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"Creep" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead. Radiohead released "Creep" as their debut single in 1992, and it later appeared on their first album, Pablo Honey (1993). During its initial release, "Creep" was not a chart success. However, upon re-release in 1993, it became a worldwide hit. Attendees of Radiohead's early gigs often exhibited little interest in the band's other songs, causing the band to react against "Creep" and play it less often during the mid-to-late 1990s. It is included in the Radiohead: The Best Of compilation album.
The artwork for the single is a painting by Maurice Burns, called "Craigavon Under Age Drinkers Rule".
According to Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke wrote "Creep" while studying at Exeter University in the late 1980s. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said that the song was inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around who showed up unexpectedly during a show by the band.
In 1992, during rehearsal sessions with producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, Radiohead spontaneously performed "Creep". Yorke described "Creep" to the producers as "our Scott Walker song"; Slade and Kolderie mistook the singer's remark and believed the song was a cover. After tension arose due to unsatisfactory attempts at recording other songs, Slade and Kolderie tried to improve morale by requesting Radiohead to play "Creep" again. The band recorded the song in a single take; after the performance everyone in the room burst into applause. Once the band assured Kolderie that "Creep" was an original song, he called EMI to tell them to consider the song as Radiohead's next single. While the recording had minimal overdubs and the band did not intend to release it, the producers were impressed with the song.
Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", a song recorded by the Hollies in 1973, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as co-writers of "Creep". "Creep" uses a chord progression used in "The Air That I Breathe" in its verse and a melody from "The Air That I Breathe" in the bridge following the second chorus.
The G–B–C–Cm chord progression is repeated throughout the whole song, just alternating between arpeggiated chords in the verses and last chorus and loud power chords during the first two choruses. In G major, these may be interpreted as "I–III–IV–iv". According to Guy Capuzzo, the ostinato musically portrays "the song's obsessive lyrics, which depict the 'self-lacerating rage of an unsuccessful crush'." For example, the "highest pitches of the ostinato form a prominent chromatic line that 'creeps' up, then down, involving scale degrees {\displaystyle {\hat {5}}} \hat 5– ♯ {\displaystyle {\hat {5}}} \hat 5– {\displaystyle {\hat {6}}} \hat 6– ♭ {\displaystyle {\hat {6}}} \hat 6.... ascend, the lyrics strain towards optimism...descend, the subject sinks back into the throes of self-pity...The guitarist's fretting hand mirrors this contour".
When the song shifts from the verse to the chorus, Jonny Greenwood plays three blasts of guitar noise ("dead notes" played by releasing fret-hand pressure and picking the strings). Greenwood said he did this because he did not like how quiet the song was; he explained: "So I hit the guitar hard—really hard". Ed O'Brien said: "That's the sound of Jonny trying to fuck the song up. He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it. And it made the song." During the song's outro, Jonny Greenwood plays a piano figure. Kolderie forgot to add the piano part during the final mix until the end of the song, but the band approved of the final result.
According to Yorke, "Creep" tells the tale of an inebriated man who tries to get the attention of a woman to whom he is attracted by following her around. In the end, he lacks the self-confidence to face her and feels he subconsciously is her. When asked about "Creep" in 1993, Yorke said: "I have a real problem being a man in the '90s... Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you're in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do... It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it's not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I'm always trying: To assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it." Jonny Greenwood said the song was in fact a happy song about "recognizing what you are".
The version issued for US radio play replaced the line "So fucking special" with "So very special". The group was worried that issuing a censored version would be a "bit of a sellout" according to Jonny Greenwood, but they decided it was acceptable since their idols Sonic Youth had done the same thing. Nonetheless, Greenwood noted the British press "weren't impressed" by the action. During the recording session for the censored lyrics, Kolderie convinced Yorke to rewrite the first verse, telling him he thought the singer could do better.
File Hashes
HASH1: B9AC3970F8BA2EC5
HASH2: C361F8105476DF7E (FLAC)
HASH1: AEDD922D484F6499 HASH2: 0B74EF6D177D9C38 (MP3)
HASH1: FA67688CFE9C6FC6 HASH2: F4F8C15529B051DD (MP3)
HASH1: 07933C925B8396EE HASH2: BDE31E6CF420345F (FLAC)
HASH1: A36C1BECACECB47A HASH2: 9D1BF465D6B81264 (FLAC)
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"Creep" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead. Radiohead released "Creep" as their debut single in 1992, and it later appeared on their first album, Pablo Honey (1993). During its initial release, "Creep" was not a chart success. However, upon re-release in 1993, it became a worldwide hit. Attendees of Radiohead's early gigs often exhibited little interest in the band's other songs, causing the band to react against "Creep" and play it less often during the mid-to-late 1990s. It is included in the Radiohead: The Best Of compilation album.
