"Jigsaw Falling into Place" is a song by the English rock band

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, produced by

Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He is known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead, having produced all their studio albums since '' OK Computer'' (1997). H ...

. It was released as the lead single from Radiohead's seventh studio album ''

In Rainbows ''In Rainbows'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a physical release internationally through XL Recordings and in North America ...

'' (2007) on 14 January 2008. The music video, directed by

Garth Jennings Garth Jennings (born 9 July 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor. Films he has directed include ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', ''Son of Rambow'', ''Sing'', and ''Sing 2''. He co-founded the production company Hammer & ...

and

Adam Buxton Adam Offord Buxton (born 7 June 1969) is an English actor, comedian, podcaster and writer. With the filmmaker Joe Cornish, he is part of the comedy duo Adam and Joe. They presented the Channel 4 television series ''The Adam and Joe Show'' (1996 ...

, sees Radiohead performing in their studio with cameras attached to bicycle helmets.

Writing

Radiohead performed first "Jigsaw Falling into Place" on their 2006 tour with the working title "Open Pick". Mike Diver of ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

'' described it as a "bass-propelled pop-rock head-bobber". The lyrics were inspired by the chaos witnessed by the singer,

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

, when out drinking in Oxford. He said: "The lyrics are quite caustic—the idea of 'before you're comatose' or whatever, drinking yourself into oblivion and getting fucked-up to forget ...

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

is partly this elation. But there's a much darker side."

, who co-directed the music video, said the song was about "being out on the town on a lairy Saturday night".

Release

"Jigsaw Falling into Place" was released on 14 January 2008 on

XL Records XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six alb ...

as the lead single from Radiohead's seventh studio album, ''

'' (2007). Yorke's performances of "Videotape", "Down is the New Up" and "Last Flowers" from the television series ''

From the Basement ''From the Basement'' is a web television series created by Nigel Godrich and producer Dilly Gent. It features live music performances without a host or audience. Development In September 2006, it was announced that Godrich, along with produc ...

'' were included as B-sides. The single reached #30 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in its first week of release, Radiohead's lowest chart entry since " Lucky" in 1995. It spent several weeks as one of the 100 most played songs on US

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

radio, peaking at #69.

Music video

The "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" music video was directed by

and

. Recorded in two takes, it features the members of Radiohead performing in their studio with footage shot from cameras attached to bicycle helmets. The American singer

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

, who was visiting the Radiohead studio, assumed the helmets would be cut from the final video. However, Buxton felt it was important that the "ridiculous" helmets were clearly visible. He said later: "For me, that was the point. It's funny ... adioheadcompletely got what was good about the idea. They committed to it and they performed it brilliantly. And Thom was mesmerising and each member of the band was just giving it." Though Buxton said it was one of the least popular Radiohead videos, he considered it among his best work.

Reception

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' named "Jigsaw Falling into Place" the fifth-best song of 2007. The ''Time'' writer

Josh Tyrangiel Josh Tyrangiel is an American journalist. He was previously the deputy managing editor of ''TIME'' magazine and an editor at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.Stephanie Clifford (November 17, 2009"Josh Tyrangiel Named Editor of BusinessWeek"/ref> In Ju ...

praised its "tightness" and rising intensity, which he likened to a three-act play. He described the song as "a journey through flirtation, consummation and regret

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

gets about as close as you can to summing up a doomed relationship in four minutes". ''

'' described the song as "easy enough on the ear for indirect consumption ... but compositionally complex beneath a deceptively simple outer gloss for long-standing admirers to get sufficient kicks from". However, '' Clash'' wrote: "It's good but like the much-hyped ''In Rainbows'' album, musically it's (relatively) unadventurous." In 2016, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' readers voted it one of the best Radiohead songs released since the 1990s. Along with the 2000 Radiohead song "

Everything in Its Right Place "Everything in Its Right Place" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their fourth album, ''Kid A'' (2000). It features synthesiser, manipulated vocals, and lyrics inspired by the stress singer Thom Yorke experienced while ...

", "Jigsaw Falling into Place" inspired contemporary classical composer

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

's instrumental work ''

Radio Rewrite ''Radio Rewrite'' is a 2012 musical composition by American composer Steve Reich (born 1936), inspired by two songs by British rock band Radiohead: "Jigsaw Falling into Place" and "Everything in Its Right Place". It is the first time that Reich ...

''.Petridis, Alexis
Steve Reich on Schoenberg, Coltrane and Radiohead
''The Guardian'' (1 March 2013) (accessed 8 March 2013) Reich described "Jigsaw Falling into Place" as "a beautiful song" with "elaborate harmonic movement".

Track listing

;7" # "Jigsaw Falling into Place" – 4:09 # "Videotape" (Live from the Basement) – 4:26 ;CD # "Jigsaw Falling into Place" – 4:09 # "Down Is the New Up" (Live from the Basement) – 5:07 # "Last Flowers" (Live from the Basement) – 4:11

Personnel

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

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead, and has written numerous film scores. Along with his elder brother, th ...

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 met the other mem ...

Philip Selway Philip James Selway (born 23 May 1967) is an English musician and the drummer of the English rock band Radiohead. Along with the other members of Radiohead, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Selway released his debut ...

Production *

Stanley Donwood Dan Rickwood (born 29 October 1968), known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer Thom Yorke, plus Yorke's other projects. He ...

–

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

– production, mixing,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Dan Grech-Marguerat Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...

– engineering *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering * The Millennia Ensemble –

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

Hugo Nicolson Hugo Nicolson is an English record producer and engineer, who has worked on records for artists including Primal Scream, Embrace, David Holmes, Shack, Julian Cope, and his sister, Claire Nicolson (musician) who also performs under the pseudonym ...

– engineering * Graeme Stewart – preproduction * Richard Woodcraft – engineering

References

External links

* - the music video for the song on the band's YouTube page. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jigsaw Falling into Place Radiohead songs 2007 songs 2008 singles XL Recordings singles British pop rock songs Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich 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 Black-and-white music videos Songs about alcohol