The strings were arranged by Johnny Greenwood who's one of the guitarists in the band. He's actually done some composing for film scores, including three Paul Thomas Anderson films.

Amnesiac is criminally underrated and deserves multiple listens.

Radiohead has been like a fine wine for me. I had heard bits and pieces of their music years ago, but hadn't fully "gotten it" yet. Now, suddenly, everything I hear by them seems to grab me by the throat emotionally. Especially this song. I was already along for the ride at the very beginning, but by the time the drums and the strings came in, I was flat-out weeping. I also found myself wondering how I could have not understood Radiohead before.

I've always loved the way Phil's drumming sounds like it trips up into the song. Almost as if Phil can't quite find the timing either!

Try “Reckoner,” “Nude” or “Weird Fishes” from the In Rainbows album

You'll fully decompose before you cover every amazing Radiohead song. :P

This song is utterly unique....I still can't absorb it fully. It's crazy.

This particular song is made to cause a visceral emotional response... it's like magic. It is a masterpiece

I'll never forget the first time I heard this song, still the same experience 4 billion times after.

You can't over-goober when a song reminds you of your late dad. 🖤

17 years ago I heard this album alone in a hot tub in the middle of the night by the ocean and it’s been my favorite of all time ever since.

My father passed away when I was fairly young and I discovered this song not long afterwards. My throat still closes up every time I hear it, Such a hauntingly beautiful track.

Watching this guy’s face as he listens to music is enchanting.

Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief are the most underrated Radiohead albums. Two of my favourites.

I’ve never seen Radiohead, but I knew Colin Greenwood, their bass player, and shared drummers with Colin’s band when I was at Cambridge in 1988-91. When our bands both played at a college ball, I remember watching Colin’s band. The other members of Radiohead weren’t at Cambridge and he was in a 3 piece with our drummer Andy, and a fantastic blues guitarist who I knew pretty well. This was Will Mazzarella (sp?) who was awesome. I’m a lead guitarist and I spent the whole time looking at Will, who sang and played like a virtuoso. I was sure if anyone I knew was going to “make it”, it’d be him. He was gorgeous, tall, charismatic, and cool as fuck. But there was a tune they did where Colin did this astonishing, really out-there bass line. Maybe a bit like the bass on the “dinosaurs roamed the earth” track. Super hook, but not what you were expecting either. Dan, my bass player, and I were slack jawed watching this. What the fuck, that isn’t a scale and I’ve no idea what he was playing. We approached him afterwards and I said, what… how do you … what was that… type of thing. Colin kind of said something, like, “I don’t know, you just find the note that is right. Play that one and then find the next note that wants to go there.” (Like that was going to help much!) Same with this pyramid song with lyrics about a dream and the piano chords from heaven and that strange paused rhythm, lilting emphasis that is so addictive and gently pulled back to the loop as you surface every few bars, but there aren’t even any bars as you drift through the pleasure of surrendering to death. And the drum beat that isn’t a beat, that restarts your own heart and brings you back to the surface of the river, with the black-eyed angel singing to me. Left university, didn’t keep in touch with Colin or Andy. (Pre social media so it wasn’t easy). For a couple of years since I’d come across them, Radiohead were this band I loved and I had completely eaten up “the bends” and “ok pc” and had no idea Colin was in the band. Then I bumped into Andy at a Neil Young gig. “Isn’t Colin doing well”, he goes… Only problem is, I am going to need about 20 of their songs to be on the playlist for my funeral. The next person’s going to have to wait a while before they get cremated.

Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke wrote this & he based Pyramid Song on a song by the Jazz player Charles Mingus called "Freedom." This track originally contained handclaps, but the group didn't like how they came out and erased them. Radiohead performed this at some of their shows before releasing it on the album. It was known as "Egyptian Song." Their albums Kid A and Amnesiac were recorded at the same time, but Amnesiac was released a few weeks later. In 2003, this was used in a public service announcement for forest fire prevention in the US. Radiohead never allows their music to be used for commercial purposes, but Thom Yorke thought this was a good cause so he let them use it for $1. This was written by Thom Yorke after a visit to an exhibition of Egyptian art, during a two-week sojourn in Copenhagen in 1999. He told MTV: "That song literally took five minutes to write, but yet it came from all these mad places. [It's] something I never thought I could actually get across in a song and lyrically. [But I] managed it and that was really, really tough. [Physicist] Stephen Hawking talks about the theory that time is another force. It's [a] fourth dimension and [he talks about] the idea that time is completely cyclical, it's always doing this [spins finger]. It's a factor, like gravity. It's something that I found in Buddhism as well. That's what Pyramid Song' is about, the fact that everything is going in circles." According to Colin Greenwood, it was the image of "people being ferried across the river of death" that most affected York. This is reflected in the song's many references to Dante's imaginary journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, Divine Comedy. These include the black-eyed angels, a moon full of stars and jumping into the river. Yorke hammered out this track's chord progression on a baby grand piano that he had bought, in rejection of Radiohead's guitar-led past. The siren - like sonic undertow was produced by Jonny Greenwood's ondes Martenot, an unusual Theremin-like device invented in 1928.

