Welcome to RedEye’s “Song of the Day,” an ongoing feature where music reporter Josh Terry or another RedEye staff member highlights something they’re listening to. Some days the track will be new, and some days it will be old. No matter what, each offering is something you should check out. Check back every weekday for a new song and subscribe to the Spotify playlist below. And during Halloween week, we’re focusing solely on songs that are scary.
You can’t really call many Radiohead songs scary. You can use adjectives like “interesting,” “cerebral” or if you’re my dad, “terrible,” but normally, “scary” or “creepy” (okay, except for “Creep”) aren’t the first things to pop in your head. That’s the case for pretty much everything in the band’s catalog until you hear “Climbing Up The Walls,” one of the more under-appreciated offerings on the U.K. band’s seminal album “O.K. Computer.” Few songs can really be called “scary” but this one creeps the hell out of me every time.
According to lead singer Thom Yorke, the track is about the“literally unspeakable” and the “monster in your cupboard.” Written with Yorke’s experience as an orderly at a mental hospital in mind, the track feels sinister and creepy. There’s ominous bass and strings, and Yorke’s voice, which doles out menacing lines like “I am the key to the lock in your house/That keeps your toys in the basement,” is creepily distorted. As the song trudges along with tension to rival any horror movie, you realize the song is probably about a gruesome murder: “Fifteen blows to the back of your head/Fifteen blows to your mind/So lock the kids up safe tonight.”
OK, that’s enough creepy murder business for me. I’m going to go listen to the Bee Gees or something. If you dare, listen to the song below and Happy Halloween!
jterry@redeyechicago.com, @joshhterry
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