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Radiohead — Fake Plastic Trees
Album: The Bends
Avg rating:
8.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 5046









Released: 1995
Length: 4:44
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Her green plastic watering can
For a fake Chinese rubber plant in fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans to get rid of itself

It wears her out, it wears her out
It wears her out, it wears her out

She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties but gravity always wins

And it wears him out, it wears him out
It wears him out, it wears

She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing, my fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling if I just turn and run

And it wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out

And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted all the time, all the time
Comments (446)add comment
Posted 1 week ago by finbarrohalloran: A band that need not ever have existed.
The most depressing whining dirgeful shite produced. Depressed half a globe.
Some albums have nice names like "music to watch girls by" ... this should be called. "Music to end your life to"

Well, we can’t all slide down rainbows, hop on our unicorn and ride off into the perfect sunset while listening to what, your favorite music, perhaps… I digress. What music might you indulge us with? The Carpenters, Captain and Tennille?

I’ll stick with RadioHead all day long. Danke Schön.
A band that need not ever have existed. 
The most depressing whining dirgeful shite produced. Depressed half a globe. 
Some albums have nice names like "music to watch girls by" ... this should be called. "Music to end your life to" 
Outstanding - as usual.





it’s a great song, I also like Jeff Tweedy’s live acoustic cover performance of this song.
This is such a tragically beautiful song. Beautifully tragic? Brilliant.
 HectorPascal wrote:

Well, I have been listening to music for a lifetime almost - I am not dead yet - These days at least half is classical. I am still firm in my view that there is not a better, multi-layered, imaginative, challenging and ultimately rewarding band than Radiohead. They will be talked about in the same tones of reverence as Bach, Mozart and Wagner one day.




I doubt it
 Zep wrote:

This kind of song gets an easy 10 for me. The intro, the crescendo, the conclusion. Just perfect all around. My late wife and I listened to a lot of Radiohead and argued / debated their best albums and compositions. She, being a classical pianist, always had a fondness for this composition. Almost anything RH gets a 9 and up from me.

Thanks to RP for keeping Radiohead highly placed in the playlist.



I'm sorry you lost your wife; that must be so hard. I'm glad this song gives you fond memories of her.
 Kaw wrote:


The Smile is now a contender. Check them out :)
Bill, can we have a song from their latest album on RP? Skrthing on the surface is my favourite so far.




Bringing this to the top - surprised William & team have not added "The Smile" to the mix. At least  2-3 tracks would be a great fit. And agree Skirting on the Surface would be a fine start.
Timeless, and  SO good!
I love this song.
This kind of song gets an easy 10 for me. The intro, the crescendo, the conclusion. Just perfect all around. My late wife and I listened to a lot of Radiohead and argued / debated their best albums and compositions. She, being a classical pianist, always had a fondness for this composition. Almost anything RH gets a 9 and up from me.

Thanks to RP for keeping Radiohead highly placed in the playlist.
Probably the best live performance of them singing this song - Olympia theatre, Dublin. Must be 25 years ago and I get goosebumps to this day thinking of.
It is Thom et al. at their best.
Was good when it happened but is kinda tired, since then.
I don't often rate songs a 10, but when I do it is often Radiohead and Pink Floyd. 
Such a brilliant and tragic song.
The Beatles of their time.  so many artists have been influenced by them. 
 HectorPascal wrote:

Well, I have been listening to music for a lifetime almost - I am not dead yet - These days at least half is classical. I am still firm in my view that there is not a better, multi-layered, imaginative, challenging and ultimately rewarding band than Radiohead. They will be talked about in the same tones of reverence as Bach, Mozart and Wagner one day.



The Smile is now a contender. Check them out :)
Bill, can we have a song from their latest album on RP? Skrthing on the surface is my favourite so far.


I played the crap out of this album when it came out, and this song was one of my least favorite songs on the disc at the time. It's now become one of my favorite Radiohead tunes.  Funny how that happens.
 djengs wrote:

i would not worry too much about it.  he rarely hits them either. still works, though.


