How to Disappear Completely
{{Short description|2000 song by Radiohead}}
{{Distinguish|How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found|Disappear Completely}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox song
| name = How to Disappear Completely
| cover = File:Cover.for.how.to.disappear.completely.jpg
| border = yes
| caption = Belgium promotional single cover
| type = promo
| artist = Radiohead
| album = Kid A
| A-side = "Idioteque" (double A-side){{efn|US release only.{{Cite AV media notes|title=Idioteque / How to Disappear Completely|others=Radiohead|year=2000|type=promo CD liner notes|publisher=Capitol|id=dpro 7087 6 15900 2 9|location=US}}}}
| written = June 1997
| released = {{Start date|2000|09|27|df=y}}{{efn|Since the release date of the promotional single is unknown, this is the earliest date the song was released as an album track.}}
| recorded = 1 December 1999 – 4 February 2000
| studio =
- Canned Applause (Oxfordshire)
- Dorchester Abbey (Oxfordshire)
| genre =
| length =
- {{Duration|05:56}} (original version)
- {{Duration|06:37}} (Evening Session version)
| label =
| writer =
| producer =
- Nigel Godrich
- Radiohead
| misc = {{External music video
| type = song
| header = Licensed audio
| 1 = {{YouTube|6W6HhdqA95w|"How to Disappear Completely"}}}}
}}
"How to Disappear Completely" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their fourth studio album, Kid A (2000). Produced by the band with producer Nigel Godrich, it was released as a promotional single in the US, Poland, and Belgium.
Radiohead wrote "How to Disappear Completely" in mid-1997 during the tour of their third album, OK Computer (1997). The title is derived from Doug Richmond's 1985 book How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found. The band first performed the song in 1998, and an early soundcheck rendition appears in their documentary Meeting People Is Easy (1998).
An acoustic-based ballad, "How to Disappear Completely" is characterised by orchestral strings, guitar effects, and ambient influences. Radiohead developed the song through various demo recordings before finalising it at their Oxfordshire studio in early 2000. The following month, the string arrangement—composed by multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood and featuring the ondes Martenot—was recorded by the Orchestra of St John's at a church near the band's studio.
"How to Disappear Completely" was later included on the special edition of Radiohead: The Best Of (2008) and reissued on Kid A Mnesia (2021), which also featured the song's isolated string track. It has been featured in various works, including the TV series Roswell (1999–2002), the feature film Life as a House (2001), and the documentary The Island President (2011), which explores the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed.
Inspiration and writing
File:Looking along the River Liffey, Dublin - geograph.org.uk - 2776465.jpg (pictured in 2007) was one of the sources of inspiration for the song.{{cite book|last1=Murphy|first1=Brendan John|title=Dublin: 101 Interesting Facts|year=2016|publisher=Bloomhill Publishers|isbn=978-0-9932712-1-2|page=184}}]]
One of the earliest songs written for Kid A (2000),{{sfn|Rose|2019|p=127}} "How to Disappear Completely" was primarily written by Radiohead's singer Thom Yorke,{{sfn|Hale|1999|p=154}}{{cite magazine|last1=Fricke|first1=David|author-link1=David Fricke|date=14 December 2000|title=People of the Year: Thom Yorke of Radiohead|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/people-of-the-year-thom-yorke-of-radiohead-194004/|url-status=live|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715135822/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/people-of-the-year-thom-yorke-of-radiohead-194004/|archive-date=15 July 2022}} though credited to all band members.{{Cite AV media notes|title=How to Disappear Completely|others=Radiohead|year=2000|type=promo CD liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=PROMO CD 338|location=Poland}}{{Cite AV media notes|title=How to Disappear Completely|others=Radiohead|year=2000|type=promo CD liner notes|publisher=EMI Belgium|id=CDKIDA 5|location=Belgium}} Yorke began writing it in Toronto, Canada, in June 1997,{{sfn|Hale|1999|pp=128, 154}} during the tour for their third album, OK Computer (1997).{{sfn|Rose|2019|p=127}}{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=74}}{{cite web|last1=Taysom|first1=Joe|date=14 March 2021|title=This is the Radiohead song that Thom Yorke called his favourite|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/thom-yorke-favourite-radiohead-song/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923054627/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/thom-yorke-favourite-radiohead-song/|archive-date=23 September 2021|access-date=30 September 2022|website=Far Out}} Later that month, Radiohead performed their largest show to date at the RDS Arena in Dublin, Ireland.{{cite magazine|last=True|first=Everett|author-link=Everett True|editor1-last=Bresnak|editor1-first=Robin|date=28 June 1997|title=Eirena Rock|magazine=Melody Maker|page=35}}{{sfn|Cavanagh|2000|pp=96–98}} The performance took place in windy and rainy conditions.{{cite news|last1=Courtney|first1=Kevin|title=Radiohead|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/radiohead-1.84443|access-date=30 September 2022|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=23 June 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606215147/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/radiohead-1.84443|archive-date=6 June 2021|url-status=live}} The song was inspired by a dream Yorke had on the night of this show,{{cite web|last1=Ferrier|first1=Aimee|title='How to Disappear Completely': the Radiohead song inspired by Michael Stipe|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/radiohead-song-inspired-by-michael-stipe/|website=Far Out|access-date=5 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530051821/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/radiohead-song-inspired-by-michael-stipe/|archive-date=30 May 2023|date=27 January 2023|url-status=live}} in which he was running naked down Dublin's River Liffey, pursued by a tidal wave.{{cite magazine|last1=Sinclair|first1=David|date=25 December 1997|title=Q&A: Thom Yorke Talks Dreams, Creative People, Fitting Format|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-thom-yorke-talks-dreams-creative-people-fitting-format-234309/|url-status=live|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304163147/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-thom-yorke-talks-dreams-creative-people-fitting-format-234309/|archive-date=4 March 2021}}
According to guitarist Ed O'Brien, "How to Disappear Completely" was inspired by the Dublin show and the stress the band, particularly Yorke, endured on tour.{{cite interview|others=Radiohead|interviewer=Steve Lamacq|title=Interview with Radiohead|work=Lamacq Live|date=18 September 2000|publisher=BBC Radio 1}} Radiohead's set at the 1997 Glastonbury Festival, which took place a week after the Dublin show, was another inspiration. Following technical difficulties, Yorke nearly abandoned the performance but was encouraged to continue by O'Brien.{{cite news|last1=Everitt|first1=Matt|author-link1=Matt Everitt|title=Thom Yorke 'nearly walked off stage' during Radiohead's 1997 Glastonbury performance|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40199347|access-date=30 September 2022|work=BBC News|date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819003331/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40199347|archive-date=19 August 2021|url-status=live}} Yorke later recalled: "I just needed a break. And in fact, I didn't get one for another year and a bit, by which point I was pretty much catatonic."
