"Just" is a song by the English rock band

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, included on their second album, '' The Bends'' (1995). It features an angular guitar riff played by

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numer ...

, inspired by the band

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. It was released as a single on 21 August 1995 by

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and reached number 19 on the UK singles chart. The music video was directed by Jamie Thraves. In 2008, "Just" was included in '' Radiohead: The Best Of''. The English producer

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

released a cover version on his 2008 album '' Version''.

Recording

Much of "Just" was written by Radiohead's lead guitarist,

. According to the singer,

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

, Greenwood "was trying to get as many chords as he could into a song". Greenwood's angular guitar riff was influenced by John McGeoch's playing on the 1978

song " Shot by Both Sides"; Greenwood said that it was "pretty much the same kind of idea". "Just" was produced by John Leckie, who had also produced "Shot by Both Sides". "Just" was the first song Radiohead finished while working on their second album, '' The Bends'' (1995), at RAK Studios. According to the guitarist

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter, and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he formed Radiohead ...

, earlier versions were about seven minutes long. Yorke said it was the most exciting thing Radiohead had recorded up to that point.

Music

"Just" begins with a strummed guitar, which the critic Mac Randall likened to the 1991

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

song "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, '' Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. Having sold over 13 million units worldwide, it i ...

". Greenwood plays octatonic scales that extend over four octaves. In the solo, he uses a

DigiTech Whammy The DigiTech Whammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It raises or lowers the pitch of an audio signal by up to two octaves, controlled with a treadle. The first model, released in 1989, was the first mass-market digital pitc ...

pedal to pitch-shift his guitar into a high, piercing frequency. The lyrics describe someone in a bad relationship, with a "malicious" vocal

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

from Yorke. The '' Guardian'' placed the song between

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

Music video

In the "Just" music video, a man lies in the middle of the pavement, attracting attention from passersby. The members of Radiohead watch from an apartment above. The man's conversation with passersby is displayed in subtitles; they ask why he is lying down, but he refuses to explain. Eventually, the man explains, but his explanation is not subtitled. The bystanders lie down next to him. The video was directed by Jamie Thraves, who adapted it from an idea he had for a short film. It took two days to shoot. The street scenes were filmed on Liverpool Street, London; the scenes of the band were filmed on a set.

Reception

In August 1995, Jordan Paramor from ''

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'' gave "Just" four out of five, writing: "Their songs are tricky 'cos you always think they're a tad dull the first time you hear them 'cos nothing ''really'' seems to happen, but give them a chance and they soon blow your trews off! This is slow, yet groovy, good to chill out to yet upbeat enough to be danceable." In 2007, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' named "Just" the 34th-greatest "indie anthem". In 2017, ''NME'' named the guitar solo one of the greatest of all time. In 2020, the '' Guardian'' named it the 32nd-greatest Radiohead song, writing: "Hailstorm distortion meets perky hooks, wily vocals and ... an absurd pageant of guitar chords. The chorus flips the grunge ethos on its head, swapping self-loathing for theatrical vitriol."

Track listings

UK CD1 and cassette single # "Just" – 3:52 # " Planet Telex" (Karma Sunra mix) – 5:21 (remix by U.N.K.L.E.) # "Killer Cars" (Mogadon version) – 3:49 (remix by John Leckie) UK CD2 # "Just" – 3:52 # "Bones" (live) – 3:13 # "Planet Telex" (live) – 4:07 # "Anyone Can Play Guitar" (live) – 3:39 Australian CD single # "Just" (album version) – 3:52 # "Bones" (live) – 3:13

Personnel

– vocals, electric and acoustic guitars *

– electric guitar,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

– electric guitar *

Colin Greenwood Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969) is an English bassist and a member of the rock band Radiohead. Along with bass guitar, Greenwood plays Double bass, upright bass and Electronic musical instrument, electronic instruments. With his y ...

– bass * Philip Selway – drums

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Mark Ronson and Alex Greenwald versions

and

Alex Greenwald Alex Greenwald is an American musician, actor, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the California rock band Phantom Planet. Life and career Greenwald is American. In 1994, Greenwald formed Phantom Planet in his teens with four fri ...

covered "Just" for the Radiohead tribute album '' Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads''. It was released digitally on 13 March 2006 as the lead single. It reached number 48 on the UK singles chart and at number 36 on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

in 2006.

Track listing

7" vinyl # "Just" # "Just" (radio edit)

Charts

2008 rerelease

Ronson re-released the cover in February 2008 as the fourth single from his second album, '' Version'', now credited as featuring Alex Greenwald's band

Phantom Planet Phantom Planet is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald (vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar), Sam Farrar (bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is bes ...

. It was the follow-up to " Valerie", which was still in the UK top 20 upon the release of "Just". "Just" reached No. 31 after its release.

Music videos

The music video was directed by Jim Canty, it acted as a sequel to and paid homage to the earlier Radiohead video. The video features a city sweeper finding the group people lying around on ground.

Track listings

CD single # "Just" (radio edit) # " Valerie" ( SugaRush Beat Company remix) CD 1 88697271202 / download # "Just" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "Valerie" (SugaRush Beat Company remix) – 3:45 CD 2 88697272032 / download # "Just" (radio edit) – 3:15 # "Just" (DJ Premier's Justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet) – 3:57 # "Just" (The Go! Team remix) – 2:31 # "Just" (The Loving Hand remix) – 6:12 # "Just" (DJ Premier's Justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet) (instrumental) – 3:57 # "Just" (The Loving Hand remix) (instrumental) – 6:12 10" vinyl 88697271211 # "Just" (radio edit)" # "Just" (DJ Premier's Justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet) # "Just" (The Loving Hand remix) # "Just" (The Go! Team remix)

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Just (Song) 1995 songs 1995 singles 2006 singles 2008 singles Radiohead songs Mark Ronson songs Phantom Planet songs Parlophone singles EMI Records singles RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by John Leckie Song recordings produced by Mark Ronson Songs written by Thom Yorke Songs written by Colin Greenwood Songs written by Jonny Greenwood Songs written by Philip Selway Songs written by Ed O'Brien