Reminds me of his interview on Fresh Air... lemme see if I can dig up the quote... Ok, they're talking about "No Surprises" here:

Terry: "Wait, so you slowed down the instrumental track?"

Thom: "Yeah, yeah."

Terry: "With, with..."

Thom: "We recorded everything and then slowed it down and then I sang to it."

Terry: "Oh, I didn't realize that."

Thom: "Yeah, I mean you can hear it, you can hear it in some of the... especially the way the drums play. That's what they used to do with Ringo all the time, that's why his fills used to - God, I'm Beatle obsessive... um, sad but true - um, yeah, they used to get those amazing drum fills on lots of Beatles records. They used to make him play lots faster, and then it would sound really strung out."

Terry: "Is the pitch different though...

Thom: "Yeah."

Terry: "...if they're playing on a pitch and then it's slowed down, it's going to change the pitch."

Thom: "Yeah."

Terry: "So does that as the singer, who's trying to sing..."

Thom: "Yeah."

Terry: "...on key on the record put you in a strange position."

Thom: "Yeah, but being on constant pitch has never been a problem for me, I mean (both laugh) as I have no idea what it is. So, you know, um, it doesn't matter that it's a little bit out of tune."
 ray_killeen wrote:
Jeff Tweedy does a nice cover of this.


Thx for the hot tip!
B&R, a very good song on a great album from a great band. Would you consider also playing Bones from this album? 
This is album is truly up there as one of the greatest ✌️
My all-time favorite band.  <3
Gravity always wins. 
Never fails to tingle - impeccable song
This.  This right here.  This is art.  

This song can reach into your soul and twist it around.  It's real.  And raw.  So damn good.  
Such a good song. The emotion is crippling.
 coloradojohn wrote:

After hundreds of listenings of this, there is, to me, no denying that Thom Yorke is a GREAT singer/ translator/ interpreter of passionate emotion, and used in exquisite artistic balance against his amazing bandmates' artistic expression. Super-immortal stuff. Thanks, RP!



You should see him on stage, it's fantastic !
 lizcrawford wrote:

Double Radiohead! This happens a lot. I happen to hate Radiohead. It is the only band I always change the channel for but frequently you are playing RH on the main and the rock mix. Is this the algorithm?



No it's god :)
Double Radiohead! This happens a lot. I happen to hate Radiohead. It is the only band I always change the channel for but frequently you are playing RH on the main and the rock mix. Is this the algorithm?
I can't get over how much Thom looks like a little baby boy in this video. Christ... was '95 really that long ago?
Such a rare thing, a perfect song.
After hundreds of listenings of this, there is, to me, no denying that Thom Yorke is a GREAT singer/ translator/ interpreter of passionate emotion, and used in exquisite artistic balance against his amazing bandmates' artistic expression. Super-immortal stuff. Thanks, RP!
Tragic and sad.
 RandyChard wrote:


Or "Pet Sounds", as it actually uses Bach!


Pet Sounds = Bubblegum Boring
 stretcher wrote:
 
 Led Zep did peak at LZ II.



Obviously You Missed Physical Graffiti!
 jkforde wrote:

wow, they have evolved to a new sonic genus since this



And Yet, this song stands alone as a masterpiece!
wow, they have evolved to a new sonic genus since this
Jeff Tweedy does a nice cover of this.
My favourite Radiohead song.
 surfrider4life wrote:

It's kinda like saying Led Zeppelin Peaked on ZepII


I disagree … I thinketh, as most, that they peaked with OK Computer !
 Led Zep did peak at LZ II.

 HectorPascal wrote:
Well, I have been listening to music for a lifetime almost - I am not dead yet - These days at least half is classical. I am still firm in my view that there is not a better, multi-layered, imaginative, challenging and ultimately rewarding band than Radiohead. They will be talked about in the tones of reverence as Bach, Mozart and Wagner one day.
 

