The stories behind every Radiohead song

A composer and musicologist tries to explain the meaning behind every Radiohead song in a forthcoming book. Karma Police: The Stories Behind Every Radiohead Song is published on June 30. The author James Doheny was trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Radiohead videos at Tate Gallery

Videos by the likes of Bjork, Radiohead and Fatboy Slim feature in a new exhibition at Liverpool's Tate Gallery. The exhibition examines the crossover between visual and aural arts. Remix: Contemporary Art And Pop will feature portraits of music artists, plus videos and installations covering themes such as dub and sampling. Remix: Contemporary Art And Pop runs at the Tate Gallery from May 25 to August 26.

Review: "Subliminal Messages: A Radiohead Ballet"

Louis Nassetta went to the Radiohead ballet in Eugene, Oregon USA, finding it very odd, but also interesting and very entertaining at the same time. Here's the songlist: Paranoid Android | You And Whose Army | Like Spinning Plates | Optimistic | Pyramid Song | No Surprises | Dollars And Cents | In Limbo | Life In A Glass House | The Amazing Sounds of Orgy | How I Made My Millions. It's pretty kinky and twisted. The actresses all had little bear ears. Overall, very entertaining and a trip to me because I love every one of the songs. Click here for a full review.

Check out this interview in Kludge Magazine with Kid Koala where he mentions, among other things, hanging out and playing bust a groove with Jonny. Jonny, of course, always wins, being the dance machine he is. [thanks Shibumi]

BBC America will rerun 'Radiohead: A Little Later' on May 18th, 19th and 20th. And a reminder: tomorrow's the Saturday Night Live repeat on Comedy Central.Check the calendar for times.

Radiohead featured in 'Mouthing Off'

Radiohead is featured in several chapters of a new book called 'Mouthing Off - A Book of Rock & Roll Quotes' with funny and truthful observations from hundreds of rock, punk, and indie figures, this book was written with the music fan in mind.

Here's an excerpt from Thom Yorke: "My songs are my kids and some of them stay with me. Some others I have to send out, out to the war. It might sound stupid and it might even sound
naive, but that's just the way it is." - Thom Yorke of Radiohead (2000)

The book also features a full page photograph of Thom Yorke taken by Rahav
Segev. MOUTHING OFF hits book and record stores in June. [thanks John]
In this week's issue of ESPN the Magazine there is a mention of Radiohead in the section marked Outtakes with Dan Patrick on page 106. It is an interview between ESPN's Dan Patrick and Dallas Maverick guard Steve Nash. The conversation goes as follows:

Dan Patrick: "Speaking of musical comedy, do you understand Radiohead's lyrics?"
Steve Nash: "Probably not all of them. But you know, what's so great about them is that you can interpret the lyrics any way you feel."
Dan Patrcik: "I listened to OK Computer a few times, and i kind of came away saying,'I feel confused'."
Steve Nash: "Man! I love Radiohead. They're really clever guys. And the music itself is just excellent. Open your mind, Dan."

[thanks Michael]

Thom Yorke, "a miserable ginger dwarf"?

There's an interview with Liam and Noel from Oasis in the latest Q Magazine. Here are some extracts:

Q: Were you good husbands?
N: I get unfairly singled out about marriage. No one asks Thom Yorke about his marriage.
L: She's probably a miserable bastard like him. The miserable ginger dwarf and his miserable wife. Who wants to know about them?

