The Bends
Studio album by Radiohead
Released	13 March 1995
Recorded	August–November 1994
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	48:38
Label	Parlophone, Capitol
Producer	John Leckie, Nigel Godrich
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Blender link Robert Christgau (C) link Rolling Stone RS 919
Radiohead chronology
Pablo Honey (1993) The Bends (1995) OK Computer (1997)

The Bends, released on 13 March 1995 in the United Kingdom and on 4 April 1995 in the United States, is the second studio album released by the English rock band Radiohead. Decompression sickness (DCS), the diver’s disease, the bends, or caisson disease is the name given to a variety of symptoms suffered by a person exposed to a reduction in the pressure surrounding their body. ... Album art for Radioheads The Bends. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Radiohead is an English rock band that formed in Oxfordshire in 1986. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Parlophone is a record label, founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindstrom Company. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This article is about the British music producer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Blender is an American magazine that bills itself as the ultimate guide to music and more. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Radiohead is an English rock band that formed in Oxfordshire in 1986. ... Pablo Honey is the first studio album by English rock band Radiohead, first released in early 1993. ... OK Computer is the third album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in summer 1997. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... An album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Radiohead is an English rock band that formed in Oxfordshire in 1986. ...

Musical style

While Radiohead's debut, Pablo Honey, was a more traditional post-grunge, upbeat rock album, The Bends showed some movement toward the art rock that was soon to be explored (though this went largely unnoticed at the time). The Bends balances such hard-rocking songs as "Just" and "My Iron Lung" with slow and atmospheric ballads such as "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" and "High and Dry". Meanwhile, songs like "Planet Telex" showed increased experimentation with keyboard textures. That song also led the band to commission their first remixes, which appeared as b-sides. In contrast, "My Iron Lung" displayed heavily distorted screamed vocals and guitar soloing, but with a multi-part song structure, tempo changes and loud-to-soft dynamics, all of which marked a change from their previous rock sound. The Bends also brought the group a wider audience with singles like "High and Dry", "Fake Plastic Trees" and the hypnotic "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", the latter a surprise hit which earned Radiohead's highest UK chart placement to that date. Pablo Honey is the first studio album by English rock band Radiohead, first released in early 1993. ... Post-grunge is a very diverse subgenre of Alternative Rock music that emerged in the mid-1990s immediately following the downfall of grunge music as an offshoot. ... Art rock is a term used by some to describe rock music that is characterized by ambitious or avant-garde lyrical themes and/or melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic experimentation, often extending beyond standard modern popular music forms and genres, toward influences in jazz, classical, world music or the experimental avant... Just is a single by the English rock band Radiohead, released on August 7, 1995. ... My Iron Lung is also a song, the title track of an EP and a track on their album The Bends My Iron Lung is an EP by the band Radiohead, released in 1994 and including the single of the same name. ... Street Spirit (Fade Out) (commonly called Street Spirit) is a single by Radiohead, released in 1996, from their 1995 album The Bends. ... The Bends track listing The Bends (2) High and Dry (3) Fake Plastic Trees (4) High and Dry was the second single taken from the Radiohead album The Bends, and appeared as a double A-side with the album opener Planet Telex. It was released in the UK on 5... Planet Telex is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, the opening track from their 1995 album The Bends, and also released as a double A-side single with High and Dry, although receiving far less airplay. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Fake Plastic Trees is a song by Radiohead, from their second album The Bends. ...

The band credited producer John Leckie (The Stone Roses, The Fall, Pink Floyd) with allowing them the freedom to do things their own way on The Bends. Trying to follow-up the success of their 1992 single "Creep" with further hits, the band also developed their style in more subtle directions after the over-the-top sound of their debut Pablo Honey. Lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood said, "We did what we wanted for our second album, and we ignored all advice, unlike the first record."^[1] Key influences cited by the band during the recording were Jeff Buckley, Magazine, Morrissey, R.E.M. and the Pixies. The band also covered songs by Carly Simon and Tim Buckley during this period. This article is about the British music producer. ... The Stone Roses were an influential English rock band from Manchester formed in 1984. ... This article is about the band. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... Creep is the first single (not counting the Drill EP) released by the English rock band Radiohead, and a track on their 1993 debut album Pablo Honey. ... Pablo Honey is the first studio album by English rock band Radiohead, first released in early 1993. ... Jonathan Jonny Richard Guy Greenwood (born November 5, 1971 in Oxford, England) is a musician and a member of Radiohead. ... Jeff Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), born Jeffrey Scott Buckley and raised as Scotty Moorhead,[1] was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Magazine were an English rock group active from 1977 to 1981. ... For other uses, see Morrissey (disambiguation). ... R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Michael Stipe (vocals). ... The Pixies[1] are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1985. ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1945 in New York City) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy Award winning American musician who emerged as one of the leading lights of the early 1970s singer-songwriter movement. ... Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an experimental vocalist and performer who incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, and avant-garde rock in a short career spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

