Jonny Greenwood joined Radiohead, his older brother Colin’s band, as a keyboardist. Then he became one of alternative rock’s most dynamic and unique guitarists. As Radiohead evolved away from the Pixies-inspired sound of their ’90s post-grunge hit “Creep,” Greenwood employed new instruments and colors with the band.
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He could be found on stage, swallowed by a mop of hair, attacking his Fender Telecaster like a possessed version of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. How many alt-rock guitarists built riffs from octatonic scales, anyway? And it doesn’t matter whether you know what octatonic scales are. Listen to “Just” from Radiohead’s The Bends. It may reference Magazine’s “Shot by Both Sides” a bit, but it also reveals Greenwood’s fondness for Debussy.
On Radiohead’s first U.S. No. 1 album, Kid A, Greenwood used a modular synth to create the drum beat for “Idioteque.” On the same album, Greenwood introduced the mainstream to an early electronic instrument called the ondes Martenot on “How to Disappear Completely.”
Film audiences were exposed to Greenwood’s singular sonic imprint—outside Radiohead—beginning with Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood in 2007. But Greenwood had already been pushing the boundaries of a rock band with Radiohead on the albums OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, and In Rainbows before scoring films. (Listening to “Faust Arp” from In Rainbows, Greenwood’s orchestration foreshadows his work on Anderson’s 2021 film Licorice Pizza.)
Bach spoke of music as a science. He commanded an emotional response from listeners because he knew exactly how to make that happen. No mystery, only precision. You get the sense Greenwood has similar control.
Greenwood plays guitar, recorder, viola, and keyboards. He also uses programming language software to create original sounds. He invents new instruments and sounds, escaping the limitations of commercial software. And his instrument of choice on later Radiohead albums has been the orchestra. “Burn the Witch,” from Radiohead’s most recent studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, utilizes an orchestra where you would otherwise find a guitar riff. Enjoy the top five film scores by Jonny Greenwood.
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5. The Master (2012)
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master tells the story of Freddie Quell, a World War II Navy vet trying to adjust to society. He meets Lancaster Dodd, who leads a religious movement called The Cause. Quell is accepted into the movement.
Greenwood’s score is accompanied by four recordings from the post-war era, including “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” featuring Ella Fitzgerald. His original compositions are soothing but also unsettling. The uncomfortable moments recall Greenwood’s compositional North Star, Olivier Messiaen. The influence of another French composer, Claude Debussy, is heard throughout the score. Debussy influenced Messiaen. Both Frenchmen were known for their unique sense of harmony. Even before his time as a leading modern classical composer, Jonny Greenwood displayed his unique approach to harmony and orchestration within Radiohead.
4. There Will Be Blood (2007)
There Will Be Blood is Jonny Greenwood’s first score for director Paul Thomas Anderson. The period drama is adapted from the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. Greenwood used an orchestra as his instrument to amplify the horror caused by the greed of oilman Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Anderson’s naming of Plainview is Dickensian. Remember the pickpocket Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist? The score, like greed, is unsettling and timeless.
3. Spencer (2021)
Pablo Larraín’s film tells the story of Princess Diana in 1991, considering a divorce from Prince Charles and leaving the British royal family. The ghosts of George Frideric Handel’s Baroque harpsichord suites are present in Greenwood’s score. But, like the madness consuming Princess Diana, Greenwood unravels the familiarity of Handel with dark piano and experimental jazz. Listen to “Delusion/Miracle” for the unraveling. If you thought a score about British royalty would be inherently predictable, you haven’t been paying attention to Greenwood’s life’s work.
2. The Power of the Dog (2021)
Jane Campion directed a revisionist Western based on Thomas Savage’s novel of the same name. Greenwood’s elegant score features sparse strings, exposing the true nature of each instrument. The exposé parallels the character Phil Burbank—rough and crude—yet a former Classics student at Yale. Greenwood’s musical discovery echoes Burbank’s true sexuality, hidden behind a gruff and mean exterior. “25 Years” could have been a Radiohead song.
1. Phantom Thread (2017)
Set in London in the 1950s, a dressmaker finds his muse in a young waitress. Phantom Thread is director Paul Thomas Anderson’s fourth collaboration with Jonny Greenwood. Anderson, Greenwood, and actor Daniel Day-Lewis previously worked together on There Will Be Blood (2007). Greenwood took inspiration from Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould and his interpretations of Bach. Greenwood is exceptional at using an orchestra like a jazz musician. He’s open to moments of discovery and accident and improvisation. The score is laced with mid-20th-century glamour. Greenwood received his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Score for Phantom Thread.
Photo by John Shearer/WireImage
