“2+2=5” by Radiohead

"2 + 2 = 5" takes its title from the slogan in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Radiohead made it the third and last single from their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, in November 2003. They cut it in 2002 at Ocean Way in Hollywood with Nigel Godrich, meaning it only as a studio test, and two hours later it was finished. You can hear the tape rolling early: Jonny Greenwood plugs in his guitar and Thom Yorke cracks that it's a nice way to start.

Then it's off, a sequenced drum pattern and a guitar arpeggio with Ed O'Brien picking out echoing pops above the fretboard and Greenwood tuned down to drop D, building and building to a loud, furious climax. It made number two in Canada and 15 in the UK.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.