IFLTS: 'Bangers and Mash,' Radiohead

Posted on Sep 15th 2008 4:00PM by Rob Smy
Comments

'Bangers and Mash,' Radiohead
From 2007's 'In Rainbows'

Lurking at almost the very end of the bonus disc from Radiohead's most recent album, 'In Rainbows,' you'll find 'Bangers and Mash.' Anglophiles will know this to be standard English comfort food in the same vein as fish and chips, but there is nothing comforting about what Mr. Yorke and Co. are serving up here.

From the get-go, the music sets a tone of unease. Jonny Greenwood's swooping discordant twangs accompany an itchy drum beat reminiscent of PJ Harvey's 'Who the F---?'; A fat dirty bass line kicks in alongside Yorke's plaintive yodel, "You bit me, bit me, bit me, ow. You bit me ... now I want more."

The song is about the corruption and dubious tastes of the powerful in society, and the music reflects this as at one point the backing vocals coo seductively before finally succumbing to the frenetic drums, insistent bass and angry guitars of the song's beginning.

Testament to the band's proficiency on stage, I loved this song all the more when I saw it performed live. Yorke was presented with a mini drum kit all of his own, and he went at it like a man possessed.

What song do you freakin' love? Write our next IFLTS. Send it to us at spinnereditor@aim.com

More IFLTS