RADIOHEAD MUSICAL ANALYSIS // Airbag

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🙏 SPECIAL (massive) THANKS to my amazing Patrons, without whom these videos would not be possible, credited at the end of this video!

[andykadlec]

Thought this group would enjoy my Radiohead / The Smile story, so I'm sharing it here with you all. On August 5th, 1997 I was Lucky😉enough to have the best front row seat at the State Theatre (seat 1A) to see Radiohead in Minneapolis on their OK Computer tour. The show was so amazing, of course. Remember - Thom was standing about 3 feet from me the whole time! They even false-started Talk Show Host, and had a good quick laugh about it. After the show ended, one of their people asked me if I wanted to hang out with the band. An already unbelievable night was about to get even better. As I walked to the backroom wearing my "Generic Sticky Pass" on my shirt, Thom was the first person I saw in the room. He invited me to sit with him and we hung out for probably a half an hour, no exaggeration. He was super nice & generous with his time, calling me by name throughout our hang, probably because he has a younger brother Andy and it was easy for him to remember.😊I had just recently turned 22 and he was 28. He asked me if I wanted to meet the band and he took me around to everyone. We spent probably 5 minutes or so with Jonny and just a couple minutes with each of the others. This was pre digital cameras and I didn't even ask him for an autograph, but he offered to sign my setlist and he gave me the 2 other posters that you see here, that he also signed (in his older 'doodle' type of signature) & wrote some things on. He did it in non-permanent marker, so they have faded over the years unfortunately. Oh yeah, when I walked into the room he first said to me "You were in the front row, right?" and that is why he wrote "Andy on front" on the setlist - so cool. He also wrote "Meeting People is Easy" on one of the other pieces and I wonder if that may have been the first time that he ever wrote or said that publicly, because the film by the same name did not come out for a year later. I've seen Radiohead a bunch of times over the years and Thom solo, but this will forever be my greatest concert experience. Now fast-forward 25 years & 4 months...I waited to meet the band in Milwaukee after The Smile concert. I spent a few minutes talking with Thom, as he was the last to sign my album. Over the years, I've wondered what I would say to him after all this time if I ever met him again. I certainly wasn't going to ask him if he remembered me & he certainly would not have, but I did say to him "We met & hung out 25 years ago in Minneapolis" and he looked at me, smiled and said "We did?!" I had re-introduced myself to him when he first came up to me and the last thing he said to me was "See ya Andy"...again, remembering my name.😎

[eylvy]

I'm trying to pretend what's it like to have never heard this song or album, watching this great analysis, and going "Wow, this Airbag song is so complex and amazing, the album can only go downhill from here."
And then, it ends like Boop-Boop-Boop-Boop, and we all know what that means.

[cyclonasaurusrex]

I got goose bumps when you said you’re doing the whole album.

[ryanashby]

About every 5 years or so, I fall in love with this album all over again.

[Hepburner]

I love the CD artwork opening! Something that was a big thrill in the 90's but is now obsolete... :(

[bann]

don't know why but this brought tears to my eyes. thank you

[TheJunehog]

This is just great. The "breakdown" always seemed to me less *fireworks* than an actual *car crash*

[MisterHoTLipS]

And in an interstellar burst I am in love with this Woman...

[KayButtonJay]

The drums in this song were always my favorite part. I just love how heavy, brittle, and raw they sound

[srmpenedo]

The guitar at 22:00 is not really a tremolo. Jonny played 2 different guitars slightly out of phase, one at left channel, another at right channel. When mixed, the effect is like a tremolo (as he does playing live) and brilliant.

[phlabass]

13:18 i legit chuckled at your visual gimmick. I always loved this bass part. Thank you for this, great job

[thstreetbrandt]

This is the greatest things ever. I’ve been obsessed with this song since the first time I heard it in 1997. Thank you!

[chrisknight]

I’m sure someone here will have already mentioned that the bass line in this song is so sporadic because it’s a temporary bass line, a place holder, lay to give the band an idea what was going to be played, until they could write something better and more substantial.

When they listened back to it, they loved how it sounded and kept it.

[fufycaz]

jesus c., one thing is to adore a song, another thing is to understand and adore a song.... well, at least to start to understand it. Thanks for being soooo deep in ur analysis and yet so light and enjoyable!

[GlennErikMathisen]

Not too many chords in this song, but still a pretty sophisticated piece. Major/minor tension, modal elements, some seriously well arranged guitars, and a beautiful melody.
When they really lean into the lydian sound in the chorus, it is unbelievably beautiful. I love that super bright sound, Brilliant song kicking off an amazing album.

Very well analyzed!

[markwarrensprawson]

Those five guys (apart from Nigel) were all just school buddies who started a band and had this vision of it being their lives, I reckon. "Anyone can Play Guitar" from their debut spells that out for me.
Then came "The Bends " and then this! This album revolutionized music and pop culture in ways that so many people are probably unaware of, but it's true as can be. They went out into the country and recorded this album in what was supposed to be this old haunted house, just them and Nigel, locked away from the world for as long as it took. And I'll be damned if they didn't produce the goods, hey? Of course there were people at their label who were like, "This is way too complex for modern audiences, " and "This is depressing as, " etc... But they stuck to their guns and thank the gods for that! And I couldn't agree with you more; the way this song opens the album up to us, it just doesn't get any better that that. The entire track list - its content and order - is perfect from beginning to end. Are you going to check the whole album out? I'd be mega-excited for "Subterranean Homesick Alien" if you are, and naturally "Exit music" for the Baz Luhrmann "Romeo and Juliet" soundtrack is gonna keep me spellbound, too. I play these tunes myself all the time, and of course I stop here and there and marvel at the magic of what's been done in the harmony and melody, with the textures and different batty instruments that Johnny seems to have this need to bring into the work. Damn, I love them so much.

[seancooper]

So glad you are digging into the genius that is Radiohead.

[drewmoorestuff]

This is the only time I've ever cried during a musical analysis. This video is beautiful.

[elsf]

Syncopation is the lifeforce of rhythm

[DearBanshee]

It should be noted* that Thom tunes his B string down to A to further embrace that A tonal chord progression. A true masterpiece!