Daydreaming (Radiohead song) explained

Daydreaming
Cover:Daydreaming (Radiohead) (Front Cover).jpg
Type:single
Artist:Radiohead
Album:A Moon Shaped Pool
Released:6 May 2016
Length:6:24
Label:XL
Prev Title:Burn the Witch
Prev Year:2016
Next Title:I Promise
Next Year:2017

"Daydreaming" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. The song is a piano ballad with strings arranged by the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. It was released as a download on 6 May 2016 as the second and final single from Radiohead's ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, accompanied by a music video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Recording

"Daydreaming" was written around Jonny Greenwood playing piano in a jam without the singer, Thom Yorke, who added the vocals and the lyrics in another session.[1] The song was finished early in Radiohead's sessions at the La Fabrique studio in France. Yorke described it as a "breakthrough" for the album.[2]

For the introduction, the band slowed the tape, creating a pitch-warping effect. The strings, recorded at RAK Studios in London,[3] were arranged by Greenwood and performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Hugh Brunt. The orchestra had previously worked with Greenwood on his score for the 2012 film The Master.[4] [5] Greenwood had the cellists detune their cellos, creating a "growling" sound.[6] The cellist Oliver Coates said: "Nigel, Jonny and Thom all have this awesome relationship, and were so animated during the recording. I remember we were laying down the cello part at the end of 'Daydreaming' and Thom said, 'That's it – that is the sound of the record.'"[7]

Music and lyrics

"Daydreaming" is a ballad[8] [9] with a "simple, sad" piano motif and ambient,[10] [11] electronic and orchestral elements.[12] It ends with reversed, manipulated vocals; when reversed, Yorke seems to be singing "Half of my life", "I've found my love", or "Every minute, half of my love".[13] [14] Several critics felt the lyrics were coloured by Yorke's separation from his partner of 23 years, Rachel Owen.[5] [15] [16] [17] Pitchfork noted that 23 years was also approximately the same length of time that Radiohead had been releasing music, and saw the song as a "reckoning with those years, and, in one way or another, an elegy to them".[18]

Music video

The "Daydreaming" music video was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, for whom Greenwood has composed several film scores.[19] In the video, Yorke walks through a series of doors and passageways leading to various disconnected locations, including a hotel, a hospital, a laundry, and a convenience store. He eventually climbs a snowy hill, enters a cave, and mouths the song's closing words as he lies down next to a fire.[20] [21]

Promotion and release

"Daydreaming" was released as a download on 6 May 2016 on Radiohead's site and on streaming and digital media services.[22] [23] Anderson and the band sent 35 mm prints of the music video to select theatres, inviting them to screen it.[24] On 16 July 2016, Radiohead announced a fan competition to create a music video vignette for an alternative version of "Daydreaming" with additional strings.[25]

Reception

Pitchfork ranked "Daydreaming" the 24th-best song of 2016, behind another Moon Shaped Pool track, "True Love Waits", at ninth. In 2020, the Guardian named "Daydreaming" the 12th-greatest Radiohead song, writing: "Beneath the tiptoeing pianos, 'Daydreaming' is a gut-wrencher."[26]

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[27] 73
France (SNEP)[28] 28
Italy (FIMI)[29] 88

