Radiohead: "Staircase"

A family member recently asked me to describe Radiohead to them and it gave me a moment of pause. I used to go with the all-encompassing label “rock band” until I felt the need to qualify the term with the word ‘“art.” Then came the time where I smoked a lot of pot in my room and listened to Kid A and decided Radiohead was the greatest electronic band ever. Now, though, I just think of them as a band with a really good drummer. Consider: I’ve realized that I’ll never casually listen to the King of Limbs or use it as the soundtrack to an epic road trip. Hell, I certainly wouldn’t get high to it, because that would be terrifying. But the one thing I remember from the album is how Phil Selway’s skittish and complex drum rhythms were a rare but notable highlight that managed to lend weight and give direction to deconstructed, chopped-and-screwed, unmelodic tracks like “Feral.”

“Staircase,” which comes to us as part of a live performance of The King of Limbs on BBC’s From the Basement, features not only Selway on drums but his near doppelganger Clive Dreamer. Colin Greenwood’s bass and the drum interplay of these two masters navigate the song over a frozen pond of icy synth as Thom Yorke pleads for us to “let [him] take control.” Jonny Greenwood comes in at the end with an anchoring guitar hook, the likes of which were conspicuously missing from every King of Limbs track besides “Separator.” The song is much more cohesive than anything on King of Limbs, though decidedly less experimental. Of course, given the fact that even the most impenetrable Radiohead songs have the tendency to click when pared down for live shows, it’s hard to tell what this song would sound like had it been included on the album proper.

It’s interesting, because with King of Limbs it seemed like the band made a defiant decision to compose songs that would never get stuck in the listener’s head. “Staircase,” however, is more than just white noise; it probably would have been the most memorable track on the album had it been included. The fact that it was deserted during the studio sessions seems to buttress the supposition that King of Limbs is experimental for the sake of being experimental. Hell, I was convinced for almost a full week that King of Limbs was either a) an elaborate joke precluding the release of the “real” album, b) a reference to Gravity’s Rainbow that I wasn’t getting because I’d never read it, or c) a challenge to reviewers who would be reluctant to call out one of the most critically celebrated bands in the world.

“Staircase” confirms what we already knew—that we listen to music not just to hear studio wizardry, but because it gets stuck in our heads and becomes something we can’t help but listen to again and again. Yorke’s cut-up lyrics can’t be set to cut-up music or else there’s nothing for us to grab a hold of. King of Limbs was, essentially, the Naked Lunch of music, and “Staircase” is an indication that the band is still capable of releasing music that drags us into its sonic depths and won’t let go until it’s had it’s way with us. I would be reluctant to call the song a “return to form” because, after all, what constitutes a return to form when you’re talking about one of the most protean bands to currently exist? More accurately then, “Staircase” is a bridge between two different Radioheads: the percussionist’s band and the rock band. While really good drumming couldn’t save King of Limbs, it’s a lovely complement to music that is more accessible than terrifying.