102-490: (Redirected from Bends ) The Bends , the bends or bends may refer to: Music [ edit ] The Bends (album) , a 1995 studio album by Radiohead "The Bends" (song) , a 1995 song by Radiohead "The Bends", a song by Mr. Bungle from the 1995 album Disco Volante "The Bends", a song by Earl Sweatshirt from the 2018 album Some Rap Songs Other uses [ edit ] The bends or decompression sickness,
204-478: A Britpop album, though Radiohead disliked Britpop, seeing it as a "backwards-looking" pastiche. The critic Simon Reynolds wrote that The Bends brought an "English art rock element" to the fore of Radiohead's sound. According to Kolderie, " The Bends was neither an English album nor an American album. It's an album made in the void of touring and travelling. It really had that feeling of, 'We don't live anywhere and we don't belong anywhere.'" Reed described
306-475: A multi-tracked recorder played by Jonny, appearing low in the mix. The track also features trembling effects . ["The Bends"] was really just a collection of phrases going round in my head one day. The crazy thing about that song is that there was no calculation or thought involved—it was just whatever sounded good after the previous line. It was written way before we'd ever been to America, even, but yeah, it's always interpreted as this strong reaction against
408-552: A "dense, fuzzy wall" of sound. Their Bends roles were more divided, with Yorke generally playing rhythm , Greenwood lead and Ed O'Brien providing effects. O'Brien described the Boss DD-5 , a delay pedal, as important to the album's sound. The band also created more restrained arrangements; in O'Brien's words, "We were very aware of something on The Bends that we weren't aware of on Pablo Honey ... If it sounded really great with Thom playing acoustic with Phil and [Colin], what
510-468: A "haunted landscape" of sickness, consumerism, jealousy and longing. Several songs evoke a "sense of a disintegrated or disconnected subject". The journalist Mac Randall described the lyrics as "a veritable compendium of disease, disgust and depression" that nonetheless become uplifting in the context of the "inviting" and "powerful" arrangements. Jonny Greenwood said The Bends was about "illness and doctors... revulsion about our own bodies". Yorke said it
612-665: A "more approachable and loveable version" of Radiohead and remained many fans' favourite album. He argued that it presented a transition from Britpop to "the more feminine, emotionally engaging music that would emerge in the UK a few years later", led by OK Computer . The Bends influenced a generation of British and Irish acts, including Coldplay , Keane , James Blunt , Muse , Athlete , Elbow , Snow Patrol , Kodaline , Turin Brakes and Travis . Pitchfork credited songs as such as "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" for anticipating
714-560: A B-side. — Charlie Benante , 2003 The American heavy metal band, Anthrax , released a B-side cover of "The Bends" on their 1998 single " Inside Out ". The band's drummer, Charlie Benante , wrote on the single's notes: "We chose to do this song cause Radiohead are like the Pink Floyd of this era." It was included as a bonus track on the 2003 reissue of their eighth album, Volume 8: The Threat Is Real , originally released in 1998. In 2013, Ryan Smith of Whatzup described
816-565: A Rock 'n' Roll Star " (1967) by the Byrds , " Pump It Up " (1978) by Elvis Costello and " Serve the Servants " (1993) by Nirvana . "The Bends" first appeared as a B-side live version, titled "The Benz", on the 1993 French release of "Creep", recorded for the French radio show Black Sessions on 23 February 1993. It lasts three minutes and 58 seconds. The studio version was released as
918-400: A compilation of albums recorded while Radiohead were signed to EMI, including The Bends . On 31 August 2009, EMI reissued The Bends and other Radiohead albums in a "Collector's Edition" compiling B-sides and live performances. Radiohead had no input into the reissue and the music was not remastered. In February 2013, Parlophone was bought by Warner Music Group (WMG). In April 2016, as
1020-807: A gift for me." The Bends brought Radiohead significant critical attention. The Guardian critic Caroline Sullivan wrote that Radiohead had "transformed themselves from nondescript guitar-beaters to potential arena-fillers ... The grandeur may eventually pall, as it has with U2 , but it's been years since big bumptious rock sounded this emotional." Q described The Bends as a "powerful, bruised, majestically desperate record of frighteningly good songs", while NME ' s Mark Sutherland wrote that "Radiohead clearly resolved to make an album so stunning it would make people forget their own name, never mind ['Creep']", describing it as "the consummate, all-encompassing, continent-straddling '90s rock record". Dave Morrison of Select wrote that it "captures and clarifies
1122-422: A hospital to film an iron lung , but, according to Donwood, found that iron lungs "are not very interesting to look at". Instead, they filmed a CPR mannequin, which Donwood described as having "a facial expression like that of an android discovering for the first time the sensations of ecstasy and agony, simultaneously". To create the cover image, the pair displayed the footage on a television set and photographed
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#17328020510121224-427: A medical condition caused by dissolved gases Bends (film) , a 2013 British film See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing The Bends Bend (disambiguation) Bending (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title The Bends . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
