Lead singer Michael Stipe once said that he hoped everyone had enough sense of humor to realize that he was "kind of taking the piss of everyone," himself included.

Dele Fadele from NME named "Radio Song" Single of the Week, adding, "The most galvanising radio-wave song since Joy Division's "Transmission" sees Messrs Berry, Buck and Mills pressure-cooking some dirty funk with poignant pauses ('radio silence' as an act of subversion).

"[6] Another editor, Terry Staunton, declared it as "predictably the most curious and out of character track, which switches from gentle Velvet Underground strumming to anxious funk workout.

"[2] Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel viewed it as one of the album's "strongest cuts" and "an adventurous amalgam of jangly funk and sugary-sweet pop balladry, with KRS-1 a good foil for otherworldly singer Michael Stipe."

[17] The song was featured in the Cameron Crowe film Singles (1992), although it is not included in the official soundtrack album.