Thom Yorke - Paranoid Android (Acoustic)

October 27th 2002, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, USA
Please note: After filming the entire show by discreetly holding a camcorder in front of my face, my arms got a little tired - so, sorry for the camera movement. The venue didn't exactly allow tripods to be brought in without asking a few questions.
Thanks to everyone for all of the positive comments.

[@heatherleens9661]

Thom Fucking Yorke performing Paranoid Android on stage alone. What a legend.

[@justythrasher]

Not many musicians can sound that good acoustic.

[@cyber_cunt2077]

Do i smell Cobain?

[@goncalosilva5369]

@@cyber_cunt2077 nirvana are freaking easy to play, you can't say the same thing to paranoid Android

[@ptolerov]

@@goncalosilva5369 It's a super complex song if you're a guitar beginner too

[@goncalosilva5369]

@@ptolerov is tough to play and sing

[@rlphyabs5239]

@@cyber_cunt2077 i love Radiohead and nirvana as a whole, in fact, Nirvana and Radiohead is pretty much equal to me in terms of music, but Radiohead has more of a complex set of chords than nirvana, nirvana uses basic barre chords while radiohead focuses on lots of arpeggios. Nevertheless, I love playing both of the band's songs

[@Yuriding]

It's incredible how only his voice and guitar sounds like a full band

[@izusblur]

Every version has a different "You don't remember, you don't remember, why don't you remember my name" I love it!

[@evaca8944]

Eren Nova i really love this version of that part

[@Vaisin]

I think Thom Yorke is a legend. Who agrees with me?

[@swaroov9236]

If we agree or not,it doesn't matter,legend is a legend

[@cyber_cunt2077]

Better than all the beatles together

[@monikaszymanowska5142]

He is alive. Legend will he be one day:-)

[@WalrusV]

I think the god also agree with you

[@bkbj8282]

How desperate are you for attention you don't deserve?

[@OIP_1]

it's just mindbending how much songwriting and performing talent is condensed into this man.

[@allroundlad]

Don't forget guitar playing talent

[@Skoopyghost]

Karma Police is their easiest to play, and it takes effort to learn. It's not a three chord song. Jigsaw falling into places is impossible with a band as a asocial musician curse you Tom. Forcing me socialize.

[@Mewkipian]

@@SkoopyghostFake plastic trees is really easy, basically just 3 chords with variations

[@christiansanders1]

@@Mewkipianfake plastic trees is super easy to play but I genuinely find it easier to sing paranoid android while playing. The difference in rhythm between the lyrics and guitar on fake plastic trees just doesn’t click with me for some reason

[@KoustubhBhattacharjee]

3:12. that crack in his voice. oh dear lord,thom.

[@DrJimmy]

How anyone could not be totally transfixed by what's going on on stage and TALKING, is beyond me... I'd be staring, mouth hanging open in amazement if I saw this live.

[@transcend7782]

James Ness Silicon Valley solipsists...

[@Velourium]

+James Ness I know my goodness that crowd was terrible.

[@benwilliams9683]

the 'bridge school' at which Thom is peforming is a school for children with special needs. Therefore lots of the crowd are special needs children with their parents, you cannot expect them to keep quiet for the whole performance.

[@stephenstrang590]

Why do people insist on being apologists. When will that shit stop? Thom would say the same thing.

[@greenroomdude]

I thought the crowd was fucking rad! You can tell they were having a blast.

[@iamrubens]

It makes you think is easy to play those chords and sing, it ain't.

[@guillem.590]

And with the eyes closed... and the dancing, don't forget the dancing

[@samescobar1013]

+Rub Ens really??

[@shecallsmecocowatson]

Well he is playing it since '97..

[@eduardocunhadecarvalho4778]

true

[@matthewjohnston5032]

Its soo difficult

[@13luewine]

Thom Yorke - the best acoustic live performer I have ever heard. Never off pitch.

[@robertkeating3698]

Isn’t the essence of Thom’s style deliberately off pitch?

