6. Johnny Greenwood Radiohead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_qMagfZtv8 Radiohead are such a wonderful collective, almost a socialist democracy, that it is all too easy to forget that they have their own guitar star, and of course his name is Johnny Greenwood the floppy fringed noise monster. As the band have developed, they've moved away from guitars and into electronica, which seems to suit both them and their guitar genius just fine, he's been more than happy to flirt with orchestral film soundtracks and try to win Oscars, but let's not forget what made their breakthrough song 'Creep'. Was it Thom Yorke's desperate plea for love and acceptance? Well no, we all know the answer here and it was Johnny Greenwood's staccato clunk of the guitar that brought the whole song, and as a result the band, to life. The video here is for the song 'Just' and here are some supposed spoilers. When the stricken anti-hero of the story reveals why he's lying on the ground, what he actually says is a mystery. However MTV were so intrigued that they employed a variety of lip readers, and apparently it could be that he actually says 'I am listening to Radiohead'. They should have changed that to 'I am listening to Johnny Greenwood.' A genius of the guitar who is truly ahead of his time.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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Ed