No Surprises
"No Surprises" | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
File:Radiohead - No Surprises (CD1).jpg
UK issue
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Single by Radiohead | |||||||||||||||||||||
from the album OK Computer | |||||||||||||||||||||
Released | 12 January 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Format | |||||||||||||||||||||
Recorded | July 1996 at Canned Applause, Didcot, Oxfordshire | ||||||||||||||||||||
Genre | |||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 3:49 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Label | Parlophone | ||||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Radiohead | ||||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Radiohead singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
"No Surprises" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead. It 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 number four in the United Kingdom. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 107 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[1]
In 2008, the song was featured on the Radiohead: The Best Of collection.
Contents
Origin and recording
Radiohead wrote "No Surprises" while touring with R.E.M. in 1995.[2] It was the first song recorded on the first day of sessions for OK Computer. "That childlike guitar sound set the mood for the whole album," said Thom Yorke. "We were going for that Pet Sounds vibe."[3]
The version on the album is the first take recorded. "We did endless versions afterwards [...] and they were all just covers of the first version," Yorke recalled. "So we gave up and went back to [the original]."[4]
Release
"No Surprises" was released as the third single from OK Computer on 12 January 1998.[5] The single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart.[6]
No Surprises/Running from Demons
No Surprises/Running from Demons | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
File:Nosurprises front.jpg | ||||
EP by Radiohead | ||||
Released | 10 December 1997 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 19:58 | |||
Label | Parlophone (Toshiba-EMI TOCP-50354) | |||
Producer | Nigel Godrich, Radiohead | |||
Radiohead chronology | ||||
|
No Surprises/Running from Demons is the fourth extended play (EP) by English rock group Radiohead, released in December 1997. The EP was aimed at the Japanese market to promote the band's Japan tour of January 1998.
"Meeting in the Aisle" is Radiohead's first completely instrumental track.
This "remixed" version of "Pearly*" (as opposed to the "original version" available on the "Paranoid Android" single and Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP) features clearer production values, louder guitar at the beginning of the song, and a different guitar line at the end. The song "Bishop's Robes" refers to Yorke's experience of cruelty at school. Though he claims that he suffered no physical punishment as a schoolboy, violence was felt in ghastly mind-games, and in the teacher's cruelty: hence the line "bastard headmaster".
"Bishop's Robes" is also included on the "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" CD#1 single.
"A Reminder" contains excerpts from the reports of the Prague metro, Czech Republic.
Music video
The music video for "No Surprises" was directed by Grant Gee. The video consists solely of a single close-up shot of Thom Yorke's head inside an astronaut-style dome helmet. The lyrics are shown throughout the entire song slowly scrolling upwards but mirrored, as they are being reflected off of the dome. After the first verse, the helmet begins to fill with water. Yorke continues singing as he attempts to lift his head above the rising water. Once the bubble completely fills, Yorke is motionless for over a minute, after which the water is released and he resumes singing. For Yorke's safety, the video was filmed at high-speed and played back in slow-motion.[6]
One of the scenes in 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.
Sales chart performance
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Chart[7] | 4 |
Irish Singles Chart | 13[citation needed] |
New Zealand Singles Chart | 23[citation needed] |
Australian Singles Chart | 47[citation needed] |
Dutch Singles Chart | 58[citation needed] |
Austrian Singles Chart | 39 |
Track listing
All songs written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway.
- CD1 (CDODATAS04)
- "No Surprises" – 3:51
- "Palo Alto" – 3:44
- "How I Made My Millions" – 3:07
- CD2 (CDNODATA04)
- No Surprises/Running from Demons
- "No Surprises" – 3:49
- "Pearly*" – 3:38
- "Melatonin" – 2:08
- "Meeting in the Aisle" – 3:07
- "Bishop's Robes" – 3:23
- "A Reminder" – 3:51
Personnel
- Thom Yorke - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
- Jonny Greenwood - glockenspiel, organ, string synth, electric guitar
- Ed O'Brien - electric guitar, tambourine, backing vocals
- Colin Greenwood - bass guitar
- Phil Selway - drums, tambourine
Regina Spektor version
"No Surprises" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
File:Regina Spektor - No Surprises.png | ||||
Single by Regina Spektor | ||||
Released | 27 April 2010 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Genre | Dream pop | |||
Length | 3:51 | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Writer(s) | Radiohead | |||
Regina Spektor singles chronology | ||||
|
Regina Spektor, alternative pianist and anti-folk musician, released a charity single of the song on April 27, 2010.[8] All proceeds of the song go to the Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund.[9]
Track listing
- "No Surprises" – 3:51
Alternative versions and covers
Versions have also been recorded by Luka Bloom, Malia, Blake Morgan, Yaron Herman Trio, Christopher O' Riley, Paige, Peter Jöback, Motorama, Louis Durra, Stanisław Sojka, and Northern State. American singer song writer Amanda Palmer recorded a version of this song for her album of Radiohead covers performed on ukulele, "Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele". It was also covered by Blake Morgan on his 2006 album Silencer.
The song was also used in the 6th season of the medical drama, House M.D.
References
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
- ↑ 150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years | NME.COM
- ↑ Randall, p. 228
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Randall, p. 229
- ↑ Randall, p. 253
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Randall, p. 254
- ↑ Randall, 2000. pp. 242–43.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- No SurprisesLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- Pages with broken file links
- Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2010
- Articles with MusicBrainz release group links
- 1998 singles
- Parlophone singles
- Radiohead songs
- Songs written by Thom Yorke
- Songs written by Jonny Greenwood
- Songs written by Ed O'Brien
- Songs written by Colin Greenwood
- Songs written by Philip Selway
- Sire Records singles
- Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich
- Regina Spektor songs
- 2010 singles
- Songs about suicide