First Listen - Creep by Radiohead (Hip Hop Fan Reacts)

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[paulwalker]

Why was this such a massive track for Radiohead?
Simply because rather than being creepy it was relatable. Every teenage boy's feelings of inadequacy and in one perfect sing-a-long anthem.

[korybeavers]

This was an anthem to a lot of us who just felt like they didn't fit in.... Not an incel, but just didn't fit in with the cool kids

[michele-]

This was inspired by an actual female.
Thom was born with paralysis of one eye and part of his face which required multiple surgeries.

He stalked his highschool crush - afraid to approach her until one day when he was drunk.
He confessed following her and it creeped her out.

Years later he was embarrassed when she showed up at one of his concerts.

The song was a reminder of that insecure time of his life.

[pauljames]

Another excellent reaction. I think you're taking the title at face value. The gen x feeling of being an outsider, "a freak", a "weirdo" is completely different to the contemporary concept of "incel". For guys in the 90's if you weren't a "lad" then you were on the outside. This is Radiohead doing British "Grunge".

[timothe]

You should definitly react to best live performance of this song. It's great and filled with emotions.

[ziggymarlowe]

I think the lyrics express the angst girls and boys feel when it comes to approaching a person they fancy. Rejection is painful, especially when a person doesn't have tons of confidence. I remember junior high school dances that were agony, looking across the dancehall floor at a guy I'd loved to have danced with, but way too shy to make the first move.

[PMed]

I think it’s endearing. He’s opening up and admitting his frailties. We’ve all felt this way at one point.

[seajaytea]

I think this song is BOTH creepy (as the title suggests) and endearing. That is it's brilliance. From a lyrics perspective, I suggest juxtaposing this song with two Police songs: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (a more endearing "missed" love song) and Every Breath You take (written from a creepy stalker-ish perspective).

[badsherrey]

This song is about when the singer of Radiohead, Thom Yorke met Queen Elizabeth .

[kingfisher]

I watch your Radiohead reviews over and over. More please. Love ‘The Bends’ album. Gotta be Fake Plastic Trees next 👍❤

[James-lksg]

Fake Plastic Trees off their second album I’d say should be next.

[scorpionjimmy]

It’s understandable that the band hated this song, but this song speaks so much for people who experienced things similar to this. You know it’s relatable when they got 1 billion streams on Spotify.

[strategicplanetxmuzik]

should check out female vocalist Haley Reinhart's jazzy version of this with the band Post-Modern 🥸

[MaikKellerhals]

This is STILL my anthem. It's how I've always felt, and how I still feel. I'm 45 and never had a true relationship. This Song Makes Me Happy. I feel understood.

[dreww]

