Jigsaw Falling into Place

Background

The song had the working title "Open Pick" when it was performed during Radiohead's 2006 tour.

Release and reception

The track reached #30 in the UK singles chart on its first week of release, their lowest ranking chart entry since "Lucky" in 1995. However, "Jigsaw" was the first Radiohead single since the band's inception not to be released through EMI-controlled Parlophone, their former major record label. The single was instead released in the UK by independent label XL Records.

The song spent several weeks as one of the 100-most-played songs on US modern rock radio, peaking at #69, receiving more support than any other In Rainbows song with the exception of "Bodysnatchers", which hit #8 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, and House of Cards which peaked at #48.

Time magazine named "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" the fifth best song of 2007. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised the song’s "tightness", whose rise in intensity he likened to a three-act play, and described the song as "a journey through flirtation, consummation and regret [that] gets about as close as you can to summing up a doomed relationship in four minutes." Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound described the track as a "bass-propelled pop-rock head-bobber, easy enough on the ear for indirect consumption." Clash wrote: "It’s good but like the much-hyped In Rainbows album, musically it’s (relatively) unadventurous."

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 5th-season finale of CSI: NY in the episode entitled Pay Up. With "Everything in Its Right Place", it inspired contemporary classical composer Steve Reich's instrumental work, Radio Rewrite. Reich describes "Jigsaw" as "a beautiful song" with "elaborate harmonic movement."

Cover versions

Brad Mehldau's 10 Years Solo Live contains a 12-minute improvisation based on this song (disc 1, track 3).

Music video

The black-and-white music video features the five members of Radiohead playing the song in a room with footage taken using "head cams". The video was directed by Adam Buxton and Garth Jennings. It was uploaded to the band's YouTube page on 28 November 2007. It is the first Radiohead video to feature the whole band since the video for the band's 2003 "2 + 2 = 5" single.

Track listing

1. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" – 4:09
2. "Videotape" (Live from the Basement) – 4:26

1. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" – 4:09
2. "Down Is the New Up" (Live from the Basement) – 5:07
3. "Last Flowers" (Live from the Basement) – 4:11

Personnel