Thom: Last day of first recording sessions

Message from Thom via Dead Air Space:

final day in this session

everybodys wasted. expended i mean. energy wise i mean.
all in need of bowl of coco pops.
colins i s playing sleaz bass on mornin' mi lord..
its sounds very heavy. err phat. ..like a freight train...
'the speakers ar e cracking'
ths is the last day of the session.. we start again in a couple of weeks
good,
i need to get away,
six days straight from 11 till late is enough for an old man like me.

need energy!

i dont know. what do people write in blogs normally?
i could write about how im finding it difficult to finish lyrics.
that there are giant waves of self doubt crashing over me and if i could allieviate this with a simple pill ...
i think i would

although it is a necessary part of the procedure. but that would be dull wouldnt it?

i could write about watching V festival.. how i thought Dizzee Rascal stole it..

or ponder the imminent energy crises that awaits us even before our governments get their arse in gear over climate change.

or how amazing the sky is outside with the moon hiding behind fast moving clouds and the bats swooping close to your head.

which? hmm

i have absolutely no idea what i am talking about

Thom

'Help' anniversary album update

The earlier reported 'Help' anniversary album will be executive-produced by Mark 'Spike' Stent, one of the music industry's most highly respected record producer-engineers, Xfm reports.

More artists have been added to the project. Radiohead are joined by Belle & Sebastian, Bloc Party, The Coral, Damien Rice, Elbow, The Go! Team, Gorillaz, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, Keane, The Magic Numbers, Manic Street Preachers, Maximo Park, Mylo, Razorlight and The Zutons.

The record will be released through London label Independiente, chaired by Andy Macdonald. Macdonald was in charge of Go! Discs, the label that put out the original ‘Help’ album in 1995.

The album will once again raise funds to help children in war-torn regions including Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and The Democratic Republic of The Congo. It will be available from the War Child website and other sites from September 9. A CD release will follow in the weeks to follow.

Like the original album, the charity aims to record and get the album to shop shelves as quickly as possible setting themselves the challenge of breaking their own 1995 record and releasing the fastest album ever.

Dead Air Space: Thom is sleepy

sleepy

a harder day
sleepy now
11pm
we are pulling out pins at the moment
and hair
then
stcratching heads a little
it is always a good scratch when you get up

rethinking ' suit dont fit'
like a fast bad dream

morrissey stayed in the room im in
ooooo he was here for three months were here for six days

going out on bikes up hill with no gears

talking a lot about The Beat

'yes im counterfeit
im not proud of it'

watched chris cunninghams video with Aphex twin off the net 'rubber jonny'
felt ill

'you wouldnt even know it it came sat down next to you and talked into the microphone'

thom

Ed: Radiohead working on Mornin' m' lud and Pigsee

Ed O'Brien reports from the studio: hello good people its sunday august 21 2005 and we're recording....... let me fill you in a little. so apart from a 3 and a half week tour to the other side of the world in april of 2004 the rest of that year was a dormant one for us
......... we needed a break ....... the end of another 3 album cycle...... they're not planned like that but thats how it seems to be. we needed to be at home with our families ....... lots of babies too. so we reconvened in mid - february and since then we've been trying to kick start the old beast ...... you don't realize once you've stopped how hard it is to regain the momentum ........ you literally get out the habit of doing it........ but often the only way to stop repeating yourself is to stop doing that thing, walk away from it ....... sometimes you have to go away in order to come back..... so here we are in the studio recording and it feels right. its only day 4, its very early days but really good things are happening .......lots of deconstructing and reassembling. we've been working on mornin' m' lud and pigsee.

Ed

Thom introduces new song: 'piggsee' or 'pigs ear'

Besides another batch of pictures from the studio, Thom Yorke updated 'Dead Air Space' yesterday, commenting on a new song the band is working on:

doing something called piggsee or pigs ear

what was up with the site tonight?
i know not

w e are staying in a very old house.
the rooms move.
their are noises.

the music is a pulse thick and black oil slick

the tides ar e high

close but no coconut
a split second late
you got away with it
but we lie in wait

ed is having a drink. alert the authorities.

goodnight

Thom

New pictures posted on Radiohead.com

Colin and Phil have posted new pictures from Radiohead 'lost in the woods' and in the studio. Check the Dead Air Space page at the official Radiohead site.

Radiohead management dismiss Warner move rumours

A representative from the band's Oxford, England-based management firm Courtyard Management tells Billboard.com that for the current sessions, Radiohead is "putting some ideas together" to "see where they want to go with the next step musically."

The band is also moving forward without label representation, having fulfilled its recording contract with EMI with the 2003 release of "Hail to the Thief." That album debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 932,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Radiohead's management dismissed speculation over recent months that Warner Music was poised to secure the band's signature. "The band [is] not looking for a record company in any way, shape or form," the representative says. "They are out of a contract, but they're not actively looking for another one. They're getting on with doing what they do." An EMI spokesperson declined to comment on the subject.

Synthetic Apparatus t-shirt contest winners announced

Remember that Radiohead t-shirt design competition at Synthetic Apparatus? Well, the winners have been announced and you can actually order one of those shirts. There are two winners. Take your pick: Scatterbrain & Electioneering.

