‘How to Disappear Completely’: the Radiohead song inspired by Michael Stipe
Radiohead’s fourth studio album, Kid A, came as somewhat of a surprise to fans and critics upon its release. Following the success of 1997’s OK Computer, a landmark record that received widespread acclaim, Radiohead were up against a significant amount of pressure to deliver another spectacular album. The band were heralded for revitalising rock music, and critics assumed a continuation of OK Computer would follow. Yet the Oxfordshire band proved everyone wrong, delivering Kid A, heavily inspired by electronic and ambient music.
Radiohead incorporated modular synthesisers, brass, strings, an Odnes Martenot and manipulated their guitars with computer software. Lyrically, Thom Yorke gravitated towards abstract phrases, inspired by David Byrne’s approach to writing Talking Heads’ Remain in Light. Yorke incorporated spliced-up phrases, often referencing the mundane and cliche. The band did not include the lyrics in the album’s liner notes, believing them to be unimportant when considered outside of their place in each song.
Opening with ‘Everything in Its Right Place’, Yorke’s voice is morphed and modified via a computer as moody synths play in the background. A rock outburst comes in the form of ‘The National Anthem’, yet the track is imbued with a significant experimental free jazz influence. The band took inspiration from jazz musician Charles Mingus and the German krautrockers Can – whose influence can be heard in the repetitive rhythms. Although Kid A divided opinions upon its release, with some listeners believing the project to be pretentious and others heralding it a modern masterpiece, these days, there is almost unanimous agreement that the album falls into the latter category.
Kid A’s beauty lies in its ability to capture emotion through its instrumentation, no matter how minimal or chaotic. One of the album’s standout moments is ‘How to Disappear Completely’, which sees Radiohead reach one of their highest emotional peaks. Yorke’s voice sounds desperate as he sings over the top of soaring strings, lyrically detailing his experience with mental health issues whilst touring. During the OK Computer tour in 1997, the band played their then-biggest show to date in Dublin, which was marred by rainy weather conditions. The show inspired a dream Yorke had about being pursued by a tidal wave down Dublin’s River Liffey. “I dreamt I was floating down the Liffey, and there was nothing I could do. I was flying around Dublin, and I really was in the dream. The whole song is my experiences of really floating.”
The band’s 1997 Glastonbury performance also inspired the song, with Yorke claiming he almost decided not to go ahead with the show. He explained, “I just needed a break. And in fact, I didn’t get one for another year and a bit, by which point I was pretty much catatonic.”
The heartbreaking chorus lyrics, in which Yorke sings, “I’m not here/ This isn’t happening”, were inspired by advice given to the musician by his friend Michael Stipe of R.E.M. During a phone conversation, Stipe had advised Yorke on dealing with tour stress by telling him to repeat the phrase “I’m not here, this isn’t happening” to himself. In turn, ‘How To Disappear Completely’ inspired Stipe to pen ‘Disappear’ from R.E.M.’s 2001 album Reveal.
Listen to ‘How to Disappear Completely’ below.
