A complete collection of Thom Yorke’s favourite songs
Thom Yorke is a complicated man. He has one of the most exciting and innovative musical minds on the planet, and yet also seems to be someone who resents his own success. He never intended to be tied to one specific sound or genre, and as a result, when a song becomes a classic, he tries to move away from it. This happened with their initial hit ‘Creep’, and his career since has been attempting to deliver quality music that is laced with variety. Suffice it to say, he’s succeeded pretty well in this regard.
Jack Black put it well when he was talking about his favourite Radiohead album; he highlighted the versatility on display when you listen to the band’s entire discography. “If you want concept, you go OK Computer,” he said. “But if you wanna rock – if you want straight-up fucking songs – you go The Bends. The first few listens, I was like, ‘I don’t understand… My brain’s not computing…’ Then it clicked in: ‘Ohhhhh, I see! It’s the best band in the history of rock!’”
Of course, Yorke’s versatile style doesn’t start and stop at Radiohead, either. The work he has done since the band’s hiatus with The Smile and working with other artists has ensured that people are never waiting too long for the frontman’s next masterpiece. Every single piece of music that he is responsible for has its own personality and style. Long story short, he’s an exciting musician to be a fan of.
It won’t surprise you to hear that, given he has such a versatile style, he also listens to a wide range of songs. His taste spans all realms of the musical universe, as he listens far and wide, picking up on whatever nuggets of genius he finds on the way. Here is your definitive list of all of Thom Yorke’s favourite songs, from the ones he likes to listen to, to those he made himself.
All of Thom Yorke’s favourite songs:
The song Thom Yorke called the greatest of all time
There are a number of different elements that make Thom Yorke’s music so good, but one of the most standout aspects is his ability to create a textured atmosphere in everything he does. As such, his favourite song of all time is one that perfectly shows how well atmosphere can contribute to the beauty of a track. He found this in Björk’s ‘Unravel’.
The song was released in 1997 as part of her 1997 record Homogenic, and it might be one of the best songs she’s ever written. By using different samples, electronic effects and a saxophone, she creates an atmosphere so thick you could tie it in knots. Yorke loved the song so much that he said he wanted to cover it.
“I’m trying to get Radiohead to do a cover,” he said. “Because I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.” The band did their own version a year later, which might not top the original, but it certainly is a moving tribute.
The eight songs that Thom Yorke couldn’t live without
When Yorke appeared on the iconic Desert Island Discs, he was really given the chance to flaunt his versatile taste in music. With songs from classic to electronic to rock, there is so much on display here for listeners to get their teeth into, and all of it reverts back to the exciting mixture of styles that Radiohead have since become famous for.
One of the bands he credited the most with helping him understand his tone of voice as a musician was REM. “When I was a kid, they were the link for me between the art student part of me and the musician part of me,” he said when discussing their song ‘Talk About The Passion’, “Michael Stipe, the singer of REM, was my hero, and now I’m friends with him, you know? It’s an odd thing!”
– Maurice Ravel – ‘Le Jardin féerique’
– Scott Walker – ‘It’s Raining Today’
– Talking Heads – ‘Born Under Punches’
– Squarepusher & AFX – ‘Freeman Hard and Willis Acid’
– Neil Young – ‘After The Gold Rush’
– REM – ‘Talk About The Passion’
– Sidney Bechet and His New Orleans Feetwarmers – ‘Blue Horizon’
– Nina Simone – ‘Lilac Wine’
Thom Yorke’s favourite Radiohead song
Yorke has never been a stranger to criticising his own music, especially the songs that fans liked the most. It begs the question: As a man who is constantly pushing himself creatively, is there a song that he has made that he likes the most? The quick answer is yes. When asked about his favourite Radiohead song, Yorke replied that it was ‘How To Disappear Completely’.
This is arguably one of the more vulnerable songs that Radiohead put out, and Yorke admitted he felt as though it was “The most beautiful thing we ever did.” Interestingly, Michael Stipe’s influence on Yorke didn’t stop with just his music; it was following a conversation with the REM frontman that Yorke was inspired to write this song.
“I just said, ‘That’s it. I can’t take it anymore’. And more than a year later, we were still on the road,” recalled Yorke, “I hadn’t had time to address things. The lyrics came from something Michael Stipe said to me. I rang him and said, ‘I cannot cope with this.’ And he said, ‘Pull the shutters down and keep saying, ‘I’m not here, this is not happening.’”
The floating feeling throughout the song directly results from that phone call. Yorke fell asleep afterwards and had a dream that he was floating. The song is subsequently his attempt to recreate that sensation in the best way he could. “I dreamt I was floating down the Liffey and there was nothing I could do,” he said, “I was flying around Dublin and I really was in the Dream. The whole song is my experiences of really floating.”
