Hey Rick, my band (Big Heavy Stuff) was the main support for Radiohead across Australia on their OK Computer tour. To hear those songs live every night was just incredible. They conjured the most amazing atmosphere effortlessly. Thom was a bit of a recluse, but the others were lovely to chat to over a few beers. Amazing experience!
You're joking! The man who'd go on to write _How to Disappear Completely_ was a bit of a recluse? /s On a serious note, it's really cool that you and your band got to be a part of the tour of one of the best band's best albums. You had front row seats to musical history.
Radiohead is BY FAR one of the best bands striving to this day to bring original and challenging music. Truly inspiring and maybe one of the biggest reasons I am a musician today.
What I love about when they were writing airbag is what you can hear in the leaked mini discs, they had the form of the song, but it was missing the magic touch, and they tried multiple versions, until Jonny came up with the intro riff, it was the glue that held the song together and turned it from a good song to the greatest, a riff so good you hear it at the beginning middle and end!
I can’t believe Rick is doing Airbag. I mean WHAT?!?! My respect for Rick Beato grows every day. OK Computer is a masterpiece. And it’s rare I say that about an album. I’m so stoked. A total “Interstellar burst”.
I remember listening to OK computer for the first time .. when Airbag started playing it was like I was floating into the clouds .. it was so hard not to cry .. one of the best experiences of my life
Год назад+37
This album was such a game-changer for what pop music could be… everything about it is outstanding.
This song is a masterpiece. But then again so are about half of all Radiohead songs, and the rest are merely brilliant. What an amazing group. I could listen to “In Rainbows” over and over and over. Oh wait, I do. Especially the song “Nude.” What a beautiful suspension of time and space every time I listen.
I love how often Colin does stuff like this with his bass lines. 15 Step stands out as well. How To Disappear Completely is another that does something a little against the grain that just WORKS PERFECTLY, but it's a different sort of direction than the space used here.
Ok Computer, in my opinion is a perfect record, not only in it's songwriting but also in production. All of the instrumentation and sounds that surround you on this record are so perfectly placed and mixed. The whole record just feels so alive. I constantly find myself going back to songs like Airbag, Paranoid Android, Let Down, etc. just to listen to all of the little nuances that surround the songs.
The cello is Mellotron cello. Radiohead purchased a Mellotron for Ok Computer. The other gorgeous use you hear on the album is the Mellotron 8 voice choir on Lucky, The Tourist and Exit Music for a Film
Had to be airbag. One of my favourite songs of all time, I mean what wa unto kick of one of th greatest albums of all time - that opening riff gives me chills to this day almost 30 years later.
Creep caught my attention....probably most peoples' Radiohead intro. But Paranoid Android caught my heart. Craziest, most strangely beautiful tune ever.
Ok Computer is a sublime album of musical invention & exquisite emotional resonance. Let Down has the power to raise the hairs on the back of my neck in a wave of pure emotion
I was a bit late to the Radiohead party, but they are tremendously creative. Really interesting music. I saw them live a few years ago, and, boy, they put on a helluva show. IIRC this song was inspired by the fact that Thom Yorke was in a car wreck when he was a kid; the driver (his uncle I think) died, but Yorke was saved by the airbag. "I am born again...." Yorke, with his falsetto, has an interesting take on melody. After OK Computer, they completely changed their sound for Kid A just to keep from getting bored and repeating themselves.... That show Rick mentioned at Stone Mountain park was considered one of the best ever in Atlanta....
@@SuperSampsonG I remember thinking I might go to it but ended up deciding not to. I read a review later that described the concert as the best all that year in Atlanta.
I remember loving Paranoid Android and Karma Police, but as far as albums go, The Bends was really my jam until my early 20's. Then a friend and co worker told me to: "listen to OKC in its entirety, and then we'll talk..." I got home that day, and put it on with good headphones. 2 minutes into this track I went: "Oh I get it now!" I LOVE this song, and OKC is probably my favourtite Radiohead album. It also got me into their more experimental stuff, and I love all of their albums now.
It's an amazing and somewhat overlooked classic - the bass and percussion are absolutely on-point. This was the first Radiohead song I learned on guitar!
I’m a metal guy, my guitar instructor is a huge Radiohead fan., knows all their songs. He insisted on teaching me Paranoid Android, I had heard the song, and thought it was interesting and agreed. Changed my life, “no joke folks”.
As an old school alternative rock fan, I now listen to bloody King Crimson (who Cobain actually liked though). Have come to the conclusion that it's all good, and you shouldn't rule any genre out.
@@danpearce4547 Agreed! That said, check out a band called Imperial Triumphant. They’re a metal band that uses jazz and other influences to create sounds and songs that create sonic atmospheric landscapes,…some are designed to make you uncomfortable or give anxiety with strange timings, and structures that offer no resolution. I hated listening to some of their music at first. Then I pondered the reason I hated it so much, snd realized it was intentionally designed to provoke some of these emotions, it opened my eyes to listening to them even more. It’s not for everyone, I can’t listen to them for long durations, but as a musician I can appreciate what they are doing. Cheers!