1326-436: A more delicate constitution". In 1997, Jonny Greenwood said The Bends had been a "turning point" for Radiohead: "It started appearing in people's [best of] polls for the end of the year. That's when it started to feel like we made the right choice about being a band." The success gave Radiohead the confidence to self-produce their next album, OK Computer (1997), with Godrich. In 2015, Selway said The Bends had marked
1428-644: A much wider trawl of moods than Pablo Honey " and praised Radiohead as "one of the UK's big league, big-rock assets". NME and Melody Maker named The Bends among the top ten albums of the year. Critical reception in the United States was mixed. Chuck Eddy of Spin deemed much of the album "nodded-out nonsense mumble, not enough concrete emotion", while Kevin McKeough from the Chicago Tribune panned Yorke's lyrics as "self-absorbed" and
1530-447: A performance by Jeff Buckley , who inspired Yorke to use falsetto . Sasha Frere-Jones compared its melody to the "second theme of a Schubert string quartet". In "Just", Jonny Greenwood plays octatonic scales that extend over four octaves, influenced by the 1978 Magazine song " Shot By Both Sides ". With the use of a DigiTech Whammy pedal, Greenwood pitch-shifts the solo into a high, piercing frequency. Greenwood also uses
1632-449: A result of an agreement with the trade group Impala , WMG transferred Radiohead's back catalogue to XL Recordings . The EMI reissues, released without Radiohead's consent, were removed from streaming services. In May 2016, XL reissued Radiohead's back catalogue on vinyl, including The Bends . All songs written by Radiohead . Adapted from the liner notes. Radiohead Additional musicians The Bends (song) " The Bends "
1734-460: A single take: "I wanted to get away from the studio to view a house for rent. Consequently, this was the first take." However, Q reported that the song was recorded in several takes. The unreleased RAK version was mixed by Leckie at Abbey Road Studios in London. Leckie felt the guitars were too loud and that the song was "overblown", but the band members felt otherwise. According to Leckie,
1836-583: A song". Not satisfied with the versions of " My Iron Lung " recorded at RAK, Radiohead used a live recording from the London Astoria , with Yorke's vocals replaced and the audience removed. Radiohead made several efforts to record " Fake Plastic Trees ". O'Brien likened one version to the Guns N' Roses song " November Rain ", saying it was "pompous and bombastic ... just the worst". Eventually, Leckie recorded Yorke playing "Fake Plastic Trees" alone, which
1938-595: Is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their second studio album, The Bends (1995). In Ireland, it was released by Parlophone on 26 July 1996 as the album's sixth and final single, and reached number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart . "The Bends" was written in 1992 during the grunge era, predating Radiohead's 1992 debut single, " Creep ", and debut studio album, Pablo Honey (1993). A fan favourite, Radiohead performed it numerous times over
2040-426: Is also featured on the compilation MiniDiscs [Hacked] (2019). The demo lasts four minutes and 50 seconds and features loud guitars in the opening, played at a slower tempo than the final studio version, as well as "lifeless" vocals, "slightly" different lyrics and lo-fi production . Also unlike the studio version, Jonny's recorder sound is clearer in the demo. Reviewing The Bends in 1995, Patrick Brennan of
2142-528: Is so refreshing." The sessions saw Radiohead's first collaboration with their future producer, Nigel Godrich , who engineered the RAK sessions. When Leckie left the studio to attend a social engagement, Godrich and the band stayed to record B-sides . One song, "Black Star", was included on the album. Whereas Pablo Honey was mostly written by Yorke, The Bends saw greater collaboration. Previously, all three guitarists had often played identical parts, creating
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#17328020510122244-594: Is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead , released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone . It was produced by John Leckie , with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Work began at RAK Studios , London, in February 1994. Tensions were high, with pressure from Parlophone to match sales of Radiohead's debut single, " Creep ", and progress
2346-609: The Hot Press described the title track as "roaring, soaring and tormented". Jeremy Helligar of People wrote that it and " Planet Telex " "toss and turn like the best of those big restless Pearl Jam and U2 arena-size anthems." Clare Kleinedler of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote that the song "reflects the band's reputation for being the gods of freaks and weirdos around the world with York [ sic ] howling, 'We don't have any real friends'"; Kleinedler appreciated
2448-478: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . The Bends is credited for influencing a generation of post-Britpop acts, such as Coldplay , Muse and Travis . It is certified platinum in the US and quadruple platinum in the UK. Radiohead released their debut album, Pablo Honey , in 1993. By the time they began their first US tour early that year, their debut single, " Creep ", had become a hit. The band felt pressured by
