"No Surprises" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released as the third and final single from the group's 1997 album OK Computer. It was accompanied by a music video that featured a single shot of singer Thom Yorke's head in a plastic bubble filling with water. The single peaked at number four in the United Kingdom. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 107 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[1]
It was featured in the episode "Broken" of the television series House when Dr. House was in rehab.
[edit] Origin and recording
Radiohead wrote "No Surprises" while touring with the band R.E.M. in 1995.[2] "No Surprises" was the first song Radiohead recorded on the first day of recording sessions for OK Computer. The version of the song on the album is the first take recorded. Singer Thom Yorke commented, "We did endless versions afterwards [...] and they were all just covers of the first version. So we gave up and went back to [the original]."[3]
[edit] Composition
The lyrics originally told the story of a man who has become fed up with the way things are working out for him and is having problems with his girlfriend. Two lines from this version are, "He was sick of her excuses / To not take off her dress when bleedin' in the bathroom."
[edit] Release
"No Surprises" was released as the third single from OK Computer on 12 January 1998.[4] The single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart.[5]
[edit] Music video
The music video for "No Surprises" was directed by Grant Gee. The video consists solely of a single close-up shot of Thom Yorke's head inside an astronaut-style dome helmet. The lyrics are shown throughout the entire song slowly scrolling upwards but mirrored, as they are being reflected off of the dome. After the first verse, the helmet begins to fill with water. Yorke continues singing as he attempts to lift his head above the rising water. Once the bubble completely fills, Yorke is motionless for over a minute, after which the water is released and he resumes singing. For Yorke's safety, the video was filmed at high-speed and played back in slow-motion.[5] One of the scenes in Gee's documentary about Radiohead, Meeting People Is Easy, cuts from the British news channel Sky News showing and (unfavourably) discussing the video to several takes of its filming. The song speeds up during filming when his face is fully submerged, until he pulls the rubber bottom out to release the water and members of the film crew help him out. Despite the safety measures, Yorke is shown getting more visibly uncomfortable and even agitated with each take.
[edit] Sales chart performance
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway.
- CD1 (CDODATAS04)
- "No Surprises" – 3:51
- "Palo Alto" – 3:44
- "How I Made My Millions" – 3:07
- CD2 (CDNODATA04)
- "No Surprises" – 3:50
- "Airbag (Live in Berlin, November 3, 1997)" – 4:49
- "Lucky (Live in Florence, October 30, 1997)" – 4:34
[edit] Regina Spektor version
Regina Spektor, alternative pianist and anti-folk musician, released a charity single of the song on April 27, 2010.[7] All proceeds of the song go to the Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund.[8]
[edit] Track listing
- "No Surprises" – 3:51
[edit] Alternative versions and covers
Versions have also been recorded by Luka Bloom, Blake Morgan, Yaron Herman Trio, Christopher O' Riley, Paige, Peter Jöback, Motorama, Louis Durra, Stanisław Sojka, and Northern State. American singer song writer Amanda Palmer recorded a version of this song for her album of Radiohead covers performed on ukelele, "Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele". It was also covered by Blake Morgan on his 2006 album Silencer.
[edit] References
- Footman, Tim (2007). Welcome to the Machine: OK Computer and the Death of the Classic Album. Chrome Dreams. ISBN 0634046195.
- Randall, Mac (2000). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-385-33393-5.
- OK Computer: Radiohead: Guitar, Tablature, Vocal. Alfred Publishing Company. 2001. ISBN 0757991661.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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