Every instrument on this song is absolutely amazing but when I think Airbag I think that bass part that sounds just so dang good. Also I love that there is so much suspense so that every time Thom sings 'I am born again', it lands so strongly. Simply a masterpiece.
yeah this, its the part i always notice about this song. It's basically just three notes that stay the same throughout and dont follow the chord changes but it works so perfectly for song
I think they deserve to be top 5....I know I know, all those old bands that influenced them are in the way. But what radiohead did, for years on end, exploring new sounds and incredible producing abilities....awesome melodies and one of the most underrated singers ever..they are top 5 for me as far as "rock" goes.
I remember listening to Ok Computer for the first time and getting to the end of Airbag completely shocked by how good it was as an opening track. The rest of the album just got better and better. I listen to it this today and still feel the way I did at first listen. Perfection 👌
Ok computer is legendary classic but I think they found another gear with In Rainbows. Stunning masterpiece. Especially the tour, the live sets floored me. Thank you Rick for the theory session.
I agree, but Hail to the Thief was a big step up too. There There is one of the best songs they’ve ever done IMO, so much going on in that, very dynamic how it keeps building throughout. OK will always be my fave just because of the age I was when it came out, 24 and it hit all the right notes with me at that time.
I feel they finally perfected all the genre blending and made a true masterpeice abd the basement session is one of the best things musically I have ever seen/heard.
I listen to Radiohead songs when testing speakers and heaphones becase their songs are beautifully mixed. You can hear a lot of space in their songs without clashing frequencies, everything sits where it's supposed to. This has a lot to do with their arangements, they drop instruments from parts where they figure it would be too much. They know how to work with dynamics in the songs.
OK Computer is choca-bloc filled with mind-blowers, but my go-to song to get me hyped will always be "Electioneering"... especially how Jonny's guitar is just ripping it the whole way through the right-speaker. I'd love to watch you breakdown that song someday. Always much respect to you, RB!
Such a classic! The thing I love the most about that track is Jonny's ascending and descending lines during the chorus as Thom sings "when I go forwards, you go backwards and somewhere we will meet." Literally as Jonny is going forwards and then backwards. Brilliant. My favourite band ever, been lucky to see them 5 times!
@@richardjordan3989 - The story goes (if I recall correctly) that he didn't have a full part other than that idea when they were doing the early demos, so rather than try to wing it he just laid down that basic riff with the intent of coming back to it later, and over time they realised it was perfect for the song just as it was.
Airbag has the best baseline of any song ever recorded. As I’m sure every Radiohead fan knows, the bass on this recording wasn’t supposed to be the final baseline. While working the song out, they put this baseline down as a guide for the rest of the band. Then as they were playing along to it, they realised that its fractured sound fit the song better than anything else they could think of. It’s absolutely beautiful.
'Best baseline ever recorded' is quite a big overstatement. I can think of a lot of other baselines even just from Radiohead that are better, in my opinion at least
I never quite understood why I love listening to Radiohead so much, the way you break it down makes it understandable, despite not really knowing an awful lot about music. Thank you 🙏🏼
I also consider OK Computer one of the best albums of the 1990s, and one of the best albums of all time. If I was creating my top ten favourite albums ever, it would definitely be on it. So I don’t think the original commenter was getting carried away at all, for me it would definitely be in the conversation but we all have different tastes.
Just wanted to say that I'm so happy and grateful that I have found your channel, Rick! Your love for music is contagious, and I enjoy going over every beat and chord with you. I'm not professionally trained, but I feel it very similarly. Other people laugh when I start gushing about an intro or an unexpected modulation, and it's been very lonely that I couldn't discuss my favorite songs ("it's mindless pop, there's nothing to discuss, Anne") on this level with... well, anyone. Your channel is therefore very important to me 😊 Thank you for sharing your talent, and time, and expertise - it is very much appreciated ❤
Bought "OK Computer" and played it on repeat for days when I was writing up and finishing my undergrad thesis. It is such a fascinating and beautiful album.
This is my favorite way to learn theory. I grew up listening to Radiohead so these songs have a lot of meaning and I already love the melodies. Now that I understand a bit more about what he is doing with the theory I can apply this to songs I am writing now and hopefully get to something new that still has the elements of the music I have loved.
