Idioteque

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Lore & Background

The song's creation began when Jonny Greenwood created a drum machine using synthesizer modules similar to those from the 1970s, utilizing filters to shape sounds. Feeling the rhythm "needed chaos," he sampled the four-chord phrase from Paul Lansky's "Mild und leise." Lansky had written this computer music piece during 1973–74 at Princeton University on an IBM mainframe. Greenwood discovered the track on the 1976 compilation Electronic Music Winners in a second-hand record shop while Radiohead were touring the US. He wrote to Lansky asking for permission; Lansky responded that he found Radiohead's use "imaginative and inventive." The song also briefly samples Arthur Kreiger's "Short Piece" from the same compilation. Greenwood recorded 50 minutes of improvisation, which Yorke took a short sequence from—specifically a 40-second section he called "absolute genius"—to write the song.

In Their Own Story

The narrative of the track is rooted in specific technical and historical moments rather than fictional events. It starts with Greenwood's discovery of Lansky's work, leading to a direct correspondence between the rock musician and the computer music composer. The story continues through Yorke's process: taking the "absolute genius" 40-second sequence from Greenwood's 50-minute improvisation and manipulating it. In the second chorus, Yorke's vocals are rearranged and looped so he appears to say "the first of the children" in 5/4 time, creating a dissonance against the original 4/4 structure. The song was included on the 2001 live album I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, where drummer Philip Selway noted they wanted to "give that sense of the electronic in the piece" while playing with live instruments. Later covers include an acoustic version by Yoav using a loop pedal in 2010 and Amanda Palmer's single release of the track as part of her Radiohead covers album.

Reader's Guide

Critics have offered varied perspectives on "Idioteque." Simon Reynolds noted it works through the contrast between Yorke's "tremulous hyperemotionality" and a "rigid grid of rhythm," calling it "bleak house or glum 'n' bass." Keith Cameron of NME described it as a "brilliantly persuasive two-step litany of paranoia, fear and unease," despite finding its style "gauche." Conversely, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger dismissed it as "plain awful" and an imitation of Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker." However, Barney Hoskyns argued that while arguably derivative, it contributed something "irresistibly powerful" to the template. Pitchfork named it the eighth-best song of the decade, while Rolling Stone ranked it 56th best of the decade, 33rd greatest of the century in 2018, and eighth-greatest in 2025. Both publications have listed it at number 48 on their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" lists in 2021 and 2024.

Did You Know?

• Jonny Greenwood discovered the sample for 'Mild und leise' in a second-hand record shop while Radiohead were touring the US.
• Paul Lansky wrote to Jonny Greenwood stating he found Radiohead's use of his composition 'imaginative and inventive'.
• Thom Yorke described the 40-second sequence he used from Greenwood's improvisation as 'absolute genius' before cutting it up.
• The song briefly samples two compositions from the 1976 compilation Electronic Music Winners: 'Mild und leise' by Paul Lansky and 'Short Piece' by Arthur Kreiger.
• In the second chorus, vocals are rearranged to sound like 'the first of the children' in 5/4 time against a 4/4 beat.