Notes and References

  1. News: All Songs +1: A Conversation With Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. NPR.org. 4 August 2016.
  2. Doherty . Niall . August 2016 . Up and away in Paris and London . Q.
  3. Web site: Hear Radiohead's New Album "A Moon Shaped Pool" at 11pm tonight on the FTW New Music Show. 8 May 2016. 91X FM. 12 May 2016. https://archive.today/20160521171321/http://www.91x.com/uncategorized/hear-radioheads-new-albuma-moon-shaped-pool-at-11pm-tonight-on-the-ftw-new-music-show/. 21 May 2016. dead.
  4. Web site: Radiohead's new album to be released on Sunday. Gibsone. Harriet. 7 May 2016. The Guardian. 9 May 2016.
  5. Web site: Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: The 5 Most Important Things To Know. Larson. Jeremy D.. Pitchfork. 9 May 2016. 9 May 2016.
  6. News: Radiohead interview: 'It's a very happy time' – BBC News. BBC News. 16 June 2016. en-GB. 16 June 2016.
  7. Web site: Radiohead's secret weapon Oliver Coates brings the spirit of Arthur Russell back to the dancefloor. FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.. 27 May 2016. 28 May 2016.
  8. News: Radiohead – Daydreaming (Singles Going Steady). PopMatters. 14 December 2016.
  9. News: Radiohead Search For Respite From Life's Harsh Realities On Fragile, Beautiful New Track 'Daydreaming'. 6 May 2016. NME. en-US. 14 December 2016.
  10. Web site: Radiohead release new song. Album to drop tomorrow. 7 May 2016. Triple J. 7 May 2016.
  11. Web site: Radiohead announce new album, drop new single "Daydreaming". 6 May 2016. The Line of Best Fit. 7 May 2016. Day, Laurence.
  12. Web site: Radiohead: "Daydreaming". Sodomsky. Sam. 6 May 2015. Pitchfork Media. 6 May 2016.
  13. Web site: What's Thom Yorke mumbling about at the end of 'Daydreaming'? . . Emily . Blake . 6 May 2016 . 6 May 2016.
  14. Web site: Radiohead Announce New Album Release Date, Share "Daydreaming" Video . . Amy . Phillips . Jazz . Monroe . 6 May 2016 . 7 May 2016.
  15. Web site: In Radiohead's 'A Moon Shaped Pool', Patient Perfectionism. Pareles. Jon. Jon Pareles. 8 May 2016. The New York Times. 8 May 2016.
  16. Web site: Radiohead Swims in Gorgeous Despondency on 'A Moon Shaped Pool'. Joffe. Justin. 9 May 2016. The New York Observer. 9 May 2016.
  17. Web site: Dancing in the Moonlight with Radiohead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160512164643/http://www.mtv.com/news/2879149/radiohead-moon-shaped-pool-review/. dead. 12 May 2016. Vozick-Levinson. Simon. 10 May 2016. MTV. 10 May 2016.
  18. Web site: The 100 Best Songs of 2016 . 12 December 2016 . Pitchfork.
  19. Radiohead Drops Video from Paul Thomas Anderson, Announces Release Date for New Album. Bradley. Laura. Vanity Fair. 6 May 2016. 8 May 2016.
  20. Radiohead to release new album on Sunday, premiere "Daydreaming" video . . 6 May 2016 . 7 May 2016 . Young, Alex / Geslani, Michelle.
  21. Radiohead Release Stunning 'Daydreaming' Video Ahead of New Album . . 6 May 2016 . 7 May 2016 . Kreps, Daniel / Reed, Ryan.
  22. Web site: Daydreaming – Single by Radiohead . 6 May 2016 . . 6 May 2016.
  23. Web site: Radiohead – Daydreaming – XL . . 6 May 2016.
  24. Web site: Radiohead's "Daydreaming" Video is Being Played in Select Movie Theaters. Noah. 7 May 2016. Pitchfork. 7 May 2016. Yoo.
  25. Web site: Radiohead reveal alternate version of "Daydreaming" for vignette contest. 15 July 2016. en-US. 16 July 2016.
  26. News: Monroe . Jazz . 23 January 2020 . Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked! . 24 January 2020 . . 0261-3077.
  27. Web site: ARIA Singles: Drake 'One Dance' Still No 1. Noise11. Ryan. Gavin. 14 May 2016. 14 May 2016.
  28. Web site: France Top Singles Charts(Week 19,2016). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. fr. 14 May 2016.
  29. Web site: Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 19 (dal 2016-05-06 al 2016-05-12). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. it. 14 May 2016.

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