foreign
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
in this video I'm analyzing let down
which is the next track in OK Computer
in my OK Computer analysis series and
this is a very very beautiful song in my
opinion it's in their own words about
that feeling that you get when you're in
transit but you're not in control of it
you just go past thousands of places and
thousands of people and you're
completely removed from it
but the words disappointed in let down
are repeated multiple times so I think
that's also a theme as well as some
sense of hope for growth and escaping
and moving forward you know motion all
these analogies analogies of bugs being
crushed or growing wings and flying away
I'm sorry I think you meant analogous
the song is in the key of a major and it
uses the main four ingredients of Pop
Harmony which is these four chords we're
going to call them one four five and six
and sounds like this
foreign
they don't use it in that order three of
the four chords in this progression are
major with one minor chord that really
stings and they really emphasize it too
I feel like that's the disappointment
chord in the song it's not a
disappointing chord it's just the chord
that I think symbolizes the the
conflicting feelings that the song's
about the intro really sets the tone for
this song The interlocking guitar
Melodies between Johnny and Ed it was so
much fun figuring out what they were
doing because I used to just listen to
it like
there's just lots of notes kind of
swirling around it's really dreamy I
don't really know what's happening I'm
not going to figure out what's happening
just sort of letting it wash over me
truly can't figure out everything but I
can hear Johnny's Melody pretty well and
I made a discovery that really surprised
me anyway we'll get there in a second
but there's lots of layers which is a I
think a signature part of OK Computer
bill on his drums also so tasteful for
the most the song he's playing
um a tambourine instead of a snare so
that's a very different feeling right
snares snares have a lot of power behind
them they pack a lot of heat and they
are you know a very accented accent and
then he's also playing uh the toms with
a mallet like a soft Mallet instead of
hitting a hi-hat on the
he's doing
they might be accenting a little bit
like
but that creates a completely different
feeling from just like a regular Rock
BackBeat additionally instead of just
hitting his snare or his tambourine on
two and four like
he goes
so there's these like syncopated uh
accents near the end of the phrase so
now for this guitar Melody
oh
[Music]
Chinese massage
[Music]
included
please
[Music]
that's gonna come back
[Music]
anyway I just had no idea that this was
going on I thought it just sounded kind
of random because there are definitely
elements in here that have a random
sound the synth arpeggias that come
later and some of Johnny's
[Music]
near the end but this is not random this
is a very well-defined pattern it's just
that it's in a different meter than the
rest of the song So this pattern is five
beats long and everything else is four
beats long so they go out of sync with
each other but they have the same beats
just not the same number they have the
same pulse in other words it definitely
makes it less clear what's going on but
I also think that it adds a harmonic
layer that wouldn't be there otherwise
because there are four notes in this
pattern I'm Wrong five notes
these notes right here
depending on where we are in this
pattern one of these notes is going to
be hitting in a different spot than it
was before so you get this like really
neat like combinations I guess you know
sometimes you hear this one when you
don't expect it you might hear this one
or maybe this one
this is like the sound of major to me
it's got everything it's got the major
third it 's got the major seventh
tonic fifth
I feel like wind chimes are tuned to
this right
[Music]
major Keys uh they can sound like a lot
of things but I think in this case it
gives the song kind of an easy feeling
halfway through the verse Johnny
switches from this
oh
to this other pattern
[Music]
I kind of think of it as one one two one
two one one two one two one one two one
two
and these two notes are like uh an
important part of the major scale the
third which I talked about before and
the fourth which is right next to it and
it creates this thing called a
suspension
you could feel this tension release
that's called a sus4 so anytime you have
a half step between notes in a scale I
feel like those are worth paying
attention to because they tend to a
describe the most Salient
characteristics of the scale like the
notes that stand out and make the scale
sound the way it does but it also is a
point of tension and resolution Ed's
guitar I think is doing this
