Thom Yorke: Radiohead Not Planning to Release Any Albums for Awhile

[RedNome]

For anyone interested.

Thom Yorke: Radiohead Not Planning to Release Any Albums for Awhile

by Jonathan on August 7, 2009 · 15 comments

In a lengthy interview in the latest issue of The Believer magazine, Thom Yorke has revealed that we’ll probably be waiting quite a long time for the next proper Radiohead album. We’re more likely to get some EPs or singles or one-off musical releases (perhaps like “Harry Patch [In Memory Of]“?) in the near future.
“None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again. Not straight off,” Yorke said. “I mean, it’s just become a real drag. It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we’ve all said that we can’t possibly dive into that again. It’ll kill us.”
He clarified that Radiohead doesn’t inherently hate the concept of the full-length. He said, “I mean, obviously, there’s still something great about the album. It’s just, for us, right now, we need to get away from it a bit.” Later, he added, “In Rainbows was a particular aesthetic and I can’t bear the idea of doing that again. Not that it’s not good, I just can’t… bear… that.”
One kind of Radiohead-related music that might materialize? Orchestral works. As Yorke told The Believer, “Jonny [Greenwood] and I have talked about sitting down and writing songs for orchestra and orchestrating it fully and just doing it like that and then doing a live take of it and that’s it – finished. We’ve always wanted to do it, but we’ve never done it because, I think the reason is, we’re always taking songs that haven’t been written for that, and then trying to adapt them. That’s one possible EP because, with things like that, you think, Do you want to do a whole record like that? Or do you just want to get stuck into it for a bit and see how it feels?”
The entire interview is well worth reading, with Yorke celebrating the death of the CD and the downfall of the music industry as we know it, reflecting on the difficulty of environmentally-friendly touring and music releasing, and musing on the state of Radiohead in general. There’s also this wonderful exchange:
The Believer: Do you feel like there’s any definitive sound that you’ve been solidifying over your career?
Thom Yorke: I fecking hope not.

Could be some interesting times ahead.

 

[Anderson Searl]

The legendary Thom Yorke ladies and gentlemen

 

[Brophs]

Nice find, nomers, cheers.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Can't help but feel they might be shooting themselves in the foot here. Radiohead's greatest strength has always been their ability to make coherent albums which are an experience as a whole. They've never really been a singles band.

 

[Brophs]

Will they release singles as we know them though, or will they move towards longer, possibly conceptual pieces? I wouldn't be surprised to see them releasing a ten minute plus piece, or something of that ilk.

 

[Anderson Searl]

Will they release singles as we know them though, or will they move towards longer, possibly conceptual pieces? I wouldn't be surprised to see them releasing a ten minute plus piece, or something of that ilk.

The art of an EP really IS the freedom to experiment... I think that's the further direction they'll take, it doesn't turn me away one bit, one thing Radiohead are brilliant at is innovating the music industry and they didn't miss a beat with In Rainbows.

 

[RedNome]

They've earnt the right to do whatever they want now, it's our choice as fans whether we go with them or not.

 

[Brophs]

They've earnt the right to do whatever they want now, it's our choice as fans whether we go with them or not.

They'd have to release some absolute stinkers for me to lose faith and stop getting everything they release. Even then I'd probably still hang in there, like some sad he-bitch.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

They've earnt the right to do whatever they want now, it's our choice as fans whether we go with them or not.

Oh definitely. It's just the fact that they're one of the greatest album bands of all time and moving away from that might not be their best decision. We shall see. For example, if OK Computer had been released as three EP's with tracks 1-4, 5-9 and 10-13 as separate releases then I don't think it would have been as great. The parts are amazing, but the sum is even greater.

 

[Brophs]

Oh definitely. It's just the fact that they're one of the greatest album bands of all time and moving away from that might not be their best decision. We shall see. For example, if OK Computer had been released as three EP's with tracks 1-4, 5-9 and 10-13 as separate releases then I don't think it would have been as great. The parts are amazing, but the sum is even greater.

I suppose the difference is that they'd be writing them as stand-alone pieces, so they wouldn't necessarily feel as fragmented as if you'd just taken a track from a carefully sequenced album and played it out of context.

 

[TheRedFlag]

Thank feck for that.​

 

[RedNome]

Oh definitely. It's just the fact that they're one of the greatest album bands of all time and moving away from that might not be their best decision. We shall see. For example, if OK Computer had been released as three EP's with tracks 1-4, 5-9 and 10-13 as separate releases then I don't think it would have been as great. The parts are amazing, but the sum is even greater.

Taking a break from, is more the tone of that interview I'd say, nothing to worry about, just enjoy the show in the mean time.

