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Knives Out (song)

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"Knives Out"
Single by Radiohead
from the album Amnesiac
Released6 August 2001 (2001-08-06)
Recorded10 March 1999 – 17 March 2000[1]
GenrePost-rock[2]
Length4:17
Label
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Pyramid Song"
(2001) 		"Knives Out"
(2001) 		"There There"
(2003)

"Knives Out" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the second single from their fifth album, Amnesiac (2001). It features lyrics about cannibalism and guitars influenced by the Smiths.

Critics described "Knives Out" as one of the more conventional tracks on Amnesiac. It received positive reviews and reached number 13 on the UK singles chart and number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry. It has been covered by the Flaming Lips, Christopher O'Riley and Brad Mehldau.

Recording

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Radiohead recorded "Knives Out" during the sessions for their albums Kid A and Amnesiac, which were recorded simultaneously in 1999 and 2000.[3] Although the albums moved away from Radiohead's earlier guitar-led sound, the singer, Thom Yorke, said "Knives Out" was "no departure at all" and "survived because it was too good to miss".[4]

According to a studio diary kept by the guitarist Ed O'Brien, "Knives Out" took 373 days to complete.[5] He wrote that it was "probably the most straight-ahead thing we've done in years ... and that might explain why we took so long on it".[5] He felt that successful bands often over-embellish their music, especially songs written on acoustic guitar, but that Radiohead had captured the song's essence.[5] In November 1999, Radiohead performed "Knives Out" during a webcast from their studio.[6]

"Knives Out" was influenced by the British rock band the Smiths. Before its release, O'Brien played it for the Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who said: "I was beyond flattered and quite speechless – which takes some doing. He explained to me that with that song they'd tried to take a snapshot of the way I'd done things in the Smiths – and I guess you can hear that in it."[3] In another interview, he said: "The music did touch me the same way the Smiths did, and it was a wonderful feeling ... that sort of emotional quality and that sort of melodicism."[7]

Composition

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"Knives Out"
A 25-second sample of "Knives Out"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

According to Drowned in Sound, "Knives Out" is the most conventional song on Amnesiac.[8] It features "chiming"[8] and "drifting" guitar lines, "driving" percussion, a "wandering" bassline, "haunting" vocals and "eerie" lyrics.[9] Yorke said the lyrics were about cannibalism: "It's partly the idea of the businessman walking out on his wife and kids and never coming back. It's also the thousand-yard stare when you look at someone close to you and you know they're gonna die."[9]

Music video

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The "Knives Out" music video was directed by Michel Gondry. Gondry was going through a breakup at the time, and expressed his feelings in the video concept, which has Yorke grieving in a hospital room. Gondry described the collaboration as a "terrible experience", and said: "I showed [Yorke] a storyboard and every single detail: he was completely excited and happy for it – and then, it turned out, they all criticise me for being selfish and putting my own views on it and my own introspection ... It did not go smoothly, but if it went smoothly, it would be mediocre."[10]

Release

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In the United Kingdom, "Knives Out" was released on 6 August 2001 as the second Amnesiac single in three formats: two CD singles and a 12-inch vinyl single.[11] It reached number 13 on the UK singles chart.[12] "Knives Out" was covered by the Flaming Lips on their 2003 EP Fight Test,[13] the pianist Christopher O'Riley on his 2003 album True Love Waits,[14] and the jazz pianist Brad Mehldau on his 2006 album Day is Done.[15] The 2019 film Knives Out takes its name from the song. The director, Rian Johnson, a Radiohead fan, said the film was unrelated but that it "seemed like a great title for a murder mystery".[16]

Reception

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David Merryweather of Drowned in Sound gave the "Knives Out" single nine out of ten, saying Jonny Greenwood's "chiming" guitar captured the "romantic disappointment" and "wistful ache" of the Smiths.[8] Reviewing Amnesiac for Pitchfork, Ryan Schreiber felt the guitar line was too similar to Radiohead's 1997 song "Paranoid Android", writing: "Great melody. However, they've fucking used it before."[17]