Radiohead's 'Kid A' in Future Music

There is an article about Kid A in the current issue (#165, September 2005) of Future Music magazine (UK). It's part of FM's "Classic Albums Disected" series, and talks about the making of the record and how you might go about trying to recreate the sound of Kid A. [thanks mr x]

Speaking of 'Kid A'. Wessex Scene Online explains why this album is a Student Essential.

Radiohead not likely to sign for EMI again

Radiohead.com's off road page has changed with now a journal added to the site. The journal features entries by Thom, who posted:

we have no record conntract.as such. any offers?..what we would like is th e old EMI back again, the nice genteel arms manufacturers who treated music a nice side project who werent to bothered about the shareholders. ah well not much chance of that.....

It seems the band are looking for a good record deal, other than EMI. In other journal entry Thom said that the band are going back to the studio tomorrow:

we ar egoing into a proper studio on thursday with 192 faders

which is a lot of choice

a bit like the supermarket

and itll all go off before we get to it

so we have to eat quick

hopefully someone else from the band who speaks english will be able to elaborate

Thom

New Stanley Donwood Prints

An email from Mr. Donwood:

Hello. This is an email to let you know that I'm doing another series of prints, this time for Banksy's site, www.picturesonwalls.com.

You've probably heard of Banksy; he's done loads of graffiti all over the world. He gave some monkeys in a zoo pieces of cardboard with 'I'm a celebrity - get me out of here' written on them.

Anyway, his site features prints from loads of people, such as 3D, Jamie Hewlett, David Shrigley, and one of my favourite artists ever, Gee Vaucher.

So I'm pretty pleased to be associated with the site, and I'm doing some different work to that on my own site, www.slowlydownward.com.

To start with there are four new prints, but I'm planning to add another six or so over the summer. So yes, this is an announcement; go to www.picturesonwalls.com. And www.slowlydownward.com. And
www.radiohead.com.

Stanley Donwood

Radiohead interviewed for Scott Walker documentary

Radiohead were interviewed by producer Stephen Kijak for a documentary on Scott Walker; "30 Century Man: The Music of Scott Walker".

Kijak interviews the groups who've been influenced by Walker's work including Bowie (who's executive producer), Sting, Franz Ferdinand and Radiohead. "We've just been traveling with all sorts of Scott Walker vinyl and that's were the discussion goes," he told Indiewire. "The guys in Radiohead had never seen them on vinyl before, they were like kids." The documentary is shot on DV by cinematographer & director Grant Gee of Radiohead's 'Meeting People Is Easy'

At Ease MB back online

The At Ease message board is back online after a week's absence. Apologies for the delay.

MTV Netherlands rebroadcasts $2 bill show

Apparently MTV Netherlands have nothing better to do than broadcasting Radiohead's New York 2$ Bill show. Set your VCR's for tonight at midnight. [thanks Anrik]

Telegraph's Perfect playlist: Radiohead

David Cheal picks Radiohead's 10 most beautifully bleak moments in today's Telegraph: Creep, Bones, Street Spirit (Fade Out), Airbag, Lucky, Idioteque, Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors, Like Spinning Plates, I Might Be Wrong, Wolf at the Door. Check the Telegraph website for descriptions and downloads at Big Noise Music.

Vote for Radiohead in this years X-list

Five Radiohead tracks have made it to XFM's X-list. This year's shortlist features 'Creep', 'Fake Plastic Trees', 'Just', 'Paranoid Android', 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'.

It's now up to you to get behind Radiohead and vote for your favourite tracks in order to get them to the coveted number 1 spot. Plus each vote sent goes into a prize draw to win a colour iPod and iTunes vouchers. XFM will reveal which track has won on August Bank Holiday Monday (August 29). For more info and to vote go to www.xfm.co.uk/thexlist2005.

At Ease MB down - temporary board available

The At Ease message board is down due to some crashed database tables.

'Would do you mean? The most stable board of the web is down"
Yes, I know... this rarely happens. Right now we're trying to repair some databases and hope it will be back soon.

'Whatever, but where do i go now?'
Well, you could try to invade a Hanson forum... but the people at Supergrass.tv have their message board open for you until the At Ease MB is fixed.

Radiohead join in to record 'Help' anniversary album

Radiohead are amongst the bands who will contribute to a new album being put together in aid of War Child. 'Help: A Day in the Life' will mark the 10th anniversary of the 'Help' album in 1995.

The project aims to compile the best bands of this generation and give them one day to record a new piece of music, which War Child will make available on www.warchildmusic.com on September 9. A CD release will follow a few weeks later.

Other bands already confirmed include Gorillaz, Razorlight, The Zutons, Manic Street Preachers, Bloc Party, Hard-Fi, The Coral, Elbow and Maximo Park.

War Child boss Mark Waddington said: "As a music fan, I know what the original 'Help' album meant and as the present CEO of War Child I know what it achieved. It was my intention that any new album we made in 2005 should match up to the feats of the past. That's why we have set ourselves the challenge of remaking history and releasing the fastest album ever again! It's a tall order but we feel with the support of amazing artists we can make it happen and help a new generation of children affected by war."

War Child was launched in 1993 as a response to the affect of the Balkans conflict on children. In 1995, 20 of the UK's bands and artists went into studios across Europe to each produce a track for 'Help', the fastest-ever number one album in British music history.

For more on this story, see this week's NME, which is out today in London (August 9), and nationwide tomorrow.