The Story of Radiohead's Best Song

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“i’m not living, i’m just killing time” hits way harder i think especially for how much more subdued it is

'It's over. Suddenly, everything is in its right place.' nice

You say the listener is left exhausted at the end. I'd argue, that if you're in pain, you feel soothed at the end. Radiohead songs are "sad", yes. However, listening to them somehow "validates" my experience. I feel as if the music is telling me that what I am living through is real, its ok and Im not the only one, even if I am alone. Through that validation, comes an underlying peace. The blissful feeling akin to a cool towel on a scorching day.

I grew up on Radiohead, being a male and experiencing sexual abuse with an adult at age 11, it was all I had, I was the class clown, I was seemingly the happiest kid and made everyone laugh and got in trouble constantly. Having this song, this band IMO the greatest band on this planet, was what keep me from ending myself. I was able to surrender and disappear completely into my emotions and feelings. At that age, I was seen as a victim, everyone I knew found out, people used my experience and made it their own and talked about it without my consent, I just wanted to be swallowed whole and return to source. I would come home after school and cry whilst I listened to my beloved Radiohead, the only one that understood what I was feeling. So haunting, so painful, so beautiful and poetic. I am so happy that life brought me to them because it carried me, yes, in perpetual sadness but alive and well. Thank you Radiohead for sharing your pain, it carried and shaped me. I love you so much.

So happy he is alive... Must be difficult to pass through all that pressure.

How to Disappear Completely has always given me a vibe of depression and longing for normality.

That Dublin gig in 1997 was such a treat, Massive Attack and Radiohead were amazing. Unforgettable was at the end of an fantastic Radiohead set, when it was supposed to rain that day and didn’t, Tom came back on stage to play an encore and said this is for it not raining today and played high and dry. As soon as he started playing, it started raining. Unbelievable.

I used to listen to Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" the 17 minute edited version, along with "How To Disappear Completely", as I fell asleep. So magical.

As someone who experiences depression and disassociative episodes, How to Disappear Completely is the first song I've ever heard that captures my exact feelings of feeling alone and not really part of the world around you. The tense strings in the back of the mix. The absolute apathy that the lyrics are delivered with. The way how when you listen to it you feel weightless. Fucking amazing song.

KID A came out as my marriage was falling to pieces. I worked alone all day and listened to the album constantly. My home life was a nightmare and I completely lost any feeling of self worth I hung on for dear life because I couldn't conceive of a situation where I wouldn't be there with my daughters. The music, the lyrics even the cover art resonated perfectly with how I was feeling and it became the soundtrack to my eventual collapse. I couldn't listen to it for years and then a couple of years ago I passed Cobb records on the way hone and bought ok computer and Kid A. I was fine until I got to this track and then I had to park up because I was crying so much I couldn't see where I was going.Life is good now but I think I learned that there are some things that you shouldn't expect to get over. You go on for sure but you are changed forever.

I'm a metal head. Thom Yorke is the greatest songwriter of my generation. Such a heavy, heavy song.

Hearing Ideoteque as a 17 year old completely steered my musical interests in a new direction

‘How to disappear completely’ & ‘nude’ have been competing in my head for my favorite Radiohead song for at least 10 years now... this song is a masterwork

How to Disappear is the one Radiohead song that I NEVER listen to. Every time, and I mean every time, I hear it I cry. I cried just now hearing clips of it in the video. This song hits on something in me that feels like absolute suicidal despair. It breaks my heart. It is a beautiful song that perfectly, at least to me, captures the misery machine that is a a deep deep depression. I love it and I hate it. It's the only song I've ever heard that affects me in this way.

I just LOVE that disturbing sound effect at the beginning which gives the song uneasy vibe and I love how it ends at the climax moment at the end of the song, it fades into calmness and harmony, that final moment brings so much hope I don’t know why

This song means more to me than any other song. It may seem very "childish" to some, but here's my story: When i was about 16, I can truly say i fell in love with a girl. I quickly realized it wasn't just going to be some highschool hook-up. No matter our differences, i kept falling deeper and deeper into love & emotion. It lasted about 4 years, spending every waking moment with someone. We became helpless romantics, even though we were so different and had so much confliction, until she snapped one day, and called it quits. For the first half of my senior year, while everyone was having the time of their life, I was alone. I knew my friends weren't going to stay when we graduated, and i lost all love i used to feel. All i could do was listen to this song with my headphones in through the whole winter. I'd just stand around during lunch and brunch listening to this just wanting to give up. Eventually, after an incredibly dark winter, i found my way out. I always reflect on this time period. things are better now.

I love how the bass line seems like it shouldn't work at all but just dances around the strings like its taunting them.

Thom Yorke bears his soul on his sleeve and is the embodiment of what a real musician should be. If humanity is ever judged I vote Thom as one of our main advocates.

yes i know the ondes martenot is an analogue instrument, i managed to get analogue and digital mixed up with electronic and acoustic leave me ALONE