Reception

Radiohead were already on their way to stardom thanks to the huge success of the single "Creep" from their first LP Pablo Honey, especially in the United States. The Bends met with much stronger acclaim from critics, appearing on many end-of-year lists in 1995. Within the UK, it assured Radiohead's role as a standard-bearer of "indie" Brit-rock bands.^[2] The album came out during the height of the '90s Britpop movement, benefiting from renewed press attention to British guitar music. However, in the band's home country, Radiohead's music was rarely grouped with Blur, Oasis, Pulp and other so-called "Britpop" acts, instead receiving some acclaim for diverging from the fashionable aspects of the scene. Pablo Honey is the first studio album by English rock band Radiohead, first released in early 1993. ... Britpop was a British alternative rock genre and movement that was at its most popular in Great Britain in the mid 1990s. ... Blur are an English rock band formed in Colchester in 1989. ... Oasis are an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1991. ... Pulp are a rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 1978, by then 15-year-old school-boy Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar). ...

While it was only an under-the-radar alternative success in America, where none of its singles caught on (the album eventually reached #88 on the Billboard charts in 1996, the band's lowest ever showing), in the UK The Bends remains a bestseller. It is well known to listeners outside Radiohead's cult fan base, and apparently well liked by many who disavow their later material. In summer 1995, Radiohead toured as an opening act for R.E.M. playing songs from The Bends and extending their popularity with a mass audience. Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. ... R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Michael Stipe (vocals). ...

The band commissioned surreal music videos (including an award-winning clip for "Just") which received airplay worldwide. Among the videos released to promote the album was an enigmatic clip for "Just", directed by filmmaker Jamie Thraves, which remains one of the most talked about rock videos of the 1990s. Jonathan Glazer, who would go on to work with the band on "Karma Police", created a dreamlike and award-winning black-and-white video for "Street Spirit". The band also worked with Jake Scott on "Fake Plastic Trees", a video that depicts the band being pushed around a neon supermarket. These, along with a Pulp Fiction-inspired video for "High and Dry", were released later on the home video and DVD 7 Television Commercials, along with several taken from OK Computer. James Thraves is a British film writer and director[1], known for his music video for the Radiohead single Just. ... Jonathan Glazer Jonathan Glazer (born 1966 in London) is an English director of films, commercials and music videos. ... OK Computer track listing Airbag Paranoid Android Subterranean Homesick Alien Exit Music (For a Film) Let Down Karma Police fitter happier Electioneering Climbing Up the Walls No Surprises Lucky The Tourist Karma Police is the second single from Radioheads acclaimed 1997 album OK Computer, and is perhaps Radioheads... Jake Scott is a director of music videos. ... Pulp Fiction is an Academy Award-winning 1994 film written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary and directed by Tarantino. ... 7 Television Commercials is the only official collection of music videos currently available from Radiohead. ... OK Computer is the third album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in summer 1997. ...

The Bends had an influence on the subsequent generation of British pop bands. In 2006, The Observer listed it as one of "the 50 albums that changed music", saying, "Radiohead's Thom Yorke popularised the angst-laden falsetto, a thoughtful opposite to the chest-beating lad-rock personified by Oasis's Liam Gallagher. Sounding girly to a backdrop of churning guitars became a much-copied idea, however, one which eventually coalesced into an entire decade of sound. Without this, Coldplay would not exist, nor Keane, nor James Blunt".^[3] Radiohead members said they later distanced themselves from their mid '90s sound partly because they felt little affinity for those that adopted the sound. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Liam Gallagher (born William John Paul Gallagher on September 21, 1972, Burnage, Manchester, England) is an English singer and tambourine player of the band Oasis. ... Coldplay are an English rock band. ... Keane (IPA: /kin/) are an English piano rock band, first established in Battle, East Sussex in 1995, taking their current name in 1997. ... James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, February 22, 1974) is an English singer-songwriter whose debut album, Back to Bedlam, and single releases — especially the number one hit Youre Beautiful — brought him to fame in 2005. ...