In 2010, Consequence of Sound praised "Knives Out" as one of Radiohead's "creepiest" songs: "It's one of many tracks from the English quintet that tickles the bones rather than warms them. But that's what makes Radiohead so unique."[9] In 2020, the Guardian named it the 13th-best Radiohead song, writing: "The impenetrable Amnesiac debunked industry rumours that Radiohead were primed for a bankable comeback – but amid that album lay this meat-and-potatoes rocker, its scurrying riffs, mystic ambience and cannibalistic lyrics qualifying as glorious light relief."[18]

Track listings

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  • All tracks written by Radiohead.

Charts

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Release history

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Release dates and formats for "Knives Out"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 2 July 2001 Triple A radio Capitol [36]
3 July 2001 Alternative radio [36]
United Kingdom 6 August 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Parlophone [11]
Australia 27 August 2001 CD [37]
Japan 7 September 2001
[38]

References

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  1. ^ "Ed's Diary Archive". www.greenplastic.com. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. ^ Jones, Chris. "BBC – Music – Review of Radiohead – Amnesiac". Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Johnny Marr". Mojo (Morrissey and the Smiths — Special Limited Edition). EMAP: 22. May 2003.
  4. ^ Kot, Greg (31 July 2001). "'It's difficult justifying being a rock band'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c O'Brien, Ed (22 July 1999). "Ed's Diary". Archived from the original on 13 April 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  6. ^ Vanhorn, Teri (12 November 1999). "Radiohead debut song during webcast". MTV News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  7. ^ Hoskyns, Barney (September 2001). "The Backpages Interview: Johnny Marr". Rock's Backpages. Archived from the original on 13 October 2001. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Single Review: Radiohead – Knives Out". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Roffman, Michael (7 October 2010). "Tricks or Treats: Radiohead – 'Knives Out'". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Michel Gondry Hearts Himself Some Music Videos, Spike Jonze & Michael Jackson; Hates Radiohead". The Playlist. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  11. ^ a b "New Releases – For Week Starting August 6, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 4 August 2001. p. 23. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  12. ^ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive". Retrieved 2 October 2006.
  13. ^ "FLAMING LIPS GET THEIR 'KNIVES OUT'! | NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 17 March 2003. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. ^ Davies, Lucy. "BBC - Music - Review of Christopher O'Riley plays Radiohead - True Love Waits". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  15. ^ Fordham, John (23 September 2005). "CD: Brad Mehldau Trio, Day Is Done". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Is Radiohead's song 'Knives Out' in Rian Johnson's movie Knives Out?". Los Angeles Times. 7 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  17. ^ Schreiber, Ryan (4 June 2001). "Radiohead: Amnesiac album review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  18. ^ Monroe, Jazz (23 January 2020). "Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  19. ^ Knives Out (UK CD1 liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. CDFHEIS 45103, 7243 8 79770 2 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Knives Out (UK 12-inch single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. 12FHEIT 45103, 7243 8 79724 6 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Knives Out (UK CD2 liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. CDFHEIT 45103, 7243 8 79724 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Knives Out (European maxi-CD & Australasian CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001. 7243 8 79760 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Knives Out (US enhanced maxi-CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Capitol Records. 2001. C2 7243 8 77668 0 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Knives Out (Japanese CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone, EMI Records. 2001. TOCP-65871.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ "Issue 601" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  26. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 35. 25 August 2001. p. 10. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Radiohead – Knives Out" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  29. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Knives Out". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  30. ^ "Radiohead – Knives Out". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  31. ^ "Radiohead – Knives Out" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  32. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  33. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  34. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  35. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  36. ^ a b "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1408. 29 June 2001. pp. 116, 122. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  37. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 27th August 2001" (PDF). ARIA. 27 August 2001. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  38. ^ "ナイヴズ・アウト | レディオヘッド" [Knives Out | Radiohead] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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