Radiohead b-sides ranked
Had to do a Radiohead list of course, but decided to give this a twist. No album tracks, this is an ordered list of all 61 officially released Radiohead b-sides. Let's not kid us here, many of these are better than album tracks, with the higher regions being especially effective. This was really hard to rank because of the stunning diversity of their work, and how do you rank both Mks in this? Just goes to show how good they really are. What are your ideas on these? |
| 61 |  | Radiohead
Itch
FAITHLESS, THE WONDER BOY
Yeah, yeah, you can't put the needle in, we get it. This song sucks and has the debatable honour of being one of their worst tracks ever. Yuck! |
| 60 |  | Radiohead
Just (For College)
HOW CAN YOU BE SURE?
A complete miss, the only male/female duet in their discog. Glad they didn't go there again. |
| 59 |  | Radiohead
Drill
STUPID CAR
Thom and his car crash anxiety have brought us Airbag, which is top Radiohead, but it also brought us this big pile of poo. |
| 58 |  | Radiohead
Anyone Can Play Guitar
POP IS DEAD
Phew, that's quite a nasty track. Both the verse and the chorus are hilariously bad, and the lyrics are cringeworthy. No thanks. Not for me. The ending is so bad it's almost kind of good in a way. |
| 57 |  | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
MK 2
Quite pointless counterpart to its slightly longer brother/sister. |
| 56 |  | Radiohead
COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
WHERE BLUEBIRDS FLY
I'm sorry Radiohead, but the Princess is in another castle. |
| 55 |  | Radiohead
The Daily Mail/Staircase
STAIRCASE
This mood shifting TKOL era b-side doesn't really go anywhere. With some songs that's ok, here it really isn't. |
| 54 | | Radiohead
Itch
KILLER CARS
Another Thom doesn't like cars track. Thankfully, this one is better than Stupid Car, with some nice 1990s guitar. Doesn't do anything special though. |
| 53 |  | Radiohead
Supercollider/The Butcher
THE BUTCHER
A krautrock beat, some sad, processed vocals, where definitely in TKOL country here. Not one of that area's best by a long shot. |
| 52 | | Radiohead
COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
I AM CITIZEN INSANE
An electronic insturmental (apart from a vocal sample) with that distinctive HTTT sharp and crispy production, but nothing else going on. |
| 51 |  | Radiohead
Creep
MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION
Very fast, very, very 1990s. |
| 50 |  | Radiohead
Pyramid Song
KINETIC
Has all the ingredients to be a superb track, with a jazzy bass, dubbed Thom and drum loop, but ends up being kind of boring. We'll get to this ''too long for its own good'' problem on several other occasions. |
| 49 | | Radiohead
Creep
INSIDE MY HEAD
Guitars and early Thom in overload. Ends with a nice bang. |
| 48 |  | Radiohead
Help! A Day In The Life [Warchild Compilation]
I WANT NONE OF THIS
This song was written for a Warchild compilation which also featured Gorillaz, Coldplay and Tinariwen, among others. Overbearingly sad, but a nice bridge between the sound of HTTT and In Rainbows. |
| 47 | | Radiohead
Pyramid Song
FAST-TRACK
Almost sounds like Chris Isaac at first, but swiftly turns into a dark and unsetling number with Thom mumbling and the jazzy rhythm section stealing the show. Cool, could easily have been a whole minute shorter. |
| 46 | | Radiohead
Pyramid Song
TRANS-ATLANTIC DRAWL
Hard and ugly, with a very snarky Thom, it's clear why this wasn't included on Amnesiac. Good track, but the spooky ending is a miss for me, the first half is much better. |
| 45 |  | Radiohead
OK Computer: Collector's Edition
HOW I MADE MY MILLIONS
Thom recorded this in his home, and you can hear it. Intimate piano number, with his wife supposedly storing the groceries in the background. |
| 44 | | Radiohead
COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
PAPERBAG WRITER
No, this is no Beatles cover. Nice bassline and some violin samples, but ultimately nothing too special. |
| 43 |  | Radiohead
Harry Patch (In Memory Of)
HARRY PATCH (IN MEMORY OF)
Written for the last living survivor of the First World War in Brittain. Beautiful song that just goes on for a minute too long. |
| 42 |  | Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
MELATONIN
A sleepy track, some nice vibes but definitely one of the lesser ones from the amazing OKC-sessions. |
| 41 | | Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
MEETING IN THE AISLE
Their opening music for live concerts for a long time. Nice instrumental with a cool bassline and some nice effects, but could have been cut in half, since the second half doesn't add anything new. |
| 40 |  | Radiohead
My Iron Lung
PUNCHDRUNK LOVESICK SINGALONG
Ominous, released just a year after Pablo Honey but introducing sounds they would not fully explore until OKC. |
| 39 | | Radiohead
My Iron Lung
YOU NEVER WASH UP AFTER YOURSELF
Guitar and Thom. 'Nuff said. |
| 38 |  | Radiohead
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
BANANA CO.
