"Bodysnatchers"
Promotional single by Radiohead
from the album In Rainbows
B-side"House of Cards"
Released1 May 2008
Recorded2005–2007
Genre
Length4:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nigel Godrich

"Bodysnatchers" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, from their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007). In May 2008, it was released with the song "House of Cards" as a promotional single in the United Kingdom, and it was serviced to United States modern rock radio by ATO Records. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, Radiohead's highest placement since "Creep" in 1993.

Recording

The Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, and the lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, debuted "Bodysnatchers" in May 2006 at their performance for the Big Ask at KOKO in London.[1] For their album In Rainbows, Radiohead recorded "Bodysnatchers" with the producer Nigel Godrich at Tottenham House, a dilapidated country house in Marlborough, Wiltshire.[2] Yorke said the atmosphere of the house was captured in the recording.[2] According to Yorke, "Bodysnatchers" is the only track on the album that was recorded as a live take with the band members playing together.[2]

Composition

Yorke described "Bodysnatchers" as a combination of the German band Neu! and "dodgy hippy rock", likening it to the Australian band Wolfmother.[3] He said it was inspired by Victorian ghost stories, the 1972 novel The Stepford Wives and the feeling of "your physical consciousness trapped without being able to connect fully with anything else".[4]

Release

"Bodysnatchers" was released on Radiohead's seventh album, In Rainbows (2007). In May 2008, it was released with the song "House of Cards" as a promotional single in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] ATO Records and its sister label, Side One Recordings, Radiohead's record label in America, serviced "Bodysnatchers" to American radio stations as a promotional single in late 2007.[5][6]

"Bodysnatchers" achieved significant airplay on modern rock radio stations,[7] and reached number eight on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in February 2008.[8] It was Radiohead's highest place on the chart since "Creep" reached number two in 1993.[8] A performance of "Bodysnatchers" was included on the 2008 live video In Rainbows – From the Basement.[9]

Personnel

Adapted from the In Rainbows liner notes.[10]

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Canada Rock (Billboard)[11] 22
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[8] 8

References

  1. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott (9 October 2007). "Pitchfork's Guide to Radiohead's In Rainbows". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Paytress, Mark (1 January 2008). "Chasing Rainbows". Mojo.
  3. ^ Kent, Nick (August 2007). "Ghost In The Machine". Mojo. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  4. ^ Pareles, Jon (9 December 2007). "Pay What You Want for This Article". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  5. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (12 November 2007). "Radiohead Sets U.S. Deal For New Album Release". Billboard. New York. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  6. ^ Ferguson, Tom (8 November 2007). "New Radiohead Album Due Dec. 31 On CD". Billboard. New York. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Over The 'Rainbows'". Billboard. New York. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "Radiohead – Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Revisiting Radiohead's In Rainbows: From the Basement". Far Out Magazine. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  10. ^ In Rainbows (liner notes). Radiohead. XL Recordings. 2007. XLCD 324.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
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