No Surprises

"No Surprises" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the fourth single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), on 12 January 1998. The music video features songwriter Thom Yorke singing inside a diving helmet as it fills with water. The single peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.

"No Surprises"
Single by Radiohead
from the album OK Computer
B-side
  • "Palo Alto"
  • "How I Made My Millions"
Released12 January 1998 (1998-01-12)
RecordedJuly 1996
StudioCanned Applause, Didcot, Oxfordshire, England
Length3:49
Label
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Lucky"
(1997)		 "No Surprises"
(1998)		 "Pyramid Song"
(2001)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"No Surprises" on YouTube

Recording

Singer Thom Yorke wrote "No Surprises" while Radiohead was touring with R.E.M. in 1995. Yorke introduced the song to the rest of the band in their dressing room in Oslo, Norway on August 3, 1995.[1] Later, the lyrics were rewritten and a glockenspiel melody was added. It was the first song recorded in the sessions for OK Computer. Yorke said the "childlike guitar sound set the mood for the whole album" and that the band was aiming for a mood similar to the 1966 Beach Boys album Pet Sounds.[2]

The version on the album is the first take recorded. Yorke said: "We did endless versions afterwards [...] and they were all just covers of the first version. So we gave up and went back to [the original]."[3] Hoping to achieve a slower tempo than could be played well on their instruments, producer Nigel Godrich had the band record the song at a faster tempo, then slowed the playback for Yorke to overdub his vocals onto, creating an "ethereal" effect.[4]

Music video

The music video for "No Surprises" was directed by Grant Gee. The video consists of a single close-up shot of Yorke inside an astronaut-style dome helmet. The lyrics are shown throughout the entire song slowly scrolling upwards but mirrored, as they are being reflected off of the dome. After the first verse, the helmet begins to fill with water. Yorke continues singing as he attempts to lift his head above the rising water. Once the bubble completely fills, Yorke is motionless for over a minute, after which the water is released and he resumes singing. For Yorke's safety, the video was filmed at high speed and played back in slow motion.[5]

Yorke, in the music video (left) and filming the music video (right)

One of the scenes in Gee's documentary about Radiohead, Meeting People Is Easy, cuts from the British news channel Sky News showing and (unfavourably) discussing the video to several takes of its filming. The song speeds up during filming when his face is fully submerged, until he breaks the rubber seal to release the water and members of the film crew help him out. Despite the safety measures, Yorke is shown getting visibly more uncomfortable and agitated with each take.

Release

"No Surprises" was released as the fourth single from OK Computer on 12 January 1998.[6] It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart.[5] In 2008, it was included in Radiohead: The Best Of.[7] An early version with different lyrics is included in the 2017 OK Computer reissue.[8]

Legacy

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 107 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[9]

Bassist Colin Greenwood commented that "No Surprises" is "our 'stadium-friendly' song. The idea was: First frighten everyone with 'Climbing Up the Walls' and then comfort them again with a popsong with a chorus that sounds like a lullaby."[10]

Thom Yorke said "We wanted it to have the atmosphere of Marvin Gaye. Or Louis Armstrong's '[What a] Wonderful World.'"[10] Yorke also told Q magazine a song such as "No Surprises" has to be played a certain way for it to work live. "If you play it right, it is fucking dark," he said. "But it's like acting. It's on the edge of totally hamming it up but you're not. It's just the words are so dark. When we play it, we have to play it so slow. It only sounds good if it's really fragile."[11]

No Surprises/Running from Demons
No Surprises/Running from Demons
EP by
Radiohead
Released10 December 1997
Length19:58
Label
Producer
Radiohead chronology
OK Computer
(1997)		 No Surprises/Running from Demons
(1997)		 Airbag/How Am I Driving?
(1998)

No Surprises/Running from Demons is the fourth extended play (EP) by Radiohead, released in December 1997. The EP was aimed at the Japanese market to promote the band's Japan tour of January 1998.

Content

"Meeting in the Aisle" is Radiohead's first completely instrumental track.

This "remixed" version of "Pearly*" (as opposed to the "original version" available on the "Paranoid Android" single and Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP) features clearer production values, louder guitar at the beginning of the song, and a different guitar line at the end.

The song "Bishop's Robes" refers to Yorke's experience of cruelty at school. Though he claims that he suffered no physical punishment as a schoolboy, violence was felt in ghastly mind games, and in the teacher's cruelty: hence the line "bastard headmaster". The song covers similar thematic material as The Smiths' "The Headmaster Ritual", which Radiohead covered in one of their 2007 webcasts. "Bishop's Robes" is also included on the "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" 'CD1' single.