Guitars are nice, song is a bit bland, nothing much going on, apart from the almost Beatles-esque ''yeah yeah'' towards the end. |
| 37 | | Radiohead
Just (For College)
INDIA RUBBER
Quite a nice track, with a very uncharacteristic beginning (complete with sappy romantic strings) and a weird and druggy ending. |
| 36 | | Radiohead
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
MOLASSES
Almost veering towards the tongue in cheek (or actually going there!). Fun number, nothing too special. |
| 35 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
MK 1
Great instrumental that is placed this high because you can easily hear how they probably wanted to include it in the actual a-side, right in front of Videotape. Great atmosphere. |
| 34 | | Radiohead
Creep
YES I AM
The nice guitar freakout at the end makes this number creep (...ha) up the ranks this high. Easy, accessible, teen angsty Radiohead with a nice and whiny Thom. If that's not your thing, that's ok. If it is, look no further. |
| 33 | | Radiohead
My Iron Lung
LEWIS (MISTREATED)
Real, classic, guitar driven The Bends era song. Nothing wrong with it. |
| 32 | | Radiohead
Just (For College)
MAQUILADORA
Stadium-rock Radiohead. That's a good thing apparently! |
| 31 |  | Radiohead
Knives Out
WORRYWORT
Warm electronic sounds with Thoms crooning on top. Nice, but goes on for about a minute too long. |
| 30 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
LAST FLOWERS
A sad but beautiful In Rainbows b-side. There's more where that came from. Nice number though, many might place it higher than I did. |
| 29 | | Radiohead
My Iron Lung
PERMANENT DAYLIGHT
Cyclic guitar riff and some nice drumming make for a hazy song that doesn't overstay its welcome. |
| 28 | | Radiohead
Anyone Can Play Guitar
COKE BABIES
Wow, this Pablo Honey era track made it all the way up here? Yes it did, because of some nice guitar work and drumming. The band's early years brougth us 'Blow Out' and 'You', and also this weirdly titled cut, which can stand next to 'Creep' as some prime Radiohead from days long gone. |
| 27 | | Radiohead
Knives Out
FOG
Several versions of this illusive Radiohead track have been around for a long time. All of them are great, very introspective and very Radiohead |
| 26 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
4 MINUTE WARNING
Another beaut from the amazing In Rainbows-era. Calm, soothing, yet with harsh lyrics. Thanks guys! |
| 25 | | Radiohead
Pyramid Song
THE AMAZING SOUNDS OF ORGY
Creepy jazz number, could have been a noir, spy, whatever's got that kind of vibe movie soundtrack. |
| 24 |  | Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool (Special Edition)
ILL WIND
Nice drumming as we have come to expect, the other AMSP b-side could have been on the album easily, but would have made it a bloated affair, so that's possibly why it was left off. It couldn't have been its quality! |
| 23 | | Radiohead
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
BISHOP'S ROBES
Country like slide guitar, a transition song going form The Bends to OKC. |
| 22 | | Radiohead
The Daily Mail/Staircase
THE DAILY MAIL
This takes a left-turn midway through. Great track, worlds apart from other TKOL-cuts, with its grand piano chords and horn section bombast. |
| 21 | | Radiohead
COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
GAGGING ORDER
A guitar and Thom only track from the HTTT sessions. Very nice vibes, with lyrics referencing the 'Just' video. |
| 20 | | Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
POLYETHYLENE (PARTS 1 & 2)
A schyzophrenic number, starting off as something totally different than how it finishes. Definite OKC vibe, but it wouldn't surprise me if it came from the Bends-era originally either. |
| 19 | | Radiohead
Supercollider/The Butcher
SUPERCOLLIDER