2550-555: The Manor studio in Oxfordshire, where Radiohead completed songs including "Bones", "Sulk" and "The Bends". This was followed by tours of the UK, Thailand and Mexico. In Mexico, the band members had a major argument. Yorke said: "Years of tension and not saying anything to each other, and basically all the things that had built up since we'd met each other, all came out in one day. We were spitting and fighting and crying and saying all
2652-644: The UK singles chart , " Street Spirit (Fade Out) ". " The Bends " was also released as a single in Ireland. A live video, Live at the Astoria , was released on VHS. Radiohead toured extensively for The Bends, including US tours supporting R.E.M . and Alanis Morissette . The Bends reached number four on the UK Albums Chart , but failed to build on the success of "Creep" outside the UK, reaching number 88 on
2754-474: The "airbrushed" post-Britpop of Coldplay and Travis. Acts including Garbage , R.E.M. and k.d. lang began to cite Radiohead as a favourite band. The Cure contacted Radiohead to inquire about the Bends production in the hope of replicating it. In 2006, The Observer named The Bends one of "the 50 albums that changed music", saying it had popularised an "angst-laden falsetto ... a thoughtful opposite to
2856-535: The "premier league of respected British rock bands". The Rolling Stone journalist Jordan Runtagh wrote in 2012 that The Bends was "a musically dense and emotionally complex masterwork that erased their one-hit-wonder status forever". The writer Nick Hornby wrote in 2000 that, with The Bends, Radiohead "found their voice ... No other contemporary band has managed to mix such a cocktail of rage, sarcasm, self-pity, exquisite tunefulness and braininess." In Pitchfork , Scott Plagenhoef wrote that The Bends presented
2958-435: The "seemingly self-pitying line", seeing it as not really self-pity but instead "what defines Radiohead." Kevin McKeough of the Chicago Tribune said that "The Bends" and "Black Star" "could have been catchy little rockers" if Radiohead had dispensed with their "grandiose dramatic effects". The Boston Globe 's Jim Sullivan wrote that the song is "full of stops, starts and slides, and Yorke established his voice as one in
3060-667: The 11th-greatest album of the 1990s. In 2020, the Independent named it the best album of 1995, writing: "Downbeat, melancholic, yet wonderfully melodic and uplifting ... The Bends stood apart from Britpop and everything else in the storied year of 1995." In 2017, Pitchfork named The Bends the third-greatest Britpop album, writing that its "epic portrayal of drift and disenchantment secures its reluctant spot in Britpop's pantheon". Radiohead left EMI after their contract ended in 2003. In 2007, EMI released Radiohead Box Set ,
3162-680: The 1990s. In November 1995, Yorke became sick and collapsed on stage at a show in Munich. NME covered the incident in a story titled "Thommy's Temper Tantrum". Yorke said it was the most hurtful thing anyone had written about him, and refused to give interviews to NME for five years. In March 1996, Radiohead toured the US again and performed on The Tonight Show and 120 Minutes . In mid-1996, they played at European festivals including Pinkpop in Holland, Tourhout Werchter in Belgium and T in
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3264-477: The 1995 film Clueless and is credited for introducing Radiohead to a larger American audience. According to the MTV host Matt Pinfield , record companies would ask why MTV kept promoting The Bends when it was selling less than their albums; his reply was: "Because it's great!" Yorke thanked Pinfield by giving him a gold record of The Bends. The Bends slowly found fans through word of mouth. Selway credited
3366-913: The 1997 festival Les Eurockéennes de Belfort in France in July, and the London Astoria performance in September. Radiohead performed "The Bends" on their tours for Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001), Hail to the Thief (2003), and In Rainbows (2007). In January 2010, they performed a rendition of it at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles; this performance was included on Radiohead for Haiti (2010). After six years without performing "The Bends", Radiohead performed it at some shows on
3468-445: The 2000 edition of All Time Top 1000 Albums . It was included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . Rolling Stone placed it at number 110 on its original 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , at 111 in its 2012 list, and at 276 in its 2020 list. In 2006, it reached number 10 in a worldwide poll of the great albums organised by British Hit Singles & Albums and NME . Paste named it
3570-431: The 50th best Radiohead song, while Uncut ranked the track as the third greatest, behind "Creep" and "Planet Telex". NME ranked Jonny's guitar solo as the seventh greatest, describing it as a "steaming juggernaut of 90s grungey guitar goodness." In 2019, Vulture listed the song as the band's 76th best, writing: "This wiry, hard-charging song, in hindsight a clear iteration between Pablo Honey and OK Computer ,
3672-449: The English glam tradition of Ian Hunter and David Bowie, keeping company today with Oasis and Suede ." Spence D. of CMJ New Music Monthly described "The Bends" as "a brilliant piece of raging guitar-driven pop". The Guardian critic Adam Sweeting called "The Bends" "a powerchord masterclass". In 2007, Anthony Strain of Treble wrote that it is "the only song [on The Bends ] that sounds remotely dated; its last moments are
3774-507: The Park in Scotland. That August, Radiohead toured as the opening act for Alanis Morissette, performing early versions of songs from their next album, OK Computer . Morissette said later: "It was really grounding for me to be with such bona-fide-to-the-bone artists. It felt really validating because the industry was very wild and patriarchal, so to be on the road with such true savants was
