Reckoner
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| "Reckoner" | |
|---|---|
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| Template:Infobox song/link by Radiohead | |
| from the album In Rainbows | |
| Released | 10 October 2007 |
| Recorded | 2005–2007 |
| Genre | Art rock[1] |
| Length | Script error: No such module "hms". |
| Label | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content. |
| [[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content. |
| [[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Nigel Godrich |
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"Reckoner" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007). It was produced by Nigel Godrich and developed while Radiohead were working on another song, "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses". The singer, Thom Yorke, described it as "the centre" of In Rainbows.
Remixes were released by James Holden, Flying Lotus and Diplo. Radiohead also released the stems for fans to remix, as they had for the previous In Rainbows single, "Nude". Boosted by sales of the stems, "Reckoner" reached number 74 on the UK singles chart. In 2011, NME named it one of the greatest songs of the preceding 15 years, and Pitchfork named it one of the greatest songs of the decade.
Recording
"Reckoner" developed from a different song, "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses", which once had the same title. Radiohead wrote a coda that developed into the final song, but kept the title.[2] Radiohead were excited about "Reckoner" and finished it quickly after recording a demo.[2] The producer, Nigel Godrich, recalled of the recording sessions: "People [were] all over the house, shaking things and getting this groove going, then chopping it up into little pieces and putting it back together. It was a lot of fun."[3]
Composition
"Reckoner" features Yorke's falsetto, "frosty, clanging" percussion, a "meandering" guitar line, piano, and strings arranged by the guitarist Jonny Greenwood.[4] Yorke said the guitar riff was a homage to the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, "in my sort of clunky 'can't-really-pick' kind of way".[5]
According to the bassist, Colin Greenwood, "reckoner" is a Biblical word referring to Saint Peter, who judges people at the gates of heaven. Yorke said he was unaware of this, and had tried to let the melody drive the lyrics without overthinking them.[6] He described the song as "kind of a love song ... Sort of."[7] Yorke said the lyric "because we separate like ripples on a blank shore" was the centre of In Rainbows, and that "everything's leading to that point and then going away from that point".[8]
Release
"Reckoner" was released on Radiohead's 2007 album In Rainbows.[4] As they had done for their single "Nude", on September 28, 2008, Radiohead released the separate "Reckoner" stems for fans to purchase and remix. Fans could upload their remixes to the Radiohead website and vote for their favourites.[9] The electronic musicians James Holden, Flying Lotus and Diplo also created remixes.[9]
After the stems went on sale, "Reckoner" reached number 74 on the UK singles chart.[10] It did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100, but reached number 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, a 25-song extension of the Hot 100.[11] A performance of "Reckoner" was included on the 2008 live video In Rainbows – From the Basement.[12] "Reckoner" was used in the credits of the 2008 film Choke, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk.[13] The singer-songwriter Lorde used the "Reckoner" drum track while developing her 2025 song "What Was That".[14]
Music video
The "Reckoner" music video was created by Clement Picon, who won a competition held by Radiohead and the animation studio Aniboom to create an animation for an In Rainbows song. Yorke described it as one of his favourite Radiohead videos.[15]
Reception
Reviewing In Rainbows, Pitchfork wrote that "Reckoner" was not the "most immediate track" but that after several listens "reveals itself to be among the most woozily beautiful things the band has ever recorded".[16] In 2011, Rolling Stone readers voted "Reckoner" the ninth-best Radiohead song, and NME ranked it the 93rd-best track of the preceding 15 years.[17][18] Pitchfork named it the 254th-greatest song of the decade.[19] In 2020, the Guardian named it the third-best Radiohead song, writing: "At first innocuous, 'Reckoner' unspools a full house of virtuoso performances engulfed by Godrich’s winter-blanket production. It soothes then soars."[20]
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[21] | Gold | 40,000 |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gallucci, Michael (20 March 2019). "The Best Song From Every Radiohead Album". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Yorke, Thom; O'Brien, Ed (19 November 2007). "Interview with Thom & Ed". BBC 6 Music (Interview). Interviewed by Steve Lamacq. BBC.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Vozick-Levinson, Simon (27 April 2012). "The Making of Radiohead's In Rainbows". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Radiohead: In Rainbows Album Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Radiohead on In Rainbows". XFM. 28 January 2008. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Engelshoven, Tom (17 December 2007). "De prijs van Radiohead". Oor. Argo Media.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Maletsky, Kiernan. "Radiohead at the Scottrade Center: Selections From Thom Yorke's Banter". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Steve Lamaq. 19 November 2007. BBC. BBC 6 Music.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Solarski, Matthew (23 September 2008). "Diplo, Flying Lotus remix Radiohead's 'Reckoner'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
OCCwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Radiohead Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Revisiting Radiohead's In Rainbows: From the Basement". Far Out Magazine. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Michaels, Sean (13 August 2008). "Radiohead donate song to Palahniuk film adaptation". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rogerson, Ben (16 May 2025). "Lorde reveals that she used the drums from Radiohead's Reckoner while she was writing What Was That". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Radiohead choose fan video as official 'Reckoner' video". NME. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pytlik, Mark (15 October 2007). "Radiohead: In Rainbows". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 21 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Radiohead Songs". Rolling Stone. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schiller, Rebecca (6 October 2011). "150 best tracks of the past 15 years". NME. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201 - Page 2". Pitchfork. 17 August 2009. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Monroe, Jazz (23 January 2020). "Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
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