I've been getting a kick out of this top ten list stuff, so I'm going to do a few more in the days ahead. Today, here are the first five of my top ten Radiohead songs: 1. "How to Disappear Completely" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAF8D0ugyVk): The amount of development that this track underwent between its sketch stage, heard in Meeting People Is Easy(1998), and Kid A (2000) demonstrates what they're about. Thematically, musically (this band can swing!), lyrics that at first might seem inconsequential but then resonate with possibility - pure Radiohead. Best place to listen to it: a country road, a starry sky, a good car stereo. 2. "Reckoner" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOoCixFA8OI&feature=related): Their conception of rhythm seems to grow and expand with every album. This song amazed me in October of 2007, and my admiration has only increased since. 3. "Everything in Its Right Place" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onRk0sjSgFU): On Kid A, they left aside almost every characteristic for which their work had become famous in the first place: the three-guitar attack, Yorke's expressively human vocals, etc. To do something that daring, right after OK Computer, and to succeed beyond anyone's expectations, well there's a reason that it's been named the album of its decade in several polls. 4. "Dollars & Cents" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_v2OsC9yT0): My favourite track from Amnesiac, which is certainly their most under-valued album. Has there ever been a rocker who has has done string arrangements with the depth and variety of Jonny Greenwood's? 5. "These Are My Twisted Words" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiJj_8yjLnU): Just in case anybody forgot that they can still be a guitar band when they want to.

Tomorrow: the other five.

The band I was referring to yesterday is Radiohead, of course. Their songs have been covered by many jazz artists, including some of the most celebrated of the current generation: Chris Potter, Robert Glasper, and especially, Brad Mehldau, because, by my count, he's recorded versions of four of their songs, and they've become staples in his repertoire. I'll be writing more about him soon.

Today's topic is the song entitled, "Dollars and Cents" from Amnesiac (2001). Like "I Love Paris" (see yesterday), it also features major-minor interchange as one of its central components. In this case, it's a B chord that moves back and forth freely between major and minor - a very unusual harmonic movement - that helps to create the song's otherworldly atmosphere. Also worth noting are the thoughtful performances of each member of the band. Radiohead's music is distinctive not only for its compositional sophistication, but also for the fact that each member is responsible for working out his own contribution to each song. Their process, ironically enough, is quite the opposite from the improvisational approach that a jazz group would (mostly) employ. (Suggested listening: Compare their version of "Knives Out", also from Amnesiac, with The Brad Mehldau Trio's from their 2005 album, Day is Done.)