Or "Pet Sounds", as it actually uses Bach!
working for Coilte. Dublin mountains. hottest summer. staying in a b and b and listened to this every night on Walkman. went to bed early to listen to. bliss. life changing album.
I  really like this song. No particular reason, I just like it.
 HectorPascal wrote:
Well, I have been listening to music for a lifetime almost - I am not dead yet - These days at least half is classical. I am still firm in my view that there is not a better, multi-layered, imaginative, challenging and ultimately rewarding band than Radiohead. They will be talked about in the tones of reverence as Bach, Mozart and Wagner one day.
 


Hey, Jon Voight claimed the other day that Trump is the greatest president since Thomas Jefferson. So...people are saying all sorts of things these days...

 HectorPascal wrote:
Well, I have been listening to music for a lifetime almost - I am not dead yet - These days at least half is classical. I am still firm in my view that there is not a better, multi-layered, imaginative, challenging and ultimately rewarding band than Radiohead. They will be talked about in the tones of reverence as Bach, Mozart and Wagner one day.
 
You lost me at Wagner.
 boontonite wrote:
Fantastic song from a great album, their peak, IMO. I love the bass at the very end, the subtle timing change on the outro chords. Brilliant!
 
It's kinda like saying Led Zeppelin Peaked on ZepII


I disagree … I thinketh, as most, that they peaked with OK Computer !
 Stephen_Phillips wrote:
I think it is always difficult to listen to a single Radiohead song on its own.

It is the same on my iPod playlists listening to various artists and genres and then up pops Radiohead.   Eeek - often downbeat, discordant, complicated time signatures etc but if you listen to a full album or selection of their songs your 'ears' start to get attuned to their style and you can appreciate their originality and musicianship.

Then you can switch to something else to pick your mood up again!
 

So very true .
It is almost a sin not to listen to OK COMPUTER in it's entirety .
It just ebbs and  flows magically !
If I could be who you wanted , on time ….on time ; >
Well, I have been listening to music for a lifetime almost - I am not dead yet - These days at least half is classical. I am still firm in my view that there is not a better, multi-layered, imaginative, challenging and ultimately rewarding band than Radiohead. They will be talked about in the same tones of reverence as Bach, Mozart and Wagner one day.
This song is 2nd only to their video.  Artistic perfection, through and through! 
Absolutely brilliant! I love their earlier albums just as much as the later ones. 
And that was that, Radiohead x 2 brilliant albums, very little has even scratched the surface since, wish they'd called it a day after this album!
This really is a beautiful song. 7>9.
 Nick Drake's Things Behind The Sun followed seamlessly by Fake Plastic Trees was sublime today. The playlist has been superb.
 
{#Sunny}{#Devil_pimp} {#Cool} {#Motor}{#Cowboy}{#Music}
I think it is always difficult to listen to a single Radiohead song on its own.

It is the same on my iPod playlists listening to various artists and genres and then up pops Radiohead.   Eeek - often downbeat, discordant, complicated time signatures etc but if you listen to a full album or selection of their songs your 'ears' start to get attuned to their style and you can appreciate their originality and musicianship.

Then you can switch to something else to pick your mood up again!
Gravity always wins....
musta been in my typical anti-Radiohead mood when I rated this SuckoBarfo last time I heard it....climbing it's way to Ho Hum - with a bullet
9→10
 Vasarlo wrote:
Sorry, it is too much Radio Head lately!

 
Bill and Rebecca like Radiohead so you're going to hear them a lot, which is fine by me.  Bill and Rebecca also like Dengue Fever so we hear them a lot too.  I'll tolerate DF as long as I can hear Radiohead.
I love this song
 DaidyBoy wrote:
Ultimate 10.

