Creep (1992) – Radiohead

A friend and I were listening to this song on the way home from seeing F1: the movie last night at the cinema. I kept remarking how much the shredding guitar sets the song apart, particularly the three “blasts” of guitar bringing in the chorus. The guitarist Jonny Greenwood performed it because he disliked how quiet the song felt. So he hit the guitar “really hard” as if the song was slashing its wrists. Fittingly so, since Creep has “obsessive” lyrics that depict the “self-lacerating rage” of an unrequited attraction.

Creep is a stellar exemplar of the allure of 90’s alt grunge music that swept the music world by storm in the early 90’s. In my new found independence of young adulthood, my league of friends and I burrowed our way into this scene with such fervor. In the CBD of Canberra, Australia, there existed these shabby dives (if you looked hard enough) where you could watch local garage bands emulate this ‘Seattle’ – alternative rock sound forged by groups like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Alice in Chains & Live. But every now and then across the pond a UK band would add their own potion to the melting pot. So here we are today with Creep from the English rock band – Radiohead which became very popular on American alternative rock radio before it ever became an international hit.

I’d always been curious about how and why Radiohead earned their reputation as such an influential and innovative band. I knew and liked their breakout hit Creep (the subject of today’s post) and had read that their album OK Computer was hailed by some as one of the greatest of all time. I wanted to know what I’d been missing — or at least get a taste of it. So I watched their documentary Radiohead: A Job That Slowly Kills You. It was my first real dive into the group, and their turbulent history proved absorbing and compelling. The film features excerpts from many of their songs, which I now need to explore further as part of my music journey. Maybe there are Radiohead fans here who can point me toward their favourites in the band’s vast discography.

Most of the following was abridged from the Wikipedia reference below:
Creep was the band’s debut single and was included on Radiohead’s debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). They had not planned to release Creep, but recorded it at the suggestion of the producers. It was initially unsuccessful, but was reissued in 1993 and became an international hit, likened to alt-rock “slacker anthems” such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and Loser by Beck. As the above documentary shows, Creep while launching the band into the stratosphere was in part to their detriment since they were still were at finding their feet and getting a handle on songs. They eventually departed from the style of “Creep” and grew weary of it, feeling it set narrow expectations of their music, and did not perform it for several years. Still it remains their most successful single.

In Creep, Radiohead took elements from the 1972 song The Air That I Breathe by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. Following legal action, Hammond and Hazlewood were credited as co-writers.

[Verse 1]
When you were here before
Couldn’t look you in the eye
You’re just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You’re so fuckin’ special

[Chorus]
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doin’ here?
I don’t belong here

[Verse 2]
I don’t care if it hurts
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice
When I’m not around
You’re so fuckin’ special
I wish I was special

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
She’s runnin’ out the door
She’s runnin’ out
She run, run, run, run
Run

[Verse 3]
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You’re so fuckin’ special
I wish I was special

[Chorus]

References:
1. Creep (Radiohead song) – Wikipedia