I appreciate this video, Rick! Thank you for always being such a bad-ass music theory wizard, demonstrating the art of great composing through one of my favorite Radiohead songs. If you make another video analyzing a Radiohead song, my votes are for '15 Step' or 'There There' off 'In Rainbows' and 'Hail to the Thief,' respectively. When the album 'King of Limbs' came out, I went through a period of listening to it over and over and then diving back into their early 2000s records because they are all just so good. I agree with that person's comment about how 'Ok Computer' is the bridge from guitar-focused early Radiohead work to the more experimental work of later albums. By the time you get to 'A Moon Shaped Pool,' it is clear we have left the planet on which 'Pablo Honey' was recorded and traveled to a new one. What an amazing band, to get to witness their evolution through 3 decades..... Rick, please forgive me if someone else already commented on this, but I think those two small white dots that tend to appear sometimes in the middle of the screen have returned. I'm pointing it out because you once pointed it out in a video, and it usually doesn't distract me but for some reason during this video I found myself distracted by it. I'm sure there's something you can do to fix it! In the meantime, cheers to this awesome dissection of 'Airbag,' and I look forward to the next one!
One of my favourite Radiohead songs. An absolute highlight of their live shows .. especially during the in rainbows tour ❤. Love the double tracking of guitar and cello... so stunning.
@@null_state - Indeed; what we hear on the record is one of Phil's first attempts to record his playing and then edit it into a part digitally - effectively making a sliced-up breakbeat of his own work. What I think is extra impressive (as someone who primarily writes on guitar, but is - like many guitar players - a frustrated drummer) is that it's really tricky to re-create on a kit, but rather than use the programmed beat with a click and bash in a basic part over the top of it, Phil actually figured out how to play it live.
Rick is a gift to the internet, and all musicians. I am fortunate to be a natural ear player with impeccable timing but I still learn something from him every time.
12:32 Your sheet and breaking down Radiohead broke me down… I bought the bundle! Something in how your breaking this down made me confident I can begin to find the things I hear and have been learning to name through your Chanel… and as I’m naming more… I’m using it more in my playing. Maybe it’s Ive finally picked up enough to follow what’s happening… or it’s just this song breakdown (and it’s not that I’m an long time Radiohead fan.. great music though). I’m 63 and have been playing since I was 12…. But it’s really been open up in the past 3 years because I’ve been playing weekly in church and locally and listening your teaching. Sorry for the long comment but I’m grateful for all you do for music and how you have already brought me along. Excited to dig in to the bundle!
Rick, instead of "What Makes This Song Great" which is my favorite and what made me follow you, what about taking that and sort of blending into your pop analysis (or whatever genre) and do a series called "What COULD Make This Song Great" and talk about how you would add, takeaway, or recompose a track to make it more classic. In some case I could imagine a few tracks you have critiqued in the past that just add a bridge or guitar solo and you would enjoy it much more, as a non-specific example. Great stuff as always and keep it up.
It might just be the perfect song. Everything fits because it's so disjointed but together (?). Like little puzzle pieces tossed around and then clicking together. What a way to start the follow up to the Bends! I had heard Paranoid Android just through little tv speakers while watching the video. Then I put the headphones on when I first got the CD and I'll never forget it. Perfect mix too.
Would love one day to see some of Rick's theoretical dissection of some of "In Rainbows" or "Kid A" stuff. For some reason everyone loves much more their older sounding stuff, specifically from "OK Computer", which is not very fair I feel like, beautiful stuff there..
The grandiosity of a teacher is being able to turn something you never gave a f**** into an exciting experience forcing you to get your guitar and try to swim across those never thought of waters..amazing...
I remember on their website years ago ( perhaps they still do ) they would post a list of records / songs by artists they were playing as they recorded an album . Which you could see how it permeated their sonics and song writing angles . Ed O’Brien said in an interview during their King Of Limbs album tour “ we have been especially lucky to have been able to put the art before commerce in our career .” In other words , they had record labels that let them do what they do without massive label interference . Now likely a far tougher road to travel .
Nicely done Mr. Beato, as always. Great band & song pick for this one, bro! Radiohead (specifically OK Computer) continues to amaze me. ..One of the last great 'conceptual albums' of our time. (PS - I 2nd the motion I read below in another comment: you gotta get Johnny Greenwood for one of your next extended interviews, man..). 🤘😎
@@michaelflatters7354 Yes, which means it’s even more remarkable. Some of the competition: OK Computer, Radiohead Urban Hymns, The Verve Coil, Toad the Wet Sprocket Ultra, Depeche Mode Third Eye Blind, self titled Blur, Blur Static and Silence, The Sundays Homework, Daft Punk Be Here Now, Oasis Pop, U2 Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five Transistor, 311 Nick Heyward, The Apple Bed
Their genius is often a result of Jonny's expansive musical intelligence and understanding of theory juxtaposed against Ed who just loves finding sounds and textures without real understanding of theory... all this over the top of a fairly raw punk/ folk style Thom song. Magic!
If you are really into radiohead back in the 90s you know airbag was their magnum opus...from the lyrics, each player in their zone coming together unlike any song they played. this song was their peak moment in their peak album that was building up from the past albums....blown away when i first heard it. Airbag is like planet telex part 2 where after leaving earth you are now traveling into the cosmos....a feeling of impending doom of the late 90s, especially 97 a turning point in the economic and moral landscape which never recovered till this day.. cumulating to the 2020 event. they knew.