File:Michael Stipe (R.E.M.).jpg singer Michael Stipe (pictured in 1999).{{sfn|Rose|2019|p=127}}{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|pp=39, 262}}]]
In an interview with Terry David Mulligan in Canada in July 1997, Yorke mentioned he had written a song the previous month with the chorus: "I'm not here / This isn't happening."{{cite interview|last1=Yorke|first1=Thom|interviewer=Terry David Mulligan|title=Interview with Thom and Colin|last2=Greenwood|first2=Colin|publisher=MuchMusic|date=31 July 1997|subject-link2=Colin Greenwood}} The phrase was advice given to him by his friend, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, as a means of coping with tour stress.{{sfn|Rose|2019|p=127}}{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|pp=39, 262}} In turn, "How to Disappear Completely" inspired Stipe to write "Disappear" for R.E.M.'s album Reveal (2001). When Stipe later called Yorke to apologise for stealing the concept, Yorke reassured him that Stipe had originally inspired his song.{{cite news|last1=Streeter|first1=Leslie Gray|title=Stipe in the spotlight|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/06/16/stipe-in-the-spotlight/|access-date=12 October 2022|work=Tampa Bay Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012210858/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/06/16/stipe-in-the-spotlight/|archive-date=12 October 2022|location=St. Petersburg, Florida|url-status=live|date=28 August 2005|orig-date=Published 16 June 2004}}
In late August 1997, Yorke performed an early acoustic version during a soundcheck in New York;{{cite AV media|people=Gee, Grant (director)|year=1998|title=Meeting People Is Easy|others=Radiohead|type=DVD|location=US|publisher=Capitol|id=C9RH 7243 4 77860 9 9}} footage from this performance appears in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy.{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=74}} Radiohead played further versions during the OK Computer tour in 1998,{{cite news|last1=Zoric|first1=Lauren|title=Rattle and huh?|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=7 October 2000|location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia|page=6}}{{sfn|Randall|2004|pp=180, 184}}{{sfn|Clarke|2010|p=145}} some reportedly lasting between seven and ten minutes;{{sfn|Hale|1999|pp=128, 154}}{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|p=48}} the final studio version runs for six minutes.Godich, Nigel (19 January 2000). (online post). Radiohead Official Message Board. In a 1998 review, Melody Maker likened one rendition to Radiohead covering Unbelievable Truth,{{cite magazine|date=20 June 1998|title=Review: Tibetan Freedom Concert|magazine=Melody Maker|page=5}} an acoustic band led by Yorke's younger brother, Andy.{{sfn|Hale|1999|p=182}}
Yorke initially introduced "How to Disappear Completely" "for the benefit of the bootleggers".{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjh_OmCmm-0C&pg=PA187|last=Wolk|first=Douglas|author-link=Douglas Wolk|date=November 1999|title=Sound Files|magazine=Spin|volume=15|issue=11|issn=0886-3032|page=187|via=Google Books}} He cited Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" (1980) as a reference for writing the song. It had the working titles "This Is Not Happening" and "How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found".{{sfn|Hale|1999|pp=128, 154}}{{cite news|title=Radiohead leaves studio with enough for two albums|work=National Post|date=7 July 2000|location=Toronto, Ontario|page=B13}} The latter was taken from Doug Richmond's 1985 book, which details methods of erasing one's identity and assuming a new one,{{sfn|Randall|2004|p=180}} with a particular focus on "taking a French exit".{{cite web|last1=Kahn|first1=Jamie|title=The Radiohead song that came to Thom Yorke in a dream|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-radiohead-song-came-to-thom-yorke-in-dream/|website=Far Out|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313090006/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-radiohead-song-came-to-thom-yorke-in-dream/|archive-date=13 March 2022|date=10 March 2022|url-status=live}} According to some accounts, the song was dedicated to Manic Street Preachers' guitarist Richey Edwards,{{cite book|last1=D'Arino|first1=Filippo|title=Manuale di sparizione: La sfida dell'invisibilità nella società del controllo|trans-title=Manual of disappearance: The challenge of invisibility in the control society|year=2006|publisher=Castelvecchi|isbn=88-7615-116-8|page=164|language=it}}{{cite magazine|last=Scarano|first=Alessandro|date=13 November 2015|title=Thom Yorke ti insegna a diventare grande. Sparendo|trans-title=Thom Yorke teaches you how to grow up. Disappearing|url=https://www.gqitalia.it/show/musica/2015/11/13/thom-yorke-ti-insegna-diventare-grande-sparendo|url-status=live|language=it|magazine=GQ Italia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128040353/https://www.gqitalia.it/show/musica/2015/11/13/thom-yorke-ti-insegna-diventare-grande-sparendo|archive-date=28 January 2023|access-date=6 September 2023}} who disappeared in February 1995 and was declared dead in November 2008.{{cite news|title=Manic Street Preachers' Richey Edwards officially dead|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/manic-street-preachers-157-1335633|access-date=6 September 2023|work=NME|date=24 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629211015/https://www.nme.com/news/music/manic-street-preachers-157-1335633|archive-date=29 June 2023|url-status=live}}
