“Dollars and Cents” - Radiohead

“Dollars and Cents” is the 8th track from Radiohead’s 2001 album Amnesiac, which is often unfairly looked at as a “collection of Kid A b-sides.” While I do not believe it’s as good as Kid A (not many albums are), it does stand up on it’s own as an excellent album.

It’s always been one of my favorite tracks from the album due to it’s unique mood and giant reverb heavy sound. The song is based largely on one of Radiohead’s best basslines which is up front in the mix (a rarity in Radiohead songs.) It also features one of the coolest string arrangements on any Radiohead song. The strings really get across a feeling of uneasiness very well. I haven’t heard strings on another song quite like these. Another highlight of the song are the jazzy drums which are also higher in the mix than usual for Radiohead. There’s a lot of little drum/percussion hits with extra reverb on them, influenced by dub music perhaps?

Thom Yorke’s vocals are very much a part of the whole rather than something set on top of the mix. There’s very much a feeling that the vocals are being treated more like just another instrument in the mix rather than the focal point in this song. There’s a lot of delay on the vocals which adds to the overall hazy feeling.

“Dollars and Cents” Live

2001, YouTube, Radiohead

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