Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Let Down (Radiohead song)

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) ASTIG😎 _{(ICE T • ICE CUBE)} 14:35, 11 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Let Down (Radiohead song)[edit]

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Fails WP:NSONGS. This is a song from a highly notable album (OK Computer), but I don't believe it has been the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works. The article mainly comprises a brief summary of the lyrical origin, some facts about how it wasn't released as a single, had no music video and is rarely performed live, and some info about cover versions - paling in comparison to the scope of articles about other OK Computer singles, like Paranoid Android. Notable coverage of this song is already adequately covered in the OK Computer article. Popcornfud (talk) 14:22, 4 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Albums and songs-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 14:38, 4 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Strong Keep. Having no music video, single release, and no live performances does not automatically indicate a lack of notability. Coverage and professional analysis indicates notability. Searches on Google Scholar and Google Books and the previews of their results indicates discussions and varying viewpoints on the song alone. Professional critic and journalist Mac Randall is quoted in multiple results exclaiming the song to be "a tremendous achievement and one of Radiohead's most intoxicating creations". There's an entire section about the production, composition, and lyrics of this track in this book about "Classic Rock Tracks" of all eras. This section of a book about the history of all Western music goes into detail about the song itself, while this academic journal piece features pages upon pages upon pages of analysis of the song's composition and how it relates to the composition of rock music in general. Additionally, lines of the song are quoted in this academic piece of cultural analysis that isn't even about anything Radiohead-relateed, but rather about the general concept of religion, utopia and globalization in our world, and this book section about the structure of human awareness in society. This academic piece that has several parts analyzing the song also reports (in pages 3 to 4) that Billboard magazine claimed this track to be the best song of the year (of all bands, of all artists, of all genres, of all albums). All of this, in addition to Papermag and The Ringer rankings of these songs on the lists of best all-time songs in Radiohead's entire discography, indicate notability independent from being an OK Computer track. There's also the fact the the album article isn't covering even a 20th of the analysis and available info about all of its specific tracks, and already is WP:TOOBIG. While the article is very short and needs expansion, the obvious solution here is to expand this article and split the album article into those about specific songs, which is already what we do with most Beatles albums, not to delete or merge into an already unnavigably-long album article. 👨x🐱 (talk) 18:27, 4 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]
- HumanxAnthro, thanks for this analysis. The thing that most makes me say "hmm" here is the suggestion that the OKC article is so big we ought to split it anyway. Pinging @Brandt Luke Zorn:, who may have some thoughts. Popcornfud (talk) 19:23, 4 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  - @Popcornfud: I agree with HumanxAnthro that "Let Down" passes muster for notability on its face. It's probably the best candidate to have its own article among any non-single from OK Computer, followed closely by "Exit Music (For a Film)" then somewhat more distantly by the rest. While it was never a retail single, it was touted in Billboard as the "first commercial single" from the album for its release to radio. Even the rarity of live performances, to me, seems to flip from a negative to a positive because there is commentary on the rarity itself, which presents the song as a conspicuous absence from concerts rather than merely forgotten—I've already added a little bit about its live rarity and logistical difficulty of performing live.
    I would very much like to see an expansion of the article along the lines of what HxA has pitched. I'm somewhat ambivalent about the notion of creating song articles for the express purpose of shortening the OK Computer article, but I think there is certainly enough out there about "Let Down" that stands on its own two legs outside the umbrella of the album article.
    FWIW, I looked into the claim that Billboard called "Let Down" their SOTY and it's somewhat overstated. That article's bibliography does not seem to cite the article in question, but I found this end-of-year article from the column "The Modern Age", which seems to be centered on music that would chart as "Modern Rock" at the time, in which columnist Bradley Bambarger names "Let Down" his choice for song of the year. It's not "song of the year" across all genres, but still worth mentioning, and a good example of a fact that wouldn't bear mentioning in the OK Computer article but helps demonstrate the song's independent notability. —BLZ · talk 20:55, 4 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per the rationale/sourcing given by HumanxAnthro. Lugnuts ^{Fire Walk with Me} 07:10, 5 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per HumanxAnthro. QuestFour (talk) 08:00, 5 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per HumanxAnthro and BLZ. DMT biscuit (talk) 13:39, 6 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.