B-Sides, Rare Gems, and Experimental Stuff from Radiohead, OH MY!

Upon the release of “OK Computer” in July 1997, no band was garnering more acclaim than Radiohead did that year. By early 1998, the band was already achieving worldwide success as their previous albums “The Bends” and “Pablo Honey” were also selling at a numerous pace. For the more devoted, hardcore fans, the band was also selling huge numbers in singles, mainly for the band’s B-sides. The B-sides by Radiohead were becoming very popular with fans, especially in their home country of Britain and in the U.S. Radiohead decided to release an EP for U.S. fans that not only collected some of the band’s B-sides from the singles of “OK Computer” but also the album’s opener “Airbag” and a new song they recorded on the road. The band released the EP in early 1998 called “Airbag/How Am I Driving?”.

The “Airbag/How Am I Driving?” EP is a seven-track EP filled with the same, stratospheric rock that was featured in “OK Computer” but also showcased the band’s more experimental sound that would become more viable for 2000’s “Kid A”. With the B-sides and the new track “Pearly” recorded with longtime producer Nigel Godrich, the EP gives fans a glimpse of Radiohead at their most experimental approach. Though some thought the new album was a transitional record that would lead to the experiments of “Kid A”, in hindsight, it’s really more of a B-sides collection since the experiments were more guitar-driven than the later works Radiohead would put out for “Kid A” and “Amnesiac”. The EP isn’t really viable towards more casual fans that enjoy the band for the singles. The record is really something hardcore fans can enjoy.

The record begins with the sprawling opener “Airbag” as Thom Yorke’s droning guitar opens the song with Ed O’ Brien’s soft, melodic guitar jangle accompanies Phil Selway’s machine-like live drums as Yorke sings, “In the next world war/In a jackknifed juggernaut/I am born again/In the neon sign scrolling up and down/I am born again” as Colin Greenwood’s melodic bass lines plays throughout the track to brother Jonny’s spacey keyboards as Yorke sings the chorus of “In an interstellar burst, I’m back to save the universe”. With its complex, guitar structures, “Airbag” becomes an enigmatic opener with its array of guitar layers that is followed in the second verse of the song as Jonny Greenwood plays an evocative guitar solo as Yorke sings, “In a deep, deep sleep of the innocent/I am born again/In a fast, German car/I’m amazed that I survived/An airbag saved my life” as he goes into the chorus followed by another Greenwood solo and a scratchy coda of machine-like beats from Selway and Colin Greenwood’s pulsating bass lines textured with the layers of guitars ranging from melodic, jangle to more droning, dissonant riffs as “Airbag” like the way it opened “OK Computer” starts thing off with a bang. (Note: This is the same paragraph from the “OK Computer” review with a few edits for this review of the “Airbag” EP).

We now go to the new song for the EP called “Pearly”. With its droning guitars, and bass-pounding rhythms, “Pearly” brings out the quirky experiments of Radiohead as Yorke sings, “How’d you get your teeth, so pearly/Dew drop dentures/White washed faces/She runs from the third world, pearly” as he screams with Ed O’ Brien and Jonny Greenwood’s guitars come squealing with Phil Selway’s thunderous drums and Colin Greenwood’s throbbing bass lines. Yorke then sings strange lyrics that are both mind-bending and obtuse as he sings, “Vanilla (feel it crawl to me)/Milkshakes (crawl back again)/From Hard Rock (whatever you say)/Cafes (it won’t go away)/That’s where (I feel it crawl to me)/She got her (crawls back again)/Sweet tooth (it won’t go away)/For white boys (whatever you say)” as he sings the last line from the first verse. After a brief instrumental break, he then sings, “Hurts me/Darling hurts me/(repeat last line 2 more times) as Selway brings a bass-throbbing beat to the layers of melodic guitar textures from Yorke, O’Brien, and Jonny Greenwood.

“Meeting In The Aisle” is an eerie, instrumental piece with ominous, reverb guitar riffs from O’Brien and Yorke as Selway plays a thumping, drum machine track to Jonny Greenwood’s sprinkling keyboard tracks. Colin Greenwood then brings in a melodic bass track to the track’s atmospheric, complex track filled with chiming, reverb guitar riffs and machine-like beats as it serves an early precursor to the experiments of “Kid A”. “A Reminder” is a slow, brooding ballad with washy guitars, flourishing keyboards from Jonny Greenwood, and strange background voices sampled by Nigel Godrich. With Selway’s soft, echoing bass beats, and Colin Greenwood’s soft, ominous bass lines, Yorke sings, “If I get old, I will not give in/But if I do, remind me of this/Remind me that, once I was free/Once I was cool, once I was me/And if I sat down and crossed my arms/Hold me until this song”. The track then begins a momentum-based track as it prepares for something grand as Yorke sings, “Knock me out/Smashed out my brains/If I take the chair and start to talk sh*t”. Then a powerful cymbal crash from Selway and flourishing keyboards from Jonny Greenwood as O’Brien brings out a noisy, dissonant guitar track as Yorke continues to sing bleak lyrics filled with references to aging and nostalgia as he sings, “If I get old, remind me of this/That night we kissed and I really meant it/Whatever happens if were still speaking/Pick up the phone, play me this song”.