3876-601: The US Billboard 200 . It received greater acclaim than Pablo Honey , including a nomination for Best British Album at the Brit Awards 1996 , and elevated Radiohead from one-hit-wonders to one of the most recognised British bands. It is frequently named one of the greatest albums of all time, cited in lists including Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums and all three editions of Rolling Stone 's lists of
3978-515: The US for sales of half a million copies. Though it remains Radiohead's lowest-charting album in the US, it was certified platinum in January 1999 for sales of one million copies. Interest from influential musicians such as the R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe , combined with several distinctive music videos, helped sustain Radiohead's popularity outside the UK. "Fake Plastic Trees" was used in
4080-511: The Whammy for the opening riff of "My Iron Lung", creating a "glitchy, lo-fi" sound. According to Randall, "My Iron Lung" transitions from a "jangly" opening hook to a " McCartney -esque verse melody" and "pulverising guitar explosions" in the bridge. "Sulk" was written as a response to the Hungerford massacre . It originally ended with the lyric "just shoot your gun". Yorke omitted it after
4182-408: The album Carnival of Light , by another Oxford band, Ride . Radiohead used the extra time to rehearse in a disused barn on an Oxfordshire fruit farm in January 1994. Yorke said: "We had all of these songs and we really liked them, but we knew them almost too well ... so we had to sort of learn to like them again before we could record them, which is odd." EMI gave Radiohead nine weeks to record
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4284-471: The album as "intriguingly disturbed" and "bipolar". He likened "The Bends" to the late music of the Beatles , described "My Iron Lung" as hard rock , and noted more subdued sounds on "Bullet Proof ... I Wish I Was" and "High and Dry", showcasing Radiohead's "more plaintive and meditative side". Rolling Stone described The Bends as a "mix of sonic guitar anthems and striking ballads", with lyrics evoking
4386-508: The album, planning to release it in October 1994. Work began at RAK Studios in London in February 1994. Yorke would arrive at the studio early and work alone at the piano; according to Leckie, "New songs were pouring out of him." The band praised Leckie for demystifying the studio environment. The guitarist Jonny Greenwood said: "He didn't treat us like he had some kind of witchcraft that only he understands. There's no mystery to it, which
4488-744: The band began recording Pablo Honey . They performed it on their early tours, including a performance at Roxane in Tel Aviv , Israel in April 1993, Cabaret Metro in Chicago, Illinois in June, and the Garage in Highbury , London in September. "The Bends" was included on the setlists of Radiohead's US tour with Belly . In May 1994, Radiohead performed "The Bends" at the London Astoria ; this performance
4590-667: The best thing." Only three of Leckie's mixes were used on the album. The Bends has been described as alternative rock and indie rock . Like Pablo Honey , it features guitar-oriented rock songs, but its songs are "more spacey and odd", according to The Gazette 's Bill Reed. The music is more eclectic than Pablo Honey; Colin Greenwood said Radiohead wanted to distinguish themselves from Pablo Honey and that The Bends better represented their style. Pitchfork wrote that it contrasts warmth and tension, riffs and texture, and rock and post-rock . Several critics identified it as
4692-414: The chest-beating lad-rock personified by Oasis ", which "eventually coalesced into an entire decade of sound". Yorke held contempt for the style of rock The Bends popularised, feeling other acts had copied him. He said in 2006: "I was really, really upset about it, and I tried my absolute best not to be, but yeah, it was kind of like— that sort of thing of missing the point completely." Godrich felt Yorke
4794-507: The demo to co-producer Paul Q. Kolderie at the end of the sessions, but kept it for their next album. In March 1993, Radiohead recorded another demo with their live sound engineer, Jim Warren, at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire, during the same session that produced " High and Dry ". After the Pablo Honey tour ended, they sent the demo to producer John Leckie to work on their then-upcoming second album, The Bends . "The Bends"
4896-426: The earliest songs written by Radiohead, originally going under the title "The Benz". It was written primarily by singer Thom Yorke , while credited to all of the band members, prior to recording their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Yorke said in a 1995 interview: "['The Bends'] is one of those songs I was rambling around and just poured all this rubbish out into the song. Then it all started happening, which
4998-405: The first 45 seconds, this could be an Oasis track. Then the vocals come in, and Yorke's piss-take on jaded rock-star behavior reveals a searing intelligence and contempt for the world that Noel Gallagher never gets at with his songwriting." Dean Essner of Consequence wrote: "On 'The Bends', Yorke tells us what it's like to swim with the sharks and then shortly after bake on a crowded beach with
