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Fake Plastic Trees

December 03, 2023

"Fake Plastic Trees" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their second album, The Bends (1995). It was the third single from The Bends in the UK, and the first in the US. It reached the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart, the New Zealand Singles Chart, the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian Rock/Alternative chart.

"Fake Plastic Trees"
Single by Radiohead
from the album The Bends
B-side
  • "India Rubber"
  • "How Can You Be Sure?"
Released15 May 1995 (1995-05-15)[1]
Recorded1994
Genre
Length4:52
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)John Leckie
Radiohead singles chronology
"High and Dry" / "Planet Telex"
(1995) 		"Fake Plastic Trees"
(1995) 		"Just"
(1995)
Audio sample

Writing edit

Thom Yorke, Radiohead's songwriter, said "Fake Plastic Trees" was "the product of a joke that wasn't really a joke, a very lonely, drunken evening and, well, a breakdown of sorts".[2] He said the song arose from a melody he had "no idea what to do with". He did not take his usual approach of keeping note "of whatever my head's singing at the particular moment" or forcing "some nifty phrases" he devised onto the melody, and instead "just recorded whatever was going on in my head". He said: "I wrote those words and laughed. I thought they were really funny, especially that bit about polystyrene."[3]

Recording edit

Radiohead recorded "Fake Plastic Trees" in 1994 at RAK Studios, London, with the producer John Leckie.[4] The sessions were strained, as Radiohead were under pressure from their record label, EMI, to record a single to match the success of their debut, "Creep".[5] The guitarist Ed O'Brien likened one early version of "Fake Plastic Trees" to the Guns N' Roses song "November Rain", saying it was "pompous and bombastic ... just the worst".[6]

Eventually, Leckie had Yorke record a solo take on acoustic guitar.[6] According to the bassist, Colin Greenwood, Yorke played three takes, then burst into tears.[7] Yorke's performance was influenced by a performance Radiohead attended by the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley at the Garage, London.[8][7] Yorke later said that Buckley gave him the confidence to sing in falsetto.[7] The band created the final version of "Fake Plastic Trees" by overdubbing their parts onto Yorke's performance. The drummer, Philip Selway, described following Yorke's fluctuating tempo: "Part of the beauty was the way it would actually slip in and out, but trying to follow it was a nightmare."[9]

Reception edit

Writing for NME in May 1995, John Mulvey felt that "Fake Plastic Trees" lacked substance, and drew comparisons with the stadium rock of U2.[10] It placed at number 385 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and at number 28 on Triple J Radio's Hottest 100 of All Time countdown.[11] The acoustic version of "Fake Plastic Trees" was used in the 1995 film Clueless and is credited for introducing Radiohead to a larger American audience.[12] In 2017, Pitchfork credited "Fake Plastic Trees" and another Bends song, "High and Dry", for influencing the "airbrushed" post-Britpop of Coldplay and Travis.[13]

Track listings edit

All tracks are written by Radiohead (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Philip Selway).

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[34] Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also edit

Notes edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Same tracks appear on the two sides of the cassette tape.[16][17]
  2. ^ Noted as (single edit) on the US promo.[22]

Citations edit

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 May 1995. p. 39. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  2. ^ Black, Johnny. "The Greatest Songs Ever! Fake Plastic Trees". Blender.com. 15 May 2003. Retrieved on 10 March 2010. 14 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Randall, p. 158-59
  4. ^ Black, Johnny (1 June 2003), , Blender, archived from the original on 9 April 2007, retrieved 15 April 2007
  5. ^ Randall, Mac (12 September 2000). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. Delta. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-385-33393-1.
  6. ^ a b Randall, Mac (15 May 2015). "Radiohead's The Bends 20 years later: reexamining a modern rock masterpiece". Guitar World. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Dalton, Stephen (September 1997). "The dour and the glory". Vox. IPC Media.
  8. ^ Power, Ed (15 October 2022). "How Jeff Buckley changed Radiohead's 'Fake Plastic Trees'". Far Out. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. ^ Wittet, T. Bruce (August 1996). "Phil Selway". Modern Drummer. David Frangioni.
  10. ^ Mulvey, John. "Review: Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees (Parlophone)". NME. IPC Media (20 May 1995): 54.
  11. ^ "Hottest 100 – Of All Time". abc.net.au.
  12. ^ Al, Horner; Twells, John; Lobenfeld, Claire (13 April 2016). "Radiohead on film: The 9 best uses of their songs on screen". Fact. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  13. ^ "The 50 Best Britpop Albums". Pitchfork. 29 March 2017. from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  14. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. UK: Parlophone. 1995. CDRS 6411.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Europe: Parlophone. 1995. 7243 8 82161 2 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ a b Fake Plastic Trees (MC single liner notes). Radiohead. UK: Parlophone. 1995. 7243 8 82161 4 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ a b Fake Plastic Trees (MC single liner notes). Radiohead. New Zealand: Parlophone. 1995. 8821614.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Australia: Parlophone. 1995. 8821612.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. UK: Parlophone. 1995. CDR 6411.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Europe: Parlophone. 1995. 7243 8 82162 2 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD promo liner notes). Radiohead. UK: Parlophone. 1995. CDRDJ 6411.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ a b Fake Plastic Trees (CD promo liner notes). Radiohead. US: Capitol. 1995. dpro-79567.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. US: Capitol. 1995. C2 7243 8 58424 2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (7-inch vinyl jukebox single liner notes). Radiohead. US: Capitol. 1995. S7-18728.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Fake Plastic Trees (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Netherlands: Parlophone. 1995. 7243 8 82203 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9034." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 23. 10 June 1995. p. 19. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  32. ^ "RPM Top 50 Alternative Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  33. ^ . Jam!. Archived from the original on 26 July 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  34. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees". Music Canada. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  35. ^ "British single certifications – Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

