Just (song)

1995 single by Radiohead

"Just"

Single by Radiohead
from the album  The Bends
Released| 21 August 1995 (1995-08-21)[1]
Genre|

* Alternative rock[2]
* Britpop[3]
* grunge[3][4]
* experimental rock[5]

Length| 3:55
Label| Parlophone
Songwriter(s)| Radiohead
Producer(s)| John Leckie
Radiohead singles chronology
| "Fake Plastic Trees"
(1995)  | "Just"
(1995)  | "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
(1996)

|
|

Music video
"Just" on YouTube

"Just" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, included on their second album, The Bends (1995). It features an angular guitar riff played by Jonny Greenwood, inspired by the band Magazine. It was released as a single on 21 August 1995 by Parlophone and reached number 19 on the UK singles chart. The music video was directed by Jamie Thraves. In 2008, "Just" was included in Radiohead: The Best Of.

In 2006, the English musician and producer Mark Ronson released a cover of "Just" recorded for the Radiohead tribute album Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads. It reached number 48 on the UK singles chart and number 36 on the Scottish Singles Chart. In 2008, it was rereleased as the fourth single from Ronson's second album, Version, and reached number 31 on the UK singles chart.

## Recording

[edit]

Much of "Just" was written by Radiohead's lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood. According to the singer, Thom Yorke, Greenwood "was trying to get as many chords as he could into a song".[6] His angular guitar riff was influenced by John McGeoch's playing on the 1978 Magazine song "Shot by Both Sides", which Radiohead have also covered; Greenwood said that it was "pretty much the same kind of idea".[7][8] "Just" was produced by John Leckie, who had also produced "Shot by Both Sides".[9]

"Just" was the first song Radiohead finished while working on their second album, The Bends (1995), at RAK Studios.[10] According to the guitarist Ed O'Brien, earlier versions were about seven minutes long.[9] Yorke said it was the most exciting thing Radiohead had recorded up to that point.[9]

## Music

[edit]

"Just" begins with a strummed guitar, which the critic Mac Randall likened to the 1991 Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".[9] Greenwood plays octatonic scales that extend over four octaves.[11] In the solo, he uses a DigiTech Whammy pedal to pitch-shift his guitar into a high, piercing frequency.[9][10] The lyrics describe someone in a bad relationship, with a "malicious" vocal vibrato from Yorke.[9] The Guardian placed the song between grunge and Britpop.[12]

## Music video

[edit]

In the "Just" music video, a man lies in the middle of the pavement, attracting attention from passersby. The members of Radiohead watch from an apartment above. The man's conversation with passersby is displayed in subtitles; they ask why he is lying down, but he refuses to explain. Eventually, the man explains, but his explanation is not subtitled. The bystanders lie down next to him.[13]

The video was directed by Jamie Thraves, who adapted it from an idea he had for a short film. It took two days to shoot. The street scenes were filmed on Liverpool Street, London; the scenes of the band were filmed on a set.[13] PopMatters described the video as "cryptic, artistic, and solemn".[14]

## Release

[edit]

"Just" was released in the UK on August 21 and reached number 19 on the UK singles chart. It was not released as a single in the US, but its music video received attention there.[15] In 2008, "Just" was included in Radiohead: The Best Of.

## Reception

[edit]

In August 1995, Jordan Paramor from Smash Hits gave "Just" four out of five, writing: "Their songs are tricky 'cos you always think they're a tad dull the first time you hear them 'cos nothing really seems to happen, but give them a chance and they soon blow your trews off! This is slow, yet groovy, good to chill out to yet upbeat enough to be danceable."[16] In 2007, NME named "Just" the 34th-greatest "indie anthem".[17] In 2017, NME named the guitar solo one of the greatest of all time.[18] In 2020, the Guardian named "Just" the 32nd-greatest Radiohead song, writing: "Hailstorm distortion meets perky hooks, wily vocals and ... an absurd pageant of guitar chords. The chorus flips the grunge ethos on its head, swapping self-loathing for theatrical vitriol."[12]

## Track listings

[edit]

UK CD1 and cassette single[19][20]

1. "Just" – 3:52
2. "Planet Telex" (Karma Sunra mix) – 5:21 (remix by U.N.K.L.E.)
3. "Killer Cars" (Mogadon version) – 3:49 (remix by John Leckie)

UK CD2[21]

1. "Just" – 3:52
2. "Bones" (live) – 3:13
3. "Planet Telex" (live) – 4:07
4. "Anyone Can Play Guitar" (live) – 3:39

Australian CD single[22]