This one goes on a little too long perhaps, but I love it a lot nonetheless. Great mood, definite TKOL vibes, with its sunny, submerged quality. |
| 18 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
Like Up On The Ladder, this is way too harsh for the a-side of In Rainbows. Delicious drums and that bass rocks my world, it's almost funky. |
| 17 | | Radiohead
My Iron Lung
LOZENGE OF LOVE
A short and very nice acoustic one from the Bends-era. It deserves its place so high up here because of sheer calm and colour. You almost wish for more tracks like it. |
| 16 | | Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
A REMINDER
Beautiful and calm, this track would have stood out too much on OKC. |
| 15 | | Radiohead
OK Computer: Collector's Edition
LULL
Short but sweet has never been more true than here. Great little tune which reminds me of No Surprises. |
| 14 |  | Radiohead
These Are My Twisted Words
THESE ARE MY TWISTED WORDS
Jazzy, trance inducing track. It might be too high up for some, they might think it's boring, but I just love the mood and the calming effect it has. Plus the drumming is very nice. |
| 13 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
UP ON THE LADDER
Dark, relentless and brooding, this would have destroyed the In Rainbows a-side. Great quality tune though, so Disk 2 it would be for this one. |
| 12 |  | Radiohead
OKNOTOK 1997-2017
LIFT
A fan favourite for so long. And it's finally been released. How songs of this quality can be b-sides is beyond me. |
| 11 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
GO SLOWLY
A beautiful track, should have been on the album, but maybe it would have disrupted its flow. Up there among their best. |
| 10 | | Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
PEARLY*
This song makes you go ''Ah, THAT is what Muse was going for in their early career!''. It's clearer here than ever how much they were Radiohead clones early on. Complete banger of a track! |
| 9 | | Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
PALO ALTO
So many great songs came from the OKC era. This one is a little too optimistic for the actual album, but it's superb. |
| 8 | | Radiohead
COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
I AM A WICKED CHILD
Love this bluesy sidestep so much. Might be too high up in this list, but hey, it's a really unique song for them and they pulled it off very nicely. |
| 7 | | Radiohead
OKNOTOK 1997-2017
I PROMISE
So glad that when OKNOTOK was announced, these three OKC orphans finally found their place. A beaut from beginning to end. |
| 6 | | Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool (Special Edition)
SPECTRE
Too weird for the movie maybe, but thank god we've got this cinematic Radiohead b-side! Way better than ''When you're not here I'm suffocththhtnsknng''. |
| 5 | | Radiohead
OKNOTOK 1997-2017
MAN OF WAR
Known as ''Big Boots'' before the release of OKNOTOK, this track with its sweeping violins could sit proudly on any album. |
| 4 | | Radiohead
My Iron Lung
THE TRICKSTER
Such a dense and brooding atmosphere in an old-skool Radiohead rock classic. And this was released just a year after Pablo Honey if you can believe that! |
| 3 | | Radiohead
In Rainbows Disk 2
BANGERS + MASH
On par with There There and Bodysnatchers regarding forward momentum, and delicious sounds all over. High energy! |
| 2 | | Radiohead
Knives Out
CUTTOOTH
The driving force behind this makes it clear why it wasn't released on the much calmer Amnesiac, but it's better than most on there. |
| 1 | | Radiohead
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
TALK SHOW HOST
The honour of best Radiohead b-side goes to Talk Show Host. It's better than many an a-side, and that's saying something. Does everything a top-tier Radiohead song should do and more. |
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