Recording
Following the OK Computer tour, Yorke experienced writer's block and struggled to complete new songs on guitar.{{sfn|Cavanagh|2000|p=100}}{{cite magazine|last=Seabrook|first=Tom|date=11 August 2013|title=Colours In My Head The Making of Kid A and Amnesiac|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/colours-in-my-head-the-making-of-kid-a-and-amnesiac|url-status=live|magazine=Record Collector|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928153027/https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/colours-in-my-head-the-making-of-kid-a-and-amnesiac|archive-date=28 September 2019|access-date=30 September 2022}} However, "How to Disappear Completely" was largely written before the Kid A and Amnesiac sessions.{{sfn|Randall|2004|pp=183–185, 190, 197}} In early 1999, Radiohead attempted to record a version at Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, but Yorke dismissed it, saying: "That sounds great, but it sounds like old Radiohead."{{sfn|Randall|2004|pp=183, 185}} On 27 July,{{cite web|last1=O'Brien|first1=Ed|author-link1=Ed O'Brien|date=1999–2000|title=Ed's Diary Archive|url=http://www.greenplastic.com/coldstorage/articles/edsdiary/|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150409124734/http://www.greenplastic.com/coldstorage/articles/edsdiary/|archive-date=9 April 2015|url-status=usurped|via=Green Plastic Radiohead}} during their sessions at the Batsford Park mansion in Gloucestershire,{{sfn|Cavanagh|2000|p=102}} they recorded a new demo. In September, O'Brien refuted a rumour in his online diary that Radiohead was collaborating with Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor on the song.
Within the same month,{{sfn|Cavanagh|2000|p=103}} Radiohead moved to their new mobile studio, Canned Applause, in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire.{{sfn|Randall|2004|pp=183, 189}} On 1 December 1999, Radiohead recorded Philip Selway's drum parts in preparation for a collaboration with the Orchestra of St John's, which they chose due to its performances of works by composers Krzysztof Penderecki and Olivier Messiaen.{{cite interview|last=Yorke|first=Thom|interviewer=Lauren Zoric|title=A 'Juice' Interview|work=Juice|date=October 2000|location=Oxford, England}} After recording this demo, Yorke had little further involvement,{{efn|O'Brien noted in his online diary that Yorke re-recorded his vocals in late January 2000, while Alison Atkinson confirmed that Yorke attended and participated in discussions during the orchestral session.{{sfn|Paine|2000|p=24}}}} stating that multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood completed the song alone.{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Andrew|author-link1=Andrew Smith (British writer)|title=Sound and fury|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/oct/01/life1.lifemagazine|access-date=30 September 2022|work=The Observer|date=1 October 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206184913/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/oct/01/life1.lifemagazine|archive-date=6 February 2022|via=TheGuardian.com|url-status=live}}
File:Dorchester Abbey, interior 01.jpg, Oxfordshire.{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|p=39}}]]
Initially, the 1998 early version was more guitar-driven, but Radiohead opted for a new arrangement, replacing the rock-oriented instrumentation with an "extensive" string section. On 2 December 1999, with the assistance of producer Nigel Godrich, Greenwood, the only band member formally trained in music theory,{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Sarah|title=50 incredibly geeky facts about Radiohead|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/50-incredibly-geeky-facts-about-radiohead-1418099|access-date=2 November 2022|work=NME|date=14 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929001807/https://www.nme.com/photos/50-incredibly-geeky-facts-about-radiohead-1418099|archive-date=29 September 2022|url-status=live}} began composing the string arrangement. He multi-tracked his ondes Martenot,{{cite interview|last1=Greenwood|first1=Jonny|last2=Greenwood|first2=Colin|subject-link1=Jonny Greenwood|interviewer=Robert Sandall and Mark Russell|title=Interview with Jonny and Colin|work=Mixing It|date=20 January 2001|publisher=BBC Radio 3}} inspired by Messiaen,{{cite web|last1=Starkey|first1=Arun|title=Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood's favourite composer and the strange Ondes Martenot|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/radioheads-jonny-greenwoods-favourite-composer-and-the-strange-ondes-martenot/|website=Far Out|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206184409/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/radioheads-jonny-greenwoods-favourite-composer-and-the-strange-ondes-martenot/|archive-date=6 February 2022|date=4 September 2021|url-status=live}} who popularised the instrument,{{cite news|last1=Gill|first1=Andy|author-link1=Andy Gill|title=Jonny Greenwood: So long to Jonny guitar|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jonny-greenwood-so-long-to-jonny-guitar-93830.html|access-date=1 October 2022|work=The Independent|date=31 October 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707045656/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jonny-greenwood-so-long-to-jonny-guitar-93830.html|archive-date=7 July 2022|url-status=live|url-access=registration}} and completed the arrangement over the following month.