I saw Radiohead at South park in Oxford, UK, a home town concert. It was a mini festival that also had Sigur Ros, Beck, Supergrass, and a bunch of others. I didn't 'get' Kid A or Amnesiac until hearing them played live.
I was just listening to this song and wanting to learn it. What timing on this video. I'm mainly a bass player, and this song has a killer bass line. So Good! as you would say.
Can you imagine an extended Beato interview with Jonny Greenwood ... oh man.
This needs more upvotes
X1000.
Only thing I care about on this channel.
Do it
incredibly underrated musician..
You could do Radiohead like this every day for a month and I would watch them all day long, and I don't think I'm alone.
Definitely not alone! I'd love to just go through albums like this.
He should do the whole album. Man!
Absolutely with you on that!
Yep me too
You're not.
Hey Rick, my band (Big Heavy Stuff) was the main support for Radiohead across Australia on their OK Computer tour. To hear those songs live every night was just incredible. They conjured the most amazing atmosphere effortlessly. Thom was a bit of a recluse, but the others were lovely to chat to over a few beers. Amazing experience!
You're joking! The man who'd go on to write _How to Disappear Completely_ was a bit of a recluse? /s
On a serious note, it's really cool that you and your band got to be a part of the tour of one of the best band's best albums. You had front row seats to musical history.
I cant imagine getting a front row seat to one of if not the greatest album of the 90’s being performed live. Hold this high my friend !!
Big Heavy Stuff were so bloody good man, I still pull out Size of the Ocean once or twice a year.
I love your band, I’ve been listening since like 2001
@@lukeism2 Cheers man!
Radiohead is BY FAR one of the best bands striving to this day to bring original and challenging music. Truly inspiring and maybe one of the biggest reasons I am a musician today.
I don't think they can help it. I wonder if they love to listen to each other play like we do.
@@videosforthegoodlife2253 listening to eachother play is EXACTLY why they are so good!
What I love about when they were writing airbag is what you can hear in the leaked mini discs, they had the form of the song, but it was missing the magic touch, and they tried multiple versions, until Jonny came up with the intro riff, it was the glue that held the song together and turned it from a good song to the greatest, a riff so good you hear it at the beginning middle and end!
I can’t believe Rick is doing Airbag. I mean WHAT?!?! My respect for Rick Beato grows every day. OK Computer is a masterpiece. And it’s rare I say that about an album. I’m so stoked. A total “Interstellar burst”.
My favourite Radio Head song
@@blooter6162 what's your favorite Radiohead song though?
@@christianlarson4201
Airbag. From the album OK Computer
I remember listening to OK computer for the first time .. when Airbag started playing it was like I was floating into the clouds .. it was so hard not to cry .. one of the best experiences of my life
This album was such a game-changer for what pop music could be… everything about it is outstanding.
Absolute masterpiece.
This song is a masterpiece. But then again so are about half of all Radiohead songs, and the rest are merely brilliant. What an amazing group. I could listen to “In Rainbows” over and over and over. Oh wait, I do. Especially the song “Nude.” What a beautiful suspension of time and space every time I listen.
Their best album without question. I think OKC is their most classic album but their best is IR
@@Zeta9966 and the fact that it was released basically for free was wonderful.
@@karlanthonymargate7362 I thought that was King of Limbs. I remember In Rainbows being the last traditionally released album
The spaces in the bass line that accentuate the melody in an awe inspiring way. Can't think of another bass line like this!
Colin is a master of creating space. I think that’s as big a part of his sonic signature as the notes he chooses.
I love how often Colin does stuff like this with his bass lines. 15 Step stands out as well.
How To Disappear Completely is another that does something a little against the grain that just WORKS PERFECTLY, but it's a different sort of direction than the space used here.
One of my favourite Radiohead songs. The composition is out of this world. One of my favourite intros ever! I love the way each instrument comes in.
Ok Computer, in my opinion is a perfect record, not only in it's songwriting but also in production. All of the instrumentation and sounds that surround you on this record are so perfectly placed and mixed. The whole record just feels so alive. I constantly find myself going back to songs like Airbag, Paranoid Android, Let Down, etc. just to listen to all of the little nuances that surround the songs.
The cello is Mellotron cello.
Radiohead purchased a Mellotron for Ok Computer. The other gorgeous use you hear on the album is the Mellotron 8 voice choir on Lucky, The Tourist and Exit Music for a Film
LOL and with your username, you should know. Long live the mellotron! 😍
I think the 8 voice choir is also on Paranoid Android. On the rain-down section, I think the lower voice is a Mellotron.
Had to be airbag. One of my favourite songs of all time, I mean what wa unto kick of one of th greatest albums of all time - that opening riff gives me chills to this day almost 30 years later.