The Bends took second place behind Radiohead's OK Computer in both 1998 and 2006 reader polls of Q magazine for the best album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 110 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006 The Bends was placed at number 20 in Channel Four's listener-voted list of the all-time best albums. Q is a music and entertainment magazinepublished monthly in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the magazine. ... The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003. ... Channel 4 is a television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ...

Themes

According to the band, The Bends also marked the start of a gradual turn in Thom Yorke's songwriting from personal angst to the more cryptic lyrics and social and global themes which would come to dominate the band's later work. Although most of the album was seen to continue the lyrical concerns of Pablo Honey, albeit in more mature fashion, the songs "Fake Plastic Trees" and in particular "Street Spirit" (together with that single's popular, more experimental b-side "Talk Show Host"), are often seen as a precursor to their next album OK Computer. Thomas Edward Yorke (born October 7, 1968 in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Radiohead. ... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles have been released since the 1950s. ... OK Computer is the third album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in summer 1997. ...

The album's title, referencing decompression sickness, is one of many references to physical illness and brokenness on the album, but has also been seen to tie into the band's own career trajectory. According to one biography, "For their second album, Radiohead chose an extremely symbolic title... Radiohead rose too soon (due to the success of 'Creep', which they were hardly prepared for) and had to suffer the unpleasant consequences (critical backlash, record company pressure, general confusion and dismay about how to continue meaningfully)."^[4] Decompression sickness (DCS), the diver’s disease, the bends, or caisson disease is the name given to a variety of symptoms suffered by a person exposed to a reduction in the pressure surrounding their body. ...

The Bends's lyrics, particularly those of "Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was", were cited in the British music press as an example of Thom Yorke's alleged depression. Melody Maker ran an article during The Bends period suggesting Thom would be the next "rock 'n roll martyr" or suicide, a la Kurt Cobain and Richey James.^[5] Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or unipolar depression when compared to bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was (until its closure) the worlds oldest weekly music newspaper. ... Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. ... Richey James Edwards (born Richard James Edwards, 22 December 1967) was the co-lyricist and guitarist of the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. ...

Jonny Greenwood said, "It's funny, on one side ['Creep'] sped things up for us, because... we never felt that Radiohead was successful, we felt 'Creep' was successful, but it got our name put about, so that sped things up for us. But at the same time it meant that we recorded our second album about a year late, The Bends, most of it was written within months of recording our first record, and we had to tour and tour and we couldn't stop to record. So that slowed things down for us."^[1]

Production and artwork

The Bends was the first Radiohead album to include production assistance from engineer Nigel Godrich, though its main producer was Abbey Road veteran John Leckie. It was also the first of the band's full length records with artwork by Stanley Donwood, in collaboration with Thom Yorke, who went under the name "The White Chocolate Farm" (later shortened to Tchock). Originally Yorke had wanted to use an image of an iron lung as the cover, but he lost it.^{[citation needed]} The eventual album cover was created at the last minute by morphing a Donwood photograph of a medical dummy with Yorke's own face. It is also the last Radiohead album whose liner notes and artwork include pictures of the band members. The Bends is one of a minority of the band's albums to be recorded mostly in a traditional recording studio. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the British music producer. ... Stanley Donwood is the pen name of English writer and artist Dan Rickwood[1], who has gained fame for his work on the album and poster art for Radiohead on every release since their My Iron Lung EP (1994). ... An Emerson iron lung. ...

Track listing

All songs written by Radiohead.

1. "Planet Telex" – 4:19
2. "The Bends" – 4:04
3. "High and Dry" – 4:20
4. "Fake Plastic Trees" – 4:51
5. "Bones" – 3:08
6. "(Nice Dream)" – 3:54
7. "Just" – 3:54
8. "My Iron Lung" – 4:37
9. "Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was" – 3:29
10. "Black Star" – 4:07
11. "Sulk" – 3:43
12. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" – 4:12

