Album: The Bends Avg rating:
Your rating:
Total ratings: 5353
Length: 4:47
Plays (last 30 days): 3
share
tweet
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
The Beatles of their time. so many artists have been influenced by them.
No, they are not the Beatles of their time. Not even close.
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 completely disagree with this statement.
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.
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, 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
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.
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.
Thanks to RP for keeping Radiohead highly placed in the playlist.
It is Thom et al. at their best.
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 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."
Thx for the hot tip!
This song can reach into your soul and twist it around. It's real. And raw. So damn good.
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 !
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 :)
Or "Pet Sounds", as it actually uses Bach!
Pet Sounds = Bubblegum Boring
Led Zep did peak at LZ II.
Obviously You Missed Physical Graffiti!
wow, they have evolved to a new sonic genus since this
And Yet, this song stands alone as a masterpiece!
It's kinda like saying Led Zeppelin Peaked on ZepII
I disagree … I thinketh, as most, that they peaked with OK Computer !
Or "Pet Sounds", as it actually uses Bach!
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...
You lost me at Wagner.
It's kinda like saying Led Zeppelin Peaked on ZepII
I disagree … I thinketh, as most, that they peaked with OK Computer !
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 !
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!
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.
This comment is an Ultimate 10
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
Indeed.
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.
That is so true!
lol
What a philosophic question!
Fake trees made of plastic, it's that simple!lol
eeeee*crack*eeeI can hit that note, but I'm not really proud I can
Oh well, better late than never.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9iI4ZKRKv2lcNvtY3QKOXJFcb5Pb2-qu
......
Great post, my distant friend.
eeeee*crack*eeei would not worry too much about it. he rarely hits them either. still works, though.
crogers wrote:
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.
eeeee*crack*eee
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.
eeeee*crack*eeeA couple of their songs remind me of Bread, maybe it's the tempo and/or the production - the voice too sometimes.
Bread were beautiful
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...
I'm down with that...well said.
Yet strangely, I find myself liking this. I never thought I would give a Radiohead song a 7.
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.
"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)