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Creep (Radiohead song)
"Creep" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, written by vocalist Thom Yorke. Radiohead released "Creep" as their debut single in 1992, and it later appeared their first album, Pablo Honey (1993). During its initial release, "Creep" was not a chart success. However, it subsequently became one of the band's biggest hits, and became their only Top 40 hit in the United States until 2008's "Nude", despite the success of their future albums in the country. The band subsequently felt burdened by its success, and would refuse to play "Creep" at shows. The song re-entered the UK chart at number 37 on 8 June 2008, as a result of downloads, following the release of the Radiohead: The Best Of album earlier that month. [1]
[edit] Background and recordingThom Yorke wrote "Creep" while studying at Exeter University in the late 1980s.[2] Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said the song was inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around who showed up unexpectedly during a show by the band.[3] In 1992, Radiohead recorded a practice version of the song during sessions with producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie to record a single. While the recording had minimal overdubs and the band did not intend to release it, the producers were impressed with the song.[2][4] [edit] Composition and lyricsThe melody for the song's bridge was taken and retooled from the verse of The Hollies song "The Air That I Breathe" written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood in the 70s. After taking issue, Hammond and Hazelwood now share a small portion of the songwriting credits and royalties.[citation needed] When the song shifts from the verse to the chorus, Jonny Greenwood plays three blasts of guitar noise ("dead notes" played by releasing fret-hand pressure and picking the strings). Greenwood said he did this because he didn't like how quiet the song was; he explained, "So I hit the guitar hard - really hard".[3] Ed O'Brien said "That's the sound of Jonny trying to fuck the song up. He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it. And it made the song."[5] When they were first demonstrating their songs for producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, one of the band described "Creep" as "our Scott Walker song" and they misunderstood and initially dismissed it, thinking that it was a cover version.[citation needed] According to Yorke, "Creep" tells the tale of an inebriated man who tries to get the attention of a woman he is attracted to by following her around. In the end, he lacks the self-confidence to face her and feels he subconsciously is her. When asked about "Creep" in 1993, Yorke said, "I have a real problem being a man in the '90s... Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you're in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do... It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it's not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I'm always trying: To assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it."[6] Jonny Greenwood said the song was in fact a happy song about "recognizing what you are".[3] The version issued for radio play replaced the line "So fucking special" with "So very special". The group was worried that issuing a censored version would be a "bit of a sellout" according to Jonny Greenwood, but they decided it was acceptable since Sonic Youth had done the same thing. Nonetheless, Greenwood noted the British press "weren't impressed" by the action.[3] [edit] Success and reaction"Creep" met with little success in the UK when it was first released in 1992. Radio 1 found the song "too depressing" and refrained from playing the song.[7] The band soon moved onto a second single, "Anyone Can Play Guitar", to promote the album Pablo Honey, and released a non-album single, "Pop Is Dead", as they began a world tour in 1993. "Creep" became a hit due to American radio play. A radio station in San Francisco, California, added the song to its playlist, and soon other radio stations along the American west coast followed suit. A censored version of the song was made available to radio stations, and by the second half of 1993, the song had become a hit nationwide.[2] By the time Radiohead came to the United States, they were surprised by the success of the song. Yorke told Melody Maker in 1993 that many journalists misunderstood the song, asking him if it was a "joke".[7] "Creep" was not a hit at home in the UK until it was reissued in September that year, making number 7 in the pop charts. In June 2008, "Creep" reentered the UK Singles Chart at number 37 after its inclusion on Radiohead: The Best Of, a greatest hits collection.[1] [edit] PerformancesThe first Radiohead gigs were attended primarily for the performance of "Creep"; if they tried to play anything else, the crowd didn't want to hear it, and the band soon started to resent playing it. This led to the band's creation of "My Iron Lung", which featured as the title song of their next release, My Iron Lung EP (1994), and as track 8 on their second album The Bends (1995). This track deals with how "Creep" was the song they relied on, how it was their "life-support, [their] iron lung". Thom explained in an interview that they didn't want to stop playing it as that would be making a big deal about it, however he often made comments before the song on stage which suggested he had little respect for anyone who wanted to hear it. After mid 1998 Radiohead did not play the song live at all until the final encore of a 2001 hometown concert at South Park, Oxford, when they played it in a seemingly impromptu decision after an equipment failure on the keyboard near the start of "Motion Picture Soundtrack". [8] It has not been performed live since 24 August 2006.[citation needed] [edit] Covers and other versionsIn April 2008, Prince covered 'Creep' at Coachella. This version was captured on a video from a concert-goer's cell phone, and promptly uploaded to Youtube. However, it was quickly taken down at Prince's request. After finding out about the blocking, Thom Yorke was quoted as saying, "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our song."[9] Weezer covered "Creep" during their 2008 Hootenanny Tour with bassist Scott Shriner on lead vocals. Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo stated that the song was picked to cover because "it's incredible what they do with four chords, over and over." Korn also performed "Creep" on their unplugged album. Anberlin covered "Creep" in Lost Songs as did Scarling on their single of Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole. G4 also covered the song, first on the The X Factor live show, and then on their self-titled debut album. [edit] Tracklisting
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