Amnesiac cover art

  Studio Album · No. 5

Amnesiac Songwriting Credits by Radiohead

2001 Parlophone 11 tracks 44 min

Produced by Nigel Godrich, Radiohead  ·  Engineered by Nigel Godrich

Parlophone Experimental RockElectronicaArt Rock
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 11 of 11 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 11 / 11 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 11 tracks with documented writers, by whether Radiohead carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
11 trackswritten by Radiohead 0 tracksoutside writers
Radiohead's roles on this album

Share of the 11 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

11
Tracks
5
Lyricists
2
Producers
900,000
US Copies Sold
2001
Released

Awards & Recognition 2

Best Recording Package (2002)
Mercury Prize (2001, Nominated)
Data Insight

All songs on Amnesiac are credited collectively to Radiohead's five members rather than to individual songwriters, following the band's standard practice. The album was drawn from the same January 1999 to April 2000 sessions that produced Kid A, with Nigel Godrich producing and engineering both records. The band split the material across two albums because they felt it was too dense to release as a single double album. Like Kid A, Amnesiac continued the band's exploration of electronic and experimental textures alongside more traditional song structures.

Radiohead's fifth studio album, released June 5, 2001. Assembled from sessions recorded alongside Kid A, Amnesiac is a companion piece that draws from the same electronic and jazz-influenced creative period but pursues a different emotional arc. All 11 tracks are written by Radiohead collectively. 'Life in a Glasshouse' features the Humphrey Lyttelton Band on brass, contributing to the track's New Orleans funeral dirge character; no additional writing credit is given to Lyttelton. 'Pyramid Song' is considered by many critics to be among the band's greatest compositions, its unusual rhythmic structure and string arrangement building to an extraordinary climax.

Track Listing & Credits 11 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
2
Pyramid Song #5
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
3
Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
4
You and Whose Army?
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
5
I Might Be Wrong
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
6
Knives Out #13
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
7
Morning Bell/Amnesiac
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
8
Dollars and Cents
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
9
Hunting Bears
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
10
Like Spinning Plates
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Thom Yorke (Lead Vocals)
11
Life in a Glasshouse
Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Thom YorkeJonny GreenwoodColin GreenwoodEd O'BrienPhil Selway Nigel GodrichRadiohead Humphrey Lyttelton (Trumpet, Ensemble)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 8 contributors

More from Radiohead

Frequently Asked Questions Amnesiac

Did Radiohead write Amnesiac themselves?
Yes. Every track on Amnesiac is credited collectively to all five members of Radiohead: Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, and Phil Selway. The band consistently shares songwriting credit equally rather than naming individual authors.
Was Amnesiac recorded at the same time as Kid A?
Yes. Amnesiac and Kid A came from the same recording sessions held between January 1999 and April 2000 with producer Nigel Godrich. The band decided the material was too dense for a single double album and instead split it into two separate releases.
Is Amnesiac a collection of Kid A leftovers?
No. Radiohead has consistently described Amnesiac as a standalone album rather than a B-sides or outtakes collection, despite sharing sessions with Kid A. The band saw the two records as distinct works with different moods.
What chart position did Pyramid Song reach?
'Pyramid Song,' the album's lead single, reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It is built around an unusual rhythmic structure and a string arrangement, becoming one of the band's most acclaimed later singles.
Did Knives Out by Radiohead chart?
Yes. 'Knives Out' was released as the second single from Amnesiac and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. It is one of the album's more guitar-oriented and melodic tracks.
Did Amnesiac win any awards?
The special edition packaging of Amnesiac won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package at the 2002 ceremony. The album was also nominated for the 2001 Mercury Prize but lost to PJ Harvey's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.
Who produced Amnesiac?
Nigel Godrich produced and engineered Amnesiac, with the band sharing a production credit. He handled the same role on Kid A, since both albums came from the same sessions.

Sources