Radiohead on BBC’s Zane Lowe show

Posted on November 20th, 2007.

THom Yorke Zane Lowe The interview with Thom Yorke & Ed O’Brien on the Zane Lowe show was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 where the band talked about ‘In Rainbows’, touring, ‘The Eraser’ and ‘OK Computer’ and even revealing even more about next year’s tour.

Thom Yorke has told Zane Lowe he was surprised by the fuss around the release of their album In Rainbows, where fans could pay whatever they wanted: “Everyone was going woo hoo and I didn’t understand.”

On the experience of recording and releasing The Eraser: Thom: “That was so much of a solo thing with Nigel. Except for the remix thing, it was totally a one-man-band thing. It was kind of dull actually. It was fun because it was really quick, but it was deeply unsatisfying because you weren’t sharing much of the process but then I got back with the band and it was like ‘Oh my god, there’s all these other other people I have to work with now. Let’s hear what they think. Oh no!”

Ed and Thom talked about recording with producer Mark ‘Spike’ Stent after they decided to go on tour and then go back to producer Nigel Godrich
Ed: “We got some recordings done (with him) but we kinda need to get back out on the road, we felt. We still hadn’t sorted a lot of our stuff. Our internal stuff as well. We hadn’t got it together.”
Thom: “I don’t know what was going on. Spike was a brave bloke walking into that scenario. Frankly, anybody would be. ”
Ed: “…and had a great energy. He came in with amazing energy. What he did, he held a mirror up to us. We weren’t happening at the time. Who knows what it was. Maybe we weren’t communicating properly. It was at that point you (Thom) said…’I think we need to get out on the road’”.
Thom: “I think it’s like momentum. You got to get it going again. Now since ‘In Rainbows’ has come out. It feels much more about being positive about what you’re up to.”

And about going back to longtime producer Nigel Godrich:
Thom: “It’s a second guessing thing. That’s what I find with him. Me and him especially drive eachoter up the wall, but.. ”
Ed: “We did sessions without a producer and it did NOT work. For starters you need something to be at least vaguely objective. It’s really difficult to actually do that. You get a sense of it. You need something to organise. He brings so much to it.”

THom Yorke Zane Lowe

Thom on ‘In Rainbows’: “It’s very eye opening, liberating. But extremely strange. The day people were downloading it I sat at home and did nothing.”

Ed: “This isn’t an anti-retail thing. All that we’re doing is doing something different. It’s not a template. You’re in a situation when someone suggests to you how about you put it on the web and then people go and listen to it. And you say yes, that sounds good. We were messing with the system. Given the opportunity would you or would you not? Of course you would.”

After releasing OK Computer did you realise you finished something really special?
Thom: “Not really, although people started talking to you a bit weird for a while.
Ed: “Well, I thought we had done something really amazing. It had a depth to it and an emotional resonance. For me that album is totally of that time. From where we were and very representative. I remember it being a kind of dark time.”
Thom: “I just remember I wanted to get the hell out. In every way. I just had enough. ”

For the upcoming tour Ed said that Thom “needed more persuading”. However, he sounded positive when discussing playing festivals. More on the tour here.

Hear the full hour-long interview, available online until 27 Nov 07