Song · Radiohead
“Pyramid Song” by Radiohead
From the album Amnesiac (2001)
“Pyramid Song” by Radiohead appears on 8 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 2001 on the album Amnesiac. Its best result is #36 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #206 alternative song of 2001.
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"Pyramid Song" was the lead single from Amnesiac, Radiohead's fifth album, in May 2001, and the first single the band had put out at all since "No Surprises" in 1998, Kid A having come and gone without one. That they picked this says plenty. Built on piano and strings over a rhythm that seems to float free of the bar lines, it sounds less like a rock single than a slow procession, Thom Yorke singing of an Egyptian underworld and time looping back on itself. Jonny Greenwood arranged it and adds the eerie wail of the ondes Martenot; Nigel Godrich produced with the band.
It went top 10 on seven national charts anyway, and Rolling Stone, NME and Pitchfork all counted it among the decade's best tracks. The animated video, set in an undersea world, won the NME Carling Award for best video in 2002.
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 | 40 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2001 | 50 |
| 2001 | 36 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 320 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
| 2019 | 259 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2022 | 155 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2022 | 200 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2024 | 256 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 232 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
Also listed as: The Pyramid Song.
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