External links edit

  • "Fake Plastic Trees" video on YouTube

December 03, 2023
fake, plastic, trees, song, english, rock, band, radiohead, released, their, second, album, bends, 1995, third, single, from, bends, first, reached, singles, chart, zealand, singles, chart, modern, rock, tracks, chart, canadian, rock, alternative, chart, singl. Fake Plastic Trees is a song by the English rock band Radiohead released on their second album The Bends 1995 It was the third single from The Bends in the UK and the first in the US It reached the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart the New Zealand Singles Chart the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian Rock Alternative chart Fake Plastic Trees Single by Radioheadfrom the album The BendsB side India Rubber How Can You Be Sure Released15 May 1995 1995 05 15 1 Recorded1994GenreAlternative rock soft rockLength4 52LabelParlophoneSongwriter s RadioheadProducer s John LeckieRadiohead singles chronology High and Dry Planet Telex 1995 Fake Plastic Trees 1995 Just 1995 Audio sample source source filehelp Contents 1 Writing 2 Recording 3 Reception 4 Track listings 5 Personnel 6 Charts 6 1 Weekly charts 6 2 Year end charts 7 Certifications 8 See also 9 Notes 9 1 Footnotes 9 2 Citations 10 External linksWriting editThom Yorke Radiohead s songwriter said Fake Plastic Trees was the product of a joke that wasn t really a joke a very lonely drunken evening and well a breakdown of sorts 2 He said the song arose from a melody he had no idea what to do with He did not take his usual approach of keeping note of whatever my head s singing at the particular moment or forcing some nifty phrases he devised onto the melody and instead just recorded whatever was going on in my head He said I wrote those words and laughed I thought they were really funny especially that bit about polystyrene 3 Recording editRadiohead recorded Fake Plastic Trees in 1994 at RAK Studios London with the producer John Leckie 4 The sessions were strained as Radiohead were under pressure from their record label EMI to record a single to match the success of their debut Creep 5 The guitarist Ed O Brien likened one early version of Fake Plastic Trees to the Guns N Roses song November Rain saying it was pompous and bombastic just the worst 6 Eventually Leckie had Yorke record a solo take on acoustic guitar 6 According to the bassist Colin Greenwood Yorke played three takes then burst into tears 7 Yorke s performance was influenced by a performance Radiohead attended by the American singer songwriter Jeff Buckley at the Garage London 8 7 Yorke later said that Buckley gave him the confidence to sing in falsetto 7 The band created the final version of Fake Plastic Trees by overdubbing their parts onto Yorke s performance The drummer Philip Selway described following Yorke s fluctuating tempo Part of the beauty was the way it would actually slip in and out but trying to follow it was a nightmare 9 Reception editWriting for NME in May 1995 John Mulvey felt that Fake Plastic Trees lacked substance and drew comparisons with the stadium rock of U2 10 It placed at number 385 on Rolling Stone s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and at number 28 on Triple J Radio s Hottest 100 of All Time countdown 11 The acoustic version of Fake Plastic Trees was used in the 1995 film Clueless and is credited for introducing Radiohead to a larger American audience 12 In 2017 Pitchfork credited Fake Plastic Trees and another Bends song High and Dry for influencing the airbrushed post Britpop of Coldplay and Travis 13 Track listings editAll tracks are written by Radiohead Thom Yorke Jonny Greenwood Ed O Brien Colin Greenwood Philip Selway UK and European single CD1 14 15 UK and New Zealand single cassette 16 17 a Australian single CD 18 Fake Plastic Trees 4 52 India Rubber 3 26 How Can You Be Sure 4 21UK and European single CD2 19 20 Fake Plastic Trees 4 52 Fake Plastic Trees Acoustic Version 4 41 Bullet Proof I Wish I Was Acoustic Version 3 34 Street Spirit Fade Out Acoustic Version 4 26UK and US promo CD 21 22 Fake Plastic Trees Edit b 4 11 Fake Plastic Trees Album Version 4 50 US single CD 23 Fake Plastic Trees Album Version 4 50 Planet Telex Hexidecimal Mix 6 44 Killer Cars 3 02 Fake Plastic Trees Acoustic Version 4 45US jukebox single 7 24 Fake Plastic Trees 4 50 The Bends 4 03Dutch single CD 25 Fake Plastic Trees 4 52 India Rubber 3 26 How Can You Be Sure 4 21 Fake Plastic Trees Acoustic Version 4 43Personnel editThom Yorke vocals acoustic guitar Jonny Greenwood electric guitar Hammond organ Ed O Brien electric guitar Colin Greenwood bass Philip Selway drums Caroline Lavelle cello John Matthias viola