1. "Just" (album version) – 3:52
2. "Bones" (live) – 3:13

## Personnel

[edit]

* Thom Yorke – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
* Jonny Greenwood – electric guitar, Hammond organ
* Ed O'Brien – electric guitar
* Colin Greenwood – bass
* Philip Selway – drums

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1995)  | Peak
position

|

Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[23] | 7
Scotland (OCC)[24] | 18
UK singles (OCC)[25] | 19
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[26] | 37

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[27] | Gold  | 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] | Gold  | 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## Release history

[edit]

Region  | Date  | Format(s)  | Label(s)  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

United Kingdom  | 21 August 1995  |

* CD1
* cassette

| Parlophone | [1]
28 August 1995  | CD2  | [29]

## Mark Ronson version

[edit]

"Just"

Single by Mark Ronson featuring Alex Greenwald/Phantom Planet
from the album  Exit Music and Version
Released| 13 March 2006 (2006-03-13)[30]
Genre|

* Funk
* R&B[31]

Length|

* 5:21
* 3:51 (radio edit)[30]

Label|

* RCA
* Sony (reissue)

Songwriter(s)|

* Thom Yorke
* Jonny Greenwood
* Colin Greenwood
* Ed O'Brien
* Philip Selway

Producer(s)| Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson singles chronology
| "NYC Rules"
(2004)  | "Just"
(2006)  | "Stop Me"
(2007)

|
|

* * *

"Valerie"
(2007)  |

* * *

"Just (re-release)"
(2008)  |

* * *

"Bang Bang Bang"
(2010)

|
|

Alex Greenwald singles chronology
|  | "Just"
(2006)  | "Shake"
(2021)

|
|

Phantom Planet singles chronology
| "Our House"
(2005)  | "Just (re-release)"
(2008)  | "Do The Panic"
(2008)

|
|

Music videos

* "Just" (Version 1) on YouTube
* "Just" (Version 2) on YouTube

For the 2006 Radiohead tribute album Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads, the English musician and producer Mark Ronson released a cover of "Just" featuring the vocalist Alex Greenwald and the bassist Sam Farrar of the American rock band Phantom Planet.[31][32] Ronson's version adds funk and R&B elements, with horns, syncopated guitar and a Funkadelic-like bassline.[31]

Ronson's cover was released as a single digitally on 13 March 2006. It reached number 48 on the UK singles chart and number 36 on the Scottish Singles Chart.[33] In February 2008, it was rereleased as a single from Ronson's second album, Version, and reached number 31 on the UK singles chart.[34][35] The music video parodies the original, with a sanitation worker mocking a group of people lying on the street while Ronson and Greenwald watch from above.[31]

Pitchfork gave Version a negative review, but said "Just" was "the standout".[36] The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis wrote that it was "both funkier and more spine-tingling than you would expect any record involving a guest vocal from ho-hum LA rockers Phantom Planet to be".[34]

### Track listing

[edit]

Download[30]No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Just"| 5:21
2.| "Just" (radio edit)| 3:51

7" vinyl

1. "Just"
2. "Just" (radio edit)

### Charts

[edit]

Chart (2006)  | Peak
position

|

Scotland (OCC)[37] | 36
UK Singles (OCC)[38] | 48

### Track listings

[edit]

Just - EP[39]No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Just" (Radio edit)| 3:13
2.| "Just" (DJ Premier's justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet)| 3:56
3.| "Just" (The Go! Team Remix)| 2:29
4.| "Just" (The Loving Hand Remix)| 6:11
5.| "Just" (DJ Premier's justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet Instrumental)| 3:55
6.| "Just" (The Loving Hand Remix Instrumental)| 6:13

CD single

1. "Just" (radio edit)[40]
2. "Valerie" (SugaRush Beat Company remix)

CD 1 88697271202 / download

1. "Just" (radio edit) – 3:51
2. "Valerie" (SugaRush Beat Company remix) – 3:45

CD 2 88697272032 / download

1. "Just" (radio edit) – 3:15
2. "Just" (DJ Premier's Justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet) – 3:57
3. "Just" (The Go! Team remix) – 2:31
4. "Just" (The Loving Hand remix) – 6:12
5. "Just" (DJ Premier's Justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet) (instrumental) – 3:57
6. "Just" (The Loving Hand remix) (instrumental) – 6:12

10" vinyl 88697271211

1. "Just" (radio edit)"
2. "Just" (DJ Premier's Justremixitmix) (featuring Blaq Poet)
3. "Just" (The Loving Hand remix)
4. "Just" (The Go! Team remix)

### Charts

[edit]