Please paranoid Android, it is a real journey of a track. Was never keen on pyramid song back in the day, but I have a new appreciation for it now

Ok, I have to make another comment now that I've finished the video. What a wonderful reaction to a truly beautiful and mysterious song. For this son to bring emotions and a connection to your dad is so nice. Love it. I'm still here. 🙏

Radiohead is very good at creating an atmospheric vibe that instantly brings me back to very specific points in time. Like hitting a mark anywhere on a dartboard that’s attached to not just memories but feelings. Some random & fleeting and some much deeper & emotional. Glad to see it’s a shared experience.

When I read that title I actually thought the guy had a reaction and then breakdown after listening to the song. As a Radiohead fan, I was nodding my head thinking this outcome is plausible. 😂

And now after the Tool rabbithole, welcome to he Radiohead rabbitehole.

it's great to see you becoming ONE OF US. Radiohead is endlessly interesting in their composition. 'Where I End and You Begin' is still my vote, Geebz!

It was cool to see how much you appreciated Jonny Greenwood's string arrangements. It's pretty rare for a band to have a member who writes their orchestral parts, and amazing ones at that.

Radiohead has been my constant for the past 23 years. Glad you're enjoying! Pyramid Song always makes me emotional. When I finally saw them live a few years ago I cried like a baby when they played it.

Jonny Greenwood is as much a genius as Thom. His guitar tones and parts are perfect almost throughout his entire career, and his string arrangements are just gorgeous. He scored the movie “There Will Be Blood,” which is one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time imo

Hey there, classically trained musician and thus music theorist here! A few years ago I sat down and figured out this song, should you approach the tune with time signatures as opposed to just assuming syncopation and ignoring the weird time signature stuff going on. If you really sit down and just vocally say "1, 2, 3, 4" in time with the song, it just doesn't work out. It sounds like it does at first, but the further you get the further it falls apart. Granted, this was a few years ago and I lost my notes, but I'll try and sum up my findings on another listen with the information I recall. Following the piano at the start is really difficult, but once the time doubles and the drums kick in, it's a little more clear to dissect exactly what's happening. Basically, it's constantly changing time signatures throughout the song, and they're all whacky. After the pickup fill by the drums (about 6:48 in this vid), leading onto the downbeat of 1, we can count (more clearly now that it's in "double time" or rather, the /8 is more tangible)... 1 bar of 5/8 2 bars of 8/8 1 bar of 11/8 ~vocals come in here on 1~ As you might notice, 5+8+8+11=32, which would be divisible by 4 (in 8 measures) in the end, but simply counting in 4 doesn't properly land you on downbeats and 1's in every measure, so this would be a more accurate representation of that's happening. If you try and vocally count 8 bars of 4/8 during this time you will end up on 1 where I wrote the vocals come in, but it'll go a lot less smoothly than counting the time signatures I wrote above. It tends to maintain this structure for most of the rest of the song, though there are some oddballs in there if I recall correctly. The beginning is much more complex, but you have to kind of keep that tempo and groove in your mind of when the drums come in, when the time is doubled and we have that kind of jazzy swing going on, and keep counting it in /8 even though we don't have the drums to hold that beat for us. This way, you can go back and hear at the beginning that it's something like... 1 bar of 5/8 1 bar of 8/8 1 bar of 3/8 1 bar of 5/8 1 bar of 11/8 1 bar of 5/8 ~ooh's start here~ 2 bars of 8/8 1 bar of 11/8 ~lyrics come in here on 1~ Obviously this is all very subjective and you can interpret this song and it's time signatures/etc however you'd like, but I was able to count with the above pattern throughout most of it. Like I said, at one point I had this entire song written out to every last measure, though I don't have the time to do that in a single KZfaq comment. I hope this was interesting for someone out there to read, if you are another musician and disagree with my interpretation that's perfectly fine, like I said it can be very subjective from person to person. Let me know if you have any questions, or if this made perfect sense to you! Thanks if you made it this far~

The opening chords of this song never, ever fail to reduce me to tears. The most beautiful song ever written.