On 4 February 2000, Radiohead booked a three-hour session at Dorchester Abbey, a 12th-century church about five miles from their studio,{{cite magazine|last1=Fricke|first1=David|title=Radiohead Warm Up with 'Amnesiac'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-warm-up-with-amnesiac-195619/|access-date=30 September 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=24 May 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205113940/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-warm-up-with-amnesiac-195619/|archive-date=5 February 2022|url-status=live}} where the Orchestra of St John's, conducted by John Lubbock,{{sfn|Paine|2000|p=24}} recorded the strings.{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|p=39}}{{efn|During the same session, strings were also recorded for the Amnesiac tracks: "Pyramid Song" and "Dollars and Cents" (2001).{{sfn|Osborn|2017|p=176}}}} The orchestration was influenced by Penderecki,{{cite book|last1=Dimery|first1=Robert|title=MusicQuake: The Most Disruptive Moments in Music|year=2022|publisher=Frances Lincoln Publishers|isbn=978-0-7112-5973-7|page=172}} another key influence on Greenwood's work.{{cite magazine|last1=Rothkopf|first1=Joshua|title=Jonny Greenwood hears the future|url=https://ew.com/movies/jonny-greenwood-licorice-pizza-power-of-the-dog-spencer/|access-date=30 September 2022|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=19 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605161558/https://ew.com/movies/jonny-greenwood-licorice-pizza-power-of-the-dog-spencer/|archive-date=5 June 2022|url-status=live|issn=1049-0434}} According to Godrich, when Greenwood presented his score, the musicians "burst into giggles" as they found it unplayable, at least by conventional standards.{{cite news|last1=Pappademas|first1=Alex|title=Radiohead's Runaway Guitarist|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/magazine/jonny-greenwood-radioheads-runaway-guitarist.html|access-date=30 September 2022|work=The New York Times|date=9 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726144404/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/magazine/jonny-greenwood-radioheads-runaway-guitarist.html|archive-date=26 July 2022|issn=1553-8095|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} However, Lubbock encouraged experimentation, allowing the orchestra to adapt to Greenwood's ideas.{{sfn|Paine|2000|p=24}}
Greenwood noted that the strings were recorded differently from typical rock sessions, avoiding consecutive half or long notes to prevent a "row of balloons" effect. The orchestra's performance, along with Greenwood's ondes Martenot, was captured in a single take using multiple microphones and an Apple G3 computer owned by Godrich. Alison Atkinson, the orchestra's concerts director, described the session as "more experimental" than their usual work.{{sfn|Paine|2000|p=24}} An isolated string track, "How to Disappear into Strings", was later included on the Kid A reissue Kid A Mnesia (2021).{{cite magazine |last=Aizlewood |first=John |date=5 November 2021 |title=Radiohead's Kid A Mnesia: astonishing then, astonishing now |url=https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/radioheads-kid-a-mnesia-astonishing-then-astonishing-now |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624214350/https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/radioheads-kid-a-mnesia-astonishing-then-astonishing-now |archive-date=24 June 2022 |access-date=28 October 2022 |magazine=Classic Rock |via=Louder Sound}}
Composition
=Music=
"How to Disappear Completely" is an acoustic-driven ballad, underpinned by "forlorn" strings and "compelling" guitar effects,{{cite magazine|last=Sexton|first=Paul|date=16 September 2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA87|title=Voices Carry: Radiohead's New Set 'Kid A' Expands Its Musical Identity|magazine=Billboard|page=87|volume=112|issue=38|issn=0006-2510|via=Google Books}}{{sfn|Hale|1999|p=154}} incorporating elements of orchestral and ambient music.{{cite news|last=Thorpe|first=Brian|title=CD Review: Radiohead gets static for style change|work=The Spokesman-Review|date=27 November 2000|location=Spokane, Washington|pages=B1, B7}}{{cite news|title=BAND: Radiohead the best band around|work=The Kansas City Star|date=27 August 2003|location=Kansas City, Missouri|page=F4}} Several writers have described it as a ballad,{{cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=Luke|title=Best 2000s Albums: 20 Classics That Shaped The Noughties|url=https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/best-2000s-albums/|website=Dig!|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921184355/https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/best-2000s-albums/|archive-date=21 September 2022|date=20 September 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Reynolds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTMuhxamaFEC&pg=PA172|date=October 2000|title=Radiohead: Kid A (Capitol)|magazine=Spin|volume=16|issue=10|page=172|issn=0886-3032|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|last1=DiCrescenzo|first1=Brent|title=Radiohead: Kid A Album Review|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6656-kid-a/|website=Pitchfork|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623210549/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6656-kid-a/|archive-date=23 June 2022|date=2 October 2000|url-status=live}}{{sfn|Hyden|2020|loc=chpts. 