[@ieuanphillips4963]

@@robertkeating3698 I guess when hes jumping around

[@jamesevans2507]

@@robertkeating3698 No?

[@natkershaw6303]

he is also my favourite autistic live performer too!

[@ClaudiaReneFuentes]

Because of this, I learned to play this whole thing on he guitar, exactly the way he plays it.

[@karloswald7345]

Very cool, I'm trying to nail it down as we speak! Any ideas on the tuning??? It looks to be some sort of open tuning... and at times, it looks like someone else is playing guitar as well!

[@BoscoBP]

+Karl Oswald glad to inform you that it is standard tuning

[@ssimon64]

Claudia Fuentes That's awesome, got any videos?

[@levn7327]

Great! Can you share us the tabs, please ?

[@tukaret]

Anyone has the chords that thom plays in here for the slow part? Seem to be some kind of open chord down progression, not the bar chords shown in every tab on internet!

[@roncole1935]

I've often wondered what the American Idol tools would have to say if an unknown Thom Yorke auditioned before them. "A little pitchy dawg!"

[@rebelwithoutapplause5629]

I've often wondered this too.. "Dawg, you is too ginger, too white and a little off key.." (white liberals applaud due to wanting to appear woke..")

[@kristalcampbell3650]

They'd be right but that doesn't make him any less brilliant

[@plinkertonman]

They would be right though lol. Honestly I miss the days of Simon being a contrarian asshole. Nowadays he just cries at every """audition""", stating they're brilliant in hopes of the video going viral (which it does). I miss when a legitimately good singer would come on and Simon would basically say "well.....that was shit"

[@plinkertonman]

@@rebelwithoutapplause5629 more like "too short, too pale, too asymmetrical, and too whiny..." then the women and the high testosterone males (such as and including myself) would clap in agreement

[@pimposki6232]

_>"high testosterone males (such as and including myself)"_ lol

[@robertowatsiano]

"How are you gona play the whole of paranoid android with just an acoustic on your own" Thom york : "hold my beer".

[@natkershaw6303]

Thom seems more like a cocktail man to me

[@DylTyrril]

How he holds those notes at the chorus part of "what's that" is beyond me, never ceases to amaze. God bless Thom and Radiohead for leaving their impression on the world with their beautiful and mezmerizing music!

[@GermanLehmann98]

Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to play that guitar part while singing? Damn

[@SomeGuy-sd1fv]

really really REALLY fucking hard that's how hard

[@GermanLehmann98]

Some Guy Yeah i've been playing guitar for a while and I love to play fast stuff, but paranoid android is just really hard in the sense that its a weird style of playing guitar

[@hamdanjf]

German Lehmann agreed

[@mja4752]

It's actually not that hard to play decently ... but playing and singing at that level of perfection recquires many many years of work

[@RabiesPlanet]

German Lehmann Not really. He actually plays it really loosely live compared to the album version. Live he just hits the right bass notes and treble notes in the right order. The album version has more intricate picking. It's just cross picking and good strumming. Not hard after a while

[@deniswastaken]

Literally playing the hardest part with his ease, also playing an acoustic on point, just some Thom yorke things. My idol.

[@prismgap]

If anything shows that Thom Yorke is a genius. It's this video. I mean, the song practically loses no steam and the rest of the fucking band isn't even there. He is beyond great. No one can touch his talent.

[@samyorke872]

this man is god

[@alexdesmall6916]

Yup i think it's cannon now that Thom is God and he sent his son Jonny to redeem us.

[@nikinovski]

I don't want to crucify Jonny :/

[@RabiesPlanet]

Enrique Pérez Jaimes Jonny's guitar is the one getting crucified every fucking night during those solos. All for our enjoyment

[@User-xw6kd]

but the existence of Thom Yorke can be scientifically proved..

[@leo940806]

why can't he be a scientific god

[@gouthamkgh]

Apparently this was performed at a school with children who have special needs. Let's stop hating on the audience :)

[@Gentamoru]

sounds as if he was playing in a wedding or something lol

[@Marco-er4ql]

I agree

[@thatwasinteresting.8150]

Goutham knows this because he was in the 3rd row.

