The most depressing Radiohead song, according to science
Few bands have catalogues as full of sadness as Radiohead’s. From the social alienation of ‘Creep’ to the twinkling melodies of ‘No Surprises’, their lyrics and accompanying instrumentals are drenched in melancholy. Over nine albums and three decades, Radiohead brought sonic sadness into the mainstream.
Somehow, their lyrical themes of social outcast, mental illness, and contemporary anxieties struck a chord with audiences. Radiohead became both the go-to sad band and one of the most influential rock outfits of all time. While many have felt seen or comforted by Radiohead’s output, some have been unable to get behind the depression that runs throughout their lyrics and soundscapes.
Frontman Thom Yorke once spoke out about those who deem their music too depressing, stating that he finds it “offensive”. In a 2003 interview with Musique Plus, he explained: “The reason I find it offensive is that – to me – implies that to suffer from depression is like being subnormal, or that it’s a stigma, which it shouldn’t be, because there are an awful lot of people that suffer from depression.”
Yorke continued to speak out about depression, sharing: “And it shouldn’t be something that is like an ultimate swear word because I suffer from it and a lot of people suffer from it. It should be something that’s openly discussed and accepted.”
Yorke’s own suffering has bled into his music, as he explains: “I have to make music, sometimes, when I’m in that frame of mind because I suffer from it. But actually, sometimes it’s not suffering. Sometimes it’s a bonus but sometimes it is a mental illness.”
The frontman concludes: “I really have a problem with people who dismiss art or music on the grounds that it’s depressing, because a lot of creative power is from that feeling.”
The creative power of mental illness can certainly be felt in Radiohead’s discography – but which song takes the title for their most depressing? Charlie Thompson, a data scientist and engineering consultant, once calculated the answer to this question according to data science. Using Spotify’s Web Api, Thompson used valence metrics and lyrical density to calculate each track’s “gloom index”.
The findings are, perhaps, to be expected by any seasoned Radiohead fan. The band’s 2016 record, A Moon Shaped Pool, received the title of the gloomiest album, with its final track, ‘True Love Waits’, being named the saddest song in their catalogue. It received a gloom index score of just one, while the happiest song, ‘15 Step’ from In Rainbows, received 100.
‘True Love Waits’ illustrates the creative power of sadness that Yorke so staunchly defends. Blending devastating piano with Yorke’s heartbreaking vocals, it might be Radiohead’s most depressing track, but it’s also one of their most powerful.