5100-406: The journalist Tim Footman , Capitol almost refused to release it, feeling it lacked hit singles. It debuted at the bottom of the US Billboard 200 in the week of 13 May and reached number 147 in the week of 24 June. It re-entered the chart in the week of 17 February 1996, and reached number 88 on 20 April, almost exactly a year after its release. On 4 April, The Bends was certified gold in
5202-404: The last the record spends squarely in the present." "The Bends" was included in the 2007 book The Rough Guide Book of Playlists and Xfm 's 2010 book Top 1000 Songs of All Time . In 2012, Mark Lepage of The Gazette likened the song to "seeing the sunrise from a new angle." On the 20th anniversary of The Bends in 2015, Kenneth Partridge of Billboard wrote about the title track: "For
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#17328020510125304-467: The latter is credited under the pseudonym "The White Chocolate Farm". The graphic also appeared on occasion in other works by Donwood. Written on the back of the CD single: Assemble all the facts about your anticipated achievement. See yourself in the posture of success. Rule over your troublesome imagination. "The Bends" was previously released as a CD promotional single in the US by Capitol in 1995 with
5406-595: The line indicating the Sixties as a "sarcastic dig" at other bands' "obsession with another era", such as the lyrics of Oasis' 1994 songs " Live Forever " and "Rock 'n' Roll Star". "The Bends" also contains lines about the CIA and the Marines , and has a repeated line: "Where are you now when I need you?" The title "The Bends" references a term used in scuba diving to describe decompression sickness after divers return to
5508-410: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Bends&oldid=1225505832 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Obsolete medical terms Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Bends (album) The Bends
5610-408: The lyrics indirectly satirise the genre and its cultural movement. "The Bends" was included on the greatest hits album, Radiohead: The Best Of (2008), and other versions have appeared on compilations by Radiohead and other artists. In 2017, Uncut ranked it as the third-greatest Radiohead song. NME ranked the guitar solo as the seventh-greatest in music history. "The Bends" is one of
5712-409: The mid-1990s, which he described as "backwards-looking", while Jonny described the movement as "a 1960s revival." According to writer Jonathan Hale, the song was initially introduced as being about "knowing who your real friends are and when they're going to come to your gigs"; Yorke later simplified this to "knowing who your friends are." Yorke said "The Bends" was a " Bowie pastiche". He said it
5814-482: The most complex tracks on The Bends . Several critics interpreted the lyrics as a comment on the success of "Creep", which had led the media to dub them a one-hit-wonder . Yorke said the lyrics were intended to be humorous and had been misinterpreted. Although "The Bends" has been musically characterised by critics as Britpop , a British-based music genre that Yorke and lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood have criticised in press interviews, some commentators have noted that
5916-485: The most structurally complex songs on The Bends , and this structure has a sound arrangement that compared to the work of the Pixies . The song is played in the key of E minor in a 4 time signature with a tempo of 90 beats per minute (BPM), while Yorke's vocals span a range of A 3 to G 5 . The chord progression follows a sequence of D–C –G/B–C –G/B–C , with a C chord following this sequence during
6018-495: The music as overblown and pretentious. In The Village Voice , Robert Christgau wrote that the guitar parts and expressions of angst were skilful and natural, but lacked depth: "The words achieve precisely the same pitch of aesthetic necessity as the music, which is none at all." In the Los Angeles Times , Sandy Morris praised Yorke as "almost as enticingly enigmatic as Smashing Pumpkins ' Billy Corgan , though of
6120-515: The next two years, before recording it at the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England, with producer John Leckie . It is one of Radiohead's most performed songs. "The Bends" has been compared to the work of bands such as Queen , the Beatles , Pixies , the Smiths , and Oasis ; the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke , described it as a " Bowie pastiche". It contains five sections, making it one of
6222-506: The origin of the "Radiohead aesthetic", aided by Donwood's artwork. The journalist Rob Sheffield recalled that The Bends "shocked the world", elevating Radiohead from "pasty British boys to a very 70s kind of UK art-rock godhead". It attracted interest from high-profile musicians and film stars. Two years after its release, the Guardian critic Caroline Sullivan wrote that The Bends had taken Radiohead from "indie one hit-wonder" into
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#17328020510126324-514: The original version of "The Bends" was "more overpowering" than it is on the album, and Yorke's vocals were more screamed. Trying to make the introduction less "bombastic", Radiohead added "tinkling" sound effects Yorke had recorded on a cassette recorder through a hotel room window while touring in the United States. He said: "There was this guy training these eight-year-old kids, who were parading up and down with all these different instruments. The guy had this little microphone on his sweater and
6426-484: The performance as a "key stepping stone" for Radiohead in the US. Before a performance in Denver, Colorado, Radiohead's tour van was stolen and with it their musical equipment. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a stripped-down set with rented instruments and several shows were cancelled. Greenwood was reunited with his stolen Fender Telecaster Plus in 2015 after a fan recognised it as one they had purchased in Denver in