4–5}} while others have classified it as post-rock.{{cite web|title=Inductee Insights: Radiohead|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductee-insights-radiohead|publisher=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726144436/https://www.rockhall.com/inductee-insights-radiohead|archive-date=26 July 2022|date=16 December 2019|url-status=live}} Ryan Pinkard of Tidal Magazine referred to it as a "majestic" pop ballad,{{cite magazine|last=Pinkard|first=Ryan|date=23 September 2015|title=Rewind: Radiohead's Kid A|url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/rewind-radioheads-kid-a/1-16599|url-status=live|magazine=Tidal Magazine|publisher=Tidal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213122601/https://tidal.com/magazine/article/rewind-radioheads-kid-a/1-16599|archive-date=13 December 2020|access-date=28 October 2022}} while Jazz Monroe of The Guardian categorised it as avant-garde balladry, describing it as a "masterpiece" that "orchestrates a stage-fright reverie with fragments of Robert Wyatt and Penderecki".{{cite news|last1=Monroe|first1=Jazz|title=Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/23/radioheads-40-greatest-songs-ranked|access-date=24 October 2022|work=The Guardian|date=23 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925035500/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/23/radioheads-40-greatest-songs-ranked|archive-date=25 September 2022|url-status=live}} Stephen Dalton of Uncut called it a "sumptuous" orchestral ballad,{{cite magazine|last=Dalton|first=Stephen|date=5 November 2021|title=Radiohead – Kid A Mnesia|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/radiohead-kid-a-mnesia-134944/|url-status=live|magazine=Uncut|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205105037/https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/radiohead-kid-a-mnesia-134944/|archive-date=5 December 2021|access-date=29 October 2022}} whereas Steve Lowe of Q magazine characterised it as a "ghostly waltz-time" folk song, influenced by the Smiths' album Meat Is Murder (1985).{{cite magazine|last=Lowe|first=Steve|date=August 2000|title=Praise Be!|magazine=Q|issue=167|page=140}}
The song is the first on Kid A to feature Yorke's vocals clearly and without processing, unlike the album's preceding tracks: "Everything in Its Right Place", "Kid A", and "The National Anthem".{{cite news|last1=Moon|first1=Tom|author-link1=Tom Moon|title=Radiohead goes in different direction with new album|work=Odessa American|date=6 October 2000|location=Odessa, Texas|page=7C}} It features strummed acoustic guitar,{{cite web|last1=Ahona|first1=Ahornish|title=Stripe's Song of the Day: Radiohead – How to Disappear Completely|url=https://bdnews24.com/stripe/entertainment/gazjplazuz|website=Bdnews24.com|access-date=31 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426080247/https://bdnews24.com/stripe/entertainment/gazjplazuz|archive-date=26 April 2023|date=25 February 2023}} a Chris Squire-influenced bassline,{{cite magazine|last1=Sheffield|first1=Rob|author-link1=Rob Sheffield|title=How Radiohead Shocked the World: A 15th-Anniversary Salute to 'Kid A'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-radiohead-shocked-the-world-a-15th-anniversary-salute-to-kid-a-49200/|access-date=7 November 2023|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=2 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428174638/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-radiohead-shocked-the-world-a-15th-anniversary-salute-to-kid-a-49200/|archive-date=28 April 2023|url-status=live}} and a foundation of strings that evolves into "paranoid" electronica and "lush" orchestration, drawing influence from the Moody Blues. It is played in the key of F-sharp minor, with a {{music|time|6|8}} time signature and a tempo of 102 beats per minute (BPM).{{cite web|title=Key & BPM for How to Disappear Completely by Radiohead|url=https://tunebat.com/Info/How-to-Disappear-Completely-Radiohead/2rtGaCAeYtmcIvuZsvgTf6|publisher=Tunebat|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221027233404/https://tunebat.com/Info/How-to-Disappear-Completely-Radiohead/2rtGaCAeYtmcIvuZsvgTf6|archive-date=27 October 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Radiohead 'How to Disappear Completely' Guitar Tab in A Major| date=19 May 2003 |url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0044400|publisher=Musicnotes|access-date=20 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221019235215/https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0044400|archive-date=19 October 2022|url-status=live}} Yorke's vocal range spans from C{{music|sharp}}4 to A5, delivered in a "long-drawn-out" falsetto.{{cite book|editor1-last=Bissell|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Rose|editor2-first=Mitch|editor3-last=Harrison|editor3-first=Paul|title=Negative Geographies: Exploring the Politics of Limits|year=2021|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-149-6-228-246|page=199}} The chord progression follows a sequence of Cadd9–Em–Em6–G–Gsus4–D–Dadd4–Em(maj6).