[@joex-mn4we]

lmao you fucker.

[@kristalcampbell3650]

Those kids have brilliant musical taste for Radiohead to be their thing. Kudos.

[@MauFerrusca]

This man is made of rhythm! Fantastic.

[@natkershaw6303]

more like particles but ok :)

[@someonesaccountforwritingn9894]

this is the only video that proves it's possible to play this song acoustic this way

[@sneakypower576]

Thom's a rare talent. I would love to see him do the entire catalog this way.

[@gokberkonem3232]

How does he sound so flawless live? He is amazing.

[@rebelwithoutapplause5629]

He and his whole band practiced this for there first time live on "Jules Holland". Look up "Paranoid Android, Jools Holland" and music will never seem the same again.. No auto tune, no back up, live Radiohead..

[@despierten]

I'm the future. Even in this video you supposedly watched you can see his voice cracked. Not exactly flawless...

[@kyle8575]

@@despierten Presumably they didn't mean a perfect voice in the literal sense.

[@formbyuke181]

you have got to be a musical genious to pull that off,Just Thom and a guitar.What a legend !!! Must of been amazing to witness this.

[@derekbisson2250]

I could not agree more, playing and singing in time, on key. Truly a gift, THom has my respect!!

[@d-wreckb-check1691]

The rude trash talking during the presence of greatness have no clue what they’re ignoring. Love always to Thom.

[@arthurballs9632]

You mean the special needs kids he's performing before

[@andrewleyden2752]

I remember being a spiky-haired, relatively short kid in Ireland in the 1990s with nothing going for myself. Seeing this gave me access to vistas of possibility. I adore Radiohead and Thom Yorke.

[@dsignrdane]

aw he's such a great little man

[@loldoctor]

i almost feel like the talking actually makes this kind of anxious background texture to what he's singing, and when you think of it like this it makes it seem different

[@KieranCondon-ir4pt]

With the world in turmoil, this band melts me!!

[@UnknownKnightGaming]

Thom has a singing style (action-wise) that makes him look drunk/high, but it's his passion that makes him sing like that. It's amazing how much he puts himself in a song when singing... Love that passion!

[@martafeynman-lehrer327]

Why is nobody commenting on the screaming woman's vibrato at 2:02 ???!!!!

[@TheStarFreeman]

It's incredible indeed

[@ssimon64]

Marta Feynman-Lehrer Sounded like Indian screams

[@ssimon64]

Marta Feynman-Lehrer She did it a few times

[@rebelwithoutapplause5629]

I realise these comments are from ages ago, but I think she just added to the whole chaos of the song.. Put it this way, she was enjoying herself, screamed at the right time and wasn't doing it at an Ed Sheeran/One Direction gig.. She gets my approval just for being there..

[@rebelwithoutapplause5629]

Plus.. Can you just imagine her enthusiasm if she was giving you a blowy..?? She gets my vote... ;)

[@andyrodgers4003]

One of the greatest acoustic performances ever played and he made it look easy!

[@carladean6117]

and the audience talked through it

[@bazariaraa]

His voice, playing, music makes the perform great. It's not so easy to to play this song on one guitar like this, (I like 'Rain down' moment the most of all) with that sound. That's why, Thom Yorke isn't only great composer, he is great guitarist. Thom is my favorite guitarist, I think

[@abelfuchslocher]

Wow, one man show. I'm really impressed how he fit this three-songs song in one man performance. Great!

[@migueldacruz6640]

Wow! This is best paranoid acoustic acoustic performance ever

[@XxGeishixX]

the guitar playing was flawless

[@andryaseffendi8532]

appreciated for the effort during making of this film

[@User-xw6kd]

Bajuri Oxa 😂

[@ComradeNu]

This is absolute insanity... to play this song like he does and sing the vocal at the same time and do it absolutely flawlessly... it boggles my mind. Thom is a true musician.