6528-451: The period as "eight weeks of hell and torture". According to Yorke, "We had days of painful self-analysis, a total fucking meltdown for two fucking months." O'Brien said each member examined their options for leaving their contracts. With the October deadline abandoned, recording paused in May and June while Radiohead toured Europe, Japan and Australasia. Work resumed for two weeks in July at
6630-399: The place and everything that went with it for us. — Thom Yorke , 1995 "The Bends" lyrics relate to topics including insecurity , loss of identity, social rejection , morbidity, indolence , faithlessness and stasis. Yorke said "The Bends" is addressed to all kinds of figures, particularly certain journalists who still cling to the Sixties trip, referring to the Britpop movement in
6732-414: The pre-verse. "The Bends" begins with sampled sounds before moving to a chord sequence played in unison by the three guitarists: Yorke; Jonny Greenwood ; and Ed O'Brien . During the second verse, Jonny briefly plays a counter-melody likened to the Smiths ' 1984 song " How Soon Is Now? ", and also plays a minor third . O'Brien described Jonny's guitar playing as "abusive". "The Bends" features
6834-408: The rest of civilization, who are just waiting for something to happen, too." In 2016, Fact named "The Bends" the 26th-greatest Radiohead song. In 2017, Pitchfork wrote that it "mopes in the mid-'90s zeitgeist 's shadow, mooring Britpop's social theatricality in grunge's grandiose alienation." Radio Hauraki named "The Bends" the 19th best song of the 1990s. Consequence ranked the track as
6936-602: The rest of the band used to build the final song. " High and Dry " was recorded the previous year at Courtyard Studios, Oxfordshire, by Radiohead's live sound engineer, Jim Warren. Yorke later said it was a "very bad" song that EMI had pressured him into releasing. " The Bends ", "(Nice Dream)" and "Just" were identified as potential singles and became the focus of the early sessions, which created tension. Leckie recalled: "We had to give those absolute attention, make them amazing, instant smash hits, number one in America. Everyone
7038-645: The same live tracks, while issued in Belgium by EMI Belgium in May 1996, included "Bones" as the second track. The artwork of the Belgian promo is the same as the artwork of The Bends . "The Bends" was included on the greatest hits album, Radiohead: The Best Of (2008). The original 4-track demo of "The Bends" was included on the compilation Long Live Tibet (1997), a charity album organised by Tibet House Trust for Tibetan people , and featuring artists including David Bowie and Björk , and bands such as Pulp , Blur and Kula Shaker alongside Radiohead. It
7140-621: The screen. In September 1994, EMI released the My Iron Lung EP, comprising "My Iron Lung" plus Bends outtakes. "My Iron Lung" was also released as a single. The A&R VP Perry Watts-Russel said EMI did not pursue radio play as "My Iron Lung" was intended for fans rather than as the lead single for The Bends . The Bends was released at the height of Britpop, when the British music charts were dominated by bands such as Oasis and Blur , and initially made little impact. It
7242-485: The second track on Radiohead's second album The Bends , released on 8 March 1995. It was included as the second track on the 1995 French reissue of "Creep" and the 1995 US 7-inch vinyl jukebox release of " Fake Plastic Trees ". More than a year after the release of The Bends , the title track was released as a single by Parlophone in Ireland on 26 July 1996, the same month Radiohead began recording their then-upcoming third album, OK Computer (1997). The single
7344-586: The song to the late music of the Beatles , while Arizona Daily Sun 's Christopher Burns referred to the Beatles' 1967 song " I Am the Walrus " in style and lyrics when focusing on "The Bends" opening line: "Where do we go from here?" PopMatters ' Colin Fitzgerald compared the song's "huge major" chords and "melodic vocal hook" to Oasis ' songs " Rock 'n' Roll Star " (1994) and " Some Might Say " (1995). "The Bends" contains five sections, making it one of
7446-429: The songs that Thom was writing were so much better. Over a period of a year and a half, suddenly, bang ." Kolderie credited Radiohead's Pablo Honey tours for "turning them into a tight band". To produce their next album, Radiohead selected John Leckie , who had produced records by acts they admired, such as Magazine . The drummer, Philip Selway , said Radiohead were reassured by how relaxed and open-minded Leckie
7548-452: The success and mounting expectations. Following the tours, the singer, Thom Yorke , became ill and Radiohead cancelled an appearance at the 1993 Reading Festival . He told NME : "Physically I'm completely fucked and mentally I've had enough." According to some reports, Radiohead's record company, EMI , gave them six months to "get sorted" or be dropped. EMI's A&R head, Keith Wozencroft, denied this, saying: "Experimental rock music
7650-490: The suicide of the Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in 1994, as he did not want listeners to believe it was an allusion to Cobain. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" was inspired by R.E.M. and the 1991 novel The Famished Road by Ben Okri ; the lyrics detail an escape from an oppressive reality. The journalist Rob Sheffield described "Street Spirit", "Planet Telex" and "High and Dry" as a "big-band dystopian epic". The Bends
