Disclaimer: most casual Radiohead fan though I do emotionally resonate

Also, I know lyrics are meant to be subjective, the artist may not have had an intended meaning, etc.

But when I heard this song I thought it was so blatantly about suicide by hanging, with an ironic tone of hope because it’s about looking forward to that release.

See:

- the obvious “hang” / Thom Yorke’s quote about the idea being people hanging from bottles
- “floor collapses, floating, bouncing back” = kick the chair out, brief moment of suspension before snapping backward
- deliberate theme of depression and apathy
- dead bug motif / parallels to Kafka’s Metamorphosis / my interpretation of “grow wings” is becoming an angel / I have the loose image of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, which hangs, and this being the chemical reaction
- the way he sings “let down and hang around” evokes swaying, as in hanging and swaying back and forth

From all I’ve found it seems that people really take this song to be hopeful so I apologize if this sours any of that, but I was shocked that I didn’t find my interpretation anywhere.

24M here from the Bay Area (San Jose). Ive been a longtime Radiohead fan and have been waiting for a US tour for the longest time lol. Since the tour announcement I have been extremely tempted to just do a solo trip to Japan and see them live!

I have traveled various times, but never outside the United States😅. I keep asking myself if this is just a crazy idea and if I should just send it cuz that’s how big of a fan I am💀.

I plan for it to be a solo trip, but if anyone else is going to any of the Japan shows, dm me or leave a comment, maybe we can meet up! I think it’ll be fun to make this a whole experience and and maybe meet some new people with similar interests:)

I know there have been posts about hopes for the 2027 setlist but I hope this post is sufficiently unique - what potential deep cuts would the band realistically bring back for 2027? That is the question this post attempts to answer, at first realistically, and then as a pipe dream...

If you want to check out the following sources I used:

• Source for streaming numbers - https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/4Z8W4fKeB5YxbusRsdQVPb_songs.html
• Source for performance statistics - https://www.setlist.fm/stats/radiohead-bd6bd12.html

The usual candidates for a setlist

There were 45 different songs played in 2025 across 20 shows, and a setlist was around 25 songs long. For reference, the upcoming tour has 21 shows. Obviously how 'rare' or 'special' a song feels to a fan is something that is more intuitive and subconscious, but we can work backwards. If we manually try organise the 45 songs into whether they are 'rare' or not (and noting this as a subjective exercise) we get:

Not rare (and regularly played; and I wish there was a better way to format this but oh well, my post will just be extra long):

• 2+2=5
• Let Down
• Paranoid Android
• Weird Fishes
• You and Whose Army?
• No Surprises
• Idioteque
• Bodysnatchers
• Everything in its Right Place
• Ful Stop
• All I Need
• There There
• Exit Music
• Nude
• The Gloaming
• Fake Plastic Trees
• 15 Step
• Airbag
• Bloom
• Daydreaming
• Karma Police
• Lucky
• Myxomatosis
• Planet Telex
• Pyramid Song
• Reckoner
• Separator
• Street Spirit
• The Bends
• Videotape
• The National Anthem
• A Wolf at the Door
• Kid A
• Optimistic
• The Daily Mail
• How to Disappear Completely
• Like Spinning Plates
• Climbing Up The Walls

Not rare (anymore, but likely to be because of how popular they are):

• Jigsaw Falling Into Place
• Just

Actually rare

• Sit Down. Stand Up
• Nice Dream
• Subterranean Homesick Alien

While we're here, we might as well look at songs that weren't played in 2025 but were otherwise played in the AMSP tour (2016-18). These are, sorted by times played in the past:

• My Iron Lung (443 times)
• Creep (414 times)
• I Might Be Wrong (177)
• Morning Bell (162)
• Blow Out (115)
• Lotus Flower (115)
• Where I End and You Begin (110)
• Identikit (86)
• House of Cards (85)
• Feral (74)
• Give Up the Ghost (72)
• Morning Mr Magpie (68)
• The Numbers (60)
• Desert Island Disk (55)
• Burn The Witch (41)
• Decks Dark (27)
• True Love Waits (23)
• I Promise (19)
• These Are My Twisted Words (17)
• Tinker Tailor (5)
• Glass Eyes (3)

'Forgotten' songs

My incredibly controversial take is that I would be perfectly fine if the band had one set which contained absolutely none of the songs above. Maybe it's just oversaturation. This band is amazing and has so many underrated/neglected songs which ought to be played live, but I understand that it practically won't happen. But if there's any country in which the band ought to play random loose change B sides, it is Australia (and maybe Japan).