Next is the two-part mini-epic of “Polyethylene” which is a strange two-part epic that stands at four-and-a-half minutes. The first part begins with Thom Yorke playing a melodic, acoustic guitar track as he sings, “Tears of joy, we’ll scare ourselves/Of all that you wanna be/Just got paid and now you’re going/How long should you be/If I get scared, I’ll just call you/And I miss your glow as I unsettle/Oh and I’ll always feel/I will always be”. The first part stops as the band counts down to the second part. Led by a swooning organ track and melodic guitar textures until Phil Selway’s powerful drums crash in with Yorke, O’ Brien, and Jonny Greenwood’s blistering guitars descend towards the song. Yorke sings lyrics that to this day is unclear on what he is saying as the only part of song that is clear is when he sings, “Polyethylene/There is no significant risk to your health/She used to be beautiful once as well/Plastic bag, middle class, polyethylene” as Jonny Greenwood plays a brilliant and evocative guitar solo in the song’s coda as Yorke screams in his wailing vocals.

“Melatonin” is a short, two-minute ballad with Jonny Greenwood leading on a smooth, spacey synthesizer that harkens the days of David Bowie’s 1977 masterpiece “Low”, an album that would be prevalent on “Kid A”. Yorke then sings, “Don’t forget that you are our son/Now go back to bed”. Phil Selway comes in with a throbbing drum track as Yorke continues to sing his obtuse lyrics of “We just know that you are ours/You won’t cry too hard/Death to all who stand in your way/Wave my arms you”.

The closer for the EP is the futuristic “Palo Alto” with its array of references to technology including the city itself, since it is the home for Xerox and other corporations. With its scratchy, feedback-driven guitars, Yorke sings his futuristic lyrics of “In a city of the future/It is difficult to concentrate/Meet the boss, meet the wife/Everybody’s happy/Everyone is made for life”. The guitars then go into a blistering mode as Phil Selway and Colin Greenwood play a thunderous rhythm as the song goes back and forth to space-driven textures to more rocking structures. Yorke returns to space mode as he sings, “In a city of the future/It is difficult to find space/I’m too busy to see you/You’re too busy to wait”. The song goes back to rocking mode for the chorus of “But I’m okay, how are you/Thanks for asking, thanks for asking/But I’m okay, how are you/I hope you’re okay too”. During the rocking mode, Ed O’Brien belts out melodic guitar textures to Jonny Greenwood’s more abrasive, scratchy guitars as it returns to the space-mode as Yorke sings, “Everyone, one of those days/When the sky’s California blue/With a beautiful bombshell/I throw myself lazy to work/I’m too lazy, I’ve been kidding myself for so long”. The song then returns to its rocking chorus as the EP ends.

Upon its spring 1998 release, Radiohead’s EP drew similar raves from critics who were still going nuts over “OK Computer” and found the EP to be a preview of what might come. Later on, the critics realized that it was just another experimental release that was still enjoyable. American fans loved the EP, particularly since 1998 was an uninspiring year for music. The “Airbag/How Am I Driving?” EP helped increase the hardcore following for Radiohead as fans began to pick up their singles just for the brilliant B-sides. Radiohead at this point, were beginning to grow overwhelmed with the success of “OK Computer” and by the end of 1998, the band took a break. Today, the “Airbag/How Am I Driving?” EP is now hard to find in the U.S. as the record only showed a brief outlook on what they would do for “Kid A”. Even with the new album “Hail to the Thief” ready to arrive in June, the “Airbag/How Am I Driving?” EP is an enjoyable EP for hardcore fans as they probably now has all their B-sides on a burnt disc. Casual fans of the band will look into this record as well since the B-sides alone are worth the money as Radiohead can put out some gems when you least expect it.

Other Radiohead Reviews:

Pablo Honey (1993)

http://www.epinions.com/content_95348559492

The Bends (1995)

http://www.epinions.com/content_95871995524

OK Computer (1997)

http://www.epinions.com/content_96662949508

I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (2001)

http://www.epinions.com/content_92662173316