"A Reminder" contains excerpts from the reports of the Prague metro in the Czech Republic.

Track listing

All songs written by Radiohead (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway).

CD 1

  1. "No Surprises" – 3:51
  2. "Palo Alto" – 3:44
  3. "How I Made My Millions" – 3:07

CD 2

  1. "No Surprises" – 3:50
  2. "Airbag" (Live in Berlin) – 4:49
  3. "Lucky" (Live in Florence) – 4:34

No Surprises/Running from Demons

  1. "No Surprises" – 3:49
  2. "Pearly*" – 3:38
  3. "Melatonin" – 2:08
  4. "Meeting in the Aisle" – 3:07
  5. "Bishop's Robes" – 3:23
  6. "A Reminder" – 3:51

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 40,000
Italy (FIMI)[26] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Alternative versions and covers

Versions have also been recorded by Luka Bloom, Malia, Blake Morgan, Yaron Herman Trio, Christopher O'Riley, Paige, Peter Jöback, Motorama, Louis Durra, Stanisław Sojka, Scott Matthew, Northern State, and Postmodern Jukebox.[28] American singer songwriter Amanda Palmer recorded a version of this song for her album of Radiohead covers performed on ukulele, "Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele". It was also covered by Blake Morgan on his 2006 album Silencer. A piano interpretation of the song was used in the second episode of the HBO show Westworld in 2016.[29] Roman GianArthur, of Janelle Monáe's Wondaland Arts Society, released OK Lady, an EP of Radiohead R&B mash-up covers including "No Surprises" (featuring Monáe) in the fall of 2015.[30]

Regina Spektor version
"No Surprises"
Single by Regina Spektor
Released27 April 2010 (2010-04-27)
Length3:51
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Regina Spektor singles chronology
"Eet"
(2009)		 "No Surprises"
(2010)		 "All the Rowboats"
(2012)

Regina Spektor, alternative pianist and anti-folk musician, released a one-track charity single of the song on April 27, 2010.[31] All proceeds of the song go to the Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund.[32]

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[33] 96

References
  1. Randall, p. 228
  2. Moran, Caitlin (July 1997). "I was feeling incredible hysteria and panic…". Select: 92.
  3. Randall, p. 229
  4. McKinnon, Matthew (24 July 2006). "Everything in Its Right Place". CBC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. Randall, p. 254
  6. Randall, p. 253
  7. "The Best of Radiohead - Radiohead - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  8. Atkins, Jamie (22 June 2017). "OK Computer – OKNOTOK 1997-2017". Record Collector. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  9. "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  10. "Radiohead: The album, song by song, of the year". Humo. 22 July 1997.
  11. "Radiohead: Their Glorious Return". Q Magazine (Q362). August 2016.
  12. "Australian-charts.com – Radiohead – No Surprises". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Radiohead – No Surprises" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 5. 31 January 1998. p. 12. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  15. "Lescharts.com – Radiohead – No Surprises" (in French). Les classement single.
  16. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (29.1 – 5.2. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 30 January 1998. p. 22. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – No Surprises". Irish Singles Chart.
  18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Radiohead – No Surprises" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. "Charts.nz – Radiohead – No Surprises". Top 40 Singles.
  20. "Notowanie nr839" (in Polish). LP3. 27 February 1998. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  22. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  23. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40-1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  24. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  25. "Canadian single certifications – Radiohead – No Surprises". Music Canada. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  26. "Italian single certifications – Radiohead – No Surprises" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 30 July 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "No Surprises" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  27. "British single certifications – Radiohead". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 November 2016. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Radiohead in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  28. "A 1930's Jazz Remake of Radiohead's "No Surprises," featuring Chloe Feoranzo - Postmodern Jukebox". Postmodern Jukebox. 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  29. Hutchinson, Sean (October 3, 2016). "Ranking All the Songs on the Dope 'Westworld' Soundtrack". Inverse. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  30. "Stream Roman GianArthur's R&B Radiohead x D'Angelo Covers EP OK Lady". Stereogum. 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  31. "No Surprises - Single by Regina Spektor - Download No Surprises - Single on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  32. "Regina Itunes Will Release Cover Radiohead Song No Surprises". Reginasplash.warnerreprise.com. 2010-04-25. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  33. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 10 May 2010" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2020 – via Pandora Archive.

Further reading
  • Footman, Tim (2007). Welcome to the Machine: OK Computer and the Death of the Classic Album. Chrome Dreams. ISBN 978-0-634-04619-3.
  • Randall, Mac (2000). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-385-33393-5.
  • OK Computer: Radiohead: Guitar, Tablature, Vocal. Alfred Publishing Company. 2001. ISBN 0-7579-9166-1.
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