’ in the bathroom.” Preparing to record the song, Yorke altered the lyrics dramatically; the current lyrics depict a monotonous life in a modern society, following the theme of modern alienation in OK Computer.

– One of the scenes in Grant Gee’s documentary about Radiohead, Meeting People Is Easy, cuts from the British news channel Sky News showing and (unfavourably) discussing the video to several takes of its filming. The song speeds up during filming when his face is fully submerged, until he pulls the rubber bottom out to release the water and members of the film crew help him out. Despite the safety measures, Yorke is shown getting more visibly uncomfortable and even agitated with each take.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Here’s the link!