That’s because it sounds like future music. It will never get dated
OK is an album i don't listen to often but everytime i do I'm blown away how powerful and fresh it is. Just pretty much perfect and timeless
Your enthusiasm for music never gets old Rick
It’s of the very few albums I’ll never get sick of.
Creep caught my attention....probably most peoples' Radiohead intro.
But Paranoid Android caught my heart. Craziest, most strangely beautiful tune ever.
Paranoid Android live on the Jools Holland show is simply one of the greatest ever recorded live performances, unparalleled 😮
I learned acoustic at 42. Now 52 and playing solo gigs. Helped being a drummer for 30 years. Never too late.
I am having my Sunday morning coffee while watching this. I have absolutely no idea what Rick is talking about but I'm loving it.
Ok Computer is a sublime album of musical invention & exquisite emotional resonance. Let Down has the power to raise the hairs on the back of my neck in a wave of pure emotion
Listen to the Pinegrove version
So underrated
Indeed.
Yup. It’s my favorite rock song.
I feel the same with Exit Music.
Rick, as expected, you’ve absolutely nailed what makes one of my favourite Radiohead songs so beautiful. Harmonic complexity but easy to listen to.
I was a bit late to the Radiohead party, but they are tremendously creative. Really interesting music. I saw them live a few years ago, and, boy, they put on a helluva show. IIRC this song was inspired by the fact that Thom Yorke was in a car wreck when he was a kid; the driver (his uncle I think) died, but Yorke was saved by the airbag. "I am born again...." Yorke, with his falsetto, has an interesting take on melody. After OK Computer, they completely changed their sound for Kid A just to keep from getting bored and repeating themselves.... That show Rick mentioned at Stone Mountain park was considered one of the best ever in Atlanta....
I was lucky enough to be there! It was an out of body experience for me. And I was the driver so, come clean and sober.
You got a source for someone dying in the crash? I've never heard that.
@@SuperSampsonG I remember thinking I might go to it but ended up deciding not to. I read a review later that described the concert as the best all that year in Atlanta.
So clean and heady without going out of their way, such an understated yet powerful natural expression
I remember loving Paranoid Android and Karma Police, but as far as albums go, The Bends was really my jam until my early 20's. Then a friend and co worker told me to: "listen to OKC in its entirety, and then we'll talk..." I got home that day, and put it on with good headphones. 2 minutes into this track I went: "Oh I get it now!" I LOVE this song, and OKC is probably my favourtite Radiohead album. It also got me into their more experimental stuff, and I love all of their albums now.
The drumming of this song!!! 🤯 One of my favourites
It's an amazing and somewhat overlooked classic - the bass and percussion are absolutely on-point. This was the first Radiohead song I learned on guitar!
Airbag is exhilarating. What a start to Ok Computer, which is freaking amazing end to end. A perfect follow up to The Bends.
I’m a metal guy, my guitar instructor is a huge Radiohead fan., knows all their songs. He insisted on teaching me Paranoid Android, I had heard the song, and thought it was interesting and agreed. Changed my life, “no joke folks”.
Its pretty metal
@@Leave_The_Hall_69 It's pretty lame.
As an old school alternative rock fan, I now listen to bloody King Crimson (who Cobain actually liked though). Have come to the conclusion that it's all good, and you shouldn't rule any genre out.
@@danpearce4547 Agreed! That said, check out a band called Imperial Triumphant.
They’re a metal band that uses jazz and other influences to create sounds and songs that create sonic atmospheric landscapes,…some are designed to make you uncomfortable or give anxiety with strange timings, and structures that offer no resolution.
I hated listening to some of their music at first. Then I pondered the reason I hated it so much, snd realized it was intentionally designed to provoke some of these emotions, it opened my eyes to listening to them even more.
It’s not for everyone, I can’t listen to them for long durations, but as a musician I can appreciate what they are doing.
Cheers!
@@SystematicMechanic you should find Christ, fellow
This was a good tune to analyze. Yorke and Greenwood have a very unique way of harmonically "coloring" their melodies.
Every instrument on this song is absolutely amazing but when I think Airbag I think that bass part that sounds just so dang good.
Also I love that there is so much suspense so that every time Thom sings 'I am born again', it lands so strongly. Simply a masterpiece.
We need to talk about the bass work in this track. Minimalist to the maximum but absolutely perfect
yeah this, its the part i always notice about this song. It's basically just three notes that stay the same throughout and dont follow the chord changes but it works so perfectly for song
They probably sampled the bass and edited it to be what it is.
Radiohead is one of the best bands of all time. Definitely Top 15.
I think they deserve to be top 5....I know I know, all those old bands that influenced them are in the way. But what radiohead did, for years on end, exploring new sounds and incredible producing abilities....awesome melodies and one of the most underrated singers ever..they are top 5 for me as far as "rock" goes.
@@harrisongwin6859 absolutely. They're my number one.