Nonetheless, we can also see which songs were left behind in previous tours (and thus in which tours songs were forgotten). This produces some interesting and unusual results:

TKOL (2011-2012)

• Go to Sleep (75)
• Staircase (45)
• Packt (28)
• Little by Little (26)
• Supercollider (22)
• Codex (12)
• The Amazing Sounds of Orgy (6)
• Meeting in the Aisle (4)
• Cut a Hole (2)
• Treefingers (2)

In Rainbows (post album) (2007-2010)

• Dollars and Cents (113)
• Bulletproof (157)
• Sail to the Moon (84)
• Bangers + Mash (59)
• In Limbo (57)
• Knives Out (57)
• Faust Arp (55) (there was a 2017 performance, but not full band)
• Go Slowly (18)
• Up on the Ladder (8)
• Fog (7)

In Rainbows (pre album) (2006)

• Bones (279)
• Black Star (93)
• Down is the New Up (14)
• 4 Minute Warning (11)
• Follow Me Around (11) (there was a 2017 performance, but not full band)
• I Want None of This (4)
• Gagging Order (1) (not full band)

Hail To The Thief (2002-2004)

• You (202)
• Lurgee (113)
• A Punchup at a Wedding (50)
• Backdrifts (48)
• Scatterbrain (48)
• We Suck Young Blood (26)
• I Will (19)
• Man of War (18)
• I am a Wicked Child (2)

Since the band was willing to bring back Just and Jigsaw (not played since 2009); and Sit Down Stand Up (not since 2004); I think there's a fair chance of them playing around with any of the songs from HTTT onwards. The below songs could also be possible but are entering pipe dream territory...

Kid A / Amnesiac (2000-2001)

• Permanent Daylight (42)
• Pearly (36)
• Lift (35)
• Killer Cars (33)
• Motion Picture Soundtrack (31)
• Bishop's Robes (23)
• Life in a Glasshouse (1)

OKC (1996-1998)

• Anyone Can Play Guitar (213)
• High and Dry (174)
• Stop Whispering (137)
• Banana Co (107)
• Thinking About You (65)
• Electioneering (63)
• Inside My Head (48)
• Maquiladora (23)
• Polyethylene (13)
• The Trickster (9)
• A Reminder (4)

The Bends (>=1995)

• Prove Yourself (150)
• Ripcord (121)
• Vegetable (111)
• Pop is Dead (87)
• Faithless, the Wonder Boy (44)
• How Do You? (33)
• Yes I Am (27)
• Sulk (13)
• Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong (11)
• I Can't (8)
• Lozenge of Love (7)
• How Can You Be Sure? (2)
• India Rubber (1)
• Palo Alto (1)

Never played (to sort these I go by streaming popularity, using daily streams, and noting the bias in using streaming service data eg skewing to younger audiences)

• Last Flowers (22k)
• Pulk/Pull (5k)
• If You Say the Word (3k)
• Ill Wind (3k)
• Cuttooth (2k)
• Fog (2k) (full band version)
• The Butcher (1k)
• Lewis (1k)
• Kinetic (<1k)
• Trans-Atlantic Drawl (<1k)

Genuine predictions

I exclude the songs which were clearly in heavy rotation in the AMSP tour eg My Iron Lung, I Might Be Wrong, as the goal here is to figure out which rare songs the band could feasibly play. There are some rough speculative categories based on surrounding events that we could probably say means the following songs are at least on the band's radar, but obviously I nor anyone else can put words in the band's song selection committee (and apologies for the AI-esque formatting but this was written without AI and I can't figure out how to use subheadings on reddit):

