Amnesiac

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This article is about the Radiohead album called Amnesiac. For information about suffering from a loss of memory, see amnesia.

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Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by British rock band Radiohead, released on June 4 2001 in the United Kingdom and on June 5 in the United States and Canada, debuting at #2 on the Billboard Top 100. (see 2001 in music) A further departure from the guitar-oriented rock of The Bends, Amnesiac synthesizes influences of electronic, noise, ambient music, and jazz.

Both Amnesiac and Kid A, which was released in 2000, were recorded in the same period, and most of the songs from Amnesiac resulted from the same recording sessions that produced Kid A. This fact has led some to refer to Amnesiac as a "b-sides" album, although the band has said the two albums should be considered separately. Amnesiac also includes a different version of a song from Kid A, "Morning Bell".

While Kid A garnered much critical acclaim, Amnesiac is often viewed as the less accomplished of the two works. It has been criticised for its lack of cohesion. However, a growing number of critics refer to this lack of continuity as a deliberate device used by Radiohead to distinguish Amnesiac from Kid A. Nevertheless, the album was received very well and nearly reached Kid A's sales, marking a further musical exploration of the band.

While explaining the decision to release two albums rather than one, Yorke illuminated his artistic point of view concerning them: "They are separate because they cannot run in a straight line with each other. They cancel each other out as overall finished things. They come from two different places, I think ... In some weird way, I think Amnesiac gives another take on Kid A, a form of explanation." He continued: "Something traumatic is happening in Kid A, and this is looking back at it, trying to piece together what has happened. Go back and listen to Kid A after listening to Amnesiac, and I think you'll hear it."

About the differences with the previous record he says: "Kid A was kind of like an electric shock. Amnesiac is more about being in the woods, in the countryside. I think the artwork is the best way of explaining it. The artwork to Kid A was all in the distance. The fires were all going on the other side of the hill. With Amnesiac, you're actually in the forest while the fire's happening. With Kid A, when you sequenced certain tracks together, this play started appearing."

In addition to the standard release of the album, a special edition album was released in limited numbers. This consists of a red hardback book with the CD inside the cover. The book is styled as a library book from "Catachresis College Library" complete with library slips and date stamps, and featuring many pages of art designed by Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke. Yorke went by the pseudonym of "Tchocky" when credited. In 2001, the special edition album won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

The album is dedicated to "Noah and Jamie", sons of Thom Yorke and Phil Selway, respectively, who were born between the release of Kid A and the release of Amnesiac.

The song "Like Spinning Plates" was created by playing the backing track from "I Will" backwards. Singer Thom Yorke then sung the lyrics, played them backwards and learned how to sing them backwards. He recorded them backwards and reversed them for the final take of the song.