7752-585: The surface quickly. Though Radiohead wrote "The Bends" in 1992, before "Creep" was released in September of that year, commentators interpreted the title as a comment on the success of "Creep"; others have commented that the song, particularly the line "I want to be part of the human race", feels like a sequel to "Creep", continuing the similar theme of social isolation . Though "Creep" brought Radiohead early success, it caused some critics to label them as one-hit wonders . The lyrical themes of "The Bends" were compared to those of songs such as " So You Want to Be
7854-460: The things that you don't want to talk about. It completely changed and we went back and did the album and it all made sense." The tour gave Radiohead a new sense of purpose and their relationships improved. Hufford encouraged them to make the album they wanted instead of worrying about "product and units". Recording ended in November 1994 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Selway said the album
7956-402: The tour for their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). That was in '97/'98 and Radiohead were a different band. I'm not saying they were extreme metal back then but nowadays they're more experimental . I'm not really into them as much as I used to be. But they did this record called The Bends and it's probably one of the best records that ever came out. We just wanted to do it as
8058-795: The version as "a passable but unremarkable cover and was quickly forgotten." The American jam band, Joe Russo's Almost Dead , performed a cover of the song at the Ritz in Raleigh , North Carolina on 31 October 2015. They performed it on other occasions in 2017 and 2018. In December 2020, the Irish singer, Rosie Carney , covered the song on her full cover album of The Bends . The English trip hop band, Massive Attack , sampled "The Bends" on their 2006 track "False Flags". All tracks are written by Radiohead ( Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood , Philip Selway ) Credits adapted from
8160-464: The videos for helping The Bends "gradually seep into people's consciousness". Colin Greenwood wrote later: "I spoke to so many music writers who'd received The Bends as a promo, left it to gather dust on top of their PC tower, and hadn't bothered to play it until word of mouth nudged them." By the end of 1996, The Bends had sold around two million copies worldwide. In the UK, it was certified platinum in February 1996 for sales of over 300,000, and
8262-471: Was limited to only 2,000 copies and included live versions of " My Iron Lung " and "Bones", both recorded at the London Forum on 24 March 1995. The single reached number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart on 1 August 1996, staying for only one week. It was later made available for purchase on Amazon . The accompanying artwork features a graphic of an inhaler created by Stanley Donwood and Yorke;
8364-423: Was "an incredibly personal album, which is why I spent most of my time denying that it was personal at all". The album title, a term for decompression sickness , references Radiohead's rapid rise to fame with "Creep". Yorke said, "We just came up too fast." In "Fake Plastic Trees", Yorke laments the effects of consumerism on modern relationships. It was inspired by the commercial development of Canary Wharf and
8466-436: Was a bit odd. I was completely taking the piss when I wrote it. Then the joke started wearing a bit thin." Radiohead also performed "The Bends" live numerous times prior to release. Bassist Colin Greenwood described the song as a "perennial hardy annual of a live favourite, faithfully committed live to tape." In 1992, Radiohead recorded a 4-track demo for "The Bends" during the Pablo Honey sessions. Yorke introduced
8568-476: Was a solid answer, complete with military-industrial-complex imagery that still seems more playfully absurd than the deadly serious." "The Bends" is one of Radiohead's most performed songs and was described as a fan favourite by New York . It was the first song Radiohead performed from The Bends . The song was first performed at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, Scotland in May 1992, four months before
8670-572: Was certified quadruple platinum in July 2013. According to Hufford, American audiences were disappointed by the lack of a "Creep"-style song on The Bends . In response, Capitol chose "Fake Plastic Trees" as the first US single, to further distance Radiohead from "Creep". It failed to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 , but reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart . "Just", released in the UK on August 21, reached number 19. It
8772-588: Was completely turned on its head. Like the idea that you get to a certain level and you lose it. Everything was amicable and there was no bitchiness or pettiness about it." The American tour included a performance at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concert at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, alongside Oasis , Alanis Morissette , No Doubt and Porno for Pyros . The Capitol employee Clark Staub described
8874-501: Was getting played and had commercial potential. People voice different paranoias, but for the label [Radiohead] were developing brilliantly from Pablo Honey ." After Radiohead finished recording Pablo Honey , Yorke played the co-producer Paul Q. Kolderie a demo tape of new material with the working title The Benz . Kolderie was shocked to find the songs were " all better than anything on Pablo Honey ". The guitarist Ed O'Brien later said: "After all that touring on Pablo Honey ...
