I like Radiohead either in spite of, or because of, the fact I have no idea what Thom Yorke is ever talking about. In fact, I heard a rumor that the lyrics for at least one of the songs off Kid A (I want to say "Morning Bell" after doing some quick Wikipedia research) was written by pulling phrases out of a hat. There's something about chickens in "Paranoid Android," and I don't have a fucking clue what it has to do with anything. But Yorke's vocals are often more important when viewed as wonderfully beautiful accompaniments to the music, almost as if used as another instrument (cf: "Let Down" and "How to Disappear Completely").
When In Rainbows came out, I wasn't drawn to it immediately. Everyone, or at least the three people I heard talk about it, said that the album was a return to the more "rocking" Radiohead. Which I have very little use for. I rarely listen to the earlier albums, and I actually don't care for "Just." Sorry. But after a half dozen or so listens, the album finally clicked for me, and I realized its awesomeness. I didn't even mind that the lyrics are less vague and more immediately accessible than the more recent albums, thus placing more emphasis on the words spoken as opposed to the melody produced.
Except for one song. "House of Cards." Big Problems with "House of Cards." From listening to the lyrics, the song's about Yorke trying to sleep with his friend's wife at a key party. You know, like they had in the 70's. Good times. Anyway, the lyrics are a little unsettling for a few reasons. Here's a snippet:
I don't want to be your friendI don't care for songs that that are quite so blatant. Lyrics such as "I wanna lube you up and sex you down," or something to that effect, always make me feel uncomfortable when I hear them, regardless of the source. And coming from someone who often has lyrics as esoteric as, "Ice age coming, Let me hear both sides, Ice age coming, Throw them in the fire," the intimacy he forces on us is all the more jarring.
I just want to be your lover
No matter how it ends
No matter how it starts
...
Throw your keys in the bowl
Kiss your husband goodnight
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
And let's not forget this is Thom Yorke. In case you have no idea, here he is:
That's right. The man singing about how he wants to fuck you, even though you're married, is the retarded man's Clay Aiken. The imagery alone we all just experienced made you jealous of Helen Keller, didn't it. So please, Thom, let's go back to the lyrics where we're creeped out by you because you're singing in a way that makes us existentially scared, and not because you're singing about what would most likely be the most awkward sex ever. Kthxbye!
23 comments:
Funny and true. I, too, appreciate the ambiguous nature of his lyrics and find it a bit unsettling with his Color Me Badd inspired sex song. Is he talking about an actual key party or just the generic cheating-on-spouse-with-friends-spouse scenario. Either way, kind of gross.
Yeah. I heard when he wrote, "Such a pretty house, what a pretty garden" he was literally looking through a copy of Home & Garden magazine too.
You'd be surprised how many chicks dig Thom Yorke. (*raises hand*) He is definitely not "good looking." But, he has a larger than life persona that makes him attractive. It's kinda like how Seal has all those scars on his face, but is still conserdered sexy.
1st id like to say i completely agree with you, second, is thom yorke married?
^^ what an ass, people cant stand giving anyone credit for anything, I'd like to see you write song with such magnitude and beauty.
Amanda: Don't get me wrong. Thom Yorke is a brilliant songwriter. I tried to make it clear how much love I have for Radiohead in the post, and I'll say this: give me a thousand years and unlimited resources, and I would never write anything half as beautiful as Kid A. Ever. Just this song strikes me the very wrong way.
It's not like "House of Cards" is a happy song, for god's sake. I'm pretty sure that he's implying that that whole scene is depressing.
hey, i really like your writing. fairly level-headed and unbullshitty(...yeah). anyways, agree with ye in most of it but when your talkin about it being jarringly personal i tink it just affirms him as an artist. its a fairly common technique to make the listener/reader/viewer buck up and pay attention! push you out of a comfort-zone to make u appreciate it more etc. anyway, i was the same, took me a while but could listen to this whole album on repeat an just chill for the day, its fantastic.keep writing, talk t ye
You have not been paying attention, paying attention, paying attention, paying attention!!! I try to sing along, but I get it all wrong, cuz I'm not, cuz I'm not....
That picture isn't fair. It's a rather bad one, but in some of his interviews he can be veryyy attractive.
I know that when a song strikes ME the wrong way I make a point to make fun of the musical genius who wrote it for being different. Because I can't stand differents.
Must be really disappointing when an incredibly innovative singer/songwriter doesn't write something to your criteria.
I think I ran into thom york today. Does he have a house in munich? Is his wife or girlefriend german?
Thom Yorke is very attractive as a MAN, because he has a huge deal of unsophisticated raw CHARISMA written all over him. His looks don't even matter. At all. His creativity, intensiveness, passion and mindblowing talent also makes him beautiful.
But I agree re House of cards. I also prefer his (their) more unsettling, knife-sharp, intense and deep stuff.
