"Thanks to an unexpected surge in popularity on TikTok, Radiohead now has its fourth-ever song on the Billboard Hot 100: the morosely gorgeous track "Let Down" from the 1997 album OK Computer. "Let Down" never broke through to mainstream attention like Radiohead's "Creep" or "Karma Police," but it's by no means a deep cut, like the Pavement b-side "Harness Your Hopes" that went viral due to a quirk in Spotify's recommendation algorithm."
"I first encountered this trend when my TikTok algorithm served me - an obsessive Philadelphia Phillies and Radiohead fan - with a video that seemed like it could have been created in a lab to make me cry. It's a montage of Zack Wheeler, the steadfast ace of the Phillies' pitching rotation, who will soon undergo season-ending surgery, accompanied by a choral edit of "Let Down," while lyrics are overlaid atop a Wheeler highlight reel: "Bouncing back and/One day, I am gonna grow wings.""
"Unlike the rise of songs like Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" or Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," this song isn't just serving as background music for makeup tutorials and recipe videos. Instead, people are tapping into how haunting the song feels. It's crushingly sad, yet there's an earnest hopefulness to it, and the desire to escape that sadness makes the pain feel even more acute."
Radiohead's "Let Down" entered the Billboard Hot 100 as the band's fourth-ever charting song following a TikTok popularity surge. The track originates from the 1997 album OK Computer and remains a fan favorite rather than a deep cut. TikTok creators pair the song with emotionally charged montages rather than casual background content. The song's tone blends crushing sadness with earnest hopefulness, intensifying the desire to escape and heightening emotional impact. Viral boosts included use in a scene of The Bear and prominent edits pairing the song with sports and film montages, increasing streaming and chart activity.
Read at TechCrunch
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