slightly different pattern where he's
kind of wiggling between the A and G
sharp
and then sometimes he goes up to C sharp
his tone is different than Johnny's so
there's some separation both really
beautiful tones I think I don't know
what he's doing exactly but I can hear
some
and then suddenly
[Music]
so I'm not sure if he's in 4-4 and
that's why they're kind of out of sync
with each other but that beautiful high
C sharp that kind of pierces through is
something I look forward to every time
so beautiful it's the major third of the
key so it has it's like the heart it's
the heart of the key
[Music]
Colin's holding down the a which is like
a pedal point for the intro
[Music]
but then when the verse comes in there's
a chord progression this is the chord
progression that we're all familiar with
it's a major
then E major
and then that minor chord that F my
sharp minor
then it goes back down to the E major
and it goes back to a so remember I gave
those chords numbers
so if we think of this as one two three
four five six seven one again
then the chords that we're playing they
have a bottom note to them called a root
and we're just going to use the number
of the scale to call the chord by the
same number so one one then
e major five one two three four five and
then six then back to five then back to
one it's not till the chorus that the D
major chord comes in and that's four and
then we have our uh axis progression uh
pop progression Tom's Melody follows the
chords
transport and that's the root of this
chord then he goes just down to this G
sharp which is a third of this chord
[Music]
and then he has a little thing called an
Escape tone he goes
[Music]
just helps kind of frame that note and
then he sings the root of this minor
chord
and it keeps going down and sings the
root of the E chord so he just goes
and each one of those notes is either
the root or the third of a chord being
played at the time this is a great way
to start I think the melody because in
the second verse he's going to make
variations to his Melody that kind of
bring the energy up and then the final
verse he adds even more variations that
bring the energy to its climax Collins
also following the chords here with the
bass a e f sharp and E
no matter
[Applause]
[Music]
so now to the chorus and the base starts
to move a lot more in the way that I
think Colin does best kind of going up
and down scales and like hitting the
main notes that he needs to hit at just
the right time
so he kind of goes um
and there's this big accent we're going
to talk about that the whole band
participates in the chords you could
think of as
D major and then maybe like a passing E
major up to
a major and then sort of a premature
uh let down into the F sharp minor so
the rhythm of the chord progression is
really interesting this is called the
harmonic rhythm
quite a while the reason we stay there
for quite a while is because the chorus
is phrased in three bars
so you have one two three four one two
three four one two three four
that was three groupings of four those
are the bars
so there's like an extension feeling but
we just hang hanging around on this
minor chord and then that's when you
hear that
so pretty in Johnny's guitar I believe
[Music]
thank you
so I feel that there's an accent on kind
of a strange beat in the measure
[Music]
it really does feel like a
disappointment even though minor chords
are my favorite
it does feel like
there was a sense of satisfaction and
arrival
in getting to the a major chord which is
called the tonic chord that's the chord
that's supposed to feel the most at home
in the song and it really does this a
major chord
that's like the end and that is the end
of the song the song does end on the a
major chord but to go down here and get
here but then suddenly it's taken away
like if it didn't do that and it just
stayed on a
like let down and hanging around
I mean it doesn't sound like let down of
course but just to give an example of
that feeling of completion and that's
just sort of thwarted with this
[Music]
minor chord in addition to this being
phrased in three it also ends after
three repetitions of the three bar
phrase
I love Radiohead Let Down and hanging
around Crush like a bug in the ground
let down and hanging around
on the third time we get what's called a
half Cadence and a half Cadence is when
you go to the V chord and you just kind
of stay there and you don't resolve it
so we get
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
which sounds like an unanswered question
like and
but then you get your answer with the
interlude when it goes back to a which
is where five kind of wants to go but
I love this thing that happens at the
end of I think every verse and every
course to some degree and some variation
which is this line of
[Music]