 
This comment is an Ultimate 10
I'm not a huge Radiohead fan, but I do like this one. 
earth set? maybe this sky next by DTB?
Ultimate 10.
there so much on this album of layers that you can listen forever 
Fantastic song from a great album, their peak, IMO. I love the bass at the very end, the subtle timing change on the outro chords. Brilliant!
 LowPhreak wrote:
'Fake Plastic Trees'. What is fake plastic, plastic that's not real? Genuine imitation plastic? Plastic trees that are fake, not even tree-like...maybe they're plastic grass in drag or something?

lol

 
Plastic fake trees would probably be more grammatically correct (understanding that you could have fake trees made of something else), but it lacks the pacing/phrasing required of the song. You could technically have fake plastic (superficially having certain aspects of plastic, but lacking enough of them to not be genuine), in which case you could make a tree of it.

Another way to look at it would be to say that some people aspire to be like artists that are pale comparisons to the real masters of the medium, the initial people unaware that there is a greater standard that they should shoot for. Or maybe that they should not be disheartened by the gulf between them and the masters, and that they should strive to be like the pretenders on their way to their full potential.

OK, that was deeper than I was going for
I only buy real plastic trees.
 grogg wrote:
The kind of song that stops you in your tracks every time you hear it.
 
Indeed.
just great stuff. Radiohead at the top of their game.
rdo wrote:

This song by Radiohead is very special to me, so I took a little time today making a list of my favorite songs. Be advised this is not a “best song” list, unless by best song is meant “best songs at pleasing my own personal ears”.  We’re all critics, and no person’s opinion is any more (or less) valuable than any other person’s.  I am however always on the lookout for recommendations.  I like to read lists, so I hope you can forgive me for interrupting your listening experience today by giving you a list of my own.

 

No music writer can resist categories, which is why I avoid professional music writing like the plague.  However, in being the hypocrite that I reserve the right to be, however much it may undermine my smug sense of self-importance, I have invented six entirely new music categories below. These categories are not meant to be taken very seriously.  They are a straightforward attempt at grouping the songs in a somewhat meaningful way, in order that you might be spurred to listen to them, purchase them, and then relay the good opinion of them forward to future generations of listeners, who will in turn behave in a similar fashion—all in the (likely vain) hope that multitudes of ears will have orgasms.  

 

The songs are not ranked in any way—I love them all more or less equally.

 

Madrigalia—delicate songs with ponderous mandolin-lute-sitar-acoustic sounding guitar riffs

Nick Drake—Fly—Bryter Layter

Led Zeppelin—That’s the Way— Led Zeppelin III

REM—Perfect Circle—Murmur

The Cure—Just Like Heaven—Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me

Echo & the Bunnymen—Bring On the Dancing Horses (single)

Alice in Chains—I Stay Away—Jar of Flies

 

Troubadour-Minstrel—bold lyrical and choral pieces

Bob Dylan—Like a Rolling Stone—Highway 61 Revisited

Simon & Garfunkel—The Sound of Silence—Sounds of Silence

Radiohead—Fake Plastic Trees—The Bends

Gomez—Rhythm and Blues Alibi—Liquid Skin

Belle & Sebastian—The State I Am In—Tigermilk

Neutral Milk Hotel—The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. One, Two & Three—In an Airplane Over the Sea

 

Rube Goldberg—convoluted, defying categorization, WTF?, Don’t ask.  Or: Music that comes with warning labels

Beatles—Rain (single)

Radiohead—Airbag—OK Computer

REM—Begin the Begin—Life’s Rich Pageant

Nick Drake—Cello Song—Five Leaves Left

Neutral Milk Hotel—Ghost—In an Airplane Over the Sea

Massive Attack—Teardrop—Mezzanine

 

Kyrie Eleison—giving meaning to life, from which to draw inspiration

Ray LaMontagne—Be Here Now—Till the Sun Turns Black

Madrugada—The Lost Gospel—The Deep End

Enya—Book of Days (single, English version)

Vienna Teng—Augustine—Inland Territory

The Decembrists—Sons and Daughters—The Crane Wife

Bach—Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring—Cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147

 

Songs to Disappear In—lush, ambient-strings or synth, meandering melodies, non-choral-centric

