The Most Selfish Sabotage In Rock History
This week we’re talking about Radiohead ā the band that got famous for a song they hated, then spent the next thirty years trying to burn their own career to the ground. It starts with five awkward guys at a boys’ school in Abingdon who can only practice on Fridays. They get signed to EMI, record a self-loathing ballad called “Creep,” and watch it flop. Then a DJ in Israel picks it up, San Francisco runs with it, and suddenly they’re the biggest thing in alternative rock. Only problem? The chord progression is basically “The Air That I Breathe” by the Hollies, so they have to hand over a co-writing credit and royalties. And Thom Yorke hates the song anyway.
So they make The Bends, which shuts up the one-hit-wonder talk. Then they make OK Computer, which wins a Grammy, goes number one, and lands on every “best album ever” list. They’re playing stadiums. Bono is calling. And Thom is having panic attacks. He disappears into his house for months, starts listening to Autechre and Aphex Twin, and comes back with a plan: no more rock music. The rest of the band could have said no. They said okay.
What comes next is Kid A ā a weird, cold, electronic album with no singles, no music videos, and no explanation. The label is terrified. The fans are confused. And it debuts at number one on the Billboard 200. Then they leave EMI entirely, launch In Rainbows as a pay-what-you-want download two years before Spotify even exists, and make more money than they did on their previous album because there’s no label taking a cut. This is the story of the band that kept trying to destroy themselves and kept getting bigger anyway.
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#radiohead #thomyorke #creep #okcomputer #kida #inrainbows #thebends #britishrock #90srock #alternativerock #emirecords #paranoidandroid #musicindustry #payasyouwant #behindthemusic #truestory #rockhistory #jonnygreenwood
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@Bartzilla
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Radiohead is for people who call movies āfilmsā. But, whateverā¦ enjoy yourselves, I guess.
@levigi82
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I was at that Toronto gig and watched the stage collapse š¢ horrific.
@Sangria
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I listened to Amnesiac every day during 9/11. I still get strange chills every time I hear Pyramid Song
@holdingpattern245
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
All of the albums have at least some songs that are good, but The Bends is the best, basically every song is good and some are crazy good.
@ericfitzgerald9214
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Idk what Radiohead y'all are listening to, but the Radiohead that ive played is boring, quiet shrill little music sing by a quite shrill little man. Creep is just OK, Paranoid Android is cool but i really cant stand the guy's voice, I've sat thru National Anthem, its just a noise track.
Idk how ppl can stand this band's music…
@Effluvio
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Thank you for taking the moment to say the name of the deceased drum tech, Scott Johnson. I like indications that people value as humans the people they don't know.
@samspurgeon4222
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
"Then they work on the 2nd album, The Bends, and the pressure was insane" š¤£ I see what you did there
@jeremyfrancois9101
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I never really got into Radiohead. Everyone says Ok Computer is the greatest album of all time I just think itās ok but all the music elites tell me there is something wrong with me for not worshipping that album
@burtleturtle0012
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
So what you're saying is Radiohead is so good they couldn't make bad music if they tried, lol.
@ColonelNegative
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Radiohead is one of the best. Saw them a number of times, but with the Beta Band and Kid Koala is one of my favorite shows, of all bands, of all time.
@JJDemon
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Can you do video on Snake River Conspiracy?
@deadinthewater218
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Was just listening to Radiohead on shuffle all week. Planet Telex is my favorite track.
@FrozeMoments
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I realized about early ā97 The Bends was tight, different, it soared like a rocket ; made you dream.
I was one of those teenagers in hs. Class of 96.
@phlogistonstudio8261
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I sometimes wonder if Thom York and Tilda Swinton are the same person.
@raymondmasullo6686
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Once again, not into their music but I totally respect their attitude. Another great video. Keep 'em coming! š¤
@CiTR419
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I love your videos, thank you for all your content.
@DoubleDguitar
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
The Bends is easily one of my favorite 90s albums. Slip by Quicksand is also up there.
@GilWithIt
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Are you psychic? was just listening to Ok Computer yesterday š
Binging your work from a year ago, too bad you covered pretty much everything there is about Pantera, can always listen to more š
@Somewhat_Damaged81
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Kid A did throw me off, how could it not? I remember going to buy it at midnight release. On the way home listening I was just like wtf lol. But of course it grows on you. At the time I wanted another āThe Bendsā or āOK Computerā really bad, they were a part of the soundtrack of HS for me, I was excited for more, but Thom Yorke knows best apparently š¤·š»āāļø. Anyhow, at least it was great after you let go and just listened..
@ThomasGray-f1s
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Another great band, another great video. I had no idea about The Hollies thing. I had to pause you, and go listen to that.
@elgrannido
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
This is the real Behind The Music.
@Bizarreparade
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
You must be Lucifer. It just dawned on me. How does one accout for the imppossible output of videos and the encyclopedic music knowledge unless you were there for every bit of it?
@onairostik
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I never really understood the appeal of Radiohead and their music no matter how hard I try, they're just too weird for me
@Mark-bm4gs
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
2:11–2:15 "So they go and make their second album, The Bends . The pressure is insane." I see what you did there…
@davidlaman3935
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
All I see from thom yorke is a pompous ass
@AubryKrough
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
There's comedy gold in Creep if you know where to look. The crunchy 'ka-chunking' sound on the guitar was actually an attempt to sabotage the song and instead it just made the song so much better. Likewise on the censored version Thom poured all of his contempt into the 'very' (which replaced the original 'fuc#ing') and it also just made the song so much better. Radiohead just could not help but win no matter how hard they tried to lose.