Planet Telex is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, the opening track from their 1995 album The Bends, and also released as a double A-side single with High and Dry, although receiving far less airplay. ... The Bends is a self-entitled song by Radiohead from the the album The Bends This track was intially introduced as being about knowing who your real friends are and when theyre going to come to your gigs. ... The Bends track listing The Bends (2) High and Dry (3) Fake Plastic Trees (4) High and Dry was the second single taken from the Radiohead album The Bends, and appeared as a double A-side with the album opener Planet Telex. It was released in the UK on 5... Fake Plastic Trees is a song by Radiohead, from their second album The Bends. ... Bones is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead from their 1995 album The Bends. ... (Nice Dream) is a song of the album The Bends by alternative rock band Radiohead. ... Just is a single by the English rock band Radiohead, released on August 7, 1995. ... My Iron Lung is also a song, the title track of an EP and a track on their album The Bends My Iron Lung is an EP by the band Radiohead, released in 1994 and including the single of the same name. ... Street Spirit (Fade Out) (commonly called Street Spirit) is a single by Radiohead, released in 1996, from their 1995 album The Bends. ...

Song information

• "Planet Telex" was recorded when Thom was drunk after they had all gone out to a restaurant because the catering staff at RAK [studios] were having a day off. Thom was said to be slumping on the floor and a microphone was placed near his mouth. This also was the only song written in the recording studio. The song's title was originally going to be "Planet Xerox", but this was changed to avoid legal issues.
• "High and Dry" was originally played by Thom's band at Exeter University, the Headless Chickens. However, the Radiohead version came to being after drummer Phil Selway was testing his new bass drum. The song was demo-recorded before Pablo Honey came out, and the band had no plans to release it on their next album until receiving record label pressure. In 2006, Thom Yorke said it was the only time he had had his "arm twisted", to "put it anywhere". In 1998, Jonny Greenwood said, "Seems like there's always a song or two on every album, which is kind of a dead end, and isn't going anywhere... I always felt that 'High and Dry' on The Bends was a good pop song, and is alright, but it felt like it was the end of something, like we'd finished that kind of thing."^[1]
• For "Fake Plastic Trees" producer Paul Kolderie missed a cue during the final verse (the distorted guitars were meant to come in at the beginning of the bar), but the result was so pleasing that the mistake was left on the final mix. The song also was partly inspired by the commercial development of Canary Wharf.
• The lead vocal take of "Fake Plastic Trees" was recorded immediately after the band had seen Jeff Buckley playing upstairs at The Garage in London. Thom went straight to the studio after the concert, recorded the take, then broke down in tears.
• "My Iron Lung" was the band's response to the popularity of its song "Creep". The song has also been noted for similarities to Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box".
• The second of screaming feedback that can be heard in the second chorus of "Black Star" (at the 2:00 minute mark) was actually a mistake made during recording, but was kept due to Thom and Jonny's insistence.
• "Sulk" was written as a response to the Hungerford massacre.
• According to Thom Yorke, "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" was inspired by the book The Famished Road by Ben Okri.

Thomas Edward Yorke (born October 7, 1968 in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Radiohead. ... A recording studio is a facility for sound recording. ... Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) (name pronounced ) is a global document management company, which manufactures and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies. ... The University of Exeter is the principal University in the English city of Exeter, in Devon. ... The Headless Chickens was a four-piece melodic punk band from Exeter, England, comprising Thom Yorke (guitar and vocals), Simon sHack Shackleton (vocals and bass), John Mathius (violin) and a drummer named Martin, they were well known on the Exeter punk scene in 1989. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Jeff Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), born Jeffrey Scott Buckley and raised as Scotty Moorhead,[1] was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... This article is about the American grunge band. ... In Utero track listing Scentless Apprentice (2) Heart-Shaped Box (3) Rape Me (4) Heart-Shaped Box is a song by the American Grunge band Nirvana. ... Michael Robert Ryan The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on August 19, 1987. ... The Famished Road is the Booker Prize-winning novel written by Nigerian author Ben Okri. ... Ben Okri (born March 15, 1959) is a Nigerian poet and novelist. ...

Clips

Image File history File links Just. ... Image File history File links Fake_Plastic_Trees. ... Image File history File links High_And_Dry. ...

Release history

is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Parlophone is a record label, founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindstrom Company. ... A compact disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... An LP Long playing (LP), either 10 or 12-inch diameter, 33 rpm (actually 33. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the...

External links

• Thom Yorke on Thom Yorke: 1995 "interview" about The Bends
• Melody Maker interview on The Bends, 1995

References