Moby—Porcelain—Play

New Order—Ceremony (single)

New Order—Your Silent Face—Power, Corruption & Lies

Brian Eno—Deep Blue Day—Apollo

Wagner—Vorspiel (prelude)—Das Rheingold

Vaughn Williams—Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

 

Juvenilia—adolescent songs

Rush—Tom Sawyer—Moving Pictures

The Cult—She Sells Sanctuary—Love

Blondie—Heart of Glass—Parallel Lines

The Smiths—How Soon is Now? (single)

Modern English—I Melt With You—After the Snow

Simple Minds—Don’t You Forget About Me (single)



 
pretty cool list, shows great depth and much thought.

I once had a 'project' to guide tourists around using a PDA (like a smartphone but then without the phone) in a piece of forest in the Netherlands. Most forests in the Netherlands have the size of a dozen soccer fields surrounded by heavy traffic and residential area's. This wasn't an exception.

To make the forrest accessable they made a path paved with asphalt and surrounded it with a wooden fence. Every 20 meters you could read things about the increadible forest on plastic sign boards.

But you could hear the birds sing.

Until I noticed a crackle in the singing and saw the green waterproof speaker hidden behind a tree.
I had plans to plug the speaker to my MP3 player and play Fake Plastic Trees when the project would be officially demo'd but did not have the guts to do it.


10 if I've ever heard one.  Brilliant, period.
 grogg wrote:
The kind of song that stops you in your tracks every time you hear it. 10 -> 10
 
That is so true!
11
 
 LowPhreak wrote:
'Fake Plastic Trees'. What is fake plastic, plastic that's not real? Genuine imitation plastic? Plastic trees that are fake, not even tree-like...maybe they're plastic grass in drag or something?

lol

 
What a philosophic question! {#Roflol} Fake trees made of plastic, it's that simple!
'Fake Plastic Trees'. What is fake plastic, plastic that's not real? Genuine imitation plastic? Plastic trees that are fake, not even tree-like...maybe they're plastic grass in drag or something?

lol


+10
The kind of song that stops you in your tracks every time you hear it. 10 -> 10
Sorry, it is too much Radio Head lately!
Sigh. This one gets me every time. 
Fast forward a couple of decades and an exponential amount of quality (IMHOO) from Yes to Radiohead.
 ziggytrix wrote:
I like to sing along with this, but only when no one else is around.  Because I *really* can't hit that note.  Like, not even close.  

{#Yell}  eeeee*crack*eee

 
I can hit that note, but I'm not really proud I can {#Undecided}
The song that got me into Radiohead, though it was through a hearing several years after its original release.
Oh well, better late than never. 
This was an insanely fun concert I attended recently. Our local youth symphony collaborated with local musicians to cover OK Computer.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9iI4ZKRKv2lcNvtY3QKOXJFcb5Pb2-qu
 
I rated it a 4. I must have been in a cynical mood. Gosh, he's always such a morose sort but the song is wistfully upbeat, even if it's about fake stuff. I've promoted this TY and His Funky Bunch tunesta to a 6. 
Perfection. Reminds me of seeing them in Olumpia theatre, Dublin. 
 

 crogers wrote:
Some thoughts:  

......
 

 
Great post, my distant friend.
 ziggytrix wrote:
I like to sing along with this, but only when no one else is around.  Because I *really* can't hit that note.  Like, not even close.  

{#Yell}  eeeee*crack*eee

 
i would not worry too much about it.  he rarely hits them either. still works, though.
Well said crogers.... 

crogers wrote:
Some thoughts:  

At the very least, a successful band must speak clearly to its own generation, yes?  Doing so offers relevance to the needy voice of the group's lyricist and a megaphone for those listeners who hunger for someone to speak for them.  As Cobain did for so many, Yorke does for many others. Both are (were) pretty emotional guys, same age, different backgrounds, with unique ways of putting things and presenting ideas that resonate with their generation.  While a direct comparison between them is perhaps best left unexplored, I think it's no stretch to say that those who, for example, think that Dylan spoke for their generation, should be able to relate.  The Bends?  Nevermind?  Certainly no less capable of significantly impacting the way in which a generation of good people views their place in the universe than Bob's Highway 61 or 4th Street.  Is it all good, musically-speaking?  Well, no.  But when any piece of artwork can inspire love for itself in spite of its shortcomings, the effort deserves respect, even from those who just don't get it, myself included.

