From album
OK Computer
Radiohead · 1997 · Track 9
Details
TonalidadEm
Compás4/4
Tempo123 BPM
Duración4:45
CompositorColin Greenwood / Ed O'Brien / Jonny Greenwood / Phil Selway / Thom Yorke
ÁlbumOK Computer
Año1997
ISRCGBAYE9701370
Credits
Music Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, Thom Yorke
If you like this, try
The story behind
The atmosphere of _Climbing Up the Walls_ is built from a sense of latent, almost personified fear. The lyrics give voice to that deep unease, to the doubt and worry that manifest as a surrounding presence. It is one of Radiohead's earliest pieces to be described as "terrifying," and much of that feeling comes from the instrumentation. Jonny Greenwood composed the string section in an unconventional way, using sixteen violins playing with quarter-tone intervals, creating a dissonance that evokes unease. Added to this are the lyrics by Thom Yorke, which explore the internal demons that people relentlessly face. The song's duration is 4:45.
The recording of _Climbing Up the Walls_ took place in 1996 and early 1997, in the band's rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and at St Catherine's Court mansion in Bath, as part of the sessions for the album _OK Computer_. Nigel Godrich, who also handled the mixing, produced it along with Radiohead. The recording engineers were Jon Bailey, Gerard Navarro, and Chris Scard. Thom Yorke has commented that the song is about "the unspeakable," something that crushes your skull. He recounts experiences of having worked in a psychiatric hospital when the "Care In The Community" program was implemented in the UK, and the concern for the situation of patients who could not be in society. The band noticed it was hailing violently during the recording, which seemed to add to the atmosphere. Phil Selway mentioned that the album as a whole had a "slightly tense" feeling, which can be heard in this song, attributing it partly to the recording atmosphere. Yorke also connected the lyrics to news about domestic crimes and the fascination with what drives a person to "snap" and commit unimaginable acts, reflecting on how depression, at that time, was not understood as it could be.
0:00