Radiohead’s fifth and often-overlooked album, Amnesiac, boasts a hidden gem. “Life in a Glasshouse”, one of my favorite songs, opens with a heavy, discordant piano riff that sets an anxious tone. Yorke, accompanied by horns, sings the first verse with palpable strain and exhaustion, using the metaphor of the glasshouse to communicate his struggle with the media and the maddening lack of privacy that comes with fame. If Yorke seems to be on the verge of a mental breakdown during the verse, by the chorus he sings as though he has been pushed off the edge. As the horns burst in at full volume, both his voice and his lyrics become crazed, forceful, and bitingly sarcastic. The jazzy, New Orleans-esque big band sound distinguishes this track form the rest of the album, and helps to build an emotional intensity that never fails to impact me.
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