1001 Albums Summary

Fire. I’ve heard a bunch of these songs before, but listening to the whole thing start to finish is such a treat. I usually listen to this kind of music and Radiohead in general, but this album still feels like something I re-discover each time. There are so many standouts it’s hard to choose. “High & Dry,” “Fake Plastic Trees,” and “(Nice Dream)”—that distorted guitar in the middle and then it softens at the end... just ufff. “Just” is funny, almost mocking at first, then it gets angry in the chorus. The vocals build, the guitars explode, it’s just vibessssss. “My Iron Lung” is full of rage in the chorus and it sounds amazing. “Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was” starts off kind of boring but the chorus feels angelic, like you’re being lifted. The guitar progression is beautiful. In “Black Star,” Thom’s falsetto shines, and again the guitars are on point. Even songs I don’t love like “Sulk” still have a vibe and work in the background. And then “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”—so moody and atmospheric, like a movie soundtrack. The guitars are haunting and Thom’s voice fading in and out just hits. It ends with a more hopeful lyric but it still leaves you in a deep place. The lyrics are cool, melancholic, self-loathing, angry, introspective, always digging into the fakeness of everything. There’s nothing I didn’t like honestly. It’s not a happy-go-lucky album, it’s a whole mood. One of my favorites albums of all time.