Q: Radiohead aren't bad though, are they?
N: No! Radiohead don't want anyone else involved in that little thing they've got going on. Their thing is: Don't look at us. Don't photo us. Don't interview us. In fact, don't listen to our music. Where does it end? It ends with Thorn Yorke saying I've written the most fantastic piece of classical music ever but the only way you can hear it is by jamming a jack plug into my ear.
L: They're a band of Morris dancers.
N: They seem so pissed off being in a band. That doesn't inspire kids to pick up guitars. They're moaning about the marketing, the videos. If I was 15 I'd think, I'll get a job down the car wash. Whereas us, we love it. It's the best job in the world. Granted, some of the stuff on Amnesiac is brilliant. The Bends is the bollocks. Karma Police is mega. But they don't want people like me to like their music so they can go and fuck themselves.[thanks PsychoMat]

Last night, on the Andy Dick show there was a short segment parodying an MTV dream date program. The dream date in question? Andy Dick dressed up as Thom Yorke. Basically the program showed a girl jumping around excitedly as a limo rolled up to her house, the window rolls down, out peers Thom (bends era Thom) who proceeds to fall lethargically out of the limo.
The remainder of the segment has a voice over talking about the "exciting date" while the two love birds visit various locales such as a pizza parlor and a game place. The entire time Thom apparently is afflicted by narcilepsy and can't seem to stay awake / or move. [thanks Shibumi]

Friday news roundup

Thom will appear on Swedish television channel SVT 2 next Friday 22:55 on a show called musikbyrån. He will talk about the Pixies and how he was inspired by them. [thanks Henrik]

The following is from an interview with Buck 65: Well there are rumors that Buck's going to make beats for Radiohead, Buck's going to tour with Radiohead. Now all this wouldn't be too bad, but they are often criticized for "stealing" Canadian talent such as Kid Koala and possibly Buck 65. But what I've also heard is that it's not that they steal the talent, but rather that they help because when they were small and starting out they toured with a band that gave them 100% profits, and didn't take a cut for themselves. So in turn they want to return the favor to who they think deserves it. Is there anything happening with that? Umm... well there is only so much I can say. But what I will say basically is it came to my attention a while ago that they were fans of my music, so they got in touch with me and wanted to meet. So we did that and hung out, and there has been some discussion about us hanging out some more. But if there is a rumor about me making beats, I can tell you that's not true. At some point we'll be seeing each other again....... [more here: hiphopinfinity.com, thanks scott]

Knives Out video nominated

The Music Video Production Association (MVPA) has nominated the Knives Out video for their MVPA Annual Music Video Awards. Knives Out, directed by Michel Gondry, is nominated in the Alternative category. Award winners will be announced May 22 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

In the latest issue of NME, Radiohead was named in the Top 10 of the most influential artists of Rock 'n Roll. They came in number 7. Right behind Oasis and ahead of U2. [thanks Denise, from nme]

Review: 16 down flashback to Radiohead, Groningen, Netherlands

Last night, 16 Down played their fourth gig on the Marlboro Flashback Tour at d'Ubee in Groningen, the Netherlands. The band came on stage with a Fitter Happier-style introduction, which said that we shouldn't take the night that seriously. Well, considering that the evening was not too bad. 16 Down hired another guitarist for the ocassion and with four musicians they tried to get close to the original tracks. They did very well with adding samples, did a nice job with guitar solo's that were never there before and jamming on tracks like Electioneering, but they just went to far with the vocals.

The singer was not capable to reach the level of the band's instrumental performance, which was a shame, cause otherwise they were doing pretty good. Surprising songs this evening were Rabbit in your headlights, Blow out and Permanent Daylight. 16 Down ended the set with a nice and powerful version of Creep. Here's the full setlist: planet telex * karma police * airbag * blow out * rabbit in your headlights * subterranean homesick alien * national anthem * nice dream * national anthem * paranoid android * electioneering * no surprises * permanent daylight * pyramid song * street spirit * creep. You can check them out on four more dates this month in the Netherlands (dates in the calendar) and the last show will be broadcast on Dutch TV.

Radiohead: Snowboarding Musical Artist of the Year?