 

 


 ziggytrix wrote:
I like to sing along with this, but only when no one else is around.  Because I *really* can't hit that note.  Like, not even close.  

{#Yell}  eeeee*crack*eee

 

Great rubber lyrics 
Some thoughts:  

At the very least, a successful band must speak clearly to its own generation, yes?  Doing so offers relevance to the needy voice of the group's lyricist and a megaphone for those listeners who hunger for someone to speak for them.  As Cobain did for so many, Yorke does for many others. Both are (were) pretty emotional guys, same age, different backgrounds, with unique ways of putting things and presenting ideas that resonate with their generation.  While a direct comparison between them is perhaps best left unexplored, I think it's no stretch to say that those who, for example, think that Dylan spoke for their generation, should be able to relate.  The Bends?  Nevermind?  Certainly no less capable of significantly impacting the way in which a generation of good people views their place in the universe than Bob's Highway 61 or 4th Street.  Is it all good, musically-speaking?  Well, no.  But when any piece of artwork can inspire love for itself in spite of its shortcomings, the effort deserves respect, even from those who just don't get it, myself included.

 
I like to sing along with this, but only when no one else is around.  Because I *really* can't hit that note.  Like, not even close.  

{#Yell}  eeeee*crack*eee
Jeez, get some pizzaz in that drone, buddy. Almost every RH song is fookin funeral music. 
 
 Randomax wrote:
I know this will upset some - but I always think of Bread when this first starts! ha

 
A couple of their songs remind me of Bread, maybe it's the tempo and/or the production - the voice too sometimes.
 Randomax wrote:
I know this will upset some - but I always think of Bread when this first starts! ha

 
Bread were beautiful
same chord changes as the prior Yes track?
{#Notworthy}
I know this will upset some - but I always think of Bread when this first starts! ha
Fake plastic music like substance. Bleah.

{#Moon}
my happy place, thank you Bill!{#Daisy}
Give this Fake Plastic Trees a new life.. Don't waste for waiting when you do love this one;
 ShaunJ wrote:
Well said {#Cheers}
 
Thank you!  I am grateful for the unbridled adulation from my avid readers...

this song squeezes my whole body...  this entire album is excellent...

hope life is grand right now for you, ShaunJ...  time flies when we're having fun...
Thanks for the list RDO. I love enough songs on the list to feel compelled to check out the songs I don't know. After copying and saving your list, two things struck me. First, despite ready many comments from the usual suspects and feeling like I have a handle on several of the personalities behind the names, I inevitably read a comment that reminds me that I really don't know commenters as well as I thought.  Pretty obvious, but I'm always amazed at how profound the obvious can be. Which brings me to my second (obvious) point. I was thinking that, geez, I hope Bill reads the list (I suspect he has or will) and gives these songs consideration if they aren't already in the queue (although they probably are). But then I thought about Bill's list of favorite songs, which is essentially the playlist for RP over the past decade edited out for duplicates. That's when Bill's vast knowledge of music really hit me as I thought about the 10s of thousands of songs that he knows so well.  So little time, so much music to explore. 
 On_The_Beach wrote:
This song encompasses everything that is great about Radiohead.

 
I'm down with that...well said.
10, next please Bill
I am not a fan of Radiohead. Not at all. 