The artwork for the single is a painting by Maurice Burns, called "Craigavon Under Age Drinkers Rule".
According to Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke wrote "Creep" while studying at Exeter University in the late 1980s. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said that the song was inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around who showed up unexpectedly during a show by the band.
In 1992, during rehearsal sessions with producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, Radiohead spontaneously performed "Creep". Yorke described "Creep" to the producers as "our Scott Walker song"; Slade and Kolderie mistook the singer's remark and believed the song was a cover. After tension arose due to unsatisfactory attempts at recording other songs, Slade and Kolderie tried to improve morale by requesting Radiohead to play "Creep" again. The band recorded the song in a single take; after the performance everyone in the room burst into applause. Once the band assured Kolderie that "Creep" was an original song, he called EMI to tell them to consider the song as Radiohead's next single. While the recording had minimal overdubs and the band did not intend to release it, the producers were impressed with the song.
Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", a song recorded by the Hollies in 1973, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as co-writers of "Creep". "Creep" uses a chord progression used in "The Air That I Breathe" in its verse and a melody from "The Air That I Breathe" in the bridge following the second chorus.
The G–B–C–Cm chord progression is repeated throughout the whole song, just alternating between arpeggiated chords in the verses and last chorus and loud power chords during the first two choruses. In G major, these may be interpreted as "I–III–IV–iv". According to Guy Capuzzo, the ostinato musically portrays "the song's obsessive lyrics, which depict the 'self-lacerating rage of an unsuccessful crush'." For example, the "highest pitches of the ostinato form a prominent chromatic line that 'creeps' up, then down, involving scale degrees {\displaystyle {\hat {5}}} \hat 5– ♯ {\displaystyle {\hat {5}}} \hat 5– {\displaystyle {\hat {6}}} \hat 6– ♭ {\displaystyle {\hat {6}}} \hat 6.... ascend, the lyrics strain towards optimism...descend, the subject sinks back into the throes of self-pity...The guitarist's fretting hand mirrors this contour".
When the song shifts from the verse to the chorus, Jonny Greenwood plays three blasts of guitar noise ("dead notes" played by releasing fret-hand pressure and picking the strings). Greenwood said he did this because he did not like how quiet the song was; he explained: "So I hit the guitar hard—really hard". Ed O'Brien said: "That's the sound of Jonny trying to fuck the song up. He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it. And it made the song." During the song's outro, Jonny Greenwood plays a piano figure. Kolderie forgot to add the piano part during the final mix until the end of the song, but the band approved of the final result.
According to Yorke, "Creep" tells the tale of an inebriated man who tries to get the attention of a woman to whom he is attracted by following her around. In the end, he lacks the self-confidence to face her and feels he subconsciously is her. When asked about "Creep" in 1993, Yorke said: "I have a real problem being a man in the '90s... Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you're in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do... It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it's not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I'm always trying: To assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it." Jonny Greenwood said the song was in fact a happy song about "recognizing what you are".
The version issued for US radio play replaced the line "So fucking special" with "So very special". The group was worried that issuing a censored version would be a "bit of a sellout" according to Jonny Greenwood, but they decided it was acceptable since their idols Sonic Youth had done the same thing. Nonetheless, Greenwood noted the British press "weren't impressed" by the action. During the recording session for the censored lyrics, Kolderie convinced Yorke to rewrite the first verse, telling him he thought the singer could do better.
File Hashes
HASH1: B9AC3970F8BA2EC5 HASH2: C361F8105476DF7E (FLAC) HASH1: AEDD922D484F6499 HASH2: 0B74EF6D177D9C38 (MP3) HASH1: FA67688CFE9C6FC6 HASH2: F4F8C15529B051DD (MP3) HASH1: 07933C925B8396EE HASH2: BDE31E6CF420345F (FLAC) HASH1: A36C1BECACECB47A HASH2: 9D1BF465D6B81264 (FLAC) 
Alternative Rock 
Sad 
Rock/Pop 
849,350 
24,250 (3%)
None 
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