Chart (2008)  | Peak
position

|

Scotland (OCC)[41] | 23
UK Singles (OCC)[42] | 31
UK Dance (OCC)[43] | 3

### Release history

[edit]

Region  | Date  | Format(s)  | Label(s)  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Various  | 13 March 2006  |

* Digital download
* streaming
* CD single
* Vinyl

| RCA | [44]
15 February 2008  |

* CD1
* CD2
* Vinyl
* Digital download
* streaming

* RCA
* Sony

| [45]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 19 August 1995. p. 31.
2. ^ Partridge, Kenneth (13 March 2015). "Radiohead's 'The Bends' at 20: Classic Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
3. ^ a b Domanick, Andrea (13 April 2017). "The Guide to Getting Into Radiohead". Vice. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
4. ^ Fulton, Wil (3 May 2016). "Every Radiohead Album, Ranked". Thrillist. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
5. ^ Barker, Emily (26 January 2015). "30 Albums That Made 1995 A Vintage Year For Music". NME. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
6. ^ Randall, Mac (15 May 2015). "Radiohead's The Bends 20 Years Later: Reexamining a Modern Rock Masterpiece". Guitar World. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
7. ^ Buxton, Adam (7 July 2013). Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood and Adam Buxton sit in [Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service BBC Radio 6]. BBC Radio 6. Event occurs at 14:32. "Q: That was a live version of that Magazine track... [Colin Greenwood :] It's a special record for both of us... John McGeoch guitar playing... So I thought it would be nice we could listen to some stuff ... and maybe influence some of what we do... Q: I don't see anyone objecting to Magazine on the Radiohead tour bus ... Have you ever covered any Magazine track? [Jonny Greenwood:] Sure, we've played "Shot by Both Sides" and we've played the song "Just", which is pretty much the same kind of idea. Q: You were thinking very much Magazine with the angular guitar riffing on "Just", right? [Jonny Greenwood:] I've been thinking that on most of our kind of angular guitar songs that we do. It's really inventive music."
8. ^ Bartleet, Larry (4 October 2016). "11 times Radiohead covered other artists' songs brilliantly". NME. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
9. ^ a b c d e f Lowe, Steve (December 1999). "Back to save the universe". Select.
10. ^ a b Randall, Mac (12 September 2000). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. Delta. ISBN 0-385-33393-5.
11. ^ Ross, Alex (12 August 2001). "The Searchers". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
12. ^ a b Monroe, Jazz (23 January 2020). "Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
13. ^ a b Martoccio, Angie (13 March 2020). "'The Bends' at 25: Radiohead's 'Just' Video Director Looks Back". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
14. ^ Elingburg, Scott (17 April 2015). "'Why don't you try writing your own songs?': The Bends and its cover songs". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
15. ^ Randall 2012. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRandall2012 (help)
16. ^ Paramor, Jordan (2 August 1995). "Singles". Smash Hits. p. 55. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
17. ^ "The Greatest Indie Anthem Ever revealed". NME. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
18. ^ Schiller, Rebecca (6 October 2017). "50 greatest guitar solos of all time". NME. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
19. ^ Just (UK CD1 liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 1995. CDRS 6415.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
20. ^ Just (UK cassette single sleeve). Radiohead. Parlophone. 1995. TCR 6415.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
21. ^ Just (UK CD2 liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 1995. CDR 6415.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. ^ Just (Australian CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 1995. 7243 8 82372 2 2.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
23. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 6848". RPM. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
24. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
26. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
27. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Radiohead – Just". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
28. ^ "British single certifications – Radiohead – Just". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
29. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 26 August 1995. p. 43.
30. ^ a b c "Just (feat. Alex Greenwald) - Single by Mark Ranson". Apple Music. 13 March 2006.
31. ^ a b c d Elingburg, Scott (17 April 2015). "'Why don't you try writing your own songs?': The Bends and its cover songs". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
32. ^ Macia, Peter (17 April 2006). "Various Artists: Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
33. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 - Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
34. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (13 April 2007). "Mark Ronson, Version". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
35. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 24/2/2008". Official Charts. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
36. ^ Moerder, Adam (11 June 2007). "Mark Ronson: Version". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
37. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
38. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
39. ^ "Just (feat. Phantom Planet) - EP by Mark Ronson". 15 February 2008.
40. ^ "Just: Mark Ronson: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
41. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
42. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
43. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
44. ^ "Just (feat. Alex Greenwald) - Single by Mark Ronson". Apple Music. 13 March 2006.
45. ^ "Just (feat. Phantom Planet) - EP - Single by Mark Ronson". Apple Music. 15 February 2008.