Yet strangely, I find myself liking this. I never thought I would give a Radiohead song a 7. 
Any love (or hate) out there for Alanis Morisette's live version??
 rdo wrote:

This song by Radiohead is very special to me, so I took a little time today making a list of my favorite songs. Be advised this is not a “best song” list, unless by best song is meant “best songs at pleasing my own personal ears”.  We’re all critics, and no person’s opinion is any more (or less) valuable than any other person’s.  I am however always on the lookout for recommendations.  I like to read lists, so I hope you can forgive me for interrupting your listening experience today by giving you a list of my own.

 

No music writer can resist categories, which is why I avoid professional music writing like the plague.  However, in being the hypocrite that I reserve the right to be, however much it may undermine my smug sense of self-importance, I have invented six entirely new music categories below. These categories are not meant to be taken very seriously.  They are a straightforward attempt at grouping the songs in a somewhat meaningful way, in order that you might be spurred to listen to them, purchase them, and then relay the good opinion of them forward to future generations of listeners, who will in turn behave in a similar fashion—all in the (likely vain) hope that multitudes of ears will have orgasms.  

 

The songs are not ranked in any way—I love them all more or less equally.

 

Madrigalia—delicate songs with ponderous mandolin-lute-sitar-acoustic sounding guitar riffs

Nick Drake—Fly—Bryter Layter

Led Zeppelin—That’s the Way— Led Zeppelin III

REM—Perfect Circle—Murmur

The Cure—Just Like Heaven—Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me

Echo & the Bunnymen—Bring On the Dancing Horses (single)

Alice in Chains—I Stay Away—Jar of Flies

 

Troubadour-Minstrel—bold lyrical and choral pieces

Bob Dylan—Like a Rolling Stone—Highway 61 Revisited

Simon & Garfunkel—The Sound of Silence—Sounds of Silence

Radiohead—Fake Plastic Trees—The Bends

Gomez—Rhythm and Blues Alibi—Liquid Skin

Belle & Sebastian—The State I Am In—Tigermilk

Neutral Milk Hotel—The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. One, Two & Three—In an Airplane Over the Sea

 

Rube Goldberg—convoluted, defying categorization, WTF?, Don’t ask.  Or: Music that comes with warning labels

Beatles—Rain (single)

Radiohead—Airbag—OK Computer

REM—Begin the Begin—Life’s Rich Pageant

Nick Drake—Cello Song—Five Leaves Left

Neutral Milk Hotel—Ghost—In an Airplane Over the Sea

Massive Attack—Teardrop—Mezzanine

 

Kyrie Eleison—giving meaning to life, from which to draw inspiration

Ray LaMontagne—Be Here Now—Till the Sun Turns Black

Madrugada—The Lost Gospel—The Deep End

Enya—Book of Days (single, English version)

Vienna Teng—Augustine—Inland Territory

The Decembrists—Sons and Daughters—The Crane Wife

Bach—Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring—Cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147

 

Songs to Disappear In—lush, ambient-strings or synth, meandering melodies, non-choral-centric

Moby—Porcelain—Play

New Order—Ceremony (single)

New Order—Your Silent Face—Power, Corruption & Lies

Brian Eno—Deep Blue Day—Apollo

Wagner—Vorspiel (prelude)—Das Rheingold

Vaughn Williams—Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

 

Juvenilia—adolescent songs

Rush—Tom Sawyer—Moving Pictures

The Cult—She Sells Sanctuary—Love

Blondie—Heart of Glass—Parallel Lines

The Smiths—How Soon is Now? (single)

Modern English—I Melt With You—After the Snow

Simple Minds—Don’t You Forget About Me (single)



 
Nicely done.  Being is how I'm a fan of most of your list I will endeavor to check out the rest.


Classic.
"Trees?" she said

"Yes, but not real trees" he said

"Plastic trees?" she said

"Yes, but fake plastic trees" he said

"oh" she said

This song by Radiohead is very special to me, so I took a little time today making a list of my favorite songs. Be advised this is not a “best song” list, unless by best song is meant “best songs at pleasing my own personal ears”.  We’re all critics, and no person’s opinion is any more (or less) valuable than any other person’s.  I am however always on the lookout for recommendations.  I like to read lists, so I hope you can forgive me for interrupting your listening experience today by giving you a list of my own.

