Futures Tricked By The Past

Radiohead “Spectre”

Radiohead have a rather small number of covers in their repertoire, but one of them is Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better,” a Bond theme. The aesthetic suits them – grim yet elegant, bombastic but refined, sexy in a way that seems a bit sordid and sad. Radiohead’s “Spectre” was passed over in favor of a rather weak song by Sam Smith, which I think we all have to assume was a matter of the studio going with the more commercially successful artist. It’s a shame, as “Spectre” is the finest song made for a Bond film since…what, the ‘70s?…and it’s the best thing anyone in Radiohead has put out in quite some time. The aesthetics of the prime movers in the band are lined up here – Yorke’s feminine and understated vocal, Jonny Greenwood’s stormy orchestration, the rhythm section’s reiteration of that lagging, quasi-jazzy “Pyramid Song” beat. It’s beautiful without pandering even a bit, and straightforwardly melodic without them seeming to apologize for it. It bodes well for the new album they’re likely to release sometime in the coming year.

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