a summer full of radiohead

welcome back to lachurrosstories for fall semester 2025! 

some things have stayed the same, i’ll still be doing biweekly blogs as i'm busy with brand director duties (sadly for one last time). others are now different, i have a show this semester, called lachurros radio (fridays 12-1pm)!

Radiohead is an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. they have not officially broken up; however, they are on a hiatus since their last tour in 2018.  

via: (left to right) @shutterstock.com @RollingStone.com @IMD.b.com

over the summer, music by Radiohead has been popping up more frequently on TikTok, especially the song Let Down, and more so the lyrics, “one day i’m gonna grow wings,” have gone viral. fans and creators can interpret it in three different ways"  

1. death - a metaphor for leaving life behind

2. success - growing wings as a rise above struggle

3. freedom - escaping boundaries, both physical and emotional

TikTok examples:

via: @wcepa on TikTok

via: @dead.ender_ on TikTok

with that said, i’ve read further online how this trend of using radiohead songs with videos as the top ones can start to feel overused or even over commercialized, which some longtime fans may not like. the idea that now people are listening to a band that was once seen kind of "underground" and alternative, is suddenly getting popular with an uncommon audience because of TikTok. i personally can see this take, however, i'm not offended or hate the trends, i like them.

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apart from just sharing these trends across social media, i wanted to add four scenes from 3 tv-series and a movie where radiohead songs made the scene hit harder emotionally. 

song: Creep

movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

the film opens with an acoustic version of Creep, which to me, sets an emotional tone before the action even begins. because it's focused on the character Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and his story, it can also be foreshadowed that the song and lyrics bring out deeper themes of identity and belonging, which Rocket does face.

song: Let Down

tv-series: The Bear

this track appears in the season 1 finale episode. it plays over another emotional moment, where Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) found the money in the tomato sauces. many fans were not disappointed with the way the scene has this song in the background. a melancholy, sad, and reflecting song that portrays hope for the show to continue.

song: No Surprises

tv-series: The Summer I Turned Pretty

watching the scene where everyone leaves separately after dinner and Conrad (Christopher Briney) is there standing alone, while this song plays... wow poor him. a little thing i found interesting and perhaps was even done on purpose, the play on the words of "my final bellyache with no alarms and no surprises" his love is Belly (Lola Tung).

song: Nice Dream

tv-series: How I Met Your Mother

this song is used in season 6, episode 13, where all of Ted's (Josh Radnor) friends are rushing to the hospital because they got the call he has been hurt. hearing those words over the phone, immediately leaving their jobs, putting everything down, just to get to him. while the scene and snippet of the song was short, it's a pretty dramatic feel.

there are many more medias where songs by Radiohead have been played and made a bigger impact, i selected these four because i recently watched them over the summer and noticed an emotional trend.

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with what i mentioned earlier about my new radio show, i'm going to connect a few blogs that i've done in the past and a few that are new to make a theme for that week. for example, this friday 9/5 (12-1pm) i'm going to take inspiration from a few radiohead songs and genres of that sort and related it to "the art of yearning" = fictional characters where all they know is to yearn.

-- tune in for more stories from #lachurrosstories