I remember listening to Ok Computer for the first time and getting to the end of Airbag completely shocked by how good it was as an opening track. The rest of the album just got better and better. I listen to it this today and still feel the way I did at first listen. Perfection 👌
Ok computer is legendary classic but I think they found another gear with In Rainbows. Stunning masterpiece. Especially the tour, the live sets floored me. Thank you Rick for the theory session.
I agree, but Hail to the Thief was a big step up too. There There is one of the best songs they’ve ever done IMO, so much going on in that, very dynamic how it keeps building throughout. OK will always be my fave just because of the age I was when it came out, 24 and it hit all the right notes with me at that time.
Right you are lad. So right you are.
I feel they finally perfected all the genre blending and made a true masterpeice abd the basement session is one of the best things musically I have ever seen/heard.
I listen to Radiohead songs when testing speakers and heaphones becase their songs are beautifully mixed. You can hear a lot of space in their songs without clashing frequencies, everything sits where it's supposed to. This has a lot to do with their arangements, they drop instruments from parts where they figure it would be too much. They know how to work with dynamics in the songs.
OK Computer is choca-bloc filled with mind-blowers, but my go-to song to get me hyped will always be "Electioneering"... especially how Jonny's guitar is just ripping it the whole way through the right-speaker. I'd love to watch you breakdown that song someday. Always much respect to you, RB!
Such a classic! The thing I love the most about that track is Jonny's ascending and descending lines during the chorus as Thom sings "when I go forwards, you go backwards and somewhere we will meet." Literally as Jonny is going forwards and then backwards. Brilliant.
My favourite band ever, been lucky to see them 5 times!
I was interested to learn that the producer and at least some of the band regretted including that song on the album 🤷🏻♂️
Was infatuated with this album and The Bends. Fantastic songs.
"Interstellar Blast. I'm back to save the Universe.
That line, those chords, goosebumps.
The bass plays quite a part in this song for me. It may be sparse and not locked in to the drums but it wouldn't fly without it.
Those little "bump bump"s
For me Colin Greenwood's work is the icing on the cake of many Radiohead songs. Totally underrated I feel.
@@richardjordan3989 I model my playing around the space he gives.
@@richardjordan3989 - The story goes (if I recall correctly) that he didn't have a full part other than that idea when they were doing the early demos, so rather than try to wing it he just laid down that basic riff with the intent of coming back to it later, and over time they realised it was perfect for the song just as it was.
I kind of feel like the drums are the centerpiece of this song, no? Such a great rhythm, and really amazing high-hat skills too.
Hugely due to DJ Shadow’s innovative album Endtroducing….. (Phil always kills it live tho)
that and the viscious guitar/cello riff, and the brilliant bass, and yorke's anguished sincere vocals and....lol
it's an akai s 2000 sampler , self recorded drum sample ...
Airbag has the best baseline of any song ever recorded. As I’m sure every Radiohead fan knows, the bass on this recording wasn’t supposed to be the final baseline. While working the song out, they put this baseline down as a guide for the rest of the band. Then as they were playing along to it, they realised that its fractured sound fit the song better than anything else they could think of. It’s absolutely beautiful.
'Best baseline ever recorded' is quite a big overstatement. I can think of a lot of other baselines even just from Radiohead that are better, in my opinion at least
@@cerdic6305 “…in my opinion at least.”
@@chrisknight2631 yes because there’s no objectively best baseline ever written
@@felipelotas5609 What a massive overstatement on your part. There are many way to make friends, both online or in real life!!
I like bass lines
I freakin love Rick so much. “I love the flat 6 on a minor chord you guys know I talk about this all the time.”
I never quite understood why I love listening to Radiohead so much, the way you break it down makes it understandable, despite not really knowing an awful lot about music. Thank you 🙏🏼
I'm not a hardcore Radiohead fan but Airbag is one of my favorite songs by them off probably my favorite album.
Didn’t discover them until 2000 but they have changed my approach to music since then. Radiohead forever.
This whole Album is nothing less than brilliant.....perhaps the best Album of the '90s!!
Great record of course. But lets not get too carried away now.
@@shadcovert1160 just my personal opinion.....but ofcourse it's a debatable opinion!!
Two mistakes :
Not "perhaps", it is, and not of the 90's, but of all times.
U welcome
I also consider OK Computer one of the best albums of the 1990s, and one of the best albums of all time. If I was creating my top ten favourite albums ever, it would definitely be on it. So I don’t think the original commenter was getting carried away at all, for me it would definitely be in the conversation but we all have different tastes.
@@albatros1418 Its NOT even the best album of 1997! LOL
The opening has always reminded me of the break/middle eight of KC's "Red"
Airbag - my favorite song of all time, from one of my favorite albums of all time. Absolutely deserved a 30-minute video by Rick Beato.
Just wanted to say that I'm so happy and grateful that I have found your channel, Rick! Your love for music is contagious, and I enjoy going over every beat and chord with you.