Radiohead took home the award for Snowboarding Musical Artist of the Year at the 2002 ESPN Action Sports & Music Awards Sunday (April 13) in Los Angeles. The event, which featured live performances by the Chili Peppers, Jay-Z, X-Ecutioners with Xzibit and Static-X, Unwritten Law, and 3rd Strike, will air on ESPN on Tuesday (April 16) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. (Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna) [from allstar]

News roundup

Moby told Los Angeles radio station KROQ Friday (April 12) morning that he asked No Doubt to do this year's Area: 2 tour, but the band declined. (Got other plans.) He also asked Radiohead, but they turned it down, too. (Not touring now).

Comedy Central will re-run the Saturday Night Live show with Radiohead on Wednesday April 24th. More dates and times in the calendar.

This week's NME is a bumper glossy special celebrating the artists featured in NME over the last 50 years – including Radiohead. The issue will be on sale in London on April 16 and nationwide from the following day.

Just a reminder for those want to see the Radiohead Ballet this friday in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Check the calendar for more details.

The September 11th Berlin mp3’s and shn’s are available at injektilo-ftp.com

The first San Sebastian (Spain) show is now sold out.

Happy Birthday Ed!

It's Ed O'Brien's 34th birthday today. Have a good one! To celebrate the occassion esprit are offering you a fantastic 10% discount on any order you place between now and 00:00 GMT midnight on Monday 22nd April 2002. That's over a week to place as many orders as you want !! There are no hidden catches but your order must contain at least one Radiohead or related item and to recieve your discount you MUST remember to quote the... ** RADIOHEAD 10% BIRTHDAY DISCOUNT OFFER **

Phil raises £18,000 for Samaritans

Phil Selway looks set to raise over £18,000 for the Samaritans after running the London Marathon yesterday (April 14). The drummer took time out from working on the follow-up to 'Amnesiac' to run the event for the charity, that he has been involved with since the '80s. He hoped to complete the circuit in under four hours, but finally got round in a respectable four and a half. [from nme]

16Down Radiohead flashback review & interview

Dutch site Music Planet has a review of 16 Down's flashback to Radiohead. An interview with the band on the tour is also available here (both in Dutch). [thanks Marc]

Ticket information Benicassim Festival

Tickets for the 3 days (which include 9 days of camping @ the site) cost €110 (€120 at the box office on the weekend of the festival) and can be bought at El Corte Inglés stores around the country as well as calling ServiCaixa's phone# 902 33 22 11 and online from these sites: entradas.elcorteingles.es & serviticket.com

Benicàssim is a small touristic town 70km to the north of valencia, near the city of castelló on the mediterranean coast of spain and it's usually VERY packed during the summer.. [thanks david]

Marathon Webcast

Message from W.A.S.T.E.: YooHoo!!!! You can see LIVE footage of Phil running in the London Marathon! The race starts at 9.30 am GMT on Sunday 14th April 2002 and the footage is being streamed here. Thank you so much for all your generous donations! We will be keeeping the donation page open until the end of April when the draw for the drumkit will take place and the winner notified. If you haven't been able to donate so far or would like to see how much money has been raised, please go here or here. For all further information about The Samaritans please visit www.samaritans.org Good luck Philip! We're all rootin' for ya.............

South Park, Bryan Ferry & DJ Shadow

The Scott Tenorman Must Die episode of South Park (starring Radiohead) will be shown on UK Channel 4 tonight at 11.05pm [thanks Lawrie]

Bryan Ferry's album 'Frantic' with Jonny Greenwood's contribution on guitars for the track 'Hiroshima' will be out April 22nd 2002 in the United Kingdom, April 26th in Japan, May 6th in Australia and on May 28th in the USA and Canada. Pre-order the album here.

DJ Shadow mentioned Radiohead again in an interview with Spine Magazine: "I mention them a lot because they're one of the few groups I can look at say that I endorse their career, not just this record or that record or this song or that song. I love each record they do more than the last, and there's very few groups I can say that about." [thanks Stephen]

OK, one more then...