8976-574: Was going: 'Yeah, keep it up, keep it up.' So I ran out and taped it." "The Bends" was mixed by Sean Slade and Kolderie, who produced Pablo Honey and mixed most of The Bends , with additional mixing by Leckie. "The Bends" has been described as an alternative rock , hard rock , Britpop , grunge , and post-grunge song, with elements of arena rock , neo-psychedelia , and experimental rock . It contains classic rock guitar riffs, distortion effects and "soaring" vocals, and draws on Queen influences. The Gazette 's Bill Reed likened
9078-730: Was included on Live at the Astoria (1995) and the 2009 reissue of The Bends "Special Collectors Edition" on DVD. On 26 June, the band performed it for their set at the 1994 Glastonbury Festival . In March 1995, they performed "The Bends" at the London Forum. On 27 May, Radiohead performed it on the TV show Later... with Jools Holland ; this performance was included on the compilation ...Later Volume One: Brit Beat , released in September 1996. The version lasts three minutes and 53 seconds. The album also features Britpop bands such as Oasis, Suede, Supergrass and Elastica . The performance
9180-512: Was included on the 2009 DVD "Special Collectors Edition" reissue. In 2017, The Telegraph named the performance the sixth-greatest in the history of the show. Radiohead also performed "The Bends" on MTV 's program 120 Minutes in March 1996. "The Bends" was included on the setlists of the OK Computer tour, including the televised performance at the 1997 Glastonbury Festival in June,
9282-450: Was intended to be humorous, with lyrics such as "I want to be part of the human race" and the recurring lines "I wish it was the Sixties / I wish I could be happy". Yorke was irritated that the humour was overlooked; he was repeatedly asked in interviews if he really wished it was the 1960s. Jazz Monroe of NME regarded the song as "a fame-weary anthem that fired shots at '60s-worshipping Britpop." Scott Wilson of Fact interpreted
9384-470: Was not released as a single in the US, but its music video, directed by Jamie Thraves , received attention there. The next US single, the double A-side "High and Dry" and "Planet Telex", reached number 78. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", released in January 1996, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, surpassing "Creep" and demonstrating that Radiohead were not one-hit wonders . "The Bends"
9486-462: Was on their first meeting. According to O'Brien, the success of "Creep" meant that Radiohead were not in debt to EMI and so had more freedom on their next album. EMI asked Radiohead to deliver a followup to "Creep" for the American market; however, according to Leckie, Radiohead had disowned "Creep" and did not "think in terms of making hit singles". Recording was postponed so Leckie could work on
9588-403: Was one of the songs selected as a potential follow-up single to " Creep " during the album recording. It was initially recorded at RAK Studios in London in sessions that took place from February to May 1994, and then re-recorded at the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, where the band spent two weeks working on The Bends in July. According to drummer Philip Selway , the song was recorded in
9690-477: Was oversensitive and told him he did not invent "guys singing in falsetto with an acoustic guitar". In 2000, in a vote of more than 200,000 music fans and journalists, The Bends was named the second-greatest album of all time behind Revolver (1966) by the Beatles . Q readers voted it the second-best album in 1998 and 2006, behind OK Computer . Colin Larkin named it the second-best album of all time in
9792-411: Was pulling their hair out saying, 'It's not good enough!' We were trying too hard." Yorke in particular struggled with the pressure, and Radiohead's co-manager Chris Hufford considered quitting, citing Yorke's "mistrust of everybody". Jonny Greenwood spent days testing new guitar equipment, searching for a distinctive sound, before reverting to his Telecaster . The bassist, Colin Greenwood , described
9894-429: Was recorded in about four months total. Leckie mixed some of The Bends at Abbey Road. With deadlines approaching, EMI grew concerned that he was taking too long. Without his knowledge, they sent tracks to Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie , who had produced Pablo Honey , to mix instead. Leckie disliked their mixes, finding them "brash", but later said: "I went through a bit of trauma at the time, but maybe they chose
9996-548: Was released as a single in Ireland and reached number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart in August 1996. Radiohead toured extensively for The Bends , with performances in North America, Europe and Japan. They first toured in support of Soul Asylum , then R.E.M., one of their formative influences and one of the world's biggest rock bands at the time. Yorke said about the tour with R.E.M: "Everything that we've come to expect
10098-515: Was released in Japan on 8 March 1995 by EMI, and in the UK on 13 March by Parlophone Records . It spent 16 weeks on the UK Albums Chart , reaching number four. On the same day as the UK release, Radiohead's performance at the London Astoria in May 1994 was released on VHS as Live at the Astoria , including several Bends tracks. In the US, The Bends was released on 4 April by EMI's North American subsidiary, Capitol Records . According to
10200-533: Was slow. After an international tour in May and June, Radiohead resumed work at Abbey Road in London and the Manor in Oxfordshire. The Bends was the first Radiohead album recorded with Godrich and the artist Stanley Donwood , who have worked on every Radiohead album since. Several singles were released, backed by music videos: " My Iron Lung ", the double A-side " High and Dry / Planet Telex ", " Fake Plastic Trees ", " Just ", and Radiohead's first top-five entry on
10302-529: Was the first Radiohead album with artwork by Stanley Donwood . Donwood met Yorke while they were students at the University of Exeter , and previously created artwork for the My Iron Lung EP. With Yorke, Donwood has created all of Radiohead's artwork since. For The Bends , Yorke and Donwood hired a cassette camera and filmed objects including road signs, packaging and street lights. They entered
10404-492: Was the point in trying to add something more?" " Planet Telex " began with a drum loop taken from another song, the B-side "Killer Cars", and was written and recorded in a single evening at RAK. "(Nice Dream)" began as a simple four-chord song by Yorke, and was expanded with extra parts by O'Brien and Greenwood. Much of " Just " was written by Greenwood, who, according to Yorke, "was trying to get as many chords as he could into
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