 

No music writer can resist categories, which is why I avoid professional music writing like the plague.  However, in being the hypocrite that I reserve the right to be, however much it may undermine my smug sense of self-importance, I have invented six entirely new music categories below. These categories are not meant to be taken very seriously.  They are a straightforward attempt at grouping the songs in a somewhat meaningful way, in order that you might be spurred to listen to them, purchase them, and then relay the good opinion of them forward to future generations of listeners, who will in turn behave in a similar fashion—all in the (likely vain) hope that multitudes of ears will have orgasms.  

 

The songs are not ranked in any way—I love them all more or less equally.

 

Miserablia—music to slit your wrists by

Radiohead—Let Down—OK Computer

Pearl Jam—Black—Ten

Smashing Pumpkins—Drown (single)

Nine Inch Nails—Hurt—The Downward Spiral

Alexi Murdoch—Towards the Sun—Towards the Sun

Godspeed You! Black Emperor—1.1: Storm—Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

 

Madrigalia—delicate songs with ponderous mandolin-lute-sitar-acoustic sounding guitar riffs

Nick Drake—Fly—Bryter Layter

Led Zeppelin—That’s the Way— Led Zeppelin III

REM—Perfect Circle—Murmur

The Cure—Just Like Heaven—Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me

Echo & the Bunnymen—Bring On the Dancing Horses (single)

Alice in Chains—I Stay Away—Jar of Flies

 

Troubadour-Minstrel—bold lyrical and choral pieces

Bob Dylan—Like a Rolling Stone—Highway 61 Revisited

Simon & Garfunkel—The Sound of Silence—Sounds of Silence

Radiohead—Fake Plastic Trees—The Bends

Gomez—Rhythm and Blues Alibi—Liquid Skin

Belle & Sebastian—The State I Am In—Tigermilk

Neutral Milk Hotel—The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. One, Two & Three—In an Airplane Over the Sea

 

Rube Goldberg—convoluted, defying categorization, WTF?, Don’t ask.  Or: Music that comes with warning labels

Beatles—Rain (single)

Radiohead—Airbag—OK Computer

REM—Begin the Begin—Life’s Rich Pageant

Nick Drake—Cello Song—Five Leaves Left

Neutral Milk Hotel—Ghost—In an Airplane Over the Sea

Massive Attack—Teardrop—Mezzanine

 

Kyrie Eleison—giving meaning to life, from which to draw inspiration

Ray LaMontagne—Be Here Now—Till the Sun Turns Black

Madrugada—The Lost Gospel—The Deep End

Enya—Book of Days (single, English version)

Vienna Teng—Augustine—Inland Territory

The Decembrists—Sons and Daughters—The Crane Wife

Bach—Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring—Cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147

 

Songs to Disappear In—lush, ambient-strings or synth, meandering melodies, non-choral-centric

Moby—Porcelain—Play

New Order—Ceremony (single)

New Order—Your Silent Face—Power, Corruption & Lies

Brian Eno—Deep Blue Day—Apollo

Wagner—Vorspiel (prelude)—Das Rheingold

Vaughn Williams—Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

 

Juvenilia—adolescent songs

Rush—Tom Sawyer—Moving Pictures

The Cult—She Sells Sanctuary—Love

Blondie—Heart of Glass—Parallel Lines

The Smiths—How Soon is Now? (single)

Modern English—I Melt With You—After the Snow

Simple Minds—Don’t You Forget About Me (single)


{#Sunny}  sunny again
 Peter_Bradshaw wrote:
{#Heartkiss} This is Godlike
 
{#Yes}{#Yes}{#Yes}
{#Heartkiss} This is G O D L I K E
 Lazarus wrote:

Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches be dancing buck ass naked all across the world like bowlegged gypsy muleskinners...  volume is wayyyy up...  we love this song...  it tweaks our nipples...  love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...

 

Well said {#Cheers}