I'm not professionally trained, but I feel it very similarly. Other people laugh when I start gushing about an intro or an unexpected modulation, and it's been very lonely that I couldn't discuss my favorite songs ("it's mindless pop, there's nothing to discuss, Anne") on this level with... well, anyone.
Your channel is therefore very important to me 😊 Thank you for sharing your talent, and time, and expertise - it is very much appreciated ❤
I learn so much from your song break downs. Your the best Rick!
OK Computer - one of the best albums ever.
Peerless song (apart from all the other peerless Radiohead songs). Magnificent, uplifting, profound, ethereal and _mortal_
Bought "OK Computer" and played it on repeat for days when I was writing up and finishing my undergrad thesis. It is such a fascinating and beautiful album.
This is my favorite way to learn theory. I grew up listening to Radiohead so these songs have a lot of meaning and I already love the melodies. Now that I understand a bit more about what he is doing with the theory I can apply this to songs I am writing now and hopefully get to something new that still has the elements of the music I have loved.
Radiohead are utterly incredible, supreme output and extensive over a prolonged period,. Beautiful, honest and moving. Supreme.
Happy Belated Birthday Rick! Many happy returns of the day!
Radiohead strikes me as the Rush of my generation. Amazing musicians doing their own thing making complex music popular
My two favourite bands!
Geddy Lee had OKC on his list of 10 records for desert island discs.
@@jameshannagan4256 good to know. How cool is that? I feel proud I connected the dots on intuition
From my favourite album of all time, so good to hear this break down of Airbag.
Great music will always be appreciated by great people. Thank you for showing the world greatness once again, Rick Love this fantastic piece of music.
Charles Manson appreciated the Beatles.
LOVE this song. Given the subject matter, I always thought a great alternate title would be "Mercedes Bends". 🤔
I appreciate this video, Rick! Thank you for always being such a bad-ass music theory wizard, demonstrating the art of great composing through one of my favorite Radiohead songs. If you make another video analyzing a Radiohead song, my votes are for '15 Step' or 'There There' off 'In Rainbows' and 'Hail to the Thief,' respectively. When the album 'King of Limbs' came out, I went through a period of listening to it over and over and then diving back into their early 2000s records because they are all just so good. I agree with that person's comment about how 'Ok Computer' is the bridge from guitar-focused early Radiohead work to the more experimental work of later albums. By the time you get to 'A Moon Shaped Pool,' it is clear we have left the planet on which 'Pablo Honey' was recorded and traveled to a new one. What an amazing band, to get to witness their evolution through 3 decades..... Rick, please forgive me if someone else already commented on this, but I think those two small white dots that tend to appear sometimes in the middle of the screen have returned. I'm pointing it out because you once pointed it out in a video, and it usually doesn't distract me but for some reason during this video I found myself distracted by it. I'm sure there's something you can do to fix it! In the meantime, cheers to this awesome dissection of 'Airbag,' and I look forward to the next one!
One of my favourite Radiohead songs. An absolute highlight of their live shows .. especially during the in rainbows tour ❤.
Love the double tracking of guitar and cello... so stunning.
I love this song. Such cool production. Reverse drums and so much dynamics.
Phil is so great on the drums
A beautiful homage to DJ Shadow
Very underrated.
@@null_state - Indeed; what we hear on the record is one of Phil's first attempts to record his playing and then edit it into a part digitally - effectively making a sliced-up breakbeat of his own work. What I think is extra impressive (as someone who primarily writes on guitar, but is - like many guitar players - a frustrated drummer) is that it's really tricky to re-create on a kit, but rather than use the programmed beat with a click and bash in a basic part over the top of it, Phil actually figured out how to play it live.
Rick is a gift to the internet, and all musicians. I am fortunate to be a natural ear player with impeccable timing but I still learn something from him every time.
Would love to see you breakdown Jigsaw falling into place
Listening to Airbag and ok computer takes me back to the mid 90's instantly! I'm transported back to Cambridge in the UK.A different world ..
Rick, you can’t imagine how precious it is to see these kind of videos for such good music. Thank you!
Rick breaking down songs I already love makes me hear more of what is going on and love them even more.
12:32 Your sheet and breaking down Radiohead broke me down… I bought the bundle!
Something in how your breaking this down made me confident I can begin to find the things I hear and have been learning to name through your Chanel… and as I’m naming more… I’m using it more in my playing. Maybe it’s Ive finally picked up enough to follow what’s happening… or it’s just this song breakdown (and it’s not that I’m an long time Radiohead fan.. great music though). I’m 63 and have been playing since I was 12…. But it’s really been open up in the past 3 years because I’ve been playing weekly in church and locally and listening your teaching. Sorry for the long comment but I’m grateful for all you do for music and how you have already brought me along. Excited to dig in to the bundle!
Absolutely a masterpiece opener on a masterpiece recording.
Love how you wowed me when you played a Cure song by simply following chords in a key.
