Just (song)
Encyclopedia
"Just" is a single
by English alternative rock
band Radiohead
, released in 1995. It is the seventh track on their 1995 album The Bends
. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke
wrote the song about a narcissistic friend of his, which on closer inspection is showcased by the imagery in the lyrics - a parallel to earlier My Iron Lung EP track "Lewis [Mistreated]". He also says that it was something of a competition between him and Jonny Greenwood
to see who could fit the most chords into a song. "Just" is especially notable for Greenwood's guitar solo. In the UK, this single was available as two CDs: the first one featured different tracks, and the colour of the album art on the second single was inverted. In 2007, NME
placed "Just" at number 34 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. It was recently covered by ska punk band Streetlight Manifesto
and features on the album 99 Songs of Revolution
.
, who was hand-picked by the band after they saw several of his experimental short films. It was shot near Liverpool Street Station
in London
, and intersperses footage of Radiohead playing the song inside an apartment with scenes of a middle-aged man who lies down in the middle of the pavement just outside of the apartment building. People start to gather, thinking that something must be wrong with the man, and the band are shown looking out the window at the events below. A heated (subtitled) conversation between the man and the crowd develops, as the people start demanding to know what the man is doing and why he is lying there. In subtitles, the man finally gives in and says, "Yes I'll tell you, I'll tell you why I'm lying here... but God forgive me... and God help us all... because you don't know what you ask of me." The camera zooms in on his mouth as the man finally gives the answer, but the subtitles have suddenly stopped, so the reason is not revealed to the viewer. As the camera zooms back out, it shows the pavement covered with the crowd of people, all lying down just like the man. Radiohead members have yet to reveal what specific words the man was intended to have said (if any at all). The video is available on Radiohead's 7 Television Commercials
DVD and the EMI released Radiohead: The Best of
DVD.
DJ and producer
Mark Ronson
released the Radiohead song in February 2008, the fourth single from his second album Version
. The song had been released earlier under the compilation Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
(a Radiohead album tribute) but was never given much promotion by the label. The song quickly gained airplay, being featured in BBC Radio 1
's "A-List". The version on Exit Music featured Alex Greenwald
on vocals and Sam Farrar
on bass, both of the band Phantom Planet
, however, the single release credits the entire band.
The song played as the follow-up to "Valerie", which was still inside the UK top 20 upon the "Just" release. "Just" reached #31 after its release and fell to #36 a week later. A music video was made for the song. Directed by Jim Canty, it acted as a sequel
to and paid homage to the earlier Radiohead video.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by English alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, released in 1995. It is the seventh track on their 1995 album The Bends
The Bends
The Bends is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. The Bends was produced by John Leckie at EMI's studios in London, and engineered by Nigel Godrich, who would go on to produce all future albums by the band...
. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke
Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
wrote the song about a narcissistic friend of his, which on closer inspection is showcased by the imagery in the lyrics - a parallel to earlier My Iron Lung EP track "Lewis [Mistreated]". He also says that it was something of a competition between him and Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy "Jonny" Greenwood is an English musician and composer, best known as a member of the English rock band Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist, but serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player. In addition to guitar and keyboard, he plays viola, harmonica,...
to see who could fit the most chords into a song. "Just" is especially notable for Greenwood's guitar solo. In the UK, this single was available as two CDs: the first one featured different tracks, and the colour of the album art on the second single was inverted. In 2007, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed "Just" at number 34 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. It was recently covered by ska punk band Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto is an American punk band with many influences from different genres including ska, from New Brunswick, New Jersey fronted by Tomas Kalnoky....
and features on the album 99 Songs of Revolution
99 Songs of Revolution
99 Songs of Revolution: Vol. 1 is the fourth studio album by the American ska punk band Streetlight Manifesto, released March 16, 2010. It is part of a multi-album cover songs project by several associated acts including Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution....
.
Music video
The single's video was directed by Jamie ThravesJamie Thraves
Jamie Thraves is a British film writer and director.Jamie Thraves began making early short experimental films in 1989 at Hull University, having previously studied illustration . His graduation film Scratch and The Take-Out both went on to win numerous awards at short film festivals worldwide...
, who was hand-picked by the band after they saw several of his experimental short films. It was shot near Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and intersperses footage of Radiohead playing the song inside an apartment with scenes of a middle-aged man who lies down in the middle of the pavement just outside of the apartment building. People start to gather, thinking that something must be wrong with the man, and the band are shown looking out the window at the events below. A heated (subtitled) conversation between the man and the crowd develops, as the people start demanding to know what the man is doing and why he is lying there. In subtitles, the man finally gives in and says, "Yes I'll tell you, I'll tell you why I'm lying here... but God forgive me... and God help us all... because you don't know what you ask of me." The camera zooms in on his mouth as the man finally gives the answer, but the subtitles have suddenly stopped, so the reason is not revealed to the viewer. As the camera zooms back out, it shows the pavement covered with the crowd of people, all lying down just like the man. Radiohead members have yet to reveal what specific words the man was intended to have said (if any at all). The video is available on Radiohead's 7 Television Commercials
7 Television Commercials
7 Television Commercials is a collection of music videos from English alternative rock band Radiohead, covering the period from their The Bends and OK Computer .-Release:...