## External links

[edit]

* Radiohead "Just" music video on YouTube
* Mark Ronson "Just" music video featuring Alex Greenwald on YouTube
* Mark Ronson "Just" music video featuring Phantom Planet on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

Radiohead

* Thom Yorke
* Jonny Greenwood
* Colin Greenwood
* Ed O'Brien
* Philip Selway

Studio albums|

* Pablo Honey
* The Bends
* OK Computer
* Kid A
* Amnesiac
* Hail to the Thief
* In Rainbows
* The King of Limbs
* A Moon Shaped Pool

|

Compilation albums|

* Radiohead Box Set
* Radiohead: The Best Of
* OKNOTOK 1997 2017
* MiniDiscs [Hacked]
* Kid A Mnesia

Remix albums|

* TKOL RMX 1234567

Live albums|

* I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings

EPs|

* Drill
* My Iron Lung
* No Surprises / Running from Demons
* Airbag / How Am I Driving?
* Com Lag (2plus2isfive)
* In Rainbows Disk 2

Singles|

* "Creep"
* "Pop Is Dead"
* "Stop Whispering"
* "My Iron Lung"
* "High and Dry / Planet Telex"
* "Fake Plastic Trees"
* "Just"
* "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
* "The Bends"
* "Paranoid Android"
* "Karma Police"
* "Lucky"
* "No Surprises"
* "Pyramid Song"
* "Knives Out"
* "There There"
* "Go to Sleep"
* "2 + 2 = 5"
* "Jigsaw Falling into Place"
* "Nude"
* "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
* "These Are My Twisted Words"
* "Supercollider" / "The Butcher"
* "The Daily Mail" / "Staircase"
* "Burn the Witch"
* "Daydreaming"
* "I Promise"
* "Man of War"
* "If You Say the Word"
* "Follow Me Around"

Other songs|

* "Subterranean Homesick Alien"
* "Exit Music (For a Film)"
* "Let Down"
* "Everything in Its Right Place"
* "The National Anthem"
* "How to Disappear Completely"
* "Idioteque"
* "Optimistic"
* "True Love Waits"
* "15 Step"
* "House of Cards" / "Bodysnatchers"
* "All I Need"
* "Reckoner"
* "Lotus Flower"
* "Spectre"
* "Lift"
* "Ill Wind"

Video albums|

* Live at the Astoria
* 7 Television Commercials
* Meeting People Is Easy
* The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
* In Rainbows – From the Basement
* Radiohead for Haiti
* The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement

Related albums|

* True Love Waits
* Hold Me to This
* Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
* Radiodread
* Jaydiohead
* Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele

Related articles|

* Discography
* Songs
* Awards and nominations
* Live performances
* Atoms for Peace
* The Smile
* Stanley Donwood
* Nigel Godrich
* Clive Deamer
* Dead Children Playing
* Radio and Juliet
* Radio Rewrite
* Sericomyrmex radioheadi
* The Music and Art of Radiohead
* 2012 stage collapse
* "Scott Tenorman Must Die"
* "Get Free"
* Kid A Mnesia Exhibition
* Dasyomyliobatis thomyorkei

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Mark Ronson

* Discography
* Awards and nominations

Studio albums|

* Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
* Version (2007)
* Record Collection (2010)
* Uptown Special (2015)
* Late Night Feelings (2019)

Other albums|

* Barbie (2023)

Singles|

* "Ooh Wee"
* "Just"
* "Stop Me"
* "Oh My God"
* "Valerie"
* "Wake Up Call (Remix)
* "Bang Bang Bang"
* "The Bike Song"
* "Somebody to Love Me"
* "Anywhere in the World"
* "Uptown Funk"
* "Daffodils"
* "Feel Right"
* "Diamonds Are Invincible"
* "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart"
* "Late Night Feelings"
* "Find U Again"
* "Suzanne"

Featured singles|

* "Everyday"
* "Easy"

Promotional singles|

* "I Can't Lose"

Related articles|

* Silk City
* Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson

* v
* t
* e

Phantom Planet

* Alex Greenwald
* Sam Farrar
* Darren Robinson
* Jeff Conrad

* Jason Schwartzman
* Jacques Brautbar

Studio albums|

* Phantom Planet Is Missing
* The Guest
* Phantom Planet
* Raise the Dead
* Devastator

EPs|

* Limited Edition Tour EP

Compilations|

* Negatives
* Negatives 2

Singles|

* "California"
* "Do the Panic"

Related|

* Discography
* Operation Aloha
* Blackblack

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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