Rick, instead of "What Makes This Song Great" which is my favorite and what made me follow you, what about taking that and sort of blending into your pop analysis (or whatever genre) and do a series called "What COULD Make This Song Great" and talk about how you would add, takeaway, or recompose a track to make it more classic. In some case I could imagine a few tracks you have critiqued in the past that just add a bridge or guitar solo and you would enjoy it much more, as a non-specific example.
Great stuff as always and keep it up.
Ive been listening to airbag non stop the last few days. Great timing
More Radiohead would be greatly appreciated! I’d love some insight into some of the stuff from the Kid A/Amnesiac era.
I cant stress enough how watchable and freaking entertaining Rick can make the subject of music. Props to you sir.
It might just be the perfect song. Everything fits because it's so disjointed but together (?). Like little puzzle pieces tossed around and then clicking together.
What a way to start the follow up to the Bends! I had heard Paranoid Android just through little tv speakers while watching the video. Then I put the headphones on when I first got the CD and I'll never forget it. Perfect mix too.
Would love one day to see some of Rick's theoretical dissection of some of "In Rainbows" or "Kid A" stuff. For some reason everyone loves much more their older sounding stuff, specifically from "OK Computer", which is not very fair I feel like, beautiful stuff there..
dude this is prolly my favorite radiohead song....lets go
The grandiosity of a teacher is being able to turn something you never gave a f**** into an exciting experience forcing you to get your guitar and try to swim across those never thought of waters..amazing...
ok emotional
I’ve been listening to Radiohead for 20 years since I was 7, their music is entwined into my whole being.
Seen Radiohead three times. Always a great show.
Great analysis Beato, Airbag is my top 10 Radiohead song! Thank you~🔥❤️🔥🎸🎸🎸🎸
I remember on their website years ago ( perhaps they still do ) they would post a list of records / songs by artists they were playing as they recorded an album .
Which you could see how it permeated their sonics and song writing angles .
Ed O’Brien said in an interview during their King Of Limbs album tour “ we have been especially lucky to have been able to put the art before commerce in our career .”
In other words , they had record labels that let them do what they do without massive label interference .
Now likely a far tougher road to travel .
The childlike joy from RIck when he hears a detail in the music he likes is priceless! Makes his videos so fun to watch :-)
I am a 15 year old kid and ok computer is one of my favorites records of all time!
Ur spread soo much love thru out the music universe!! Thank u!
Nicely done Mr. Beato, as always. Great band & song pick for this one, bro! Radiohead (specifically OK Computer) continues to amaze me. ..One of the last great 'conceptual albums' of our time.
(PS - I 2nd the motion I read below in another comment: you gotta get Johnny Greenwood for one of your next extended interviews, man..).
🤘😎
I see Beato & Radiohead….I click instantly.
OK Computer is the best album of 1997.
Best of the 90s
And a lot of great albums came out in '97.
Technically yes but I'd rather be listening to Be Here Now on an average day.
@@erik9201 , possibly I might agree with you.
@@michaelflatters7354
Yes, which means it’s even more remarkable.
Some of the competition:
OK Computer, Radiohead
Urban Hymns, The Verve
Coil, Toad the Wet Sprocket
Ultra, Depeche Mode
Third Eye Blind, self titled
Blur, Blur
Static and Silence, The Sundays
Homework, Daft Punk
Be Here Now, Oasis
Pop, U2
Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five
Transistor, 311
Nick Heyward, The Apple Bed
I just want to mention bass line in Airbag, when you notice it - you can't stop listening bass line only.
Their genius is often a result of Jonny's expansive musical intelligence and understanding of theory juxtaposed against Ed who just loves finding sounds and textures without real understanding of theory... all this over the top of a fairly raw punk/ folk style Thom song. Magic!
Such a dynamic opening melody. Powerhouse album opener.
Hey Rick you should make a video on Radiohead’s Sail to the moon!
@@speedweasel literally😂
You forgot the bit where Thom York sings just a shade flat at times and that adds to the tension
If you are really into radiohead back in the 90s you know airbag was their magnum opus...from the lyrics, each player in their zone coming together unlike any song they played. this song was their peak moment in their peak album that was building up from the past albums....blown away when i first heard it. Airbag is like planet telex part 2 where after leaving earth you are now traveling into the cosmos....a feeling of impending doom of the late 90s, especially 97 a turning point in the economic and moral landscape which never recovered till this day.. cumulating to the 2020 event. they knew.
I saw Radiohead at South park in Oxford, UK, a home town concert. It was a mini festival that also had Sigur Ros, Beck, Supergrass, and a bunch of others. I didn't 'get' Kid A or Amnesiac until hearing them played live.
I was just listening to this song and wanting to learn it. What timing on this video. I'm mainly a bass player, and this song has a killer bass line. So Good! as you would say.
OK Computer is my fave Radiohead recording and my fave tracks are Let Down and Paranoid Android.