Jigsaw Falling into Place

"Jigsaw Falling into Place" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. It was released as the lead single from their seventh studio album In Rainbows (2007) on 14 January 2008.

"Jigsaw Falling into Place"
Single by Radiohead
from the album In Rainbows
B-side
  • "Videotape" (Live)
  • "Down Is the New Up" (Live)
  • "Last Flowers" (Live)
Released14 January 2008
Format
Recorded2005–2007
Genre
Length4:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nigel Godrich
Radiohead singles chronology
"2 + 2 = 5"
(2003)		 "Jigsaw Falling into Place"
(2008)		 "Nude"
(2008)

Writing

Radiohead performed first "Jigsaw Falling into Place" on their 2006 tour with the working title "Open Pick".[1] Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound described it as a "bass-propelled pop-rock head-bobber".[2] According to singer Thom Yorke, the lyrics are about drinking to forget: "When you're part of a group of people who are all trying to forget en masse, it is partly this elation. But there's a much darker side."[3] Adam Buxton, who directed the music video, said the song was about "being out on the town on a lairy Saturday night".[4]

Release

"Jigsaw Falling into Place" was released on 14 January 2008 as the lead single from their seventh studio album In Rainbows (2007).[5][6] It was released in the UK by independent label XL Records. It reached #30 in the UK Singles Chart 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 radio, peaking at #69.[7]

Reception

Time named "Jigsaw Falling into Place" the fifth best song of 2007.[8] Time writer Josh Tyrangiel praised the song's "tightness" and rising intensity, which he likened to a three-act play. He described the song as "a journey through flirtation, consummation and regret [that] gets about as close as you can to summing up a doomed relationship in four minutes".[9] Drowned in Sound described it as a "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".[2] Clash wrote: "It's good but like the much-hyped In Rainbows album, musically it's (relatively) unadventurous."[10] In 2016, Rolling Stone readers voted it one of the best Radiohead songs released since the 1990s.[3]

Along with the 2000 Radiohead song "Everything in Its Right Place", "Jigsaw Falling into Place" inspired contemporary classical composer Steve Reich's instrumental work Radio Rewrite.[11] Reich described "Jigsaw Falling into Place" as "a beautiful song" with "elaborate harmonic movement".[11]

Music video

The music video features the members of Radiohead performing in their studio with footage shot from cameras attached to bicycle helmets. The video was directed by Adam Buxton, who said: "We put [helmets] on each member of the band, did two takes, and it worked brilliantly. It was one of my proudest moments."[4]

Track listing
7"
  1. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" – 4:09
  2. "Videotape" (Live from the Basement)[12] – 4:26
CD
  1. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" – 4:09
  2. "Down Is the New Up" (Live from the Basement)[12] – 5:07
  3. "Last Flowers" (Live from the Basement)[12] – 4:11

Personnel

Production

References
  1. "Pitchfork's Guide to Radiohead's In Rainbows". Pitchfork Media. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  2. Diver, Mike (14 January 2008). "Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  3. "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Post-1990s Radiohead Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  4. Salter, Jessica (14 July 2012). "World of Adam Buxton, comedian and actor". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  5. "Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' to be released on CD this year". NME. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
  6. "Radiohead Reveal UK Rainbows Release Date, Single". Pitchfork Media. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
  7. "Mediabase 24/7 - 7 Day Charts - Alternative - Dec 21-Dec 27". Mediabase. 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
  8. Tyrangiel, Josh (9 December 2007). "Time magazine's Top 10 Songs of 2007 at time.com". TIME.com. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  9. Tyrangiel, Josh; "The Best Top 10 Lists of the Year"; "The 10 Best Songs"; Time magazine; December 24, 2007; Page 39.
  10. "Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place". Clash. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  11. Petridis, Alexis. Steve Reich on Schoenberg, Coltrane and Radiohead. The Guardian (1 March 2013) (accessed 8 March 2013)
  12. "Radiohead announce new release details". NME. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
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