Optimistic

It was recorded during the Kid A sessions with Nigel Godrich, across Radiohead’s work in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire. The song was cut as part of the same album project that produced both Kid A and Amnesiac. It stood out on Kid A as one of the record’s most conventional guitar-led tracks, and it was one of the promos that received radio play even though the band did not release Kid A as a singles-driven campaign. That made it a key bridge between Radiohead’s older rock sound and the album’s experimental turn. The song remained one of the best-known entry points into Kid A’s catalog and continued to represent the album’s band-oriented side in Radiohead’s live and radio presence. It also drew enough sustained attention to become a later live and compilation-track staple for the band.