The song opens with a discordant string harmony,{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=72}} followed by Yorke's strummed D ninth chord acoustic guitar,{{cite web|last1=Livingstone|first1=Peter|title=Radiohead: How to Disappear Completely|url=https://teddiesmusic.com/2022/03/03/radiohead-how-to-disappear-completely/|publisher=Teddies Music|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221027233020/https://teddiesmusic.com/2022/03/03/radiohead-how-to-disappear-completely/|archive-date=27 October 2022|date=3 March 2022|url-status=live}} set against B♭ (musical note) string tuning that creates a dissonance shifting between D major and F{{music|sharp}} minor.{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=72}} O'Brien's use of reverb and delay effects on guitar forms a melody that drifts between the A and E chords. At 0:23, the bassline enters,{{sfn|Osborn|2017|p=147}} playing a sequence of F{{music|sharp}}–A–B–E–C{{music|sharp}}, followed by two separate chords of E and F{{music|sharp}}.{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=72}} At 1:37, as the B♭ note resolves, the chorus begins.{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=72}} Throughout, the string arrangement remains closely tied to Yorke's vocals.{{sfn|Hyden|2020|loc=chpt. 1}} By the song's conclusion at 5:23, all instruments converge, producing a sustained high-pitched note ranging from A to F{{music|sharp}}.{{sfn|Letts|2010|p=73}} Greenwood's ondes Martenot parts are subdued in the mix, owing to the prominence of the string section. Jamie Kahn of Far Out praised the strings for blending seamlessly with the acoustic guitar and Yorke's "haunting" vocals, creating an "eclectic, harmonious" composition.
The string section was inspired by Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1961),{{sfn|Carney|2016|p=109}} which had previously influenced the string section on OK Computer
=Lyrical interpretation=
The lyrics explore themes of escape, social alienation, the search for peace, emotional turmoil, and dissociation—often a response to stress or trauma. John Hugar of Uproxx described the song as "about being so miserable you just want to escape into the void, into the nothingness, having never been part of this universe to begin with."{{cite web|last1=Hugar|first1=John|title=Ranking The 10 Saddest Radiohead Songs|url=https://uproxx.com/music/radiohead-sad-songs-creep-street-spirit/|website=Uproxx|access-date=31 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226174539/https://uproxx.com/music/radiohead-sad-songs-creep-street-spirit/|archive-date=26 February 2021|date=21 July 2015|url-status=live}} The lyrics are poetic and referential, resisting literal interpretation, as seen in the lines: "Strobe lights and blown speakers / Fireworks and hurricanes / I'm not here / This isn't happening".{{sfn|Carney|2016|p=9}} James Oldham of NME wrote that the chorus, "I'm not here / This isn't happening", encapsulates Yorke's mental state and the overwhelming pressures that he and the rest of the band endured during the OK Computer tour.{{cite magazine|last=Oldham|first=James|date=30 September 2000|title='I was a complete fucking mess when 'OK Computer' finished'|magazine=NME|page=18}}
Release and media usage
"How to Disappear Completely" was released as the fourth track on Radiohead's fourth album, Kid A, on 27 September 2000. The music press speculated that the song might be released as a single due to its commercial potential;{{cite news|last1=Redemske|first1=Bryan|title=Sneak preview reveals experimental album|work=The Courier|date=21 September 2000|location=Waterloo, Iowa|page=9}} however, Radiohead opted not to release any singles from the album.{{sfn|Randall|2004|p=193}}{{sfn|Rose|2019|p=116}} Nevertheless, "How to Disappear Completely" was released in 2000 as a promotional CD single in Poland by Parlophone and in Belgium by EMI Belgium.{{cite web|title=Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely|url=https://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=216423|publisher=991.com|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221028014234/https://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=216423|archive-date=28 October 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=CD Singles - Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely - EMI Belgium - Belgium|url=https://www.45worlds.com/cdsingle/cd/cdkida5|publisher=45worlds.com|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221028021658/https://www.45worlds.com/cdsingle/cd/cdkida5|archive-date=28 October 2022|url-status=live}} In the US, it was issued as a double A-side promotional single with "Idioteque" on Capitol Records.{{cite web|title=Idioteque / How to Disappear Completely by Radiohead|url=https://www.cdandlp.com/en/radiohead/idioteque-how-to-disappear-completely/cd/r2401927513/|publisher=CD and LP|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221028031554/https://www.cdandlp.com/en/radiohead/idioteque-how-to-disappear-completely/cd/r2401927513/|archive-date=28 October 2022|url-status=live}}
Along with "Idioteque", "How to Disappear Completely" was included on the compilation album 2001: A Sound Odyssey, released in the US in 2000 by Capitol.{{cite web|title=2001 - A Sound Odyssey (CD, 2000, Capitol Records)|url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/264280967322|publisher=eBay|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221028032427/https://www.ebay.com/itm/264280967322|archive-date=28 October 2022|url-status=live}} The song was later featured on the special edition of Radiohead: The Best Of (2008) and the Kid A Mnesia reissue.{{cite web|last1=Cepeda|first1=Adrian|title=Radiohead : The Best Of|url=https://www.treblezine.com/radiohead-the-best-of/|website=Treble|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128001339/https://www.treblezine.com/radiohead-the-best-of/|archive-date=28 November 2021|date=4 June 2008|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Hudson|first1=Alex|title=Radiohead's 'KID A MNESIA' Still Feels Terrifyingly Relevant|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/radiohead_kid_a_amnesiac_reissue_review|website=Exclaim!