Despite yesterday's confirmation that the band won't schedule any more gigs, another Spanish appearance has been announced. Radiohead will play at Internation Benicassim Festival this year. The festival, annualy held in Valancia, Spain has the band included in their line-up according to their site at www.fiberfib.com. This year the festival takes place on August 2, 3 & 4. Which of these dates Radiohead are going to play will be announced next week. [thanks rolando & marla]

Review: 16 Down flashback to Radiohead

16 Down's 'Marlboro Flashback to Radiohead' performance at Cafe Clinique in Maastricht (Netherlands) last night was rather good, although unfortunately the sound was quite bad. Some songs were played a little out of tune, but overall they did a very nice job.
The setlist included: Planet Telex, Permanent Daylight, Karma Police, Airbag, High And Dry, Rabbit In Your Headlight, Pyramid Song, [Nice Dream], Electioneering,
Subterranean Homesick Alien, No Surprises, (encore:) Paranoid Android, Street Spirit [Fade Out], Creep

The highlights of the gig were Airbag, Electioneering, Paranoid Android, Creep and especially Rabbit In Your Headlights, which was performed near perfect. [thanks Marc]

If you get a chance to see them play, don't hesitate. Check the calendar for dates.

MTV Netherlands will re-broadcast the 1-hour 'Radiohead : Played In Full' special. The show starts at 19:00 CET. [thanks Marc]

No more tour dates this year!

Radiohead have confirmed that they won’t be playing any live shows in the UK until 2003. The group will play Spain and Portugal during July and August, but have no plans to extend the tour, according to a spokesperson for the band.

The shows are aimed at road-testing new material recorded in studio sessions booked to start later this month. The intention is to play to hardcore fans, rather than what they see would be a larger, potentially more apathetic festival audience. It's something they've done before – prior to the release of 'Kid A' they played unusual venues such as amphitheatres across Europe.

The spokesperson commented: "The band will only be doing these shows in Spain and Portugal this year. 2002 is pretty much dedicated to writing and recording new material. Part of this process involves playing in the new stuff in front of an audience, hence the shows. But also they do enjoy playing in great settings and interesting venues, hence the routing."

Guitarist Jonny Greenwood previously said that the gigs are "to let [Radiohead] get their shit together" and allow the songs the chance to evolve, while fellow band member Ed O'Brien explained that they want to be "pretty self-indulgent" – avoiding large events like Glastonbury or last year's charity homecoming at South Park in Oxford.

He said: "The idea is that we don't want to do anything big. The idea is to be pretty self-indulgent – that means we'll play new material. And I don't think playing Glastonbury, or any festival, is conducive to that." [from NME, thanks Jedrzej, Adam, Marla & Paul]

Two extra dates in San Sebastian

There are 2 extra dates announced in San Sebastian, Spain. Besides the show at Teatro Kursal on July 30th, tickets for a July 31st and August 1st show will go on sale soon. Tickets will be available from www.bbvaticket.com and the usual local outlets starting next tuesday (april 9th) @ 10 am, they will cost €32, €29 & €25 plus booking fee..

There's only a few hundreds tickets left for the lisbon date on july 24th, w.a.s.t.e is also currently selling them and they will probably have new san sebastian tickets too very soon.. No additional gigs are expected to take place in these cities or around that time..

For a full list of dates check the live section [thanks david & luciano]

Radiohead Summer Tour Update

All 3 Salamanca gigs and the 2nd Porto gig are now sold out. Tickets for the San Sebastian show will probably be gone soon. Rumours about a second gig in San Sebastian on the 31st have faded a bit but it still might happen. For a full list of dates check the live section [thanks david]

Somethingawful.com reviews Amnesiac

Well, have a look at this review of amnesiac at somethingawful.com: "Tom York tries to sing, but then again, Manila Vanilla tried to rap. Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men go astray. And sometimes men get laid like mice in an ashtray. On purpose. Who filled that ashtray? Tom York. Bill Clinton may not have inhaled, but Tom York certainly did." [thanks matt & jon]