 

[RedNome]

I suppose the difference is that they'd be writing them as stand-alone pieces, so they wouldn't necessarily feel as fragmented as if you'd just taken a track from a carefully sequenced album and played it out of context.

That's it.

 

[RedNome]

Interview with Jonny

by Jonathan on August 13, 2009 · 6 comments

The Australian has posted an interview they did with Jonny recently. The band has been in their Oxford studio rehearsing for the upcoming festival tour dates later this month. They’ve also been recording new songs. “There’s a bunch of stuff slowly growing, some more finished than others,” Jonny says.

Two years ago, no longer signed to a major record label, the band released In Rainbows online, inviting fans to pay whatever they thought the album was worth. It was a bold move, seen as undermining the recording industry and testing new modes of distribution. Where Radiohead goes next, though, is less certain. The members aren’t even sure whether to release another conventional album at all.

“Traditionally we’d be looking for 10 or 11 songs and putting them together, but that doesn’t feel as natural as it used to, so I don’t know what we’ll do. Maybe we’ll find four songs that work together and we’ll call that a release. I don’t know,” Greenwood says.

After changing direction so many times, it’s perhaps no surprise that Radiohead finds itself, once again, at a crossroads. After starting off in 1993 with Pablo Honey and then the more accessible The Bends, the band established its place at the cutting edge of contemporary music with the landmark OK Computer. It then headed off in new directions with Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief, embracing alternative forms of rock and electronics before 2007’s In Rainbows. Meanwhile, digital music and downloads changed the way music was consumed.

During the past few days, music circles around the world have been in a flutter after the band’s singer, Thom Yorke, told an American magazine he was “not very interested in the album at the moment”. Greenwood confirms that a conceptual shift is under way. “No one knows how to release music any more, including us,” he says. “How to put it together, in what format, how long. We’re in the dark as much as anyone I think.”

Apart from that, Greenwood isn’t giving much away. He doesn’t seem worried though: Radiohead has always had a thing for reinvention. It’s no wonder, then, that the 38-year-old sounds relaxed as he discusses one of his other projects.
​

 

[RedNome]

What we know and don’t know about “These Are My Twisted Words”

by Jonathan on August 13, 2009 · 18 comments

We have listened to “These Are My Twisted Words” about 100 times since it was leaked out yesterday. It’s pretty amazing. As of now, there still hasn’t been a peep from the band so we thought we’d post what we know and don’t know.

The track, along with a nfo file, was first uploaded to the site what.cd yesterday by a user named “crza” who had never uploaded anything before in the year he’s been a member. Shortly after this was uploaded, a post was made to the message board at At Ease and from there it spread across the internet.

In the nfo file, “Wall of Ice” is referenced. This is also seen in the file name of the mp3 as “woi”. What does it mean? Is it the name of a forthcoming EP or album by Radiohead? Is it inspired by this web comic? Is it merely the name of the crew/clan/scene group/whatever you call them that the uploader crza belongs to?

The ripper is listed as “sca[GG]er” while “racy251″ is credited as created the ascii art.

Also in the nfo file is a release date of August 17, 2009. What is going to happen, if anything, on this date is anyone’s guess. Maybe this is when “These Are My Twisted Words” was intended to be released? Or maybe there will be additional tracks on this day? Questions, questions…

People are speculating that this track is the one that will be in the new Twilight movie. As you may know, Thom is supposedly contributing a song to the soundtrack. While it’s possible (anything is possible!), we seriously doubt it. First off, this clearly sounds like a Radiohead song, not a Thom Yorke solo song. That’s obviously Phil drumming and Jonny playing guitar and the ambience screams Radiohead.

In the recent interview Thom gave The Believer, he mentioned that they have a “good plan” for future releases. It’s possible that this is part of that plan.

All in all, we can only speculate at the moment about what is happening. While it’s unlikely, this could still all be an elaborate hoax of some sort.

 

[RedNome]

And for your listening pleasure..............

Dark as feck is this, love it.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Hmm, interesting. I'm guessing it was leaked by the band.

The track is pretty great. It's hard to say exactly what makes it good as it washes over you, just leaving you feeling contented with what's going in your ears. Radiohead constructing a song around a musical pedal point, no surprise there then

 

[RedNome]

Hmm, interesting. I'm guessing it was leaked by the band.

The track is pretty great. It's hard to say exactly what makes it good as it washes over you, just leaving you feeling contented with what's going in your ears. Radiohead constructing a song around a musical pedal point, no surprise there then

Hehe, I like that Mike.

Reminded me a bit of The End by the Doors, when it goes off into the mad instrumental.