|access-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510155601/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/radiohead_kid_a_amnesiac_reissue_review|archive-date=10 May 2022|date=4 November 2021|url-status=live}} A live audio version, recorded on 15 November 2000 for BBC Radio 1's Evening Session,{{cite web|title=Music - Radiohead - Session History|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/radiohead/session/|access-date=25 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213220403/http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/radiohead/session/|archive-date=13 February 2021|url-status=live|publisher=BBC Online}} was included on the Kid A "Special Collectors Edition" reissue in 2009.{{cite web|title=Radiohead - Kid A Collectors Edition 2CD & DVD Set -BBC Session/Live/Jools|url=https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284696416380|publisher=eBay|access-date=25 September 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230925171338/https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284696416380|archive-date=25 September 2023|url-status=live}} A live performance from 2001 was also included on the 2009 DVD disc of "Special Collectors Edition"; this televised performance was recorded on 28 April 2001 in Paris, France, for broadcast on the French TV channel Canal+.{{cite news|title='HEAD MUSIC|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-888-1392934|access-date=25 September 2023|work=NME|date=29 April 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518124732/https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-888-1392934|archive-date=18 May 2023|url-status=live}}
"How to Disappear Completely" was featured in an episode of the American TV series Roswell (1999–2002).{{cite interview|last=Patsavas|first=Alexandra|subject-link=Alexandra Patsavas|interviewer=Roy Trakin|title=TAKING HER CUE|type=online interview|work=Hits|date=18 October 2006|url=https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=278974&title=TAKING-HER-CUE|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925211208/https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id%3D278974&title%3DTAKING-HER-CUE|archive-date=25 September 2023|access-date=25 September 2023}} The show's music supervisor, Alexandra Patsavas, recalled:
{{Blockquote
| text = Jason Katims and Ron Moore were keen to get the track for an episode, but Radiohead for television—even great television—seemed so out of reach. It's hard to remember now, but the climate for licensing was different in 2000, and bands were much less apt to say yes. But we tried. I remember sending the scene to Capitol Records and waiting and waiting and following up endlessly. I'll never forget getting the call in my tiny office on Sunset and Cahuenga [Boulevards] overlooking an especially unseemly Jack-in-the-Box parking lot: They had approved.{{cite magazine|last=Zemler|first=Emily|date=23 September 2016|title=8 Women on Finding Confidence at Work|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a39254/finding-confidence-at-work/|url-status=live|magazine=Elle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704022042/https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a39254/finding-confidence-at-work/|archive-date=4 July 2022|access-date=25 September 2023}}
}}
The song was also featured in the American film Life as a House (2001).{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|p=86}} In 2004, the Argentine writer Mariana Enríquez published her Spanish-language novel Cómo desaparecer completamente, which was named after the track.{{cite web|last1=Friera|first1=Silvina|title=Mariana Enriquez y Cómo desaparecer completamente: 'En ese momento no tenía ganas de escribir nada delicado'|trans-title=Mariana Enriquez and How to Disappear Completely: 'At that moment I didn't feel like writing anything delicate'|url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/118771-en-ese-momento-no-tenia-ganas-de-escribir-nada-delicado|website=Página 12|access-date=14 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623054508/https://www.pagina12.com.ar/118771-en-ese-momento-no-tenia-ganas-de-escribir-nada-delicado|archive-date=23 June 2023|language=es|date=3 June 2018|orig-date=First published 2 June 2018|url-status=live}} Additionally, "How to Disappear Completely" was among several Radiohead songs featured in The Island President, a 2011 documentary about Mohamed Nasheed, then-President of the Maldives.{{cite news|last1=Pelly|first1=Jenn|title=Radiohead Contribute Music to Documentary Film The Island President|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/45210-radiohead-contribute-music-to-documentary-film-the-island-president/|access-date=30 October 2023|work=Pitchfork|date=24 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927233544/https://pitchfork.com/news/45210-radiohead-contribute-music-to-documentary-film-the-island-president/|archive-date=27 September 2022|url-status=live}}
Critical reception
In a 2000 article published prior to the release of Kid A, Melody Maker
Billboard described "How to Disappear Completely" as "haunting", noting that "vocalist Thom Yorke is as tortured as ever, proclaiming 'I'm not here/This isn't happening' [...] as if he'd already vanished long ago."{{cite magazine|editor1-last=Paoletta|editor1-first=Michael|date=7 October 2000|title=Radiohead: Kid A|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22|magazine=Billboard|volume=112|issue=41|page=22|issn=0006-2510|via=Google Books}} Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! characterised the song as "a moody acoustic number" and "the most radio compatible track" on Kid A, comparing it to the OK Computer track "Exit Music (For a Film)".{{cite web|last1=Lindsay|first1=Cam|title=Radiohead: Kid A|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/radiohead-kid|website=Exclaim!|access-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612050635/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/radiohead-kid|archive-date=12 June 2022|date=1 November 2000|url-status=live}} Simon Reynolds of Uncut described the song as a "missing link" between Scott Walker's orchestral compositions and the "swoonily amorphous" ballads on My Bloody Valentine's album Isn't Anything (1988).{{cite magazine|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|date=November 2000|title=Revolution In The Head|magazine=Uncut|issue=42|page=35}} In an article for The Wire, Reynolds further likened it to a Walker ballad composed by Krzysztof Penderecki.{{cite magazine|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|date=July 2001|title=Walking On Thin Ice|magazine=The Wire|issue=209|page=26}}