I don't think the song is necessarily talking about sleeping with someone. If you think about how involved Thom Yorke is in the climate change scene, the song can also be interpreted as showing how people treat the earth. "I don't want to be your friend; I just want to be your lover" is a description of how debauch peoples' relationship with the earth is. Humans abuse resources, pollute the atmosphere, and cause species of animals to go extinct all for the sake of humanity. Humans basically fuck the earth. "Throw your keys in the bowl / kiss your husband goodnight" is an example of how aloof and unaware people are of the harm they are doing to the planet. And now the other lines such as "Infrastructure will collapse" make a little more sense.
Come on, this picture is totally unfair. Personally, I find Thom amazingly attractive and sexy. And I'm not judging him by photos. Like someone before me said: he can be really attractive in interviews. I think that his voice grabs women hearts too.
"House of cards" - for me it's one of these songs which are too beautiful to be ruined by bad lyrics, though I really don't think that Thom wanted to show in this song how much he wants to "fuck" someone. Of course he used the word "I" a lot, but he might be describing someone else's feelings, not his. I don't think that "House of cards" is one of Radiohead's best songs, but I wouldn't treat it as something that was supposed to show how much Thom wants sex.
To the commenters (presumably women) above, it's very annoying to read about how and why you all think Thom Yorke is attractive. Men are very visual people. We are attracted to the sight of a women, while women are attracted to ideas of certain men. To the author: When singers of bands sing, they do it for the band. Thom Yorke may have not even written the lyrics. I don't know if I remember, but the song didn't sound sexual to me.
Thom Yorke does not need to be good looking to make music. He's attractive for me and for many other women who have listened to his work.
He's a quiet person but its interesting to think about what could be going on in his head. I dont find that song sexual either, its a story
Bootleg, "That new album", and saying you have no idea what he's talking about. You apparently propose that you do indeed enjoy their music yet you are downgraded him and his music in this article. It seems more like you only say you enjoy their music to try and appease to the readers. It really isn't that difficult to understand him if you simply stop to listen. To me, taking dozens of listens through an album to stat understanding it sounds like a rather close-minded person. Mostly upon reading this article. Why would you even want to start a rumor like that? Just because a song says "I" or "me" doesn't mean he literally did it. Song's are lyrical and can be like telling a story. Such as writing a novel in 1st person doesn't mean the author did all those things but is speaking through that character. "Singing about how he wants to fuck you." is extremely disrespectful besides even calling him the retarded Clay Aiken. There is uncertainty that you actually considered the song is more about just wanting to "Fuck." The picture alone is like you are purposely trying to downgrade him. Google his name and thousands of much better looking pictures pop up yet you picked one of the worst photos. Last I knew when someone enjoyed an artist they didn't negatively represent them unless they really do not understand or enjoy the artist. If it's not your style of music then so be it, but to disregard being kind to others just because it's the internet is sad. Celebrities do check the internet and it is tempting to click on something you see your name in. Very unwelcoming to see people just throwing all these things on you without even knowing you. By the way, multiple women have been caught flirting with Thom Yorke and he just walked away. He has two kids with a long-time girlfriend and seems doubtful to be writing just about "Fucking you." Even the ending of your article in "Kthxbye" isn't exactly mature. Yes it's a blog but some people read this like actual articles or they can upset people. I'm not sure why people find it easier to be cruel just because they can't see someone's reaction. If you can type this on a blog then you should be able to say it to Thom Yorke's face.
I don't think the song is necessarily talking about sleeping with someone. If you think about how involved Thom Yorke is in the climate change scene, the song can also be interpreted as showing how people treat the earth. "I don't want to be your friend; I just want to be your lover" is a description of how debauch peoples' relationship with the earth is. Humans abuse resources, pollute the atmosphere, and cause species of animals to go extinct all for the sake of humanity. Humans basically fuck the earth. "Throw your keys in the bowl / kiss your husband goodnight" is an example of how aloof and unaware people are of the harm they are doing to the planet. And now the other lines such as "Infrastructure will collapse" make a little more sense.
- who ever wrote this, THANK YOU.
This makes me really indignant, I expected alot of upset comments and more explanations. And you guys talk about that pic etc, and agree what this dumb person text with preposterous analyse of the lyric.
ps; English is not my first language, so you're gonna waste your time if you gonna comment my misspellings etc
Thom is INCREDIBLY attractive, for all reasons mentioned above. Then throw in the way he moves. Mmmmmmmm. I love all his music and he can sing about whatever he wants because it's all amazing and beautiful. Not to mention he's committed and so am I, and the idea of having a chance to sleep with him makes me quite happy
Thom has explained that he is not refering to himself in House of Cards. He is just fascinated with the Swingers parties from the 70's and 80's.
Oh and I would do him in a second.
i would sooo do thom he's just my type. i'm not into looks as much as i am intellect and personality. and btw whether he's singing about wanting to fuck someone or someone fucking someone else he's gonna do with swagger and style and he won't give a shit about what anyone (haters) has to say about it because he knows that his TRUE fans will appreciate his genius.
By the same logic you would probably think "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" is along the same lines, but it's not. I'll leave it to you to hopefully figure what it's really about. And if that song isn't really about an orgy, then don't you think the same could be true about House of Cards? It don't matter bootleg this and been a fan since that, if you haven't figured out that when he sings about ABC he's really singing about XYZ, then back to the drawing board for you.
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