@jameshunter7303
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Ngl I was so disappointed with KidA. The anticipation for the album was off the scale, probably the most hyped the public was for an album. Ok computer was like Dark Side of the Moon for the 90ās, and instead of following up with a Wish You Were Here, they did a Metal Machine Music. I never got back on the Radiohead train
@jameshunter7303
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Aphex Twin would be great one to cover GMS.
@EnterReality
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Grow up with The Bends and Ok Computer, I do remember whatching snippets of videos from Kid A on MTV and be totally confused….then the album came out….even more confused…
I really admire the balls that they had to release Kid A and pretty much go indie, not giving a flying fuck about expectation and just experiment, both on music and business side, totally ahead of their time.
@philipbeasley72
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Dude, exactly right it sounds just like The Air I Breathe.
@airsnaillll
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
i love how many videos you manage to make id love to see one on elliott smith
@dtrain5171
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
What if I told you that making kick ass and entertaining music documentaries that feature zero music is an epic feat of research and skilled writing? Just a guy who used to play in a band posting copious amounts of killer videos. Like. Share. Subscribe.
@michelerocks167
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I love The Air That I Breathe
Total childhood recall
@Pine_Gap_Island
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Radiohead are one of the very few bands that can honestly stand alongside The Beatles and Pink Floyd for being truly art.
When I was a teenage metal head, I hated those guys. Not sure why. It was a dumb metal head teenager thing that hated everything soft, hipster and generic sounding (OF COURSE I had heard only like 2 of their tracks at this point). Then I got into them later… thinking I was finally all cool and individual… and then I realized that I was another generic hipster.
But they truly have a special place for me when I was going through a really dark phase of my life. I'd always listen to My Iron Lung, The Bends and OK Computer in particular, but also their later albums when I was coming down from a meth binge, assisted with a LOT of cannabis. If anyone knows the feeling, it is one of great loneliness, despair and feeling lost. But listening to those albums, it wasn't like they were lifting me out of that feeling, but accompanying me in the loneliness and despair.
The other albums I would listen to during those moments were Mad Season's Above, Alice in Chains' Sap and Jar of Flies, Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and Soundgarden's Down on the Upside.
But those three records My Iron Lung, The Bends and OK Computer would absolutely take me places.
@RR-ux1ti
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I liked. I subscribed. You're welcome. š
@veepee1656
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
you rock!
@StageRight555
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I didn't like 'Creep' at first, but I knew it was a good song. I wanted to not like this band, because of a one hit woner. Over time, I grew to appreciate the band, as they continued to progress their sound. Then, I got it. Creep is a phenomenal track. Haunting, Progressive, and very much of the era, and it still holds as a classic to modern times. I'm going to go watch the video again for the 350th time now.
Thank you for your nonstop dailies. I look forward to your videos at 8-9pm pst every night now.
@Pxlpusher72
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
So glad I found this channel over the holidays. Great stuff!
@MichaelKurse
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Morning Bellllll… Morning Belllll…Causes The Kid's There!!!ššš
@TrineDaely
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Puts me in mind of how Markiplier has laid down the groundwork for YTers to put movies in theaters, and now we have Obsession and The Backrooms hot on the heels of Iron Lung. Breath of fresh air from big budget Hollywood execs deciding what's entertainment.
@ElectronicsGuy666
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
When Creep hit the airwaves I was a fan of grunge and metal (not the hair kind) but I bought Pablo Honey anyways. Definitely caught the Jerky Boys reference in the title. Didnāt really understand it, a lot of it is āpopā music. I like Carcass, Obituary and Helloween, Iām not supposed to like this crap! But the more I listened the more I dug into it, especially the second half of the album. There were a lot of layers to unpack, and I found listening in my bed at night wearing over the ear headphones was really immersive.
Over the years Iāve listened to all their subsequent albums, and a lot of the later ones I can say I love half the songs and donāt like the other half. For every banger like Jigsaw Falling Into Place thereās a bleepy bloopy song I skip. And I find myself listening to it a lot at night while making long drives, because like those headphones in a dark bed, the darkness of a half deserted highway is much more immersive.
@whoami7721
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
God, I practically wore out Pablo Honey and The Bends. Ok Computer is where it started getting weird for me, though. All of a sudden, the band I loved and was scoffed at as a one hit wonder was being touted as the best band in the world. I still liked the stuff they did, but they weren't "my" band anymore.
@StageRight555
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Nice shout out to Autechre and Aphex Twin.
@lainiwakura1776
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
I love Paranoid Android because it is so weird. Also the title is nice homage to Marvin the Paranoid Android.
@thepeopleschoice431
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Kid A was my favorite Radiohead album
@michaels0ft
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Greatest bond theme creators ever
@BassingtonFfrench-0
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
Been extremely blessed to see them three times.
Glastonbury England 2003
Berkeley College CA 2006
Outside Lands –
Golden Gate Park 2008
sometimes its like a dream āØļø
that I got to š¤
@libseely
June 4, 2026 at 5:44 pm
What if I told you this is my favorite channel now?
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