Johnny Greenwood (the guitarist) is a genius, he has done the score for there will be blood and got an oscar nominee for Phantom Thread.. he has arranged everything with is band radiohead ;)

I think you should consider doing "Everything in its right place." One of the most insane left turns in rock history.

Reckoner & Videotape from In Rainbows are a must as well

I'm still here. Some Björk would be amazing to see if it's not already been done. Pagan Poetry perhaps

I'm a decent musician, have listened to this song hundreds of times over the years, and *still* struggle to find the downbeat until the drums come in.

Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has scored a few movies (There Will Be Blood) and is an orchestral composer, you can definitely hear that :)

I’m still here. Don’t burn yourself out, Geebz!

This song makes me cry. It touches something very deep inside of me. The music is soul-crushing and then add the lyrics and I feel like I'm grieving. It breaks my heart for some reason.

Please do more Radiohead songs,All their songs are profusely unique and different from each other. RADIOHEAD IS A GENRE!!!

Glad you enjoyed this one! This is my favourite Radiohead song, it’s just glorious!

Yes... still here! Radiohead & TOOL are kings! My all time favs!

I was blessed enough to go to an acoustic set by Thom and Jonny in Italy a few years ago which was a fundraiser for the earthquake hit area in central Italy. When they played "Pyramid Song", I swear that I thought "if I die later tonight, at least I've witnessed this". It was astounding, if much more stripped down than this version.

How do you know your a musician? You try and lock in the time signature when listening to pyramid song. This song travels from ear to brain to stomach and finally the heart. Timeless.

Reeeeeckoneeeeer next please :)

Jonny Greenwood (the guitar player) does string arrangements for Radiohead. He is not the main songwriter in the band (vocalist Thom Yorke is) but he has written a lot of film scores, notably for The Phantom Thread which was nominated for Oscars. Also check out Daydreeming by Radiohead.

I'm so happy to hear you speak so highly of this song and to see you react so positively to Radiohead in general. When I talk about radiohead's music to friends and family, they generally don't get it. I've always thought that Radiohead was doing more musically and technically than just about any other modern band.

I think, of all the bands I've heard, Radiohead have the largest number that just resonate with my at a deep emotional level. Sometimes I find them too much to listen to because of that. I saw them live once, and the concert was so strange and beautiful - the crowd were so reverential, and the band humble and grateful for the reception they got, it was more like attending some kind of spiritual service. Amazing band.

I'm still here. That was excellent. Pyramid Song is a portable transcendental experience. Do Daydreaming next!

One of my all time favorite Radiohead songs. So beautifully haunting. And it is in 4/4. The strings were recorded in the studio. The lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, composed the string section.

I was playing Cyberpunk and they have a mission called "pyramid song" where surprise...You dive to an underwater town and explore. First RH reference I've found in video games.

This track, codex and videotape are my Radiohead holy trinity. I go around in circles trying to decide which one takes the crown.

Check out Street Spirits (Fade Out) by Radiohaed. The Band says that the song wrote itself and they only play it as their last song live because they tear up in tears after they play it.

As well as being syncopated, it is also swung, so it feels even more floaty

This has been my favorite band for a few years, and it's beautiful to listen to someone explain to me how the music is making me feel what I feel. Subbed! Pura vida!

This is definitely one of my all-time favorites of theirs. That being said I think people failed to give enough credit to Nigel Goodrich and his producing ability, between his work with Radiohead and Beck, He's made some of the most spine tingling music I've ever heard that resonates like no other.

There's two songs that made Radiohead click with me after many years of kind of hating them. One is a dark, disturbing nightmare hellscape called Climbing Up the Walls. The other is a beautiful, melancholic, almost poppy number called Let Down, which made me finally realize that Thom is a goddamn amazing vocalist. I think you'd have an interesting time with both of those. They're one of my top favorite bands of all time now, btw, rubbing up against others like The Cure, another group of absolute wizards who can do amazing things with simplicity.