and the bass does it too
[Music]
Tom's vocal Melody is kind of following
the chords again but it's he's using
these sort of descending lines so he
goes
da
[Music]
see it kind of lines up really nicely
with the chords but it's a pattern and
patterns are what make Melodies
memorable
I believe someone is harmonizing with
him it might be Ed at least it is in the
live performances
and harmonizing a third above him
[Music]
there's a little bit of a difference
between live and studio and in the live
version I can clearly hear that there's
a guitar
playing that Harmony but an octave lower
if you don't know much about vocal
harmonies just know that this kind of
vocal Harmony parallel thirds or
parallel six they are actually the same
thing but different it's just a spacing
situation
they are the most lovely
harmonious I would say and emotional
I mean that's a really broad term but
they're the most the the kind of Harmony
that hugs you I guess I'll say it's like
the most comforting and and
descriptive kind of Harmony versus like
open fifths or fourths which is very
like you know
it's kind of blank slate sounding
um more like Gregorian chant sounding
and I love those but this is like a this
is just a more tight related and really
beautiful beautiful Lush kind of Harmony
so I think it was a perfect choice for
this song so I don't think something
like parallel fifths would have worked
it just wouldn't have matched the
feeling of the song the song is it's not
trying to challenge you musically you
know it's it's hugging you it's not
necessarily comforting it could be
talking about some really nuanced stuff
right it's it's not about feeling good
but it feels like it can just sort of
easily wash over you without you having
to do like a ton of work there's an
interlude which is very similar to the
intro and when the whole band comes back
in for the second verse
they come in right when Johnny is
hitting like I think the uh
this G sharp I I don't know I just love
that moment it's just like it stings a
little bit because it's just kind of
dissonant
right when he goes there
[Music]
in the second verse Tom starts to
embellish his vocal Melody like I was
talking about she'll smash juice
[Music]
I clearly don't know the rhythm of that
last one
how after all these years do I not know
that I don't know
but he now will he'll start low he'll go
high and then descend down to his next
destination so there's this taking off
and trying to reach and falling and that
theme comes back later as well so
even higher this time
back to that
[Music]
a little suspension there
[Music]
and this kind of painful tritone it's
very dissonant
[Music]
another suspension I love that he goes
back to the I don't know it just feels
sad somehow going back there
[Music]
it looks like I was wrong it kind of
[Music]
it goes back up at the end there in the
second half of this verse the drums open
up I love that it's not at the beginning
love how just asymmetrical our music is
and yet it still fits into a structure
it still makes sense
but it just breaks the mold just enough
so fill by opening up I mean he
basically starts to play the ride symbol
instead of the toms
and then he plays the snare along with
the tambourine at the same time so that
builds the energy a lot at the same time
Johnny starts doing a three against two
polyrhythm
so this is really cool he takes these
notes
[Music]
all those notes and just starts to play
them
in a Pali rhythm
[Music]
I can't but it's something like
[Music]
approximately so this is
so that's called the three against two
or a hemiola
and
I love this I think it's so beautiful
it's like what can we do with these
notes right what else can we do how else
can we express what we're trying to
express and it's still familiar sounding
but different and I think it's also kind
of subconscious like
it's just there working on you and
creating this distance and and
a little bit of pain but Beauty I don't
know I like it there's this beautiful
Spotlight I would say on chemical
reaction with a vocal Harmony parallel
thirds again that just brings it out
[Applause]
[Music]
that's such a good tip when you when
there's a lyric that has particular
weight and you want to bring it out
harmonize on that just that part and
then oh okay the chorus is really nice
too it's very similar to the first one
but uh Phil
now he's playing bigger drums and he
starts doing these little fills at the
end of phrases right when what right
when that moment comes and it stings on
the minor chord is this like
see if I can find one for you
foreign
[Music]
[Applause]
and then I love how Tom kind of draws
out the bug in the ground
[Music]
okay now the bridge I love the bridge
it's so sparkly and gorgeous
the bridge is basically a big a Major
Seventh chord that sounds like this
[Music]
this gorgeous line and he's using a as