DVD and the EMI released Radiohead: The Best of
Radiohead: The Best Of
-DVD:#"Creep" #"Anyone Can Play Guitar" #"Pop Is Dead" #"Stop Whispering" #"My Iron Lung"...
DVD.
CD 1
- "Just" – 3:54
- "Planet Telex" (Karma Sunra mix) – 5:23
- "Killer Cars" (Mogadon version) – 3:50
CD 2
- "Just" – 3:54
- "Bones" (Live) – 3:14
- "Planet Telex" (Live) – 4:07
- "Anyone Can Play GuitarAnyone Can Play Guitar"Anyone Can Play Guitar" is a single taken from Radiohead's first album Pablo Honey, released just in advance of the album. It is the band's second single, and their first to receive a wide hearing...
" (Live) – 3:40
Mark Ronson version
EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
DJ and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
released the Radiohead song in February 2008, the fourth single from his second album Version
Version (album)
-iTunes digital edition:-Japanese CD edition:-Chart performance:-Release history:-External links:* at MetaCritic...
. The song had been released earlier under the compilation Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads is a tribute album to British band Radiohead released in 2006 on Rapster Records and Barely Breaking Even Records...
(a Radiohead album tribute) but was never given much promotion by the label. The song quickly gained airplay, being featured in BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's "A-List". The version on Exit Music featured Alex Greenwald
Alex Greenwald
Alexander Greenwald is an American musician, actor, and more recently a record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the Californian rock band, Phantom Planet, which is on indefinite hiatus according to a blog posting on the band's official website.-Life and career:Greenwald was born in...
on vocals and Sam Farrar
Sam Farrar
Sam Farrar is the bass guitar player for American rock 'n roll band Phantom Planet. The band is now on an indefinite hiatus. His father John Farrar was in the Shadows and also carved a successful songwriting career, penning many of Olivia Newton-John's big hits. His mother, Pat Carroll, was a...
on bass, both of the band Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
, however, the single release credits the entire band.
The song played as the follow-up to "Valerie", which was still inside the UK top 20 upon the "Just" release. "Just" reached #31 after its release and fell to #36 a week later. A music video was made for the song. Directed by Jim Canty, it acted as a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to and paid homage to the earlier Radiohead video.
CD 1 88697271202 / download
- "Just (radio edit)"
- "Valerie (SugaRush Beat CompanySugaRush Beat CompanySugaRush Beat Company is a musical group consisting of singers Rahsaan Patterson and Ida Corr, and producer Jarrad 'Jaz' Rogers.The band formed in 2005, when Patterson was touring in Australia to promote his third album After Hours...
remix)"
CD 2 88697272032 / download
- "Just (radio edit)"
- "Just (DJ PremierDJ PremierChristopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...
's Justremixitmix) (feat. Blaq PoetBlaq PoetWilbur Bass , better known as Blaq Poet is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York, USA.Blaq Poet was first heard in the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. At that time Poet was at least 17 years old, as stated in...
)" - "Just (The Go! TeamThe Go! TeamThe Go! Team are a six-piece band from Brighton, England. They combine indie rock and garage rock with a mixture of blaxploitation and Bollywood soundtracks, double dutch chants, old school hip hop and distorted guitars similar to the style of Sonic Youth. Their songs are a mix of live...
remix)" - "Just (The Loving Hand remix)"
- "Just (DJ PremierDJ PremierChristopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...
's Justremixitmix) (feat. Blaq PoetBlaq PoetWilbur Bass , better known as Blaq Poet is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York, USA.Blaq Poet was first heard in the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. At that time Poet was at least 17 years old, as stated in...
) (instrumental)" - "Just (The Loving Hand remix) (instrumental)"
10" vinyl 88697271211
- "Just (radio edit)"
- "Just (DJ PremierDJ PremierChristopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...
's Justremixitmix) (feat. Blaq PoetBlaq PoetWilbur Bass , better known as Blaq Poet is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York, USA.Blaq Poet was first heard in the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. At that time Poet was at least 17 years old, as stated in...
)" - "Just (The Loving Hand remix)"
- "Just (The Go! TeamThe Go! TeamThe Go! Team are a six-piece band from Brighton, England. They combine indie rock and garage rock with a mixture of blaxploitation and Bollywood soundtracks, double dutch chants, old school hip hop and distorted guitars similar to the style of Sonic Youth. Their songs are a mix of live...
remix)"