Tom Coombe of The Morning Call compared the song's "haunting and calming" quality to the sound of the ocean.{{cite news|last1=Coombe|first1=Tom|title=Field Day Festival|work=The Morning Call|date=14 June 2003|page=D6}} Author Greg Kot wrote that it evokes a "lost soundtrack" to Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo.{{cite book|last1=Kot|first1=Greg|author-link1=Greg Kot|title=Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music|year=2009|publisher=Scribner|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4165-4727-3|pages=221–222}} Similarly, author Steven Hyden suggested that the song could have appeared on OK Computer had it been produced by Walker.{{sfn|Hyden|2020|loc=chpt. 1}} He also drew comparisons between its acoustic guitar, which "slowly builds to an operatic emotional climax", and earlier Radiohead songs such as "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Exit Music".{{sfn|Hyden|2020|loc=chpt. 4}}
Personnel
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
Radiohead
- Thom Yorke{{spaced ndash}} vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jonny Greenwood{{spaced ndash}} ondes Martenot, scoring
- Ed O'Brien
- Colin Greenwood
- Philip Selway{{spaced ndash}} drums
- Nigel Godrich{{spaced ndash}} production, engineering, mixing
- Radiohead{{spaced ndash}} production
- Gerard Navarro{{spaced ndash}} production assistance, additional engineering
- Graeme Stewart{{spaced ndash}} additional engineering
Cover{{efn|The cover work is credited as "Landscapes, Knives and Glue".}}
- Stanley Donwood
- Thom Yorke {{small|(credited as "Tchock")}}{{sfn|Caffrey|2021|pp=2, 201}}
{{col-2}}
Additional musicians{{Cite AV media notes|title=Kid A Mnesia|others=Radiohead|year=2021|type=LP album liner notes|publisher=XL|id=XL1166LPX|location=Europe}}
- Orchestra of St John's{{spaced ndash}} strings
- John Lubbock{{spaced ndash}} conducting
- Sue Lynn{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Marjorie Hodge{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Jeremy Metcalfe{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Jan Schmolk{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Jill Samuel{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Ann Morfee{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Jonathan Strange{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Nicolette Brown{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Eleanor Mathieson{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Hilary-Jane Parker{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Kirsten Klingels{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Caroline Balding{{spaced ndash}} violin
- Jane Atkins{{spaced ndash}} viola
- Richard Nelson{{spaced ndash}} viola
- Esther Geldard{{spaced ndash}} viola
- Chris Pitsillides{{spaced ndash}} viola
- John Heley{{spaced ndash}} cello
- Jo Cole{{spaced ndash}} cello
- David Bucknall{{spaced ndash}} cello
- Jonathan Tunnell{{spaced ndash}} cello
- Tony Hougham{{spaced ndash}} bass
- Sarah Haynes{{spaced ndash}} bass
{{col-end}}
Notes and references
=Footnotes=
{{notelist}}
=Citations=
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|last1=Hale|first1=Jonathan|title=Radiohead: From a Great Height|year=1999|publisher=ECW Press|location=Canada|isbn=1-55022-373-9}}
- {{cite magazine|last=Paine|first=Andre|date=29 March 2000|title=New Yorke Stories: On The Trail Of Radiohead|magazine=Melody Maker|pages=22–25}}
- {{cite magazine|last=Cavanagh|first=David|author-link=David Cavanagh|date=October 2000|title=I Can See The Monsters|magazine=Q|issue=169|pages=94–104}}
- {{cite book|last1=Randall|first1=Mac|title=Exit Music: The Radiohead Story|year=2004|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=1-84449-183-8|edition=2nd}}
- {{cite book|last1=Clarke|first1=Martin|title=Radiohead: Hysterical and Useless: Revised and Updated|year=2010|publisher=Plexus Publishing Limited|location=London, England|isbn=978-0-85965-439-5|edition=2nd}}
- {{cite book|last1=Letts|first1=Marianne Tatom|title=Radiohead and the Resistant Concept Album: How to Disappear Completely|year=2010|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-22272-5}}
- {{cite book|last1=Carney|first1=Peter|title=Radiohead's Subterranean Jazz Structuralism: The Music of Louis Armstrong, Alice Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus in Ten Compositions by Radiohead|year=2016|publisher=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|location=Urbana, Illinois}}
- {{cite book|last1=Osborn|first1=Brad|title=Everything in Its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead|year=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-190-62923-6}}
- {{cite book|last1=Rose|first1=Phil|title=Radiohead: Music for a Global Future|year=2019|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=London, England|isbn=978-1-44227-930-8}}
- {{cite book|last1=Hyden|first1=Steven|author-link1=Steven Hyden|title=This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's Kid A and the Beginning of the 21st Century|year=2020|publisher=Hachette Books|location=New York, US|isbn=978-0-30684-569-7}}
- {{cite book|last1=Caffrey|first1=Dan|title=Radiohead FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Most Famous Cult Band|year=2021|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4930-5397-1}}
{{refend}}
{{Radiohead}}
Category:Songs written by Thom Yorke
Category:Songs written by Jonny Greenwood
Category:Songs written by Ed O'Brien
Category:Songs written by Colin Greenwood
Category:Songs written by Philip Selway
Category:Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich
Category:British folk rock songs
Category:Songs about mental health