[@JamesKovacic]

It’s interesting seeing Thom with both the Kid A/Amnesiac goatee and the Hail To The Thief hair

[@threshingfloor8591]

What an amazing musician

[@fergarais]

raw historic talent.... period!

[@qotsahrmosa]

The best acoustic performance! I love Thom York!

[@natkershaw6303]

Yorke*

[@Eder5837]

Su manera de tocar el tema en acústico es impresionante!!! sumamente caigo rendido a sus pies por poder echárselo completo de A a Z, #SUPERLIKEDIRECT!!!!.

[@MDE128]

I wish he played this song on his acoustic solos or duos with Jonny more often.

[@MR-hm5hw]

That is quite unbelievable. Fucking amazing.

[@chanclie]

I aprecciate more the song like this...i discovered again, with more power, what a great chords the guitar has on this song...superb interpretacion!!!

[@shanihai19]

a stairway to the strings of my soul...

[@natkershaw6303]

why are there strings in your shoes?

[@joseluisjimenezpino4948]

master of masters, when musicians were real

[@ka0tek]

Thom Yorke = Musical brilliance personified

[@weezalicious]

Makes you realize how powerful he is

[@trycoun]

this leaves you simply speechless. amazing performance

[@beninthetube]

just amazing!! loved it!! love all his accoustic versions but thats my favourite song

[@aidaalp1005]

Thom is such a gem!

[@TheMlg556]

that "down" at 4:11 gets me every time

[@belindarios7887]

this song is so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes

[@rooflee]

Wow, Thoms vocals never fail to blow me off my chair. Brilliant!

[@larrylarrivee1979]

Audio quality is excellent, and you sharing the experience is priceless! :)

[@dieno125569]

Eargasm

[@huliheaden]

Thom Yorke's vocal performances, if you look at it technically, always seem so much better in solo performances. This performance is just unbelievable.

[@guitaristdho]

Thom's voice gives me the chills

[@Kinovy]

This is just pure music. Radioheads are revolutionising music the same way beatles did. Really.

[@KillingJoy]

this is my 10000000000000000ssss time to watch this....and I'm still.....wooow...

[@natkershaw6303]

by my calculations, if this video was 1 second long and you had 10000000000000000ssss rewatches, then you must've started 70 billion years ago. ur old lol

[@edurso]

Perfectly,flawlessly, superbly, faultlessly,wonderfully show!!!!

[@nicktoe]

simply stunning

[@rebelwithoutapplause5629]

I love the girl about 1.30 in in the background you can faintly hear say "waaaaa hooooo". Everyone was just having such a good time, I'm gutted I wasn't there.. :)

[@anarchypanarchy]

To guage just how good this is take a look at some of the covers on this site. Several very proficient performers attempt it but get nowhere near. Thom is deservedly often imitated but believe me, he is never surpassed.

[@bitchyivyonvideo]

I'm playing this for my NCEA 3! (On guitar and singing by myself) wish me luck!! love you Thom x

[@dagolonso]

Sorprendente, es simplemente magnífico

[@thaissete5391]

Aprendendo essa música acústica no violão. Uma das músicas mais difíceis, mas é muito gratificante tocá-la. A melodia é fascinante, a letra, assustadora D:

[@RenardeauGuy]

It's a complex song. Remarkably, he can imitate a full band with only one acoustic guitar, which sounds so good.

[@erinjenson1]

absolute talent

[@shuttlesmasher828]

Just BRILLIANT!

[@Monthereses]

05:22 a dothraki loves thom yorke

[@SneakingMOUSE]

Stop talking and listen to our only true superhero.

[@SneakingMOUSE]

We're *Lucky* to have him. References...

[@processred2858]

With jokes like that you ought to get fitter, happier, and more productive or you'll go nowhere.

[@alvin_row]

I might be wrong, but I would have to be high (and dry) to enjoy those jokes. (See what I did there there?)