sort of his pedal point so he's going
like
and the a is always at the bottom it's
always the thing he's kind of bouncing
his other notes against
[Music]
I just love this it's like it's like
it's reaching up
and falling down and reaching up trying
again higher this time and then you know
there's this like taking flight and not
being able to get off the ground feeling
uh Colin the bassist is holding down the
pedal point and the phrasing in general
just feels really loose here like I
completely lose my place I don't know
when anything's supposed to come in when
the last verse comes in the only thing
that tips me off is that Phil goes
on the toms Tom's singing in the
background
different variations so pretty and then
Johnny does this thing I think it's
Johnny somebody is doing this sort of
rushed out of time repeated figure of
these these notes
sometimes it's like
it's nice it's like
I love that I don't know what it reminds
me of but it reminds me of something so
I think Johnny's doing that and I think
Ed is doing this going between an A and
A B
a lot of a lot of wiggling a beautiful
wiggling in the guitars
while this is all going on which sounds
like this
so in combination
[Music]
it's like could not be more beautiful
um
[Music]
and it creates this uh feeling of what's
called an ad nine chord which I've
learned is just
Beauty
[Music]
I guess the ninth chord whatever
okay ninth chord either way there's a
nine involved in this and that's what
really matters and then it releases into
these beautiful
synth arpeggios on either side and they
they have that random feeling you know
some of one of them's doing like doubled
notes like
you know
and I have this incredibly strong like a
visual experience listening to this of
like things like bubbles or some
something popping and like bright colors
in rainbows and I was trying to figure
out like what are the notes being used
in these different arpeggios or these
these sequences and it seems like all of
them notes in the major scale are up for
grabs
so it's just sort of this painting of
major I have a feeling a lot of people's
favorite part of the song is the last
part the last chorus I mean the last
verse and then the last chorus I can see
why it reaches a climax and the vocal
harmonies the way Tom separates himself
into these two different selves these
two different thoughts and lines is just
exquisite
[Music]
good
[Music]
Ness
that's the first variations
going down he goes up
[Music]
then
[Music]
when it gets to the E he holds this out
for a long time and he's really you know
it's singing from his core right huh and
the other Tom comes in and joins him but
then splits off
so he goes
[Music]
so that line sounds similar to
and the reason is is it's in parallel
third harmony with the original Melody
so our brain can tell it's the same
pattern just higher
and it also works harmonically because a
lot of the Harmony in this song and a
lot of other pop songs sorry to call it
pop but I think you know what I mean
like not Jazz not classical
is based on the interval of a third so
it's just it's like a it's like a fun
creative math problem
and
essentially that's what it would sound
like if those two Melodies were
happening at the same time so this part
and then it goes respect
[Music]
back then
after Tom stops uh holding out his e he
flips up to his falsetto and goes
um and I think the line is you know
where you are right
you know where you are
and then
so why is this so gorgeous well all this
starts on the minor chord
so that already I think makes it
especially painful or gorgeous
[Music]
I guess it actually starts on the E
major chord but
[Music]
that's a sus2
which is so beautiful
[Music]
pain is right here
[Music]
and there's another suspension there so
yeah lots of suspensions or very
emotional I think they create a
narrative but also Tom's falsetto is
just one of the best in the biz and it
always gets to me so that Harmony plus
him flipping
sorry
the last chorus this is the part where
at least in the live performance Ed is
singing a harmony with Tom
and he sings In Parallel thirds and then
holds out this note
it kind of just drops off there the
ending is basically a reprise of the
arpeggiated random sounding sense
um and Tom's guitar line is underneath
that and it just feels like life
affirming to me it does feel hopeful no
matter what we've just been through
listening to the song what Tom is
playing is kind of covered up by the
synths but I could hear it really well
in a live performance because they
didn't have the synths going
it's really really nice and it is
describing
an Asus 4 that resolves
[Music]
thank you
[Music]
and it ends on the a major chord our
home only after three repetitions that's
the end of my analysis for this song I
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