I've been waiting for a reaction to my favourite song for many years and with your knowledge of music you've made it so much better. Thank you :D

FINALLY! I've been waiting, literally, since day one of your reactions for this one! As always, fantastic work!

I don't know if you know much about Thom Yorke's solo records, Twist and Dawn Chorus from his latest album are both mesmerising songs

Woohoo! You finally did Pyramid Song! Now you gotta check out Weird Fishes!

Man, watching you enjoy this as much as I, just makes me so, so happy. It's been years and years and this song is still so important to me.

love your radiohead reviews man. so lovely to see someone hearing their discography for the first time! Please review 15 step next! :)

My friend, this is exactly why listening to Radiohead (and I have been for nearly 30 years) equates to me as an almost religious experience

New drinking game: Take a shot every time he says "I'm not a vocal coach, but..." in a video xD Loved this reaction nevertheless. I discovered you a couple weeks ago and it feels like I haven't even made a dent in watching all your content. You really provide for your fanbase and I think that's awesome of you.

Oh man, I've heard this song hundreds of times but you nearly damn brought me to tears with your descriptions and reactions. What a wonderful joy experiencing an artist respecting the pure heart and soul of another artist

I’m still here...and ready for more! 🤘🏼Thank you for your wonderful reactions to the 3 Radiohead songs I just watched - with BONUS points for using cans to do it: the layers and nuances are bestest when they fully envelop you & take you on that Radiohead journey!! Can’t easily suggest other songs for reactions - there are far too, too many to narrow down. Welcome to the Radiohead club: we are a passionate group!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I listed this song on the last radiohead reaction so I feel heard for the first time in my life lol. Please continue what you do Geebz.

Soooo stoked you LOVED this song as much as I do. 😁🎶✌️🥳

There hasn’t been a time since I very first heard this song that it didn’t give me goosebumps. It’s possibly the only song that always makes my breath catch in my throat every single time I hear it.

Its amazing how SOMEHOW, you end up reviewing many of my favourite songs. I really enjoy watching you get hit with some of these...... for some reason. Thank you for your content!!

Just found and started watching you yesterday. Huge radiohead fan and this song is hugely important to me and its a joy to see that it had you break the idea of your channel and just sort of become a pure listener again. While us radiohead fans will suggest you songs til your blue in the face, I wanted to thank you for doing what you do. Seriously, music is powerful as im sure you dont have to be told, but when certain pieces mean so much it is only satisfying to see another human taking a look, especially when they're an expert. Thanks man.

This instantly became my favourite Radiohead song the moment I first heard it, absolutely beautiful. Thank you for the deconstruction, great video.

Just got here, and I'm already loving your stuff. I'll be here!

I’m still here! I really want to say that this particular watch was beautiful. Thanks for sharing. It was really cool that this listen brought you such fond recollection of your father. It’s been great to see your dives into Radiohead. It helps me rediscover these songs and appreciate them all over again in a new way. You are great! Thank you!

I just found ur channel u explain music in a way I never understood before its awesome... I always loved radio head but don't know about music thank for these videos

Great reaction. Radiohead are one of the greatest bands of the last 30 years. Possibly, the greatest. You really need to dive further into their stuff. They have so many masterfully created songs. The compositions, musicianship, vocals, writing and lyrics all being master class. These guys are simply brilliant. Strings definitely make the most beautiful instruments by the way. Piano, guitar, violin, cello, etc. So many truly emotional instruments. I wonder if that's where the term heartstrings comes from. I'm still here by the way. 😁

You are clearly a very smart man and I appreciate and enjoy all your videos! Please keep them coming!!

So happy to see you really getting this, Radiohead songs are an emotional journey and boy do they hit. I love how they build, that gradual build that just pulls you in, and those unexpected hooks and turns and changes that make you keep listening and wanting more. For me, Radiohead and Björk are just out there, masterful composing and instrumentation, musical magicians.

Still here!🤙 I been wanting to get into Radiohead for a while, but never quite had anything pop up that caught my ear from just their "hits". This made me want to dive a little deeper.

