World history teacher Quin McConathy has recently been listening to the song “Weird Fishes” by Radiohead.

“It’s a really good song that I like a lot,” McConathy said. “It’s very integral to my childhood.”

The song “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” was released on October 10, 2007, as part of the album “In Rainbows.” Once on Spotify, it has accrued over 330 million listeners, with roughly 300,000 daily listeners consistently. 

The song is all about the idea of change and how rock bottom in life leaves only two options, pushing off or falling farther. The lyrics of the song convey this kind of transformative change where you have no other real alternatives by singing, “yeah I, I’ll hit the bottom and escape.”

The song is undoubtedly a rock song. However, it is a specific mixture of alt-rock, experimental rock, and art rock. Alt-rock was born in the ’80s and mostly was in independent spaces or college campuses. Experimental rock emerged in the ’60s to push the sounds the rock scene was capable of making. Art rock came about also in the ’60s and was mostly about the technology used in the song over the actual song itself.

“There is one line that says I’m at the bottom but now I escaped,” McConathy said. “And I think that’s a very good message.” 

The song “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” is available on all music streaming platforms.