violinCharts editWeekly charts edit Chart 1995 PeakpositionCanada Rock Alternative RPM 26 7Europe Eurochart Hot 100 27 50New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 28 22Scotland OCC 29 15UK Singles OCC 30 20US Alternative Airplay Billboard 31 11 Year end charts edit Chart 1995 PositionCanada Rock Alternative RPM 32 29Chart 2001 PositionCanada Nielsen SoundScan 33 192Certifications editRegion Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 34 Platinum 80 000 United Kingdom BPI 35 Gold 400 000 Sales streaming figures based on certification alone See also editArtificial trees used for Carbon dioxide removal Direct air capture with carbon sequestration DACCS Notes editFootnotes edit Same tracks appear on the two sides of the cassette tape 16 17 Noted as single edit on the US promo 22 Citations edit New Releases Singles PDF Music Week 13 May 1995 p 39 Retrieved 27 June 2021 Black Johnny The Greatest Songs Ever Fake Plastic Trees Blender com 15 May 2003 Retrieved on 10 March 2010 Archived 14 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Randall p 158 59 Black Johnny 1 June 2003 The Greatest Songs Ever Fake Plastic Trees Blender archived from the original on 9 April 2007 retrieved 15 April 2007 Randall Mac 12 September 2000 Exit Music The Radiohead Story Delta p 121 ISBN 978 0 385 33393 1 a b Randall Mac 15 May 2015 Radiohead s The Bends 20 years later reexamining a modern rock masterpiece Guitar World Retrieved 20 September 2019 a b c Dalton Stephen September 1997 The dour and the glory Vox IPC Media Power Ed 15 October 2022 How Jeff Buckley changed Radiohead s Fake Plastic Trees Far Out Retrieved 18 March 2023 Wittet T Bruce August 1996 Phil Selway Modern Drummer David Frangioni Mulvey John Review Radiohead Fake Plastic Trees Parlophone NME IPC Media 20 May 1995 54 Hottest 100 Of All Time abc net au Al Horner Twells John Lobenfeld Claire 13 April 2016 Radiohead on film The 9 best uses of their songs on screen Fact Retrieved 10 April 2022 The 50 Best Britpop Albums Pitchfork 29 March 2017 Archived from the original on 2 June 2017 Retrieved 30 May 2017 Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead UK Parlophone 1995 CDRS 6411 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead Europe Parlophone 1995 7243 8 82161 2 8 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Fake Plastic Trees MC single liner notes Radiohead UK Parlophone 1995 7243 8 82161 4 2 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Fake Plastic Trees MC single liner notes Radiohead New Zealand Parlophone 1995 8821614 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead Australia Parlophone 1995 8821612 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead UK Parlophone 1995 CDR 6411 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead Europe Parlophone 1995 7243 8 82162 2 7 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD promo liner notes Radiohead UK Parlophone 1995 CDRDJ 6411 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Fake Plastic Trees CD promo liner notes Radiohead US Capitol 1995 dpro 79567 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead US Capitol 1995 C2 7243 8 58424 2 9 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees 7 inch vinyl jukebox single liner notes Radiohead US Capitol 1995 S7 18728 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Fake Plastic Trees CD single liner notes Radiohead Netherlands Parlophone 1995 7243 8 82203 2 3 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Top RPM Rock Alternative Tracks Issue 9034 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved 30 May 2018 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 12 no 23 10 June 1995 p 19 Retrieved 13 September 2020 Radiohead Fake Plastic Trees Top 40 Singles Retrieved 30 May 2018 Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 30 May 2018 Official Singles Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 30 May 2018 Radiohead Chart History Alternative Airplay Billboard Retrieved 30 May 2018 RPM Top 50 Alternative Tracks of 1995 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved 30 May 2018 Canada s Top 200 Singles of 2001 Jam Archived from the original on 26 July 2002 Retrieved 28 March 2022 Canadian single certifications Radiohead Fake Plastic Trees Music Canada Retrieved 1 December 2020 British single certifications Radiohead Fake Plastic Trees British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 21 July 2023 External links edit Fake Plastic Trees video on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fake Plastic Trees amp oldid 1169860102, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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