[@SneakingMOUSE]

You better shush up mate, because when I'm king you'll be first against the wall.

[@pr00de]

for serious, this is incredible. how could people talk through this?

[@templeforsythe2385]

My favourite thing to learn and play right now. Quite simply awesome❤

[@mattdorst2572]

That was a walk off of there ever was one...beautiful

[@juniwilliams]

we always reach the stars with Tom Yoke

[@natkershaw6303]

what is he a fucking egg!?

[@alsisler4023]

As much as I love Radiohead, and I love more than life itself lol, you gotta respect that this performance was at a benefit for a school that helps kids with special needs so of course not everyone is gonna be silent for some guy they barely listen to

[@crazycroft32]

thats the best thing ive heard in a long long time hes amazing

[@shenze11]

my fav band since i was a lil shit... not to many understand this power... nice to see that there are others that do... been to 4 concerts so far...travelled far and wide to see them... its a way of life....

[@DDazzle1]

Who are these people having conversations during Paranoid Android?

[@ieuanphillips4963]

Children with special needs leave them fucking be

[@woofwoofwoof6499]

Fucking true talent right here!!! Music legend

[@FreeSlushiesForAll]

wow. that takes some serious skill to play this and sing it at the same time. I learned to play the whole song, I couldn't imagine doing that while singing it as amazing as this.

[@Dvlives4art]

pure talent! ...God how much I'd have liked to be there!!!!!

[@ramses_is_numba_one]

omg, i just learned how to play this song, its so addictive, i cant stop playing it, my family keeps telling to play something else, but i just cant get the rythym out of my system, i dont know the lyrics word for word so i mumble them like an idiot, i love it

[@krishivkaran5337]

The fact that you learnt the song 15 years ago should stand as a testament to how good you must be at guitar a decade and a half later

[@ramses_is_numba_one]

holy shit LOL, i was in college during this time when i discovered radiohead, and became obsessed. unfortunately i forgot how to play the song and im pretty crummy at guitar now because adulthood took over and i had no time to play, i can still jam out though if i look up the guitar tabs!@@krishivkaran5337

[@borjangagovski6545]

The first part must be really hard to play without fingerpicking.

[@ssimon64]

Borjan Gagovski No, not too hard to play with a pick.

[@jacobfrank3136]

it comes pretty natural if you've practiced stuff like it before. I learnt a lot of Neil Young songs before trying to learn this one and the picking pattern is pretty similar to a lot of Neils stuff.

[@ddude1212]

@@jacobfrank3136 Neil's playing is so underrated, learning his stuff made this kinda stuff easy too.

[@Crossss8]

What a talented individual

[@joemartin8148]

A heart killing performance.

[@kristinzeiber23]

Oh to be that guitar and feel Thom's hands on me. *SIGH*

[@6funswede]

Fantastic version. Great musicianship. Those talkers should be poisoned.

[@martinmireles6762]

when I am king THEY Will be the first against the wall.

[@coleslau2372]

This performance was at a school for people with special needs. You, sir, are the one who should be poisoned

[@arthurballs9632]

Bloody hell he's something

[@finbartube]

Excellente , huge fan !!

[@sovka8394]

2:50 this part is so badass

[@radioheadfreak7511]

pretty sure thom has alien dna, his performances are other worldy

[@natkershaw6303]

how many other worlds have you been to?

[@xm02]

one of the coolest performances of that song

[@waltersobcheck2]

most talented man of my generation ive seen so far.

[@maralhz9472]

how he does this? made me stare at screen with an open mouth

[@kealahau6727]

He is so good he only needs a guitar and the place is full...

[@qotsahrmosa]

Love it! Rain down! Rain down on me!!

[@24cigaro]

What creature is that at 2:03?

[@SlyMaelstrom]

***** That's the sound of an unborn chicken voice.

[@hangthedj3206]

Bill N squealing gucci little piggy

[@arzoo82]

+a_decent_name_on_insta lol!

[@jamesevans2507]

Yoko Ono