Just (song)

"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.

"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

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

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

"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

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

"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

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

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

• 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

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

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

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	21 August 1995	CD1 cassette	Parlophone	[1]
	28 August 1995	CD2		[29]

Mark Ronson version

"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

Download^[30]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Just"	5:21
2.	"Just" (radio edit)	3:51

7" vinyl

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

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC)[37]	36
UK Singles (OCC)[38]	48

Track listings

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

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC)[41]	23
UK Singles (OCC)[42]	31
UK Dance (OCC)[43]	3

Release history

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]