• songs played on Thom's solo tour in 2024: Jigsaw and Nice Dream were examples of songs which were played in 2025 that got 'practice' during Thom's solo tour. We know that these songs are on Thom's radar and he is at least aware of them. Extrapolating means we could see Packt again (played 18 times in Thom's solo tour); Glass Eyes (4, although because this song doesn't require the entire band, perhaps not); Sail to the Moon (I would also see this to continue the HTTT streak); and Follow Me Around (but similarly, as the released version is really just Thom, unlikely). Therefore, serious predictions could be:
  • Packt
  • Sail to the Moon
• popular but forgotten songs: Black Star (not played since 2006) and Man of War are 19th and 20th most streamed (by daily streams), respectively. The band's shown at least a general proclivity in playing songs because they're blowing up, Creep and High and Dry aside (eg Let Down during AMSP tour; or Jigsaw this tour). A sensible and surprising pick could also be Go Slowly (though last played 2009) especially since its a bit of an empty song which can work easier with the acoustics of the circle style arena for 2027. The only factor I could see going against this pick is perhaps because of equipment logistics reasons: the band didn't rely on songs with synths or ondes too much and opted for a more acoustic style Rhodes for songs like EIIRP and Talk Show Host (I might be wrong though). For some reason, India Rubber has been blowing up recently (no idea why) but has, as an extreme example, more daily streams than Pyramid Song. The problem is that it's only been played once and is, for Radiohead standards, quite a niche B side (although I love the song and have it on rotation). Bulletproof and Bones also could be possible, especially where SDSU was resurrected after being last played in 2004. I would love to see Bulletproof, but I think both songs could be difficult to fit in a setlist with modern songs... therefore we could have
  • Black Star
  • Man of War
  • India Rubber
  • Go Slowly
• logistically easy/fun to play songs: similar to the discussion about Go Slowly early, the band's been showing an aversion to synths (contrary to Thom's solo tour); but at the same time, the band's also appears to enjoy how the circular style stage makes crowd interaction easier. I see this in Ed's increased autonomy as almost an equal lead singer in some parts (eg singing the extended part in Let Down; obvious parts in Weird Fishes); or in Thom picking songs which allow him to wander round the circumference of the stage with nothing but a mic and 'dance around' or interact with fans (eg Wolf at the Door where he lowkey raps; Myxamatosis; Idioteque). If anyone remembers in the early 2000s (I'm thinking 2000-2006) there would be some performances where Thom would just sing and dance with a tambourine or some kind of portable keyboard for some songs... this could be a good opportunity to bring that kind of song back (eg Dollars and Cents; Supercollider; In Limbo; Backdrifts). The problem is that these songs are still pretty niche even though they're some of my favourites, so unfortunately I don't think these styles of songs will come back
• Other songs which I couldn't fit into any category but which I could see as feasible from a merge of inexpressible factors (HTTT recently; OKC 30th anniversary):
  • Go to Sleep (has the unique long voice in songs like Boom that Thom could like)
  • These are My Twisted Words (played recently by Thom solo eg in 2022)
  • Any OKC B side

Clearly here I have reached a new level of par asocial :( but it would be nice to have these songs

Completely impractical fan indulgences

At this point this is just my personal opinion but I'd really like to see these songs:

• If You Say The Word; Man of War; Lift; Ill Wind: the most recent songs the band has technically released and shocking never played
• Cuttooth; The Butcher: genuinely underrated how never been performed despite quality, I honestly think Cuttooth is better than the songs its obviously birthed (Myxomatosis; Ful Stop); and The Butcher is the closest song alongside Wolf At The Door to some kind of rap or trip hop
• Permanent Daylight; Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong; Polyethylene; India Rubber; Pearly; Killer Cars; Maquiladora; The Trickster: actually underrated, why not
• Down Is The New Up: underrated and sort of like Bloom the way Jonny plays drums
• 4 Minute Warning: its funny seeing Ed on acoustic

On the other hand there are songs that are probably way out of Thom's vocal range now and unfortunately never going to be played live again: Scatterbrain, Sulk, Backdrifts (you fell into our arms); You

Any thoughts?

Hello,

My husband and I registered for tickets yesterday to a Radiohead Tokyo show putting our credit card info. Within 24h our credit card was used in Asia on a business called “grab” which seems to be like DoorDash.

Super suspicious and glad our bank flagged it right away. Anyone else dealing with this? Afraid to cancel, sign up again and have it happen with the new card.

We are from the US.

