Amnesiac
Encyclopedia
Amnesiac was generally well-received by critics. It was also ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. The Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll ranked it number 6 on their top 10 albums of the year. Alternative Press declared it the #1 album of the year. Los Angeles Times
also ranked it number 5, and Rolling Stone
ranked it number 10 and also ranked it 25 on the 100 best albums of the decade. Others included Magnet
(in no order), Mojo
(number 8), 3 of the 4 major reviewers of The Onion
(number 8, 8, and 5), and Spin
and Spin Cycle at number 2 and 3. The album nearly matched Kid A in terms of sales, and although it debuted lower in America it yet managed to sell more copies in its first week. As a result, Amnesiac indicated that the band's continued musical explorations were commercially viable to a mass audience, and cemented Radiohead's status as one of only a few modern UK rock bands able to achieve consistent success in the US. In 2010, Rolling Stone
would rank Amnesiac as the 25th best album of the decade 2000-2009.
Amnesiac was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001, though it lost to PJ Harvey
's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
, an album on which Yorke had appeared the previous year in a duet with Harvey (Yorke thanked PJ Harvey in the liner notes to Radiohead's 2003 release, Hail to the Thief
). Like Radiohead's three previous releases, Amnesiac was also nominated for a Grammy Award
for Best Alternative Album
, but the award instead went to Coldplay
for Parachutes.
The band wrote the songs for both Amnesiac and Kid A in the studio, without regard for live performances, which had to be developed and arranged later. Many of the songs that ended up on Amnesiac had been played and recorded during shows in 2000 to promote Kid A. Radiohead had not toured widely outside of Europe since 1998, but in 2001, their Amnesiac tour reached North America
and Japan
.
Several months after the release of Amnesiac, the I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings EP was published featuring recordings from the tour, including Amnesiac tracks "I Might Be Wrong", "Dollars and Cents" and a piano arrangement of "Like Spinning Plates
".
Notes
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
also ranked it number 5, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked it number 10 and also ranked it 25 on the 100 best albums of the decade. Others included Magnet
Magnet (magazine)
Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,...
(in no order), Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
(number 8), 3 of the 4 major reviewers of The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
(number 8, 8, and 5), and Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
and Spin Cycle at number 2 and 3. The album nearly matched Kid A in terms of sales, and although it debuted lower in America it yet managed to sell more copies in its first week. As a result, Amnesiac indicated that the band's continued musical explorations were commercially viable to a mass audience, and cemented Radiohead's status as one of only a few modern UK rock bands able to achieve consistent success in the US. In 2010, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
would rank Amnesiac as the 25th best album of the decade 2000-2009.
Amnesiac was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001, though it lost to PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter PJ Harvey, released 23 October 2000 on Island Records. Recorded during March to April 2000, the album contains themes of love that are tied into Harvey's affection for New York City...
, an album on which Yorke had appeared the previous year in a duet with Harvey (Yorke thanked PJ Harvey in the liner notes to Radiohead's 2003 release, Hail to the Thief
Hail to the Thief
Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2003 through Parlophone Records. After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen...
). Like Radiohead's three previous releases, Amnesiac was also nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Alternative Album
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative rock genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
, but the award instead went to Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
for Parachutes.
The band wrote the songs for both Amnesiac and Kid A in the studio, without regard for live performances, which had to be developed and arranged later. Many of the songs that ended up on Amnesiac had been played and recorded during shows in 2000 to promote Kid A. Radiohead had not toured widely outside of Europe since 1998, but in 2001, their Amnesiac tour reached North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Several months after the release of Amnesiac, the I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings EP was published featuring recordings from the tour, including Amnesiac tracks "I Might Be Wrong", "Dollars and Cents" and a piano arrangement of "Like Spinning Plates
Like spinning plates
"Like Spinning Plates" is a song written by the British rock band Radiohead, featured on the 2001 album Amnesiac.The song was first recorded after a failed attempt to record "I Will", a track released on their later album Hail to the Thief. Lead singer Yorke then played the song in reverse, from...
".
Track listing
All tracks written by Radiohead.- "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" – 4:00
- "Pyramid SongPyramid Song"Pyramid Song" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was the first single from their 2001 album Amnesiac and the first Radiohead single released in over three years, after none were taken from their previous album Kid A....
" – 4:49 - "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors"Titled "Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors" on the special edition release. – 4:07
- "You and Whose Army?" – 3:11
- "I Might Be WrongI Might Be WrongI Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings is a 2001 live album by English rock band Radiohead, consisting of live performances of eight songs recorded on a tour of Europe and North America, including seven songs from their albums Kid A and Amnesiac, and one never released on a studio album, "True Love...
" – 4:54 - "Knives OutKnives Out"Knives Out" is a song by English rock band Radiohead. The composition features electric and acoustic guitars, complemented by singer Thom Yorke's vocals. It appears on Radiohead's 2001 album Amnesiac, recorded during the same sessions as the previous album Kid A...
" – 4:15 - "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" – 3:14
- "Dollars and Cents" – 4:52
- "Hunting Bears" – 2:01
- "Like Spinning Plates" – 3:57
- "Life in a Glasshouse" – 4:34
Notes
External links
- Feature and Interview on Amnesiac: Simon ReynoldsSimon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
, "Walking on Thin Ice", The Wire, July 2001 (archived at Follow Me Around) - Feature and Interview by Nick Kent on Amnesiac: "Happy Now?", Mojo, June 2001 (archived at Follow Me Around)
- Radiohead recalls recording 'Amnesiac'