Song · Radiohead
“Knives Out” by Radiohead
From the album Amnesiac (2001)
“Knives Out” by Radiohead appears on 11 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 2001 on the album Amnesiac. Its best result is #49 on the WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #109 alternative song of 2001.
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"Knives Out" was the second single from Amnesiac, Radiohead's fifth album, released in 2001, and it came out of the same sprawling 1999 and 2000 sessions that also produced Kid A. Where those records steered away from the guitar-led band they had been, this one kept its guitars, and Smiths-flavored ones at that; Thom Yorke insisted it was no departure at all and said it lasted because it was too good to drop. By Ed O'Brien's studio diary it still took 373 days to finish, which he put down to it being the most straightforward thing they had tried in years.
Jonny Greenwood covers guitar, keyboards and ondes Martenot, O'Brien plays guitar and sings backing, Colin Greenwood holds the bass and Philip Selway the drums, with Nigel Godrich producing alongside the band. Its lyrics circle cannibalism, and Michel Gondry shot the video. It went to number one in Canada and 13 in the UK.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 99 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 | 101 |
| 2001 | 49 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2001 | 100 |
| 2001 | 79 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 2001 | 89 |
| 2001 | 52 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 | 101 |
| 2001 | 71 | The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC | The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2001 | 99 |
| 2001 | 97 (tie) | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2001 | 191 |
| 2001 | 91 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001 | 103 |
| 2001 | 74 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 324 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade | 913 |
| 2013 | 721 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
| 2025 | 383 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
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