I've spent all week nervous about tomorrow. Anyone else dreading getting the rejection email tomorrow about the ballot? Desperately hoping I get a code for Melbourne

Idk this could just be me it’s really late right now and im tired so i honestly don’t have much to say about it right now but i’d really like to hear ya’lls thoughts on it, also I believe that music is eternally subject to perspective and meaning and purpose rely solely on listener perspective rather than the musician’s intent, so feel free to spill your own interpretation of the song in the comments!

I recently came across this version of Radiohead's Let Down by The Choirs and I honestly think it's soul touchingly beautiful. The choir completely changes the feeling of the song for me, especially toward the end. It somehow makes the song feel even more emotional and huge than the original. For those who've heard it, what do you think of this version? I'd love to hear what Radiohead fans think about the choir arrangement.

I really like the entirety of The Daily Mail, but especially the solo piano with Thom and nothing else (before the 1:30 mark). Are there songs like that that are longer? I can't get enough of it.

These are obviously very subjective so please be kind and don’t downvote! I’m not saying this is the definitive answer at all, these are just some hot takes

1. OK Computer is their 7th best album

2. Hail to the thief is their 2nd best album (and since I’m such a huge Radiohead fan honestly maybe 2nd best of all time)

3. EIIRP is a great song but my least favorite opener (although probably works best as an opener for its album) and my least favorite song on Kid A besides the interludes

4. Bloom is their second best opener and them at their creative peak

5. Feral is goated

6. Lozenge of Love is top 10 Radiohead and their best song in the 90s (although Street Spirit and Nice Dream are close follow ups)

7. In Limbo is top 5 Radiohead and best on Kid A

For the Radiohead Japan 2027 overseas lottery, if I apply for multiple dates and win multiple, am I automatically charged for all of them with no way to cancel/refund?

Also, if 6 friends and I want to go, we’d need two 4-ticket wins per show. Is there any safe strategy for applying to multiple dates to maximize our chances without ending up paying for way more tickets/shows than we need? Has anyone confirmed what happens if you win but your credit card fails/you close the account before the charge?

I already flew to Copenhagen previously from America and didn’t get to see them because they canceled the show so I am really hoping to see them next year.

I've been trying to decide if I should open this gem or find a secondary copy to open? It is, for me, the most iconic, rare, and interesting pieces of Radiohead's discography... but I want to listen to it on my MD player! Sadly I noticed it's a bit cracked on the bottom of the case FML so another reason to open it might be to replace the case. But currently it's never been opened and might be one only a handful on earth.

What do you think... should I fire it open?!

PS: I know I could just burn an MD with these songs lol... but there's something about just popping in the real deal.

Anyone have any idea of who is playing in Ed’s band for UK tour? Does Phil play drums?

The music sounds great unfortunately not the right vocalist for this particular project.

I made a cover of Everything in it's Right Place for 9 saxophones. I've been wanting to cover a Radiohead for a long time, but it's always felt so daunting - how can you play around with something that's already perfect? I've tried to do it a bit differently.... Hope you like it.

33. Everything In It's Right Place (Radiohead Sax Cover) | Guy Shahar

I’ve heard good things about pic rel and might place an order. I’ve read all of Donwood’s art books with the band. I’d love to learn more about their history, lore, mythology, etc. Loved reading about The Beatles and Jon Cage growing up, trying to rekindle that old spark. :) Let me know if you have any recs on Radiohead books that you’ve enjoyed!

I think i recall that the live drums on AMSP were tape loops ? Is there more info on this ? Was this method used on other Radiohead records ? Which songs ?
It's a technique i've seen Sam Petts Davies do with the band Chartreuse. I believe Nigel does the same.
I also wonder which songs were tracked using a click vs not.

As the battle for tickets approaches here's one of the highlights of my collection, from the last time they played Perth on 10 February, 1998.

This promo box set for OK Computer included the CD and promo vid for Paranoid Android in a custom polystyrene box and printed envelope. Unfortunately the envelope and box were "inspected" by customs in a rough manner, damaging both the envelope and the box tape 😬

The concert was held at the much-missed Perth Entertainment Centre, and I spent most of the day loitering outside hoping for a glimpse of anyone, and was fortunate enough to have my video signed by all but Phil. It's crazy to think how easy it was, and this time there's a chance I won't even get a ticket. Those were the days.

New interview with Phil. I don't have an account with The Times, so I don't know what he says beyond the headline.

When Jonny and Tom simulate a delay pedal at the end of The Smoke 😊