Song · OK Computer era (1996–98)
How I Made My Millions
Thom Yorke recorded it at home on a four-track, with his partner Rachel Owen busy in the kitchen behind him.
1997
the four-track take
Thom Yorke wrote and sang it at home, on piano, into his four-track, and took the tape to the band as raw material. They decided it should stay as it was; this site's 2003 page on the song has Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway saying it blew them away. So the B-side is the home recording, and while he was making it his partner, Rachel Owen, was in the kitchen, putting away the groceries or making supper, and she is in the background of the take.
This site's 2003 page found the words close to impossible to make out, and thought the title suited a band who had done well out of people asking what Yorke was really saying.
1998
the b-side
It went out in January 1998 on the CD and cassette of “No Surprises”, after “Palo Alto”. It was on the second disc of the OK Computer collector's edition in 2009 and on OKNOTOK 1997 2017, where Andrzej Lukowski of Drowned in Sound called it a classic and heard “Videotape” coming in it.
Christopher O'Riley worked it out by ear for Hold Me to This in 2005, his second album of Radiohead songs for solo piano. Reviewing that for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Richard Storm rated the counterpoint of O'Riley's version of the song as worthy of the composer John Adams, which is a lot to hear in a song recorded next to the shopping.
the video
The B-side, as released.· ALOIRwatch on youtube →
the record(2)
Tabs (2)
sources5
- The site's own catalogue note, based on Drowned in Sound, Wikipedia's article on the song and fan archives.
- The 2003 site's lyric page for the song, for the four-track, Ed and Phil's reaction, Rachel Owen in the kitchen and the words.
- Treefingers news desk, 24 January 1998, for the single's formats.
- Treefingers news desk, 12 April 2005, for Christopher O'Riley and Richard Storm's review.
- Treefingers news desk, 22 June 2017 (from Drowned in Sound and Pitchfork), for Andrzej Lukowski on OKNOTOK.