I love that you did this - this song came blasting into the early 90's alt-rock scene and helped propel it big time, as an analogue to grunge as it took off - however it is worth checking out the history as it is such a fine line - it went unnoticed anywhere until a radio station in Israel started playing it and it caught fire and soon hit the States and all the rock stations and MTV. The rest is history. The album Pablo Honey is unspectacular but very solid for the time/genre and has a few awesome tracks (check out "Blow Out: Live at the Astoria" tp see the roots of the band which despite all the wild experimentation and insistence to make a new sound with each project, establishes - as is still quite evident on the next 2 MASSIVE records - they are at their core the same 5 member band, with a 3 guitar attack, bass and drums. I love the 3 guitar setup- I am a sucker for it. Something about that extra guitar to add texture or sonic landscape or heft to riffs while also freeing up their genius lead Jonny Greenwood to play the 30 different instruments he plays live and on record. The leap from this album to "The Bends" is one of the most amazing in Modern rock, though as a Gen X'er, is 1992 still modern rock? Ha. I loved "Creep" but thought nothing more of Radiohead till college when I heard songs like "Fake Plastic Trees, " "My Iron Lung, " and "Street Spirit" and was VERY interested. And then, in 1997, my music world changed forever, as OK Computer became the first album I had ever heard I considered flawless from beginning to end - even a subtle concept album without being pretentious - and 25+ yrs later they are my favorite band still and it is my favorite album. It helps when (IMO) your lead singer, writer, vastly under-rated rhythm guitar player and amazing singer (he let Jonny do the keys until he learned piano btw OKC and Kid A and began to also do a lot of piano and synth work) - I put him with other heroes of mine like Lennon, Neil Young, Dylan, Marley, etc - the top caste of musical minds of writers and lead men - he deserved it. It also helps and is rare for the same 5 members to meet in prep school in 1985, and now almost 40 years later, not one new person and not one departure. Of all the mega bands in rock history how often does that happen? And yes, kind of nice when your Lead guitar player, Jonny Greenwood, is one of the most sought after Movie Music composers in Hollywood. He has 2 Academy Award nominations for orchestral scores, and should have a 3rd and a win, as he became Mastermind director Paul Thomas Anderson's sole composer he'll work with starting with what I and many others would argue is the greatest film made in the 21st Century, "There Will Be Blood" and the soundtrack is utterly incredible - it is undeniably a critical element to the movie and so out of this world. He included like 1 song he'd written and published for a small clip so it rendered it unqualified for that Oscar year (the movie won Best Picture and it would have been shocking if the score did not as well). But yeah - you want a monster talent to go nuts on the lead guitar and also create sonic Universes on the guitar but also obscure 100 year old rare synths like the Oondes Martenot (Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief era mostly). My 4 favorite artists are Radiohead, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pink Floyd, and A Tribe Called Quest, so it was so cool you mentioned them. 90's hip hop man - I mean...no more needs to be said. I often wonder if anyone else shares this same collection (the law of probability in a world of 7 billion says yes but who knows.) But I love your approach, always dig your reactions, KNOW there are so many bands you have your life ahead to discover and am jealous but happy for you. "Beck, " "Nine Inch Nails, " "Portishead, " "The Prodigy, " "Mazzy Star, " "Underworld, " "The Smiths, " "Depeche Mode, " - an entire WORLD of blues going back to Chicago and the electric blues like Buddy Guy, BB King, Albert King, T-Bone Walker to the earlier Delta and deep south blues like "Robert Johnson, Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Skip James, Big Bill Broonzy - I won't hit hip hop as you seem on top of that, but, your reaction style is unique, well executed, you have passion that shows, you balance the music, lyrics, and analyses and don't go too long (like this super bd form rule breaking absurdly long comment). I will leave you with this about Radiohead - there are so many way to develop your incredible musical relationship with them, but now that you have your familiarity and have stated some of the key shining elements they bring - even honored them by going back to the song that began it all - the best way to get to know them, respect their ability even more, get to know their personalities and how they gel musically as a musician yourself it is SO fascinating and it is like not just candy for the ears, it is Willy Wonka's best recipe in a decade candy, is to listen to "In Rainbows: Live From the Basement." Be it the song "Weird Fishes" or better yet "Nude" or all of it really - dare I say, for what is a true masterwork for the ages, "In Rainbows" it literally is a toss up if the live in studio sounds better. The fact that is even possible with the complex and deep layers just 5 people make, hopefully gets your interest (if you read all this which I apologize profusely for if so). But, I write, play and love music, really enjoy music reactions - like a lot and I don't quite know why but it is what it is - and your channel is a top one, AND you did my guys, so, yup, wrote a bunch of stuff (still writing, STOP yo!) but anyway, keep on keeping it real, respect and peace.

[dmwalker]

I would imagine that a lack of confidence around someone you're interested in is a broadly human experience. The formulation of it in this song is pretty spot-on accurate to my own experiences as a guy, and like half the music I grew up with came from this kind of place to some extent. The whole alternative/grunge thing in the 90's and early 2000's. Maybe we were just a little more honest with ourselves back then.

[shelleybleu]

Not an incel, a sensitive soul. Usually very young guys who fall in love so strongly. Then they become jaded and old.

[snakelite]

There's an undercurrent of anger and resentment in this song. That's why he chooses to sing "fucking special". It comes across more clearly in the live version.

[prfukxd]

It's always interesting to see your insightful reaction to music that is new to you. I feel that many of your viewers are familiar already with the music that you select and watch for similar reasons. What would be an interesting idea for a video would be if you were to select five or ten hip hop songs that you think your rock-based viewers need to hear. It wouldn't necessarily be your favorite or the most critically acclaimed tracks, but ones that you think would resonate best with us.

[mrstone_]

If you are a hip hop fan you have to listen to "A Wolf At The Door" from Radiohead it's the closest we can get to Thom Yorke actually rapping and it's pretty awesome