I'm getting goosebumps watching you talking about getting goosebumps from the strings. You clearly know your stuff:)

new video for my bday on one of my fav songs by one of my all time favorite bands? thank youuu

I'm still here!! And I find it beautiful that you had memories of you late father, after having dream visitations, on a song with ethereal and dream-like themes, where the protagonist seems to connect with loved ones through some journey of the soul. Beautiful. I hope you do more Radiohead!

"I'm still here". So glad you covered this song, and it looks like Radiohead is getting some pretty consistently emotional and impressed reactions from you. Hope to see more, like others have suggested: 'Nude', 'Videotape', 'All I Need'. Or for more of Thom's voice as a beautiful instrument, 'Bloom' Live from Electric Lady Studios. Really appreciate the personal stories/anecdotes like in this episode. It makes for a unique and intimate experience.

If you could have witnessed my face when I saw this video pop up in my notifications... pure, child like glee. My all-time favorite Radiohead song, just love love love it, and such a fantastic reaction/decomposition video to boot, with a little emotional oomph to seal the deal. Thank you for this, Geebz!

Thank you so much for these! I love how you treat the vocal as another instrument; that’s exactly how I listen to music. I’d love to hear you “decompose” some of their more recent songs because of their virtuosic and innovative use of string arrangements. They're one of the few older acts that have maintained the quality of their output and continue to up the ante with every release. They were actually commissioned for a James Bond theme that ultimately got rejected but they loved it so much they released it on their own and it’s easily one of my favorites. It’s called Spectre and the other songs of note are Burn the Witch and The Numbers from their most recent album. Aloha and keep up the great work 🤙🏻

I really like your reviews and this was my favourite. It's like listening to your favourite songs with a friend who's never heard them.

Feeling it right there with you budd. This song holds so much emotional weight for me. Thank Om for mirror neurons. You gave me a connection tonight. Blessings. Peace. Love.

Thank you SO much for taking my (and I'm sure plenty of others) request for this song. There's nothing quite like seeing a fellow musician feel this stuff for the first time. I got what I wanted but I'll be greedy and start campaigning for another Radiohead song lol. Since you like the stringy Radiohead "Codex" or "Daydreaming"

I’m still here geebz! Great track mate, one of my favourites!! Videotape is another great Radiohead track, very emotional as well and has an interesting time signature !

This song has always really moved me. The strings, Thom’s voice, the piano syncopation and the unpredictability of the drum pattern - all of that combined has always really got to me. I don’t listen to it often to preserve that reaction - it’s a sacrifice but it’s worth it. And watching the song produce such an emotional impact on you for the same reasons (and others more deeply personal to you) really got to me! I love this video. Peace, love & thanks ✌️

Surprised you've not listened Radioheads albums... goosebumps most the way on most albums for me...that's why they are just great...great comments about your dad.

Next i recommend, "Videotape" "Codex" or "Reckoner" by Radiohead

I’m still here! 😊 I stumbled across your channel by accident really - it was a KZfaq suggestion of your decompose video of a Radiohead song - my favourite band - karma police, I think. I love the way you break down the songs and the way you speak. And, of course, it’s great to hear someone speaking so well about the band i love and feeling what I feel. Such a fantastic, talented group of musicians.

Really appreciate your authenticity and sharing your very personal reaction in real time. One of my favorite songs.

His face fully sums up this record and it’s composition, it’s complex and it’s clever 🤔 no other band on this planet could have composed this, with the string arrangement, sonic layers, and syncopation 😬 long live Radiohead

I already knew how amazing and haunting this song was....you have just explained why it is🤗 Thanks man.

Just discovered your KZfaq page and I am enjoying it. Good job!

Great video man! Really enjoyed hearing you talk so passionately about such a great track 👍🏼

Yessss you did it! Haha and amazing, you figured out it was 4/4 on first listen. People quabbled for years about what the time sig is until the band came out confirming it was 4/4. Beautiful stuff. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as we'd all hoped! I'm still here!

This is one of my top5 Radiohead songs... Goosebumps every time I listen to it...

This is why your channel is great. This song never pulled me in until today. Cant wait to plug the cans in at home and give it a serious listen.

i love these vids,they really bring me back to the song,like for the first time x

Love your channel bro! Never too late to get into Radiohead. Their catalog is brilliant! I recommend wired fishes, daydreaming, decks dark, or bloom next. But like Pink Floyd, it’s best to listen to a complete album front to back. A few I’d recommend: ok computer, in rainbows, kid a, a moon shaped pool- in that order. Aloha!