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Radiohead are no complete strangers to odd time signatures, modes and unusual tune structure, but there is one song in their back brochure that pushed the bands musicality to the limit, Cruise To The Moon.
In this video I had to use @JoeEdelmann3 cover version of Sail To The Moon to prevent a copyright strike. Check out his fantastic Radiohead covers:.
My re-uploaded Chromatic Mediant video:.
SOURCES:.
Background on 'Cruise To The Moon':.
Interview with Thom Yorke (2003 ):.
And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel's Patreon saints!.
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Just when I’m listeting to Radiohead you came up with a Radiohead song… great.
Haha same🤝
I listened to Sail To The Moon for the first time in a while last night, re-affirming how much of a haunting yet blissful song it is…life truly is a simulation…
Of what though?
Our experience of life is truly a simulation.
how does Thom even write music like this? Does he do it on purpose or does it just come naturally? The way he talks about it in that interview makes me think the latter but like… it’s so insane to me that he can just do that.
I often wonder the same thing… The same happens when I listen to The Beatles. It’s incredible how someone with no formal training can come up with beautiful yet complex stuff like this. Omar Rodriguez Lopez from The Mars Volta writes very complex music and yet he doesn’t know any music theory or even the names of the chords he plays.
This song is so dreamy. The chords are easier than I thought!
Sail To The Moon has always been my favorite track off of Hail To The Thief.
Wolf at the door just edges it for me
I appreciate this video I would normally try to avoid sounding like a typical Radiohead fan but sail to the moon is often overlooked; I’m going to listen to it a lot more now.
The way this song ends is one of my favorite musical moments, just in general
I didn’t expect that this song was that complex. I’m intrigued.
I love this song, its my second favourite from Hail To The Thief (behind There, There). Sail To The Moon is some of their best piano work to date in my humble opinion.
As soon as I saw the title, I knew it was definitely going to be Sail to the Moon. It’s such a beautiful song, and one of their best in my opinion
yea rite
loving that album cover
@Paul Yeah, if it wasn’t that then I also was thinking Pyramid Song. Still can’t believe that it’s in 4/4.
@g a l l o . a m . a p p a r a t Thanks haha, it’s a classic
I’ve played this and many other Radiohead songs dozens of times on acoustic guitar, and I have to admit that I never consciously think about time signatures, I just play the song exactly as it sounds. Discovering how complex it is is actually very eye-opening!
I love Radiohead’s complex stuff like Sail to the Moon and their simple stuff like the Pablo Honey and Bends LPs. It’s all good.
I wouldn’t consider The Bends to be “simple”.
@Jesus From The Hood. The Bends is simple when it comes to like, instrumentation. Classic rock band arrangement most of the time. As far as the actual compositions go, it’s far from it.
Really appreciate the kind words David! Your channel is a fantastic resource and I love this video (and the song ☺️).
i was so happy to hear your cover in this video, i love those covers so much
I had a friend in high school who was musically very gifted and also an incredibly intelligent person in general, one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and they were very much interested in jazz, classical, modern orchestral, opera, and so forth; they didn’t think rock music like Radiohead would do much for them. But I played them the HTTF album and Sail To The Moon in particular really impressed her, she was quite taken with it.
I really enjoyed this analysis of “Sail To The Moon”, David. It’s always been one of my favourite Radiohead songs of all time. I’ve always loved its complexities; and despite them, it still sounds beautiful and calming.
It’s also worth noting that Thom Yorke wrote this song for his son, Noah Yorke.
i think we can all agree that we all need Thom Yorke’s voice in our lives
I knew what song this was just from looking at the thumbnail.
The first time I heard “Sail to the Moon”, I had it stuck in my head for at least a week. I’d walk around and start humming it out of nowhere. It’s one of my absolute favorites from that album.
What I like about it the most is how the mood seems to shift throughout the song. The relaxed intro gives way to a tense verse, and it switches between serious (“Maybe you’ll be President”) and optimistic (“Sail us to the Moon”).
Knowing the theme behind the _Hail to the Thief_ album and the time in which it was produced, I always took this song as a musical representation of the feelings of political unease and uncertainty that came over the world circa 2003.
This song is an absolute pleasure, from Thom’s slightly diffuse vocals, to the crisp guitar from Jonny, to that mournful, almost funereal piano throughout.
i wasn’t a Radiohead fan before this video but now I’ll have to listen to more of their music.
Excellent song and use of time and key changes to follow the theme of the song.
Another great video David.
Thanks