So why is Radiohead’s My Iron Lung on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
The selection of My Iron Lung for the best 1,000 albums ever project gets into some relatively tricky (and don’t forget geeky!) territory.
It’s a relatively “long” EP at seven songs that runs just over 24 minutes in playing time. Most notably, the title track, “My Iron Lung,” is also on another (incredible) album (that’d be The Bends).
So that leaves us with six songs, and so it’s reasonable to ask, “This six-song collection of songs on an EP is not only worthy of being on your (supposed) best 1,000 albums list, but it’s knocking on the door of the halfway mark at #510, no less*?”
* If you want to read this in an old school New York City/Brooklyn-y kind of accent, that would not be inappropriate.
Answer: Yes. Absolutely.
Because Radiohead.
Apparently, My Iron Lung contains multiple outtakes from the sessions that would produce The Bends in 1995. Which makes sense, but really outstanding songs like “The Trickster” and “You Never Wash Up After Yourself” could easily have stood out on any full length Radiohead LP.
It’s also really fun to consider how sophisticated Radiohead already were when they were still ostensibly an alternative rock band with some, let us say, experimental tendencies. In any event, I love how moody and catchy “The Trickster” is at the same time. And then the live recording of “You Never Wash Up” is a dazzling, quiet acoustic number that shows off Thom Yorke’s next level songwriting skills.
The song title, “Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong,” alone simply slays me. And it plays as what could almost be a dreamy, slightly haunting demo for a little album by the name of OK Computer that would come later.
See also: In Rainbows, #670 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
Some stats & info about Radiohead – My Iron Lung
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Alternative Rock, British Bands, Britpop, Experimental Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was My Iron Lung released? 1994
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #510 out of 1,000
Radiohead’s My Iron Lung on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Radiohead’s My Iron Lung that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Rust in the mountain, rust in the brain, the air is sacred here in spite of your claim.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.