Recently I sent an email out to a few people, asking them to list their favorite Radiohead songs but forcing them to try and fit them into the tired “top 5″ cliche. I know sometimes five is too hard, but taking arbitrary tastes and shoving them into arbitrary lists is what makes us the 18-49 year old demographic that we so preciously are.

In the order I was emailed back -

Brandon DE

1- I Might Be Wrong
2- The Bends
3- Wolf at the Door
4- Fake Plastic Trees
5- Fog

Was Brandon picking the enitre album “The Bends” at number two? Or the title track from said album (which incidentally I skip over a lot to get from Planet Telex to High and Dry)

Since the loach works at a swanky designy shop, his co-workers had to get in on the listing as well -

Gabe (big fan at work)

1- Everything in its Right Place
2- Planet Telex
3- Paranoid Android
4- Blowout
5- There There

Blake (another big fan at the office)

1- Exit Music (For a Film)
2- The National Anthem
3- Karma Police
4- Fake Plastic Trees
5- Creep

We have our first Creep sighting!!

JoMo

1- Meeting in the Aisle
2- Planet Telex
3- Everything in it’s Right Place
4- Optimistic
5- You

Joe went with the b-side Meeting in the Aisle for his number one - that’s two b-sides so far, counting Brandon’s number 5 - Fog.

Dustin

1- Paranoid Android
2- How To Disappear Completely
3- Idioteque
4- 2+2=5
5- Let Down

Then for some reason Dustin tried to slide in Fog at number six. Because he’s a cheater. He then made a joke quoting Jack Black from High Fidelity. I laughed.

Darek

My Iron Lung
A Wolf at the Door
Idioteque
Pyramid Song
No Surprises

Darek did not number his list because he is a socialist.

TBaggins

1- Paranoid Android
2- Letdown
3- Pyramid Song
4- Pearly
5- Palo Alto

Two(!) songs from Airbag/How Am I Driving! T was quick to point out that he didn’t list any songs from Kid A on purpose, stating he felt it was one 50 minute song. Indeed, Radiohead did not release any singles from Kid A (which is probably why there’s fifty b-sides from Amnesiac…as well as there even being an Amnesiac)

I remember T emailing me a few days after 9/11, saying how Pyramid Song was in his head that whole week. I can’t deny that I don’t remember that week everytime I’ve since listened to that song.

My List

1- Paranoid Android
2- There There
3- Optimistic
4- 2+2=5
5- Airbag

I started with an iTunes playlist of about 22 songs and whittled it down to nine. Then I had to make the tough choices. Nothing from The Bends?! Not even Fake Plastic Trees!? Nah. I really wanted to put something like The Trickster or Permanent Daylight on there, just to be uber cool. But I’m not so I didn’t. (I’m not even cool enough or unlazy enough to find the ascii code to put the two dots above the ‘u’ in ‘uber’)

So that was interesting. Amidst some consensus there were some genuine surprises…as opposed to no surprises. (hahaha….ha)